BY DAVE BESSMER

OK, admit it. Part of the fun of being an RV enthusiast is in keeping an eye out for all the new features and options the manufacturers keep coming out with in the quest to market the perfect rig.

Keeping up with all the new gadgets and goodies can become an obsession. Manufacturers know this about you, and they engage in fiendish plotting to ensure that, no matter how much effort you put into keeping your rig looking showroom-new, sooner or later you’ll start to feel that it has become obsolete, in light of all the bells and whistles available on those new babies.
And that’s good. Invention keeps the wheels of commerce turning. It keeps freelance writers off welfare. And it keeps RVers like you ever happier with their chosen lifestyle.
Which brings me to the point of this article, which is to review some of the new features Holiday Rambler has come up with on their 2002 travel trailers and fifth wheel to entice you to drop by your local dealership.

Central water management system

Holiday Rambler did everybody a big favor this year by centralizing all the fresh-water and holding-tank functions in one lighted bay. Fills and controls are set in a panel that contains all the instructions you need for the various functions.

Those functions include filling your freshwater tanks from either pressurized or non-pressurized sources, winterizing, and emptying and flushing holding tanks.

Across the top of the panel are three fresh-water hose fittings. One is for the sewer flush. Another is for city water. And the middle one is for bucket (or gravity) fill and winterizing. This last feature lets you add water from a bucket or portable tank when you’re not near city water – a feature that has been missing from most RVs for years. It also makes winterizing easier. The panel also includes a switch for the water pump so you don’t have to shout signals to someone inside the coach.

Below the three hookups are three valve handles, which you will set to different positions for city-water hookup, city-water tank fill, non-pressurized fill and winterizing. These valves are clearly labeled and the panel has complete, easy-to-follow instructions for valve settings.

The water-heater bypass valves are also on the control panel, along with instructions.

At the bottom of the enclosure are three holding-tank gate-valve controls, labeled SEWAGE WATER TANK DRAIN, BATH WATER TANK DRAIN and KITCHEN WATER TANK DRAIN. (Some models have only two holding tanks, and therefore only two gate valves.)

Also, the system includes a hand-held shower sprayer with hot- and cold-water controls. The bottom of the enclosure has a drip tray molded in to catch water in the event a hose fitting drips.

Nev-R-Lube axles

Lubricating axle bearings has always been something you did at least once a year, if you were smart. Now you can spend that time practicing chip shots in the back yard. 2002 Holiday Rambler travel trailers and fifth wheels come with Dexter axles equipped with permanently sealed and lubricated Nev-R-Lube™ bearings.

These bearings are pre-adjusted at the factory. There’s no need to relubricate, repack or replace seals. Nev-R-Lube bearings carry a five-year, 100,000-mile limited warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. (One note: You do need to inspect your axles periodically as before.)
Exterior entertainment center option

Tired of those uppity motorhome owners flaunting their exterior entertainment systems? Flaunt back. Ask for the optional built-in exterior AM/FM/CD player on your travel trailer or fifth wheel. Then you can spin your favorite tunes or catch a baseball game while relaxing under your awning – without having to make the interior of your rig unlivable by turning indoor stereo volume to “stun.”

Roll-out storage tray for fifth wheels

Here’s another convenience from the world of motorhomes. Fifth wheel buyers can now option a heavy-duty roll-out tray that makes it easy to stow and retrieve heavy gear in the main exterior storage area of your rig. The tray has felt carpeting and rolls on heavy-duty metal casters.

Shorten the leash with the new camping convenience group

Does your crew tend to scatter all over the campground? Are you tired of having to form a scouting party to retrieve dad from the bait shop and the kids from the beach when it’s time for lunch? Then order your new Holiday Rambler with the camping convenience group. It includes four two-way radios with a recharging station built into your entertainment center. This option also includes a rechargeable flashlight and a power cord reel—all in bright yellow so you can find them when the kids, or dad, leave them lying around.

Is the average Holiday Rambler owner getting taller?

I don’t know the answer to that, but Holiday Rambler designers have certainly allowed for taller folks this year.

Kitchen counters have been raised to 36 inches, a more convenient and comfortable working height for most of us, and one that allows for a bit more storage space in the cabinets below. They’ve also increased the depth of the “toe kicks”—the slots underneath the cabinets that allow you to cozy up to the counter without splaying your feet—indicating that maybe RVing Americans are becoming more Bozo-like, pedally speaking. All I know is that, with the higher counters, the deeper toe-kicks won’t do me any good until I lose some inches around the middle.

In another ergonomic improvement, the living-room slideouts on fifth wheels now have six feet, one inch of headroom. The fiberglass caps have been redesigned to accommodate the taller slide-out, and the enclosure now has overhead cabinets as well.

Bike rack option

One of the coolest things about Holiday Rambler fifth wheels is that beautiful rear cap design with the integrated bumper. However some people actually miss that ugly old bumper, mainly those who mounted a bicycle rack on it.

So Holiday Rambler has a solution: a new bike rack option from Hidden Hitch. The removable rack holds three bicycles. It mounts on a device attached to the rear frame, underneath the rig, that resembles a trailer hitch receiver, the difference being that it is of a diameter not standard for trailer hitches.

More new features by model line

PRESIDENTIAL FIFTH WHEELS
There’s a substantial list of new standard features on 2002 Presidential fifth wheels, many of them former options. These include chrome wheels, stabilizer jacks, a rear ladder, a new 30-inch space-saver microwave, raised-panel hardwood inserts in the refrigerator door, a built-in kitchen trash can, roll-out pantry, exterior security lights, fluorescent ceiling lights, a ceiling fan, and a tinted skylight in the bathroom.

PRESIDENTIAL TRAVEL TRAILERS
This is a new line-up for 2002, representing an upgrade from the former Aluma-Lite line. Some of the features added in the course of the upgrade are as follows.

The vinyl padded ceiling, like that in Presidential fifth wheels, is easier to clean and provides added insulation value to the nine-layer ceiling structure. An electronically tuned AM/FM/CD/cassette system is standard. So are raised-panel hardwood refrigerator door inserts and solid-surface countertops. You get the roll-out pantry, fluorescent ceiling lights and bath skylight just as on the fifth wheels.

ALUMASCAPE FIFTH WHEELS AND TRAVEL TRAILERS
Again, several items that were optional are now standard: power landing jacks (fifth wheels), electronically tuned AM/FM/CD player, raised-panel hardwood cabinet doors and refrigerator door inserts, and a tinted skylight in the bath. The new roll-out pantry is an option.
I hope this article has piqued your curiosity about the 2002 towable line-up from Holiday Rambler. Certainly there’s something in here you never knew you needed, but now can’t do without. Next time you’re driving past your local Holiday Rambler dealer, maybe you can stop in and check out all the new goodies for yourself.