Campervan, RV & Vanlife News

National forests in the US face a growing problem of abandoned motorhomes and travel trailers that are hazardous and costly to clean up. The non-profit 208 cleanup helps remove waste, but derelict motorhomes require law enforcement condemnation before removal. The Boise National Forest recorded about 36 such items left on the forest over the last 12 months. Removing each can cost thousands of dollars due to hazardous materials such as batteries, refrigerant, tyres, sewage and sometimes asbestos.

The article lists 13 checks that experienced motorhome owners run before settling in for the night. They include levelling the rig, because an unlevel pitch can affect absorption refrigerators, and confirming overnight parking rules: Walmart policy is set store by store and can be overridden by local ordinances. Many Class A motorhomes stand around 12 to 13 feet tall, so owners check for low branches and wires on approach. On soft ground a stuck rig can require a tow costing hundreds of dollars. Owners also check water, battery charge and the overnight forecast.

Yvonne Hemmings, 60, from Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, sold her house in 2024 and moved into a VW Crafter campervan to live and work remotely while travelling across Europe. The self-employed virtual assistant estimates her living costs have roughly halved from more than £1,000 a month for her house. She has encountered electrical faults, a flat tyre and a damaged wing mirror cover. Hemmings has also bought a small olive farm in Portugal.

A couple living in a camper van spent a tense night on the Isle of Skye in Scotland during a severe storm. The wind was so strong that opening the camper van door was difficult, and the vehicle shook violently, seemingly at risk of overturning. One person skipped dinner due to motion sickness, while the other ate Shin Ramyun Kimchi. The couple, who have lived in a camper van for three years, said it was their first time experiencing such heavy shaking. They stayed overnight at a parking area near Storr View, which offers electric charging and costs 18 pounds per night. The planned hike was cancelled due to the weather.

Decree 170/2026, approved on 30 October, was published on 9 November and takes effect on 9 February 2027. It separates parking from camping and caps stays at motorhome stopovers at 72 hours.

Westbound lanes of Interstate 64 near Nitro, West Virginia, were closed for about 90 minutes after a camper overturned and blocked all lanes. The crash was reported shortly before 4 p.m. on Sunday near mile marker 46. Nitro Police diverted traffic off the interstate at the Institute exit onto Route 25 until the camper was cleared. No one was injured and no arrests were made. Nitro and Tyler Mountain fire departments, Putnam County EMS and Nitro Police responded.

Councillors in Redcar and Cleveland have been told that dedicated spaces for motorcaravans should be considered in future business planning, though not currently feasible. A council officer reported that no businesses or landowners contacted wished to explore motorhome parking further. Barriers cited include unsuitable car park layouts, limited capacity for existing customers and potential costs of hard-standing areas. Earlier this year the council introduced an experimental traffic regulation order on Saltburn's Marine Parade after complaints about long-term free parking and anti-social behaviour. Motorhome owners are encouraged to use the existing Cat Nab car park, which offers overnight parking, toilets, chemical waste facilities and fresh water.

YouTuber Alex of the Mispronounced Adventures channel joined the first test trip of an 18-ton MAN TGM 4x4 expedition truck owned by his friend Guy. The route ran through France and Spain towards Portugal, where Guy had a wedding to attend. The truck stands about 3.9 metres tall and 9.1 metres long, with a living area nearly 6 metres long behind the cab, a hydraulic lift at the rear and a 590-litre diesel tank giving an estimated range of 2,000 miles. During the journey Alex fixed a faulty Alde diesel heating system and a water leak, and said the truck was more manageable on European motorways than expected.

A caravan caught fire on Murton Way in York on Saturday evening. Firefighters from York and Acomb were called at 5.39pm and found the caravan well alight. Crews used a hose reel jet to extinguish the fire.

A motorhome caught fire on Interstate 75 in Hernando County, Florida, on Saturday afternoon, blocking all southbound lanes, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The fire was reported at mile marker 303 near Croom Rital Road, and all lanes were blocked as of 2:10 p.m. The cause of the fire and whether any occupants were injured have not been disclosed. Officials have also not said when the southbound lanes will fully reopen.

Ukrainian-German company Lemki Robotix, working with iScale3D, has developed a prototype caravan called the Tiny Camper that is produced using large-scale 3D printing. The shell is made from recycled polypropylene reinforced with fibreglass and incorporates more than 7,000 recycled plastic bottles. Its 9 mm thick walls give a shell weight of 250 kg. The interior includes a sleeping nook, kitchenette and storage, plus sensors monitoring water levels, battery charge and temperature. The printing process, Fused Granulate Fabrication (FGF), uses plastic granules and a robotic system from KUKA. No production date or price has been announced.

Alan Hogan and Lori Ondriska-Hogan bought Beauly Holiday Park in 2016 and have turned the rundown site into a busy holiday park. They have now unveiled a new bar and the Back to the Beauly festival.

A weekend RV route from Atlanta into the North Georgia mountains covers Dahlonega, Helen and Tallulah Gorge State Park. The loop runs a little over 200 miles, with two nights at Unicoi State Park, where RV sites come in 30-foot and 40-foot lengths. Fall colour below 3,000 feet lasts longer than on the peaks: the Georgia Forestry Commission’s 28 October leaf report had the northeast mountains at 87% changed above that line and about half below it. Scheduled water releases at Tallulah Gorge are set for 14–15 and 21–22 November, and Helen and Dahlonega switch on holiday lights on 27 November. Admission to Anna Ruby Falls is $5 and is not covered by the Georgia State Parks pass.

An RV weekend route from Knoxville to Townsend via Maryville on US-321 avoids the traffic of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. The drive to Townsend takes about 45 minutes, the town has full-hookup campgrounds along the Little River, and Cades Cove is less than 20 minutes from most of them. The National Park Service says autumn colour in the lower valleys peaks between mid-October and early November. Park entry is free, but parked vehicles need a tag costing $5 per day or $15 per week on Recreation.gov. RVs over 25 feet and trailers are barred from Rich Mountain and Parson Branch roads, the Metcalf Bottoms bridge and the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.

Askew's Landing RV Campground in Warren County, Mississippi, has been named a 2026 Hipcamp Awards winner for Best in Mississippi. The campground is located at 3412 Askew Ferry Road, Edwards, Mississippi 39066. It sits along a lake and offers guests a place to slow down and enjoy the outdoors. The family and team thanked guests for reviews and recommendations, and staff for helping visitors feel welcome.

WildLand International Inc. used SEMA 2026 to present the PickupMate Trunk (model code VMS-PM-TK), a truck-bed camper that attaches without permanent vehicle modifications and expands into a two-level living space when parked. Closed dimensions stay within height and width limits, so the pickup retains its original passing performance. The upper Panoramic Resting Cabin has eleven windows and a skylight, raises headroom to 2.45 m and provides 1.4 m of internal clearance, with one-touch automatic lifting controlled by remote, physical buttons or a mobile app. Two sizes are offered, S and L, weighing 208 kg and 220 kg respectively. Accessories include a 270° side awning with a deployed area of 7 m² and a side shower tent.

A restored 1977 Mercedes-Benz 206D camper van is listed for sale in Pleasant Valley, Iowa, for $28,995. The vehicle is powered by a 2.2-litre 60 HP OM615 diesel engine mated to a four-speed manual transaxle. The selling dealer states a top speed of about 55 mph to 57 mph. The seller says the van was imported to the US by a previous owner and restored under the most recent owner in 2018. In August 2026 the same camper van failed to sell on Bring a Trailer with a final bid of $6,900.

The owner of Gateway Resort in Bynea, Llanelli, Ken Strelley, has been ordered to remove glamping pods, clubhouse extensions and an underpass, and to stop using land for touring and static caravans in certain areas. Carmarthenshire Council issued four enforcement notices in March 2025 with a 17-month compliance deadline. Strelley appealed on the grounds that the required steps were excessive, but a Welsh Government-appointed planning inspector upheld the notices with amendments clarifying unauthorised changes of land use. The inspector's report said the appellant had not proposed specific lesser measures to remedy the breaches, and that waiting for planning applications to be determined was not in itself such a measure.

Disposing of an old motorhome in British Columbia costs from about $1,000 to several thousand dollars. Some owners pay around $200 to shady firms, and the vehicles end up in fields, rest areas and forests.

Alan and Marina Perius say they are the first Brazilians to drive from Brazil to the Netherlands in their own Brazilian-registered motorhome. They reached Newfoundland in September after a 16-hour ferry crossing from North Sydney, Nova Scotia, to Argentia. In Canada, freezing temperatures damaged their water system, their heater stopped working and their refrigerator broke down for five weeks. Alan continues to work remotely through his software business, while Marina recently completed studies in Ayurveda and now works with clients online. Fearing further cold damage to the motorhome, they left the island and drove through Labrador towards Quebec.