268-44 Crawford Crescent, Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0 Publications Mail Agreement # 43638025 Campground DirectoryDirectory 20202020 Plus: CAMPSITE Cooking HITCH Hints RV Tips and more! OVER 160,000 CANADIAN CAMPSITES COAST TO COAST! WCamping WITH KIDS DESTINATION: Stratford! GUIDE FOR Tenters RV’ers Hikers 10 COOL NEW RVs IN CLU DING Choosing a Campsite HOT CAMPSITE PRODUCTS! Camping in “Covid Mode” CLEANING AND DISINFECTING YOUR RV Vol. 49 No. 3 www.rvlifemag.com $9.95 SPECIAL ANNUAL EDITIONBEST FIFTH WHEELSBEST TOY HAULERSDEALER AWARD 5X At Grand Design our goal is simple... We strive for nothing less than customers for life and we would be honored to welcome you to the Grand Design RV Family. GrandDesignRV.com/RVLifestyle We love our customers and they love us back. Dealers rate all Grand Design products at the top of the entire industry in reliability, quality, service, and warranty.Follow us on Facebook! @ RVLifestyleMagazine Follow us on Instagram! @rvlifestylemagazine 3 Volume 49 Number 3 | RV Lifestyle ON THE COVER The RV Class of 2020 includes vehicles to suit every family’s needs and budget! For more information please visit our website at www.rvlifemag.comFollow us on Facebook! www.facebook.com/RVLifestyleMagazine How to use the directory D1 Alberta D2 British Columbia D17 Manitoba D37 New Brunswick D43 Newfoundland D48 Northwest Territories D51 Nova Scotia D52 Ontario D57 Prince Edward Island D83 Quebec D85 Saskatchewan D107 Yukon Territories D118 Campground Update Form D120 2020 Canadian Campground Directory Departments 6 HITCH HINTS ~ Andy Thomson Towing with a Uni-Body Vehicle. 12 RV TIPS ~ Garth Cane The evolution of RV batteries. 19 THE COOKING LADIES ~ Phyllis Hinz and Lamont Mackay Nature Meets Innovation in a Crabapple Orchard. 22 COOL NEW RVS FOR 2020 Our Road Test Teams check out some of this year’s most interesting RV models. Features 30 CHOOSING A CAMPSITE How to pick your perfect place in paradise. 39 “NEW NORMAL” CAMPING Coping with the pandemic – a “social distancing” camping code. 43 HEALTH AND SAFETY Disinfecting Your RV – tips from the experts at Purifyd. 47 MEDIC ALERT What you need to know to avoid Lyme Disease. 50 HOT NEW RV ACCESSORIES Here’s how to equip your RV and campsite. Destinations 34 STRATFORD FOR ALL SEASONS! Discover Stratford Ontario with The Cooking Ladies. Special Report 58 CAMPING WITH KIDS Keeping the younger generation interested, entertained and inspired! CONTENTSCAMPGROUND DIRECTORY VOL. 49 NO. 34 RV Lifestyle | Volume 49 Number 3 Welcome to the RV experi- ence – a new world of family vacation freedom, where your post-pandemic ‘new normal’ lifestyle is not only the safest way to travel, it is the most affordable and family-friendly vacation alternative available today. The 49th Annual Canadian Campground Directory that you hold in your hands is a guide to more than 4,000 campgrounds and RV resorts across Canada. RV Lifestyle Magazine has been compiling this special annual edition since 1971, and over the years, we have had the pleasure of helping millions of Canadian families pick that perfect place in paradise to match their vacation life- style. Whether you camp in a tent, a travel trailer, a motorhome, or a luxury park model trailer, there is a campsite waiting for you. With a regular issue of RV Lifestyle Magazine wrapped around your Canadian Campground Directory, you can enjoy all the key features of the magazine – expert content covering RV Tips, towing techniques, and gourmet cooking at the campsite. While we make every effort to assure that the annual Canadian Campground Directory issue includes all the campgrounds and RV resorts in Canada, the task is never-ending – so there may be some listings that should be updated. If you encounter parks where the listings require updating, please take a minute to let us know, or point out to the campground operator that there is an update form on page D120 of this issue. Many of the Canadian campgrounds, RV dealers, and RV manufacturers sup- port this issue, making it possible for us to publish the Canadian Campground Directory and distribute it at a reason- able price. Please consider this when you search for a campground or shop for an RV or related products. For a world of information on the RV experience, and a portal to the full range of RVs, parts, accessories, and destinations, visit our website at www.rvlifemag.com and check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ RVLifestyleMagazine. The RV Lifestyle Magazine Canadian Campground Directory is one of seven issues published each year. You can sign up to enjoy each issue of the magazine delivered to the comfort of your home by referring to our special subscription offer on page 57, or visit the website at www.rvlifemag.com and click on the “subscribe” link. For your convenience, all current issues of RV Lifestyle Magazine, and a selection of archived issues, are avail- able in digital format – this feature is FREE with your print edition subscrip- tion. If you are a subscriber, but you have not yet discovered the digital edi- tion, please send an e-mail to editor@ rvlifemag.com requesting access to the subscriber’s digital edition website. WELCOME TO THE RV EXPERIENCE – IT’S THE SAFEST WAY TO TRAVEL! Publisher’s MESSAGE William E. Taylor, Publisher volume 49 number 3 Publisher: WILLIAM E. TAYLOR bill@rvlifemag.com Group Publisher: MELANIE TAYLOR-WALLIS melanie@rvlifemag.com Editorial Director: NORM ROSEN nrosen@rvlifemag.com Assisstant Editor: MARNEY CARMICHAEL mcarmichael@taylorpublishinggroup.com Technical Editors: GARTH CANE info@rvlifemag.com Art/Production Manager: GISELLE BANSAL Design: TAMARA TAYLOR Contributing Writers: PHYLLIS HINZ LAMONT MACKAY JAMES STONESS ANDY THOMSON JAMIE RUSSELL 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, FRANK HONE 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 (prices include G.S.T.) 1 year (7 issues) $30: 2 years (14 issues) $45. U.S. subscriptions:1 year (7 issues) $40 US. Other: 1 year (7 issues) $75 CDN. Single copies are $6.95 for regular issues, and $9.95 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 post- age and will be handled with reasonable care. The publisher assumes no responsibility for return of safety of artwork, pho- tographs, or manuscripts. Camping Canada Magazine reserves the right to refuse any and all advertising and disclaims all responsibilities for claims or statements of facts made by its advertisers or inde- pendent columnists. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT #43638025 Undeliverables to: 268 - 44 Crawford Crescent, Campbellville, Ontario L0P 1B0 MONTREAL, QUEBEC © 2020 CAMPING CANADA MAGAZINE PRINTED IN CANADA3 YEAR WARRANTYRV Lifestyle | Volume 49 Number 3 www.rvlifemag.com HITCH HINTS by Andy Thomson W 6 Sometimes you come across a figure from history and won- der how you had never heard of them. One of the first advertising agencies in New York was owned by Barron Gift Collier, born in Memphis in 1873. He was a mil- lionaire by the age of 30. He and his wife spent their honeymoon in Fort Myers Florida. They fell in love with South West Florida and he eventu- ally became the largest landowner and developer in Florida. Collier had a love of cars that he passed down to his heirs, and today, in Naples Florida (In Collier County) you can visit The Revs Institute - an amazing car museum. The museum is configured to help explore the his- tory of cars and their creators, with more than 2,000,000 historical records and photos, and it is associated with Stanford University. Another unique feature of The Revs Institute is that all the cars are driven on average at least once a year, and they are some- times used for movie shoots and simi- lar projects. You really should visit sometime, but you must reserve your tickets ahead of time. The website is www.revsinstitute.org While there are many fascinat- ing cars at the museum, one really intrigued me - a 1927 Lancia Lambda. I often have to try to explain to people why it is so important to get indepen- dent suspension when possible, that a unit body, or “unibody”, is better for towing than a body and frame vehicle, and how much safer a lower centre of gravity is. My impression was always that independent suspension was not developed until the 1930s, and that unibody structures did not arrive until the 1940s. However, both innovations were part of the 1927 Lambda. It was, as legends go, a stormy sea crossing that inspired Italian automotive pioneer Vincenzo Lancia to envision a car with a stronger and lighter chassis/ body “unit”. During that sea crossing, Lancia recognized the superior rigidity of the ocean liner’s hull compared to the inherent flexibility in the typical 1920’s car, which had a flimsy body bolted to a whippy ladder frame. Lancia soon commissioned his trust- ed lead engineer Battista Falchetto to Andy Thomson has been writing for RV Lifestyle Magazine for more than 25 years. He also owns and operates Can-Am RV Centre located in London, ON. continued on page 8 REFLECTIONS ON TOWING WITH A UNI-BODY VEHICLE INSPIRED BY A VISIT TO THE REVS The 1927 Lancia Lambda – the first vehicle with a unit body design coupled with a practical independent front suspension system.Two Clubhouses Two Heated Pools Boat Rentals On Lake Simcoe Fuel Dock Gas & Diesel Playground Wi Pet Friendly Hookups 30 & 50 amp w w w .k ra t esmarina.com 289.803.0097 10 min North of 404 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K RV lifestylefixed.pdf 1 2019-02-11 3:01 PMHITCH HINTS by Andy Thomson W 8 continued from page 6 RV Lifestyle | Volume 49 Number 3 www.rvlifemag.com translate his concept into a workable unit body design coupled with a practi- cal independent front suspension sys- tem. (Interesting that even in 1927 they recognized the superiority of indepen- dent suspension). Falchetto designed novel hydraulic dampers into the sus- pension, which are the forerunners of the modern shock absorber. The car was called Lambda and was so much lighter and lower than other cars of the time that a smaller engine could be used. They designed a compact 2120 CC V4 with overhead camshafts which was able to turn 3250 RPM - a huge number for that era. The Lambda was a remarkable per- former with the ability to negotiate a winding road faster than pretty much any car built previously. Lambdas fin- ished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the first run- ning of the Mille Miglia, the famous 1000-mile road race in Italy. HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO TOWING A TRAILER? Lancia had to develop the unit body to make independent suspension worth- while. If you have a large three leg table, you can lift any one leg off the ground, and you won’t twist the table. However, if the table has four legs, when you lift one leg you will twist the table unless the table is stiff enough not to bend. This is why independent rear suspension is not a big asset on a typi- cal pickup truck. The body structure ends at the back of the cab, the frame rails from there back have a lot of flex. Since the rear suspension stance of the truck is only 38” wide the truck is more like a three-legged table. If you were to use independent suspension the extra 29” of suspension stance would just cause more frame flex. The suspension needs that solid structure to push and pull against. You can actually see this in a truck on a rough road, look in the rear-view mirror as you go over bumps and you can see the box moving around in relation to the cab. In the 1970s and ‘80s most trailer towing was done with full size cars. Chrysler cars evolved to unit body construction in 1956 but all other full- size cars were still body on frame. In 1973 cars got collapsible bumpers to absorb minor accidents, and to hide the bumper movement they had soft plastic trim pieces between the body work and bumpers. The problem for towing was that the trim pieces were fastened to the body, but the bumper was fastened to the frame. In between the body and frame were rubber body mounts. When you applied pressure to the weight dis- tribution bars of your equalizing hitch Lancia Lead Engineer Battista Falchetto designed novel hydraulic dampers into the suspension, which are the forerunners of the modern shock absorber. Notice how low and sleek the Lancia is, compared to this 1929 Sunbeam that weighed twice as much.Built on the Ford Transit 2500 & 3500 chassis, the all new Ontour 2.0/2.2 feature the popular 3.5L EcoBoost® V6 engine, 6-speed SelectShift® transmission, lane keeping alert and other cab conveniences. Offering more headroom, the largest bathroom (2.2), and longest bed in our Class B lineup, the Ontour also comes equipped standard with a solar package to extend dry camping times. With our extensive list of standard features, exceptional craftsmanship and 5-Year Freedom Warranty, it’s easy to see why Pleasure-Way has received 9 consecutive RVDA Quality Circle awards! STANDARD FEATURES • 200/300 WATT SOLAR PACKAGE • 78" OF HEADROOM • 68W X 77"/79L" REAR BED • 12V REFRIGERATOR • 2000 WATT PURE-SINE WAVE INVERTER • DUAL 100AH LITHIUM COACH BATTERIES • DUAL 7" TOUCHSCREENS • 24" SMART LED TV W/ BOSE® SOUNDBAR www.pleasureway.com ONTOUR 2.0ONTOUR 2.2 Proud recipient of 9 consecutive RVDA Quality Circle Awards.Next >