If you’ve purchased our Ultimate RV Parks and Campgrounds Directory, you can now log into our store site using your old CoolRVToyz.com credentials to download your updates. Everything should be transferred to the new store site, but if you run into problems, let me know so we can correct any issues.

We’ve changed the Internet DNS to get CoolRVToyz.com to point to the new site, but that may take as much as several days to make its way all through the internet. In the meantime, to visit the new site you can go to CoolRVToys.com (with an “S” instead of a “Z”). Eventually, both links will bring up the same site.

We’ve migrated all accounts over to the new site, so you should be able to log into the new site using your old CoolRVToyz account information.  Once logged in, click MY ACCOUNT, and then click MY DOWNLOADABLE PRODUCTS in the navigation menu on the left.  There is where you’ll find your free updates for download.  If you have troubles getting in, please contact us at sales@coolrvstore.com and we’ll assist you in getting started with the new site.

Of course www.CoolRVToyz.com will still be around and will serve as our blog site.  Come by and read the writings of some of the most interesting people in the RV industry.  Oh, and I even write something once in a while too.

We’ve been busy this Summer!

Our Fall update is finally ready and we’re very proud of this one.  Not only is it bigger, it is a lot better!  Here are just a few of the new features available in this update:

• Over 10,000 new parks and services bringing the total well above 60,000 entries,
• Improved automated geocoding.  We’ve contracted with StrikeIron for our automated geocoding and our entries are now more accurate than ever.
• Visual verification project is underway.  We’ve had some very special custom software written that allows us to start visually verifying EVERY campground in our database.  This project is going to take some time and we’re about 5% through all the parks with this release.  Read more about this process below.
• More campground information than ever before.  We now have CoolRVParkz.com fully operational and that allows the campgrounds themselves to start updating our database with tons of information.  This release has a lot more information than any previous release.  Read more about CoolRVParkz.com and what it offers below.
• Better information display for Garmin Nuvi 6xx and 8xx series GPS units.  Now, all the same information the other Garmin units enjoyed on their “more” screen is also available to users of these great GPS models.
• Updates are now free for life!  That’s right, no more expiration dates.  Regardless of when you became a customer you can now log in and download your updates for life at no additional cost!

If you’re already a customer, log into our new web store at CoolRVStore.com today and get your free update.

If you’re not a customer yet, now is a better time than ever to get the largest, most accurate and most complete RV Parks, Campgrounds and Services Directory for your GPS and Trip Planning Software.  Just go to CoolRVStore.com for all the details.

Why, though, is this grand-scale amassing of outdoor camping supplies actually the essence of family camping? The answer lies in the mind of the camper, whose psychological state perceives a reality of me, armed with outdoor camping supplies, verses the magnificent great outdoors, armed with the elements of unpredictability and might. Indeed, there is a sense of logic in this internal pull, as what is a 5′5″ 185 pound camper to do should a big bad storm interrogate his vigor? Flight says, “Run like the wind, don’t you dare look back, and next time get yourself a room at the Hyatt!” Meanwhile, fight calmly says, “Get your list in order camper, remember everything you learned in the scouts, don’t forget a thing, and we’ll take on the big bad wilderness, enjoying the heck out of every beautiful moment of it.”

Are you the camper of flight or the camper of fight? If you are the camper of flight, march straight to the nearest mirror, look yourself square in the eye and repeat after me, “I will plan, amass, enjoy, and prepare to become the next scout-worthy fighting camper!” You can do this, I promise you, as I have seen 80-year-old, pink haired, musk smelling little old ladies compile lists and attitudes that morph them into Godzilla style, biker worthy, tough fighting warriors who go camping outdoors while taking on lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!). All it takes is a little willingness to sit at the feet of dedicated, fighting family campers in order to learn what makes them so successful.

Any fighting camper will tell you that a good list of outdoor camping supplies goes a long way in ensuring a pleasurable and memorable camping experience, an experience free of forgetfulness, fear, or worry. In order to learn from these experts, find ten successful, fighting, dedicated, recreational family campers to interview in day-to-day life, at a camping store, on internet forums, or through friends; and make sure to grill them on everything that they know about the sport of camping, especially as it pertains to gathering camping supplies.

In your interviews, you will likely hear some funny camping stories, tales of someone using poison ivy instead of toilet paper, or even stories of a petite Scottish man screaming, doing jumping jacks, and throwing rocks on top of a mountain to chase away a big black bear. In these stories you will find laughter, advice, and wisdom for your camping list, along with an understanding of “fight,” and discovery of the essence of family camping. Then, with joy in your heart, you too can experience the glee of pulling out of the driveway in your jam packed car, ready to take on nature as you bask in the beauty of the great outdoors.

You can find your run-of-the-mill RV parks in the Walt Disney World area, the type you usually stay at that are full of friendly folk and offer gratifying company with bare minimum accommodations in terms of bathrooms, showers, entertainment, and services. If your budget is meek, say $1,000 or so for a week, you can stay in one of the several RV parks in the Kissimmee area, and visit the Walt Disney World theme parks without causing your family to go into crippling debt and incur financial hardship, a very important consideration in difficult economic times. Your children will still bounce up and down like basketballs when you inform them of your upcoming Disney vacation, they will still get magical smiles on their sweet faces when they see Mickey and friends, they will still get bragging rights with their friends about their fantabulous vacation to Walt Disney World, and perhaps most importantly, they will still get to show off those adorable Mickey ears you will buy them at one of the well-stocked shiny tourist shops inside the park. Mission accomplished.

If, however, you are looking for something more exceptional in the way of RV parks and your budget is closer to $2,000 than $1,000, you should know that the RV park of all RV parks exists as part of the Disney empire itself and is called, “Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground.” You have not fully explored and discovered RV parks until you have camped at this jewel of a spot with your family (pets included) and seen the sparkling clean shower and bathroom facilities, participated in the Chip-N-Dale campfire singing, experienced horseback riding, boat rentals, hiking, swimming, and the most attentive customer service you will find anywhere. If all RV parks were like this, none of us would stay in hotels, and we might not even own homes, as we would all set up camp and lead a perfectly serene and cheerful existence, happily ever after.

When you tell your children that you are staying at the RV park of all RV parks on your trip to Walt Disney World, they might not bat an eyelash, but when you tell them that you are staying at Disney itself and that it will be Disney immersion 24-hours a day for the entire trip, they are likely to pass out from the sheer shock and excitement of it all. As a family, you will take full advantage of the free transportation to all of the theme parks so that your children can get photo ops with the Disney characters, ride on the rides, eat the food, and explore all the merriment that is to be had. After a long day, you’ll gleefully head back to camp where you will all collapse, amazed at all of the joy that staying at Fort Wilderness, the RV park of all RV parks, has brought to you on your Disney vacation, all while keeping your fragile pocketbook intact.