$16,000 Plastic Camper Promises No Leaks or Rot

Jude Christensen, a Salt Lake City resident, has reported the same occupied RV repeatedly returning to her Sugar House neighborhood for over two years. Despite parking tickets, the vehicle returns. City officials are considering expanding the definition of camping to include living in vehicles on public property, which would allow police to contact occupants and offer services. The proposal faces opposition, including from Nomad Alliance, which advocates for a legal safe-parking program.

Fire crews extinguished a camper fire in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Thursday afternoon. The fire occurred in the 4800 block of Northwest 178th Terrace. Firefighters found the camper fully engulfed in flames upon arrival. Residents of the home used garden hoses to contain the fire before crews arrived. No injuries were reported. The possible cause is an air fryer inside the camper. The Red Cross was called to assist the family with temporary housing.

Firefighters extinguished a fully engulfed RV fire in Newhall on Thursday morning. The call came in around 10:40 a.m. near Wiley Canyon and Fourl Roads. Crews prevented the fire from spreading to nearby property. No injuries were reported.

In Berkeley, California, officials confirmed that a man died from leptospirosis after living in a recreational vehicle they said was heavily infested with wild rats. A woman who lived with him also got sick but later recovered under medical care. According to the Berkeley Scanner, first responders were called to the RV in May, and nearly 200 rats were removed before the vehicle was destroyed. The couple had been trapping, feeding, and breeding wild rats, and they delayed seeking medical care for weeks or months. Berkeley had not reported a human leptospirosis infection in over 10 years. The city issued public warnings and established a buffer zone for rodent control.

1492 Coach Works, an Oklahoma City company, has built a 49-foot toy hauler with three bedrooms, including a loft with twin beds, and a 14-foot garage. The retail price is $1.25 million, with the show unit listed at $700,000. The trailer features a 1,200 Ah lithium battery bank, 1,600 watts of solar, a 12 kW diesel generator, and a six-zone climate control system. The manufacturer claims it is the most expensive toy hauler ever built, though this is not independently verified.

Go RVing unveiled its new experiential activation space in 2026, debuting at the first two events of the season. At the Scouting America National Jamboree in West Virginia, three RVs were showcased, attracting 7,613 consumer tours. At the U.S. Open of Surfing in California, five RVs drew 32,440 tours. The organization is seeking three RVs for the upcoming Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, scheduled for Oct. 3–11. Manufacturers interested in providing a display unit can contact Dana DelVecchio by Aug. 24.