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HITCH HINTS RV TIPS THE COOKING LADIES WINTER RV PRODUCTS AND MUCH MORE! CANADA’S #1 RV MAGAZINE - YOUR KEY TO RV ADVENTURES!CANADA’S #1 RV MAGAZINE - YOUR KEY TO RV ADVENTURES! www.rvlifemag.com $9.95 268 - 44 Crawford Crescent., Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0 Publications Mail Agreement #43638025 Vol. 54 No.3 WHAT’S NEW FOR 2026 ROAD TESTS: East to West RV Alta 3150 KBH Plus PLAN A TRIP TO WINTER RV DESTINATIONS INSPIRED BY THE WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES 54-3 NEW.indd 154-3 NEW.indd 12025-12-15 4:24 PM2025-12-15 4:24 PMWhether you’re chasing sunsets, planning cross-country road trips, or fi nding the perfect weekend getaway rig — your dream RV is just a few clicks away. RVC Navigator is your go-to RV search platform, connecting you with real-time listings from trusted dealers across the country. • Browse travel trailers, fi fth wheels, tent-trailers, motorhomes and more… • Filter by location, brand, type, or budget • Share your favourites with friends and family. YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE BEGINS HERE. rvc-navigator.com Power by Imagine by Find the RV that fi ts your lifestyle — and hit the road with confi dence.Find the RV that fi ts your lifestyle — and hit the road with confi dence.Find the RV that fi ts your lifestyle — and hit the road with confi dence. marketing marketing MARKETING RV Care CG.indd 1RV Care CG.indd 12025-12-15 4:30 PM2025-12-15 4:30 PM3 DEPARTMENTS 6 HITCH HINTS by Andy Thomson Understanding the Equalizing Hitch. 10 GRILLMASTERS – by Maddie and Kiki Bison Steak Diane 12 CAMPING WITH THE COLES – by Ben and Cheryl Coles Winter camping at Arrowhead Provincial Park, Ontario 16 THE COOKING LADIES – Phyllis Hinz and Lamont Mackay Croissants and Craters – Sizing up meteors in Arizona. ROAD TEST 20 EAST TO WEST RV ALTA 3150 KBH by Norm Rosen The largest model in the line is ideal for touring, or use it as a destination trailer. DESTINATIONS 26 RV DESTINATIONS – INSPIRED BY THE OLYMPIC GAMES A special feature, curated by Monica Baer. 34 ROAM HORSESHOE BEND RV CAMPING RESORT Explore the natural beauty of northern Arizona. SPECIAL FEATURES 30 NEW RVS FOR 2026 Highlights from the Fall RV Shows NEW PRODUCTS 40 NEW PRODUCTS FOR YOUR CAMPING ADVENTURES! Available now at RV dealerships and campground stores Contents 34 VOLUME 54 NUMBER 3 | RV LIFESTYLE RV Lifestyle Magazine archives are open for your viewing pleasure – check them out at www.rvlifemag.com Click on MAGAZINES, and use the password RVLFREE2017. Watch our road test videos at our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube. com/rvlifestylemagazine ON THE COVER Road testing the East to West RV Alta 3150 KBH travel trailer. Cover photo by Norm Rosen. HITCH HINTS RV TIPS THE COOKING LADIES WINTER RV PRODUCTS AND MUCH MORE! CANADA’S #1 RV MAGAZINE - YOUR KEY TO RV ADVENTURES!CANADA’S #1 RV MAGAZINE - YOUR KEY TO RV ADVENTURES! www.rvlifemag.com$9.95 268 - 44 Crawford Crescent., Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0 Publications Mail Agreement #43638025 Vol. 54 No.3 WHAT’S NEW FOR 2026 ROAD TESTS: East to West RV Alta 3150 KBH Plus PLAN A TRIP TO WINTER RV DESTINATIONS INSPIRED BY THE WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES 54-3 NEW.indd 154-3 NEW.indd 12025-12-15 4:24 PM2025-12-15 4:24 PM SUBSCRIBERS: e-mail editor@rvlifemag.com for FREE access to the latest digital edition! @ RVLifestyleMagazine @rvlifestylemagazine FOLLOW RV LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE: RV54-3.indd 3RV54-3.indd 32025-12-16 10:20 AM2025-12-16 10:20 AM4 RV LIFESTYLE | VOLUME 54 NUMBER 3 While the weather may seem a bit cold for camping, we have always found off-season RV adventures to be among the most interesting of the year. Since the 1970s, our RV Lifestyle Magazine teams have enjoyed the quiet solitude of winter camping, using our trailers and motorhomes as base camps for skiing and snowmobiling adventures. Obviously, there are special considerations necessary to enjoy cold weather camping in an RV. You have to adapt to the unique conditions when camping in the Canadian winter. We have enjoyed camping in RV parks that are specifically designed to accommodate winter use. Some campgrounds make it possible to access campsites throughout the winter season, plowing the roads and clearing snow from all campsites that are intended for use in the cold weather. These parks often make it suitable for cold weather camping by arranging availability of large LP gas tanks that will let you keep your trailer or motorhome warm throughout the season. They often provide winterized water and sewer hookups, and encourage you to adapt your RV for cold weather use by enclosing the lower perimeter of the vehicle with insulated boards to keep the snow from accumulating beneath the RV, making it possible to use the vehicle in very cold weather. Other parks provide plowed road access to campsites, but encourage you to utilize your camper without hooking up water or sewer connections. Of course, the easiest way to enjoy winter camping is to head south to warmer climates where the camping experience is either spring like, or warmer. In this issue, we spotlight a number of suggestions for winter season RV adventures. Whether you choose to follow a route that celebrates winter destinations inspired by the Olympic Games, or head directly to the sunbelt states for a warmer winter RV adventure, there are a multitude of opportunities to enjoy the year round appeal of the RV roads to adventure. If this is your first encounter with RV Lifestyle Magazine, we thank you for sharing your leisure adventures with us. RV Lifestyle Magazine is celebrating its 55th anniversary in 2026, with a multimedia array of print, digital editions, website, YouTube, and social media pages for an all-encompassing camping experience. Please visit our website at www.rvlifemag.com where you will find more than 1000 expert articles on a wide range of camping and RV products. On your first visit to the website, you will be invited to sign up for our RV Lifestyle Magazine e-newsletter, which features suggested reading on a variety of topics. One of the features of our website is a calendar of RV shows across Canada and the United States. This listing is comprehensive and updated on a regular basis with links to the websites for each RV show across North America. Our team will be on-site at key RV shows this winter, please watch for us and drop by to say hello and share stories of your camping adventures. Norm Rosen, VP Special Projects, Editorial Director, Taylor Publishing Group nrosen@rvlifemag.com CAMPING ALL YEAR ROUND… TMTM TM TM VOLUME 54 NUMBER 3 Publisher: WILLIAM E. TAYLOR bill@rvlifemag.com Group Publisher: MELANIE TAYLOR-WALLIS melanie@rvlifemag.com Editorial Director: NORM ROSEN nrosen@rvlifemag.com Art/Production Manager: GISELLE BANSAL Design: TAMARA TAYLOR Contributing Writers: PHYLLIS HINZ JAMES STONESS ANDY THOMSON Advertising Sales: info@rvlifemag.com 1-800-354-9145 EXECUTIVE OFFICES: TORONTO: 268 - 44 Crawford Crescent, Campbellville, Ontario L0P 1B0 Tel: 905-844-8218 Fax: 905-844-5032 MONTREAL: Tel: 514-856-0788 Fax: 514-856-0790 VANCOUVER: Bob and Carole Taylor, 1745 Rufus Drive North Vancouver, BC V7J 3L8 ADMINISTRATION: President/CEO: WILLIAM E. TAYLOR Group Publisher: MELANIE TAYLOR-WALLIS VP/Special Projects: NORM ROSEN Advertising Sales: TODD TAYLOR Accounting: NANCY MUELLER Camping Canada’s RV Lifestyle Magazine is published seven times a year by Camping Canada Magazine Ltd. Reproduction of any material appearing in this magazine in any form is forbidden without prior consent of the publisher. Subscription rates: Canada 1 year (6 issues) $35+tax: 2 years (12 issues) $50+tax. U.S. subscrip- tions:1 year (6 issues) $50 US. Single copies are $9.95 for regular issues, and $14.95 for the annual RV Buyer’s Guide and the annual Campground Directory issues. Subscription inquiries 1-800-354-9145 Advertising rates available on request. Editorial contributions must be accompanied by return postage and will be handled with reasonable care. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return of safety of artwork, photographs, or manuscripts. Camping Canada Magazine reserves the right to refuse any and all advertising and disclaims all respon- sibilities for claims or statements of facts made by its advertisers or independent columnists. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT #43638025 Undeliverables to: 268 - 44 Crawford Crescent, Campbellville, Ontario L0P 1B0 MONTREAL, QUEBEC © 2025 CAMPING CANADA MAGAZINE PRINTED IN CANADA EDITOR’S MESSAGE RV54-3.indd 4RV54-3.indd 42025-12-23 9:06 AM2025-12-23 9:06 AMInspired by the Forest River family legacy, EAST TO WEST was founded in 2017 by Lisa Liegl Rees to build the next generation of RV’s: High quality construction, value added brands at an affordable price. This division’s collaborative and multigenerational team with industry experts helps challenge, innovate, and foster the true investment in giving our customers the best RV experience. We take pride in our craftmanship from concept to completion by offering limited floorplans with standard features. Our ever-growing product line of brands are each artfully designed and named with meaning. EASTTOWESTRV.COM | NIAGARATRAILERS.COM WE INVITE YOU TO EXPERIENCE EAST TO WEST! Untitled-2 1Untitled-2 12025-12-15 4:28 PM2025-12-15 4:28 PMRV LIFESTYLE | VOLUME 54 NUMBER 3 www.rvlifemag.com 6 A properly connected equalizing hitch is a simple but amazingly effective piece of equipment. It transfers about 50% of the trailer’s hitch weight to the front wheels of the tow vehicle. The effect of transferring this weight creates an improvement in stability, ride comfort and safety that are hard to over emphasize. Every full size trailer should be connected with one but even some smaller trailers like hardtops tow much better with an equalizing hitch. Hitches have a terminology all their own – here are some of the key components. 1. The “receiver or platform” is the only portion that is permanently attached to the tow vehicle. It has to be strong enough to transmit the torque created by the equalizing hitch. 2. Next you need a section of 2” solid steel to slide into the receiver this portion can be a simple section of straight 2xs steel bar for welded hitches or an “L” Shaped assembly with a series of holes for bolt together hitches. This portion is called the “Shank”. 3. Attached to the shank is the “Ball Mount” This can be welded or bolted to the shank depending on the design. This is where most hitch installations go wrong the height and angle of the ball mount are critical to maximize handling stability. HITCH HINTS BY ANDY THOMSON UNDERSTANDING THE EQUALIZING HITCH… A PROPERLY ADJUSTED EQUALIZING HITCH MAKES TOWING A BREEZE! Hitch Hints 54-3.indd 6Hitch Hints 54-3.indd 62025-12-15 2:21 PM2025-12-15 2:21 PM R R RV SURGE PROTECTOR hughesautoformers.com FREE BLUETOOTH APP PATENTED Bluetooth connectiv- ity allows an RV owner to monitor live campground power condi- tions on their smartphone using the free easy-to-use mobile app. ALL-IN-ONE SOLUTION! OF POWER SURGES © 2023 Hughes Autoformers, LLC ALWAYS WATCHING. ALWAYS ALERT. RV Owners never know when trouble may spike. Unpredictable lightning and/or poorly wired campgrounds are always a risk. The best way to protect your assets is with a Power Watchdog. It’s the least expensive security investment you will ever make, and it will be your RV’s best friend! • Surge/spike protection, voltage booster, and line circuit analyzer functions. Plug it in, read the LED lights – all green means you are good, and your Power Watchdog is protecting your family and your valuable RV electronics. • No other surge protector offers a combination of a replaceable surge module and a wireless app/data function. • Power Watchdogs have an industry high Joule rating. • ETL Certified to Canadian and UL Standards. • Limited Lifetime Warranty applies to Canada and USA. • All Power Watchdog surge protectors are RV WHISPER compatible (also exclusive) and allows a customer to remotely monitor their RV’s power (from miles away). It’s perfect for pet owners or people with RVs in storage. • PWD units are less expensive than direct competitors but come with more features. 8.125x10.875_Hughes_RVDealerNews-CAN_NOV2022_AD#1.indd 18.125x10.875_Hughes_RVLifestyle-CAN_JAN 2023_AD#1.indd 111/10/22 4:04 PM11/10/22 4:04 PMRV LIFESTYLE | VOLUME 54 NUMBER 3 www.rvlifemag.com 8 4. The “Torsion or Spring Bars” are the portions of the hitch that do the work of distributing the weight forward. They need to be firm enough to transfer the weight yet still have enough movement to allow the combination to drive through dips up ramps etc. Here you can see the torsion bars have some arc while still transmitting weight properly to the front wheels. Other important elements that make this set up work very well are that the ball is close to the back of the car, there is good rearward angle on the ball mount and the height is set properly so that the trailer sits level when the car is level. Also shown in this picture is a “Friction Sway Control”. This is not nearly as important as the weight distribution portion of the hitch and it is not a substitute for weight distribution. Still they are not expensive and well worth having on most combinations. Generally you add 2 if the trailer is over 25’ long. Inside the control are brake linings that squeeze on the bar as the combination turns. Just for some contrast here is a hitch that is not set up properly. 1. First of all the hitch receiver is not strong enough you can see here how it has been bent upwards at the back of the receiver tube. 2. The ball is much further from the bumper than necessary which makes it harder to transfer weight, puts additional strain on the receiver and gives the trailer more leverage over the tow vehicle side to side. 3. In this case the Ball Mount and Shank were originally bolted together square instead of with a rearward angle. Now with the bending of the receiver the angle is now forward (Yellow Line) which is opposite the rearward tilt it should have (Red Line). 4. Most people have most of their hardware for their equalizing hitch system but very few are properly connected. For the little additional effort it takes to set it up right the trade off in driving ease and safety are well worth while. Andy For more information on ball mount angles, please see this article: www.rvlifemag.com/ understanding-the- equalizing-hitch/ For the best tutorial on setting up a weight distributing hitch, please see this article: www.rvlifemag.com/ how-to-set-up-a-weight- distributing-hitch-system/ HITCH HINTS BY ANDY THOMSON Hitch Hints 54-3.indd 8Hitch Hints 54-3.indd 82025-12-15 2:21 PM2025-12-15 2:21 PMLife® Aviva Lifestyle® Insurance RV CS-25-12424_RV Magazine Ad_outline.indd 1CS-25-12424_RV Magazine Ad_outline.indd 12025-12-01 4:58 PM2025-12-01 4:58 PMNext >