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The allure of the open road is strong in the United States, where highways can snake through breathtaking landscapes. Recreational vehicles (RVs) make adventuring easy but powering portable homes with diesel generators is a poor solution for today’s travelers. Briter Products President Avanti Lalwani tells pv magazine how her company is putting solar on wheels.

October 29, 2024
Matthew Lynas

From pv magazine 10/24

There are more than 11 million RVs in the United States, each with different energy needs. The latest data from the RV Industry Association suggests demand for RV-related products should be at an all-time high.

In South Bend, Indiana, one manufacturer is offering bespoke solar and energy storage solutions to provide clean power without diesel. Briter Products assembles solar modules for RVs as well as battery storage and inverters – a power plant on wheels.

Briter assembles and sells solar modules for RV rooftops; has its branded lithium ferro-phosphate (LFP) 12 V, 100 A batteries, with a display showing state of charge; and stocks other RV-related products such as bunk ladders and collision avoidance equipment. What sets the company apart is its unique approach to building bespoke RV energy systems.

Tailor made

Briter Products President Avanti Lalwani told pv magazine that the company customizes solar energy systems to the specific needs of each RV user – from weekend campers to those who live in their RVs full time.

The solar and storage systems offered by Briter range from a single rooftop module, intended to charge a typical 12 V battery system, all the way up to a rooftop array with 1.2 kW to 2 kW capacity, integrated with four LFP batteries in a compartment, enough to provide “complete power independence” in most parts of the United States, according to Lalwani.

“We avoid one-size-fits-all generic installations. We take the time to gather knowledge and information about the RV itself,” said Lalwani. “We take not just the individual’s travel plan, we want to know their personal needs, and their RV hopes and expectations. We take their onboard component tree and then configure to support their travel goals. In my mind, it’s very close to a tailor-fitted shirt. Everybody’s arm length is just slightly different. Everybody’s neck size is different. It’s the same thing with refrigeration inside an RV, it’s wildly different. One appliance might take 2 A DC [direct-current] and then another one might take up to 100 A DC in one residential style refrigerator. So everything is made bespoke to each individual owner and the power systems.”

The right balance

At the heart of that approach is rigorous balance-of-system testing, according to Lalwani. This is often carried out with the customer in situ – Briter Products encourages potential buyers to test their power system at the company’s headquarters. It also creates an opportunity for Briter Products to educate customers on issues such as PV wiring and how it differs from a typical RV electrical system, as Lalwani explained.

“There is a lack of understanding in our field about photovoltaics,” she said. “One of the big challenges we’re finding is different groups not using photovoltaic wire, not understanding the changes in internal resistance with different components or thinking ‘wire is wire’ and so use any wire.”

“Given that RV roofs are made of entirely different materials than roofing materials for buildings and the heat generated by the panels and wires on the roof, particularly if mistakenly mounted directly to the roof – in direct hot sunlight, panels and wires can be as hot as [71 C] – failing to use PV wire can cause significant roof degradation.

“That’s a really big challenge and is the reason we implemented a program where we encourage customers to camp at our facility.”

Road ready

In the quest for greater efficiency, Briter Products operates a semi-automated production line to assemble its own solar modules, which are tested for efficiency on site. It’s not the cheapest way to do things – although there is some tax support on offer for renewables manufacturing through the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – but it’s a worthwhile approach, according to Lalwani, who said RV installations can be particularly vulnerable to faults such as microcracking.

“RVs are traveling thousands and thousands of miles every year and the vibration [when driving on] our highway system, and the constant change in environment and temperature, requires a heavier panel,” she said. “It requires a panel with more robust material and we want to control that, it’s quite critical.

“When we install solar panels on people’s RVs, we always include vibration dampening rubber pads so that they’re minimally exposed to that in the beginning. We’ve got a limited amount of real estate up on that RV roof so we have to make sure our solar panels really are producing at the highest possible level without the beginnings of microcracking and loss of power.”

State support

The IRA isn’t the only government intervention that’s good for Briter Products. Potential legislation prohibiting the use of diesel generators could increase demand for zero-emission power solutions, as Lalwani explained.

“Many times in the United States, California leads in terms of innovation. To improve air quality the California Air Resources Board recently passed ordinance laws prohibiting generator use throughout the state,” said the Briter chief. “What we’re finding is solar and lithium battery systems allow RVers to camp out indefinitely in California without the need of shore power and without the need for a [diesel] generator.”

Lalwani added that 16 other US states are considering similar legislation, which if passed will impact RV owners who had no interest in solar before.

“As the government increases its need for environmental protections, we’re seeing people that wouldn’t really be interested in solar, wouldn’t be interested in lithium iron-phosphate batteries, they’re now saying ‘well I still want to camp’,” she said.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and do not necessarily reflect those held by pv magazine.

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.

Middlebury, Ind. – WEBWIRE – Monday, October 28, 2024

The Jayco Family of Companies has announced that the RV Technical Institute (RVTI) has now qualified training provided by the RV manufacturer to count towards Level 3 Certification.This training focuses on the Jayco, Entegra Coach, Highland Ridge RV and Starcraft RV brands of recreational vehicles.

Level 3 training is for RV technicians to develop and increase skills sets on specific types of components. Technicians will depart trainings with the ability to perform advanced diagnostics, troubleshooting, and repairs on those systems and components. In Level 3, there are 5 areas of specialty training technicians can pursue Electrical, Chassis, Electronics, Appliance and Slideout.

To qualify and remain certified in a Level 3 Specialty a technician must successfully pass Level 1 and 2 written and skill-based (practical) exams.The technician must attend and pass the number of approved training hours within five years for each specialty category.Certification is good for 5 years. Over this period, the technician must also acquire 24 hours of continuing education credits (CEUs) of approved hands-on or online trainings. 8 of the 24 hours of CEUs must be directly related to the specialty held.

RVTI is excited to welcome Jayco as one of the newest additions to our Level 3 training program, stated Justin Rickett, Senior Manager of Recruiting RV Technical Institute. The recent approval of their Jayco Service School training offers a unique opportunity for certified RVTI technicians to receive credit hours covering several Level 3 Specialties, in one class. We are excited about this approval and appreciate their partnership with RVTI.

About Jayco Family of Companies

The Jayco Family of Companies manufactures and markets towable and motorized RVs through its Jayco, Starcraft RV, Entegra Coach, and Highland Ridge RV divisions.Products are manufactured in facilities in Middlebury, Indiana; Twin Falls, Idaho; and Shipshewana, Indiana.Jayco was started in 1968 and continues to operate on the same principles focusing on quality, customers and family.For more information about Jayco, Inc. or its products, call 1-800-RV-JAYCO, visit jaycofamily.com, or write to Jayco at PO Box 460, Middlebury, Indiana 46540.

About the RV Technical Institute

The RV Technical Institute was created as part of an initiative by the RV Industry Association (RVIA) Board of Directors to develop a comprehensive strategic plan and provided a multi-million-dollar investment to address RV owner satisfaction by creating a supporting foundation to solve the RV industrys shortage of trained technicians and to implement metrics to track the RV customer experience. For more information about RVTI you can contact 574-549-9080 or by email RVTI-info@rvti.org

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Nova Scotia

After spending the winter in their recreational vehicles because they couldn’t find affordable housing options, people who took part in a Dartmouth pilot program are calling for a larger, more permanent space for people who live in RVs.

A Dartmouth pilot program opened 12 camping spaces for people to live in RVs through the winter

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida—Island Hospitality Management announced the launch of IHM Outdoors, marking the inception of a division focused on outdoor and resort hospitality. This encompasses Recreational Vehicle (RV) resorts, vacation rentals, glamping, and other outdoor hospitality options. The formal unveiling of IHM Outdoors follows the transition of five RV Resorts to IHM Outdoors management. The five properties contain approximately 2,000 sites in Chula Vista, California; Paso Robles, California; Santa Claus, Indiana; Larkspur, Colorado; and North Java, New York.

Gregg Forde, president and COO of Island Hospitality, emphasized the strategic significance of this move, stating, “Outdoor hospitality is the fastest-growing segment in the hospitality industry. We have built a dedicated division for outdoor hospitality that capitalizes on IHM’s thirty-five-year experience. We have seen how our long-standing experience in the hotel business has worked to the owner’s advantage once again as we apply proven principles of sales and revenue management together with our implementation of strict cost controls and operational efficiencies we have utilized for years.”

The outdoor hospitality industry sees the majority of privately held properties owned and operated by smaller, single resort owners presenting an opportunity for consolidation and institutionalization in the years to come, providing growth opportunities for IHM Outdoors. From retreats to recreational vehicle resorts and vacation rentals, this sector offers adventures for guests seeking outdoor experiences.

Drew Allison, executive vice president of operations at Island Hospitality, said, “IHM Outdoors is led by a dedicated team exclusively focused on this new venture, utilizing their expertise to seamlessly integrate with our existing infrastructure, delivering results that mirror our best-in-class performance at Island Hospitality.” With a team covering operations, human resources, accounting, revenue management, and sales, Allison said, “We are well-positioned for success with this new division, having filled key leadership roles with internal candidates from Island Hospitality, ensuring a swift ramp-up and consistent delivery of outstanding performance.”

Hayden Schlosser, vice president of operations for this portfolio, commented, “Everything from campfire cookouts and fully operational water park experiences to luxurious weekend getaway packages can be achieved on site.” With Schlosser’s prior experience in managing select-service Marriott hotels, he makes the connection of how the drivers are guest satisfaction and understanding one’s customer. “COVID-era restrictions drove a new clientele into the outdoor hospitality and recreation space, and the focus has been keeping those families and elevating their experience with each successive visit. The rise of outdoor adventure has helped shift focus to ensure we are providing top-of-the-line amenities with a laid-back atmosphere and a sense of community. Whether it is creating co-working spaces for our extended-stay guests, having activities planned every hour, or operating hay rides each evening, it all comes down to creating a community within the resort. It has been an amazing opportunity in our first year in outdoor hospitality, and I am excited to continue to grow this segment for Island Hospitality.”

Island Hospitality aims further to expand its footprint in the outdoor hospitality space and collaborate with institutional ownership groups that share their vision and values. IHM Outdoors is viewed as an opportunity to diversify the portfolio, attract new customer segments and owners, and enhance growth opportunities for IHM associates.

Global Recreational Vehicle Market was valued at USD 58.04 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 69.94 billion by the year 2028, at a CAGR of 2.7%. Analysis Period 2023 – 2030.

A recreational vehicle (RV) is a vehicle that is meant to provide temporary housing and is typically used for camping, seasonal use, pleasure, or travel. The majority of RVs have only one deck, while some customized RVs have two decks. Towable (truck campers, folding camping trailers, and travel trailers) or motorized vehicles are available (motorhomes). Caravans, motorhomes, and campervans, for example, are sometimes referred to as camper trailers and travel trailers, fifth-wheel trailers, popup campers, and truck campers.

Leading Key Players Covered in Recreational Vehicle Market:

ADRIA MOBIL d.o.o, Airstream; Chausson, Coachmen RV a Division of Forest River Inc, Erwin Hymer Group, Forest River Inc, Heartland Recreational Vehicles LLC, Hobby-Wohnwagenwerk Ing. Harald Striewski GmbH, Hymer GmbH & Co. KG, Jayco Inc, K-Z Inc, Lunar Caravans, Nexus RV, Niesmann + Bischoff GmbH, Northwood Manufacturing, Palomino RV, Pilote, Pleasure-Way Industries Ltd

Ask here for sample pages of report@

https://introspectivemarketresearch.com/request/16187

The latest research on the Recreational Vehicle market provides a comprehensive overview of the market for the years 2023 to 2030. It gives a comprehensive picture of the global Recreational Vehicle industry, considering all significant industry trends, market dynamics, competitive landscape, and market analysis tools such as Porter’s five forces analysis, Industry Value chain analysis, and PESTEL analysis of the Recreational Vehicle market. Moreover, the report includes significant chapters such as Patent Analysis, Regulatory Framework, Technology Roadmap, BCG Matrix, Heat Map Analysis, Price Trend Analysis, and Investment Analysis which help to understand the market direction and movement in the current and upcoming years. The report is designed to help readers find information and make decisions that will help them grow their businesses. The study is written with a specific goal in mind: to give business insights and consultancy to help customers make smart business decisions and achieve long-term success in their particular market areas.

Read more: –

https://introspectivemarketresearch.com/reports/recreational-vehicle-market/

The Report Will Contains A Crucial Chapter:

·         Patent Analysis

·         Regulatory Framework

·         Technology Roadmap

·         BCG Matrix

·         Heat Map Analysis

·         Price Trend Analysis

·         Investment Analysis

·         Company Profiling and Competitive Positioning

·         Industry Value Chain Analysis

·         Market Dynamics and Factors

·         Porter’s Five Forces Analysis

·         Pestle Analysis

·         SWOT Analysis

Segmentation Analysis Includes,

By Type:

·         Towable RVs

·         Motorhomes

By Class:

·         Class A

·         Class B

·         Class C

By Application:

·         Domestic

·         Commercial

By Region:

·         North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico)

·         Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Rest of Eastern Europe)

·         Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Spain, Rest of Western Europe)

·         Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, The Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Rest of APAC)

·         Middle East & Africa (Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Israel, South Africa)

·         South America (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of SA)

Introspective Market Research offers comprehensive market research studies, providing valuable insights and strategic guidance to businesses worldwide. We ensure reliability and accuracy in our reports for informed decision-making.

The Recreational Vehicle market research study ensures the highest level of accuracy and reliability as we precisely examine the overall industry, covering all the market fundamentals. By leveraging a wide range of primary and secondary sources, we establish a strong foundation for our findings. Industry-standard tools like Porter’s Five Forces Analysis, SWOT Analysis, and Price Trend Analysis further enhance the comprehensiveness of our evaluation. Our study also discusses the complete Recreational Vehicle market ecosystem, explaining the various market stakeholders, their functions and interdependencies between them. Further, with an emphasis on comprehensive segmentation analysis and geographical coverage, the study enables a profound understanding of regional trends. Moreover, we explore external factors providing a comprehensive view of the market dynamics.

If You Have Any Query of Recreational Vehicle Market Report, Visit:

https://introspectivemarketresearch.com/inquiry/16187

Table of Content:

Chapter 1: Introduction

 1.1 Research Objectives

 1.2 Research Methodology

 1.3 Research Process

 1.4 Scope and Coverage

  1.4.1 Market Definition

  1.4.2 Key Questions Answered

 1.5 Market Segmentation

Chapter 2:Executive Summary

Chapter 3:Growth Opportunities By Segment

 3.1 By Type

 3.2 By Class

 3.3 By Application

Chapter 4: Market Landscape

 4.1 Porter’s Five Forces Analysis

  4.1.1 Bargaining Power of Supplier

  4.1.2 Threat of New Entrants

  4.1.3 Threat of Substitutes

  4.1.4 Competitive Rivalry

  4.1.5 Bargaining Power Among Buyers

 4.2 Industry Value Chain Analysis

 4.3 Market Dynamics

  4.3.1 Drivers

  4.3.2 Restraints

  4.3.3 Opportunities

  4.5.4 Challenges

 4.4 Pestle Analysis

 4.5 Technological Roadmap

 4.6 Regulatory Landscape

 4.7 SWOT Analysis

 4.8 Price Trend Analysis

 4.9 Patent Analysis

 4.10 Analysis of the Impact of Covid-19

  4.10.1 Impact on the Overall Market

Continued….

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Industry undergoes a reset for future growth

Tampa FL USA, – WEBWIRE – Wednesday, June 28, 2023

RVs are as American as apple pie.”

Major Findings:

Market Value Marketdata estimates that the RVs industry had record revenues of $52.6 billion in 2021, a 33% increase over 2020. This was atypical, fueled by the pandemic. Sales moderated to $48.5 billion in 2022. The 9-year growth rate for RV dealer sales was 26.7% from 2012 to 2021. The industry is returning to more historical growth rates and is forecast to grow 6.2% per year from 2022 to 2027.

About The Report

The U.S. Recreational Vehicles Industry: Manufacturers, Dealers and RV Parks, published in June 2023, is an independent off-the-shelf market research study. The study is 87 pages in length, with 30 tables and charts and 7 competitor profiles. It is priced at $1,295. A $99 Executive Overview is also available. A free Table of Contents is available by email or at www.marketdataenterprises.com. Contact: Marketdata LLC, 7210 Wareham Drive, Tampa, FL 33647, (813) 971-8080. John LaRosa is available for interviews and presentations.

About Marketdata LLC

Marketdata is a 44-year old market research and consulting firm with a specialty tracking a wide variety of service sectors (commercial, personal services). It provides custom research projects. consulting, and phone consultations. Marketdatas ubiased reports are used by trade associations, banks, private equity firms, start-ups, ad agencies, consultants, entreprenuers, and industry competitors (Fortune 500).

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Contact Information

John S. LaRosa

Research Director

Marketdata LLC

(1) 813-971-8080

john@marketdataenterprises.com

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Story by

Linnea Ahlgren

Not too far in the future, camper lovers could be going on holidays that are much kinder to the very nature they are looking to enjoy. At the beginning of this week, London and Vancouver-based startup First Hydrogen revealed the design for its next-generation zero-emission Recreational Vehicle (RV). 

The concept has been developed in collaboration with Switzerland-headquartered EDAG Group. Its introduction follows the presentation of First Hydrogen’s next-generation light commercial vehicle (LCV), also a result of a partnership with the global mobility expert.

The company states that the first generation of its fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) have already entered road trials with members of the UK Aggregated Hydrogen Freight Consortium (AHFC), starting with fleet management company Rivus. 

They will be tested for several different use cases, including delivery of groceries and parcels, health care and roadside assistance. First Hydrogen will then use data and feedback from the road trials to inform the development of its Generation II vehicle. 

Hydrogen fuel cells superior to battery EVs?

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First Hydrogen’s vehicles are powered by high performance Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell stacks supplied by Ballard Power. This generates electricity by converting chemical energy stored in hydrogen fuel into electrical energy, using a proton-conducting polymer membrane as the electrolyte. They operate at relatively low temperatures (50 to 100 °C) and can quickly vary output to meet shifting demand, which makes them a good fuel cell choice for the automotive industry. 

The company says this gives it a leg up on regular EVs as the hydrogen FCEV can carry heavier payloads. Furthermore, it takes much less time to refuel the hydrogen than it takes to recharge an electrical battery. The next-generation LCV range is projected at 500+ km. 

“These concept vehicles provide a glimpse of our company’s future and give a clear indication of our brand direction within the LCV space,” said Steve Gill, CEO of Automotive for First Hydrogen. 

While the quest to decarbonise road transport is admirable in and of itself, there is also a solid financial foundation for the product: the global LCV market is projected to reach €686 billion by 2030. For the RV market, the corresponding prediction for the end of the decade is just under €107 billion. 

In Europe, RV sales hit an all-time high in 2021 with 260,000 new vehicles sold, very likely spurred by restrictions following the global health crisis. Here, First Hydrogen identifies particular opportunities with an often eco-conscious campervan crowd. 

“The First Hydrogen campervan is an example of how we see hydrogen fuel cell and other electric vehicle technologies having wider applications,” Gill added.

Looking to increase green hydrogen production

As with most startups working with hydrogen, First Hydrogen has to ensure that there will be enough to supply its products. No one will purchase a vehicle that cannot be powered after all, no matter how zero-emission it may be. 

Furthermore, the hydrogen needs to be green, meaning produced using renewable energy, otherwise the eco-friendly concept goes out the window. In summer last year, First Hydrogen applied for funding from the UK Government’s £240 million (€272 million) Net-Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF). 

The company’s two green hydrogen production projects will have an initial capacity of 40MW each and be situated in the Greater Manchester area and the Thames Estuary. The second round of NZHF competition is currently underway for both development and capital expenditure.

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There’s something special about hitting the open road and all of the endless possibilities it might have in store for you. Ever since cars became a popular mode for transportation, road trips have been a staple of pop culture. Many would-be-travelers have been discovering the joys of RV travel, including all the convenience it brings. There’s no need to worry about crowded buses, overbooked hotels or delayed flights when you’ve got your own large RV to travel and relax in.

With the recreational vehicle, aka the RV, you have a completely self-contained home on wheels. The only schedule you need to follow on a RV vacation is your own. And, yes, you can rent an RV, campervan, motorhome or travel trailer just like pretty much anything else in this use-before-you-buy world.

Read more: Essential Camp Cooking Gear Makes the Great Outdoors Delicious

Even smaller companies are feeling the love. “We’ve seen a huge bump in US web traffic and calls,” says Carley Clegg, Marketing Content Coordinator of Escape Campervans.

Never mind if you’ve never set foot in a camper. We’ve got you covered. Scroll on for the basics of RV life, some planning tips and a list of the best RV rental companies — based on user reviews and our own research — for when you decide to dip your toes into the RV waters.

What type of motorhome should you rent?

The term RV is rather generic and even misleading. The image of a massive motorhome probably comes to mind. But consider campervans, fifth-wheel trailers, pop-up campers and the like falling under this catchall. However, for this list, we’ll focus exclusively on motorized vehicles.

Class A motorhomes are the largest and most spacious

Class A motor coaches are the prototypes, being the largest and most expensive that can replace a home and car for a truly nomadic experience. They range in length from 30 to 45 feet and exude the sexiness of a bus. Because of their size (usually fitting up to six people) and built-in accommodations (like a washer/dryer combo), brand-new Class A RVs start around $70,000 and can price upwards into the millions for high-end, fully customized vehicles.

Class B motorhomes are perfect for couples and easier to park

Class B RV vehicles are built on a van chassis and this is where campervans fall in. Thanks to their shorter length (20 to 25 feet), Class B RVs are more flexible in terms of parking at the RV park or campground and are surprisingly garage friendly. But there are compromises in terms of space (four people will be snug) and amenities (think pull-out kitchens and no bathroom). Class B vehicles are generally the go-to RV for solo travelers and couples.

Pricing for a new Class B RV varies greatly, because unlike a Class A or Class C — which are manufactured for use specifically as motorhomes — Class B vehicles can start off as a run-of-the-mill minivan with a few added amenities like a pop-up tent and hot plate, to a large cargo van customized with a galley, cabinets and toilet. For reference, a 2022 Chrysler Voyager starts at $32,115 and a basic conversion kit from companies such as Titan Vans start at $44,995 — vehicle not included.

Class C motorhomes are smaller and more affordable

If you’re looking at a Class C RV, that means it’s a truck-based vehicle that looks the part. While Class B vehicles can be as simple as a converted high-roofline cargo or passenger van, Class C RVs are purpose-built. They have that distinct “cab-over” design. Although much smaller than a Class A, Class C motorhomes offer many similar amenities, like built-in kitchens, showers and storage. New ones range from $50,000 to $120,000 at RV dealerships. Class C RVs are best suited for families or small groups.

Where to start in terms of finding the right RV rental? Most will be peer-to-peer rentals, of which RVshare is the largest marketplace and has been around since 2012. But there are fleet direct motorhome rental companies like Cruise America, which has been in operation since 1972 and is the largest of its kind. Kampgrounds of America has a great directory for finding RV rentals near you, with listings that include local, single-location businesses and large nationwide networks. But if you’re unsure of where to start when it comes to the camper rental world, check out the following list of recommended RV rental companies, based on what our research yielded about various kinds of travel plans. 

Note all starting prices are rates based on reservations made in June for one-week rentals out of Los Angeles during the week of Aug. 1-8 (peak summer season). Cost per night does not include taxes or additional fees and will fluctuate based on shorter or longer rental periods. Vehicles are subject to availability.

Details: Best RV rental company for families/groups

Company	Cruise America
Locations	126 across the US and Canada
RV type	Class C RVs
Starting price per night	$299
Minimum stay	Three nights
One more thing…	Cruise America offers a number of special deals, including free nights

Details: Best RV rental company for couples

Company	Escape Campervans
Locations	12 across the US and Canada
RV type	Class B RVs
Starting price per night	$95
Minimum stay	Three nights
One more thing…	Escape Campervans is the largest such rental company in North America

Details: Best RV rental company for solo travelers

Company	RVshare
Locations	All 50 states and Washington, DC
RV type	All classes of drivable and towable RVs
Starting price per night	$89 for Class C RVs, $69 for Class B RVs
Minimum stay	Three nights, but variable up to seven nights based on owner discretion
One more thing…	RVshare is the world’s first and largest peer-to-peer RV rental marketplace

Details: Best RV rental company for short/weekend trips

Company	Vintage Surfari Wagons
Locations	Costa Mesa, California
RV type	Class B RVs
Starting price per night	$159
Minimum stay	Three nights standard with a limited fleet of single night options
One more thing…	Vintage Surfari Wagons offers unique group camp tours

Details: Best RV rental company for extended trips or housing

Company	Cruise America
Locations	126 across the US and Canada
RV type	Class C RVs
Starting price per night	$299
Minimum stay	Three nights
One more thing…	Cruise America RVs are all equipped with kitchens, bathrooms and a receiver hitch for towing

Details: Best RV rental company for one-way trips

Company	RVnGO
Locations	All 50 states plus Washington, DC
RV type	All classes of drivable and towable RVs
Starting price per night	$112 for Class C RVs, $228 for Class B RVs
Minimum stay	Three nights, but variable up to seven nights based on owner’s discretion
One more thing…	RVnGO is a truly free service for RV hosts to list and process rentals

Details: Best RV rental company for pets

Company	Outdoorsy
Locations	All 50 US states plus Canada
RV type	All classes of drivable and towable RVs
Starting price per night	$68 for Class C RVs, $58 for Class B RVs
Minimum stay	Two nights, but variable up to seven nights based on owner’s discretion
One more thing…	Outdoorsy has pet-friendly and ADA-accessible filters built into its inventory search

Details: Best cheap RV rental company

Company	Lost Campers
Locations	Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, San Francisco
RV type	Class B RVs
Starting price per night	$79
Minimum stay	Three nights
One more thing…	Lost Campers includes unlimited mileage as well as kitchen kits and camping gear for all rentals.

Details: Best RV rental company for going off the grid

Company	Adventure Travel Sport Rentals
Locations	Denver
RV type	Class B RVs
Starting price per night	$275
Minimum stay	Three nights
One more thing…	Adventure Travel Sport Rentals specializes in fully equipped off-road-capable vehicles for truly off-the-grid living

Know before you go

The biggest thing to remember when RV renting? The RV lifestyle does not come cheap. “One thing first-time RV renters don’t ask about, but should, is budget,” says Cruise America’s Smalley. “People don’t do that with hotels, even though in addition to the room you’re also paying for meals, parking, etc. With an RV, you need to budget for gas mileage.”

In addition, fuel economy is going to be dismal. Although a Class A motorhome can have an 80 to 150-gallon fuel tank, it’ll also return about 6 to 8 mpg. Class C RVs have tanks that average 40 to 80 gallons in size with a return of about 8 to 15 mpg. Class B are the smallest at about 25 gallons, but have roughly the same fuel economy as Class C vehicles. Keep in mind that RVs can be equipped with either a diesel or gasoline engine, which will not only affect mileage, but prices at the pump as well.

Speaking of mileage, as mentioned above, not all rentals include unlimited miles. Especially when renting from peer-to-peer sites like RVshare and RVnGO, don’t skim over the owner-listed details too quickly. Some may offer a maximum daily limit (usually 100 miles), which may or may not be included in your rate. Excess mileage is usually a minimum 25 cents per mile, but will increase based on the RV class type. But discounts may be available during slower travel months. This isn’t a nickel-and-dime-scheme, either, but necessary revenue to cover the costs of maintenance and, to a smaller extent, minimize abuse.

Things you’re less likely to fret about are rent insurance, customer assistance and licensing. Most RV rental companies have basic insurance included in the price of the rental. But it’s not a bad idea to check with your personal auto insurance provider regarding your coverage, either. And 24-hour support is a given as well. Renters can contact their rental company for all kinds of RV support from troubleshooting, campsite locations and roadside help.

As for driving the RV, the threshold for any special certification like a commercial driver’s license is 26,000 pounds. Because the vast majority of RV rentals weigh less than that, a valid standard driver’s license will pass muster throughout the US. “Many people think that when renting a Class A RV you’ll need a special license, however, you can rent any RV on our site with a standard driver’s license,” says Vija Viksne, RVnGO marketing director. It’s worth noting, though, that some Class A RVs can indeed weigh as much as 30,000 pounds. If you’re renting something that big and that fancy, you’re going to need the matching license to boot.

Currently, states requiring a CDL to drive a 26,000-pound-plus rig are: Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kansas, New Mexico and Wisconsin, plus Washington, DC. A noncommercial special driver’s license is required in California, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wyoming. Thinking of driving an RV through Canada? As long as you meet the licensing requirements of your issuing state, you’re free to move about the country.

RVshare spokesperson Maddi Bourgerie recommends conducting a detailed walk-through with the owner. “Things like operating the generator, electrical hookups and dumping the water tanks are all crucial to using the RV and need to be done properly,” she says. “Even things that seem simple might be a little tricky. It’s important to read carefully any manuals provided by the owner and ask as many questions as you have.”

The RV lifestyle offers almost unlimited freedom to explore without limiting who can take part in the adventure. Wheelchair accessible and ADA-compliant RVs are available and can be indicated using inventory search filters.

With many of us eager to get out of the house and just go somewhere, an RV can be that foreign yet familiar escape during these stressful, uncertain times. “The great thing about an RV is that you can rent the exact type specific for your trip,” adds Viksne. So, make a budget, pack your bags and hit the road.

Written for Roadshow by Beverly Braga.

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Alyssa Hulme

My Money is a series looking at how people spend their money – and the sometimes tough decisions they have to make. Here Alyssa Hulme from Heber City in Utah, US, takes us through a week in her life during the coronavirus pandemic.

Alyssa, 31, is a freelance writer and educational consultant. She and her husband Randy have four children: Ellie, eight, Max, seven, Amethyst, four and Josie, one. She has been homeschooling her children for a year, months before the pandemic started.

She says her week started out mundane but ended up awesome! She had no idea on Monday where she would be by Sunday.

Over to Alyssa….

I started the day nursing my one-year-old, passed her off to her dad for breakfast and settled down for a solid 45 minutes of private time before spending the rest of the day homeschooling three kids and caring for a baby. After prayer, meditation, and setting my To-Dos for the day, I purchased a course, the 30-day Money Cure with Carol Tuttle for $297 (£242). The course is on gaining financial affluence by clearing out limiting belief systems that don’t serve me and replacing them with healthy practices. I have been looking forward to this course for months and have set aside money for this specific purpose.

After that I moved on to begin my day with my family and set everyone to their beginning tasks of piano, chores, and math. We’ve been homeschooling for a year now, so it’s been a pretty typical day. But at lunchtime instead of transitioning to a play date, my husband took our eldest out for one-on-one time to help supplement the loss of activities and outings that has come with Covid-19 lockdowns.

We’ve been isolating since the end of February and the loss of friends is wearing on us all. During our midday quiet time I taught two online vocal training lessons virtually to students who live in town. Typically they’d come to my home, but we are all still isolating. After that we settled into our evening routine: I made dinner, we ate together and then held our weekly “family night” – an evening of talent shows, games, treats and fun.

Total spend: $297 (£242)

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Alyssa Hulme

I continued with the money course. I am starting up a homeschool consulting business and really want to get on the correct and mentally healthy track for the sake of my business. The course has helped me identify several limiting beliefs I can clear up to allow space for more growth. Then, as every weekday for months, we did homeschool, lunch and quiet time in the afternoon.

During quiet time I had a virtual occupational therapy appointment for my one-year-old in order to evaluate her for possible gross motor delays. This is free through our state. Next I had a virtual appointment with my therapist. This costs $110 after insurance and is withdrawn from my Health Saving Account, an account we pay into monthly through my husband’s pay check and is tax free. Therapy always really takes it out of me and today it was compounded by some new business issues I’m working through, so my husband picked up dinner from a fastfood Chinese restaurant for $40. It ended up being a lot of food and will last a good two and a half meals for the six of us.

I took the evening to work more on my business and work on my personal goals. Normally I’d go out with friends or go to the gym, but everything is closed, so I get to save more money and get to know my bed a little better.

Total spend: $150 (£122)

Our big outing today was a trip up the canyon near our home. We spent two hours hiking in the woods, building fairy houses and crossing streams.

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Alyssa Hulme

Later in the evening I started making plans for next year’s homeschool and bought some notebooks and stationery through Target.com. I really dislike online shopping, especially for something as personal as a notebook. As a writer, the size, weight and binding of a notebook really matters to me, so buying from an online shop is very disorienting.

I also bought a summer dress through Target.com, something I can easily nurse in and hope to be able to wear out and about someday here soon when the quarantine is lifted. Our county just moved to a low-risk status, so hopefully my husband and I can start up our weekly date nights soon.

Total spend: $110.52 (£90)

Late last night my husband discovered that he will not be returning to work in his office until the end of 2020. We discussed buying a motorhome, living in it for the next six months, renting out our home, and working and doing homeschool on the go. This has been a dream of ours for 10 years, but it never worked out with our careers. Now is the time.

Today we decided to rent an RV (recreational vehicle) – $1,160 for four nights – and start testing out different configurations and living quarters. We decided to head for Yellowstone National Park. Two of the four entrances are now open! I found an RV site and started packing up.

I normally would have gone grocery shopping last night but our travel plans halted that. As a result we were out of food today, so I grabbed lunch from a local shop for $33.50 and dinner from a restaurant for $45. This is not a normal thing for us to just pick up and drop a ton of money on travel, but we have now been in isolation since the end of February and we are all so ready to have a new experience.

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Alyssa Hulme

This money is coming from the allotment my husband and I had set aside to celebrate our 10 year anniversary tomorrow, but all our kid-free-for-the-first-time-in-five-years international travel plans were squashed by the virus. This will be an interesting substitute.

We parked the RV along our path to Yellowstone at a Walmart. Anyone can park there overnight for free, so it’s a great backup to have in mind when travelling.

Total spend: $1,238.50 (£1,005)

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Alyssa Hulme

Happy 10 year anniversary to my husband and me! We celebrate the day by first getting groceries from Walmart and starting the trek to Yellowstone. I bought groceries for the week for $233. Not too bad for a family of six with limited fridge and cupboard space. We stopped to fill up the RV with gas for $213. After several hours of driving, we arrived at the spot I had reserved online yesterday for two nights, a total of $180, including water and electricity plug-ins. It’s a little high for an RV site, but it’s the closest I could find to the park entrance online and we decided to value time in the park over the cost of the campsite. (All the sites inside the park are closed due to Covid-19.)

Total spend: $626 (£510)

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Alyssa Hulme

My Money

More blogs from the BBC’s My Money Series:

We woke early and headed to the park today, but it was closed due to a snowstorm. The road ended up getting 12 inches of snow in some places! Instead of exploring the park we explored the National Forest just outside.

Total spend: $0

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Alyssa Hulme

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Alyssa Hulme

We got up early again and were able to enter the park! We used our National Parks Pass to get in, so no cost today. We did everything that was open in the park, the big attractions for us being the Upper and Lower falls outlooks, the Grand Prismatic Spring, and Old Faithful.

We saw so much wildlife on this trip, far more than my husband or I even saw here as children. We drove by and hiked next to elk, bison, deer, egrets, and even several bears including a baby and mama bear. We attribute this expanse of wildlife to conservation efforts in the park as well as the closure of the park over the last several months.

The snow also allowed us to see all the animal tracks throughout the park which our kids loved! Old Faithful had the largest crowd, but still very small even for this time of year. We watched with a small, social distancing crowd for the big event, and then headed out. We were tempted to get take-out from the lodge near Old Faithful, but decided to continue eating the food we’d already purchased knowing the lodge food prices are really marked up.

We packed up and exited the park through the South Entrance and drove through Grand Tetons National Park and got gas in Jackson Hole for $176. Wyoming has lots of open land for free parking, but with a new vehicle and dark terrain, we decided to stay overnight in a National Forest campsite a half hour away for $15 for the night. We pulled in about 23:00, paid via cash in a drop box, and enjoyed sleeping next to a river and under a blanket of stars.

Total spend: $191 (£156)

Total spent this week: $2,613.02 (£2,125)

How does Alyssa feel about her week?

Thanks for coming with me on my 10 year wedding anniversary trip! This is not the trip we’d planned, but it’s been wonderful for our family. We’ve seen two more National Parks, taken a break from quarantine in a way that feels safe for us, and enjoyed our beautiful nation.

This is an unusually high week for us because we went on our trip. But considering $2,000 of that was spent on our trip and only $613.02 spent on our normal life, I feel good about that. We had $2,000+ saved for months now to go to Barbados later this summer, but we have given up all international travel until the virus settles down. All in, I feel like this was a successful trip. We would not be moving forward with purchasing an RV had we not had the real life experience of travelling in one for an extended period of time.

The remaining $613.02 also reflects an unusual cost in the money course I am taking. I haven’t purchased class tuition in probably five years, but being home all the time has me under-stimulated and needing a project.

I think like many families these days, our spending in many areas has decreased (no extracurriculars, less shopping and self-care purchases, almost no gas purchases), but in other ways expanded. I don’t bring my kids into any grocery stores anymore, so when my husband is too busy at work to be with them and we run out of food, I get take-out meals. When our mental health is being run down by monotony, we rent RVs, buy our kids bikes, and online shop for anything to help the kids make it through the day. This is survival for us.

I feel very privileged to be financially secure and have a very stable income. While the world is in chaos we will continue to use money as a tool to support our mental wellbeing and try to take advantage of the new opportunities opening up to us.

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Alyssa Hulme

We’re looking for more people to share what they spend their money on. If you’re interested, please email my.money@bbc.co.uk or get in touch via our My Money (World) Facebook group, or if you live in the UK, please join our My Money (UK) Facebook group and we’ll aim to contact you.

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AWI/James McKay

Scientists drilling off the coast of West Antarctica have found the fossil remains of forests that grew in the region 90 million years ago – in the time of the dinosaurs.

Their analysis of the material indicates the continent back then would have been as warm as parts of Europe are today but that global sea levels would have been over 100m higher than at present.

The research, led from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Germany, is published in the journal Nature.

It’s emerged from an expedition in 2017 to recover marine sediments in Pine Island Bay.

AWI and its partners, including the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), used a novel cassette drill-mechanism called MeBo to extract core material some 30m under the seafloor.

When the team examined the sediments in the lab, it found traces of ancient soils and pollen and even tree roots.

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AWI/T.Ronge

The interpretation is that this sector of West Antarctica, in the geological period known as the Cretaceous, featured temperate rainforest and swamp conditions – the kind of vegetation you will find on New Zealand’s South Island today.

“We have a really nice X-ray movie through the sediment core,” said AWI’s Prof Karsten Gohl, who spearheaded the expedition on Germany’s Research Vessel Polarstern.

“It’s like we’ve drilled into a modern swamp environment and you’re seeing the living root system, small plant particles and pollen – but this is all persevered from 90 million years ago. It’s amazing.”

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Modelling work suggests average annual temperatures in this Cretaceous environment would have been in the mid-teens Celsius; summer averages would have been in the 20s.

But the vegetation must have been pretty special because, being so far south, it would have had to endure three to four months of polar darkness.

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The Nature paper’s first author is AWI’s Dr Johann Klages. “Probably these plants, they had a much more effective way of shutting down for a much longer amount of time and then come back successfully,” he speculated.

“That was quite an interesting adaptation, which is not present right now on the planet, but which can evolve,” he told BBC News.

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AWI/T.Ronge

Seeing the White Continent as we do today with its kilometres-thick ice covering, it’s a challenge to the imagination to think of such productive conditions. But BAS director, Prof Jane Francis, says there have been several periods in Earth history when Antarctica’s great glaciers were absent.

This study, she says, represents the first evidence for Cretaceous forests so close to the South Pole – just 900km away, at what would have been about 81-82 degrees South latitude.

“And, yes, there probably were dinosaurs in the forests,” she explained. “If you go to the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, you’ll find a whole range of fossils – things like hadrosaurs and sauropods, and primitive bird-like dinosaurs. The whole range of dinosaurs that lived in the rest of the world managed to get down to Antarctica during the Cretaceous.”

To sustain the warmth these animals and the forests enjoyed, greenhouse gases in the atmosphere – like carbon dioxide – must have been three or four times current levels. If today the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is just above 400 parts per million (ppm), back then the figure was certainly above 1,000ppm and maybe as high as 1,600ppm.

BAS co-author Dr Robert Larter commented: “The world was a different place in other ways that would have contributed to the climate differences at this time. In particular, the positions of continents and the patterns of ocean currents were different.

“However, there is no doubt that the biggest factor leading to such a warm climate was the extremely high levels of CO2 in the atmosphere at that time. It is worth noting that if the current rate of CO2 increase continues (44ppm increase over past 20 years), we will reach a CO2 level greater than 1,000ppm in less than 300 years.”

The MeBo seafloor drilling system

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AWI/T.Ronge

• “Meeres­boden-Bo­hr­gerät” is Ger­man for “seafloor drill rig”
• It’s lowered to the seabed with a specially designed cable
• This also delivers power, and carries commands and video
• An operator drives MeBo remotely from the deployment ship
• System has a magazine of pipes to lengthen the drill string
• Mebo can penetrate mud and rock to a depth of up to 80m

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

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M.Collins/BAS South Georgia Whale Project

Scientists say they have seen a remarkable collection of blue whales in the coastal waters around the UK sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia.

Their 23-day survey counted 55 animals – a total that is unprecedented in the decades since commercial whaling ended.

South Georgia was the epicentre for hunting in the early 20th Century.

The territory’s boats with their steam-powered harpoons were pivotal in reducing Antarctic blues to just a few hundred individuals.

To witness 55 of them now return to what was once a pre-eminent feeding ground for the population has been described as “truly, truly amazing” by cetacean specialist Dr Trevor Branch from the University of Washington, Seattle.

“To think that in a period of 40 or 50 years, I only had records for two sightings of blue whales around South Georgia. Since 2007, there have been maybe a couple more isolated sightings. So to go from basically nothing to 55 in one year is astonishing,” he told BBC News.

“It’s such good news to see that they might be further rebounding and coming back to places where they were formerly extremely abundant.”

Dr Branch was commenting on the survey which was led by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) with the support of the University of Auckland.

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Copernicus Sentinel data/Esa

The institutions put together an expert team that toured the island’s near-shore waters in the Research Vessel Braveheart.

The scientists identified whales of various species both visually and acoustically through their song repertoires.

In a number of cases, they even managed to retrieve skin and breath samples to understand more about the health of the various animals they encountered.

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P.Ensor/BAS South Georgia Whale Project

Blue whales are the most massive creatures ever to roam the Earth, and the Antarctic sub-species contained the very biggest of the big at over 30m.

This population was also the most numerous of the 10 or so discrete populations across the globe, carrying perhaps 239,000 individuals prior to the onset of industrial exploitation.

But the marine mammals’ physical size made them a profitable catch, and around South Georgia more than 33,000 Antarctic blues were documented to have been caught and butchered, most of them between 1904 and 1925.

By the time a ban was introduced in 1966, a sighting anywhere in Southern Ocean waters would have been extremely rare indeed.

The last official estimate of abundance was made in 1997 and suggested Antarctic blues could have recovered to about 2,280 individuals. When the next assessment is released, probably at the end of 2021, it should show a further increase – as reflected in the encouraging activity at South Georgia in recent weeks.

“This is definitely a pattern,” said Dr Branch. “All of the Southern Hemisphere whale species – the populations for which we have data – are increasing. So, for right whales – several populations are going up very consistently every year. Humpback whales – several populations are going up consistently every year. And blue whales – we think they’re going up. Which is super-good news

“The exception is Antarctic minke whales; we do think they’ve gone down quite a bit.”

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Danny Buss

What is clear however is that the moratorium on commercial whaling is working. And whatever other pressures these whale species may face today, they are gradually edging back from the brink.

South Georgia is a place they should congregate.

The territory sits in a highly bio-productive zone that is supported by a copious train of krill drifting up from the Antarctic on strong currents.

These crustaceans are the favoured diet not just of the big whales but also of the island’s many penguins and seals.

Some might question whether the growth in numbers of blue, humpback and other whales around South Georgia is simply a bump that’s been driven either by a short-term bounty of krill at the island or maybe by a paucity of the prey elsewhere.

But survey project leader Dr Jennifer Jackson from BAS doubts this.

“The preliminary data does not suggest it has been a particularly unusual krill year. Not this year, nor last year. It seems quite normal,” she said.

“So, I think this is positive. We know that 100 years ago, South Georgia was a good place for blue whales and now, after decades of protection, it seems the territory’s waters are a good place for them once again,” she told BBC News.

The RV Braveheart voyage this year was funded by the Darwin Plus programme, the South Georgia Heritage Trust and the Friends of South Georgia Island. It was dedicated to the memory of the late Prof Peter Best, an English marine biologist who pioneered whale study in South African waters.

Dr Branch tracks all science on blue whales whenever it is published on the Twitter account @BlueWhaleNews.

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M.Collins/BAS South Georgia Whale Project

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

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Robert Larter

A US research ship is the first vessel to encounter the giant new iceberg knocked off the edge of Antarctica.

The RV Nathaniel B Palmer passed within a few kilometres of B49, as it’s been designated – the largest of a group of ice fragments ejected by Pine Island Glacier (PIG) over the weekend.

B49 itself covers just over 100 sq km; the other pieces total about 200 sq km.

Dr Robert Larter took a picture of the big berg from the deck of the Palmer, which he then posted on Twitter.

The British Antarctic Survey scientist is part of a major US-UK expedition that is investigating the nearby Thwaites Glacier.

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COPERNICUS/Sentinel-1/ESA

Both streams – PIG and Thwaites – move enormous amounts of ice off the west of the continent into the Amundsen Sea.

The fronts of these glaciers actually float where they meet the ocean, even though they are hundreds of metres thick. And every so often, the leading edges will calve great chunks of ice.

Researchers have become concerned at the speed with which the PIG and Thwaites are losing ice.

Satellite records show the glaciers have speeded up in recent decades. They’ve also thinned and their fronts have pulled back towards land. Warm ocean water is said to be infiltrating the glaciers’ undersides and melting them.

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Copernicus/Sentinel-2/ESA

In addition, the PIG appears to be calving bergs at an accelerating rate.

Dr Larter said B49 and its “PIGlets” represented the seventh large tabular iceberg calving event from Pine Island Glacier this century. A tabular berg is big, wide and flat.

“The interval between them is decreasing,” he wrote on Twitter. “Sequence since November 2001: 71 months, 73 months, 22 months, 25 months, 15 months, 14 months.”

The Palmer ship is trying to learn about the history of Thwaites Glacier on its present cruise.

It’s collecting seafloor sediments, which, when they’re inspected in the lab, should reveal details such as the past position of the front of the glacier and the climate conditions that persisted at the time.

This is work that can help scientists forecast how much the likes of the PIG and Thwaites could contribute to future sea-level rise if they continue to lose their ice.

As massive as B49 seems, it is dwarfed by a 5,000-sq-km colossus known as A68.

This broke away from the continent in 2017 and is now moving alongside the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. It’s being monitored closely by the Sentinel satellites, which are owned by the EU and operated by the European Space Agency.

All the major tabular bergs have to be tracked because of the risks they could pose to shipping.

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Copernicus/Sentinel-2/ESA

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PLANET LABS INC

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Esther Horvath

German Research Vessel Polarstern has found a location to begin its year-long drift in Arctic sea-ice.

The ship, which will head the North Pole’s biggest scientific expedition, will settle next to a thick ice floe on the Siberian side of the ocean basin.

The precise location is 85 degrees north and 137 degrees east.

Hundreds of investigators will use it as a base from which to probe the impacts of climate change at the top of the world.

“After a brief but intensive search, we’ve found our home for the months to come,” said expedition leader Prof Markus Rex, from the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI).

“It may not be the perfect floe but it’s the best one in this part of the Arctic and offers better working conditions than we could have expected after a warm Arctic summer.”

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Esther Horvath

RV Polarstern set out on itsMOSAiC(Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) mission two weeks ago.

It travelled from the Norwegian port of Tromsø, supported by other icebreakers in search of a suitable piece of ice where it could set up a camp.

Sixteen possible locations were scouted with the aid of satellite imagery and helicopters. A metres-thick floe measuring roughly 2.5km by 3.5km was eventually chosen.

The international expedition considers itself lucky to have identified its home so soon after departing Tromsø. This summer’s warmth has produced the second smallest Arctic sea-ice extent in the satellite era. As a consequence, the ice capping the ocean surface is very thin.

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Markus Rex

The floes, though, are now succumbing to the winter freeze-up. The Sun no longer rises above the horizon at the ship’s location and it won’t be long before the 24-hour darkness of “polar night” descends on the MOSAiC expedition.

RV Polarstern will soon be locked solid in the ice.

The vessel won’t break free again until September or October next year, by which time it will have drifted past the North Pole and be in waters somewhere in the Fram Strait. This is the passage that runs between northeast Greenland and the Svalbard archipelago.

MOSAiC’s objective is to study all aspects of the climate system in the Arctic. Instrument stations will be set up on the ice all around the ship, including some up to 50km away.

The ice, the ocean, the atmosphere, even the wildlife will all be sampled. The year-long investigations are designed to give more certainty to the projections of future change.

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Esther Horvath

Prof Rex told the BBC before departure that the Arctic was currently warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet but that the climate models were highly uncertain as to how this temperature trend would develop in the coming decades.

“We don’t have any robust climate predictions for the Arctic and the reason is we don’t understand the processes there very well,” he explained.

“That’s because we were never able to observe them year-round, and certainly not in winter when the ice is at its thickest and we can’t break it with our research vessels.”

Something similar to the €130m (£120m/$150m) MOSAiC mission has been tried before, but nothing comparable in scale.

About 600 scientists are expected to spend months at a time with the Polarstern.

They’ll be brought in by the support icebreakers.

When that’s not possible at the height of winter, when the sea-ice is at its thickest, aircraft and long-range helicopters will have to deliver the necessary supplies and relief teams.

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It’s being described as the biggest Arctic science expedition of all time.

The German Research Vessel Polarstern is about to head for the far north where it intends to drift in the sea-ice for an entire year.

Hundreds of scientists will visit the ship in that time to use it as a base from which to study the climate.

TheMOSAiC(Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) project is expected to cost about €130m (£120m/$150m).

Its scale means it must be an international effort. RV Polarstern will be supported by icebreakers from Russia, Sweden and China.

In deep winter, when these vessels can’t pierce the floes to reach the German ship, aeroplanes and long-range helicopters will deliver the supplies and relief teams.

MOSAiC’s objective is to study all aspects of the climate system in the Arctic. Instrument stations will be set up on the ice around the Polarstern, some of them up to 50km away.

The ice, the ocean, the atmosphere, even the wildlife – all will be sampled. The year-long investigations are designed to give more certainty to the projections of future change.

Prof Markus Rex from Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute in Potsdam is the expedition leader. He said the Arctic was currently warming at twice the rate of the rest of the planet but that the climate models were highly uncertain as to how the temperature trends would develop in the coming decades.

“We don’t have any robust climate predictions for the Arctic and the reason is we don’t understand the processes there very well,” he explained.

“That’s because we were never able to observe them year round and certainly not in winter when the ice is at its thickest and we can’t break it with our research vessels,” he told BBC News.

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The RV Polarstern is picking up its first tranche of scientists in Tromsø. From the Norwegian port, it will cruise to the Russian side of the Arctic.

Embedding in the sea-ice will be done close to 85 degrees North and 130 degrees East.

Precise positioning will be important. Modelling of the winds and currents suggests the ship should drift across the top of the planet, getting to within a couple of hundred km from the North Pole, before then being ejected from the frozen floes between northeast Greenland and Svalbard – the Fram Strait.

But there is a critical point in this 2,500km journey where, if the ship meanders too far to the west, it could get pulled into the Beaufort Gyre – the great clockwise movement of water and ice in the Arctic. Once caught in this gyre, it would need a huge effort to escape.

Something similar to MOSAiC has been tried before.

The expedition has definite echoes of the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen’s attempt in the 1890s to be the first person to reach the North Pole by drifting in a ship locked in ice.

TheCanadian Coast Guard vessel Des Groseilliersmounted a drift mission in the late 1990s which became known as Ice Station SHEBA.

TheNorwegian Polar Institute’s Lance vesselundertook a drift expedition in 2015; as didthe scientific schooner Tara, which traversed the frozen ocean – again, from Siberian waters to the Fram Strait – in 2006/7.

But none of these previous ventures can be compared to the German mission for size and international input.

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EstherHorvath

BBC Future’s Martha Henriques in Tromsø

It’s the culmination of a decade’s work, as Polarstern prepares to embark tonight from Tromsø, northern Norway, alongside its companion Russian icebreaker, the Akademik Federov.

Scientists are heaving their personal belongings up the rickety metal gangway from the harbour to D-deck to board, while crew throw bags of rubbish from unpacking back over the side of the ship into a skip in the dock.

As one of the lead scientists, Matt Shupe of the University of Colorado, boards – a duffle bag in one hand, an orange spade, presumably for shovelling snow, in the other – scientists and crew immediately descend on him to get his last-minute input on final decisions before departure.

The ship is loaded with many millions of pounds’ worth of scientific equipment, and the questions about how it should be stored and prepped are non-stop.

Earlier in the week, one shipping-container-come-laboratory was loaded into the hold the wrong way around. Half a dozen other containers that had been stacked on top – weighing several tonnes each – had to be lifted back off the ship by crane so the error could be corrected, and then restacked. No-one wants to make a mistake like that again.

The air of excitement and anticipation of the past week in the dock has shifted into one of urgent efficiency, as people make last-minute changes to their packing, track down forgotten items and prepare themselves for the long trip to the north.

Image copyright
Stefan Hendricks

The conditions faced by the scientists over the coming months will be harsh.

For half the year the Sun will not rise above the horizon and temperatures will dip down to minus 45C.

And the teams working on the ice will have to be on constant alert for predatory bears.

“Various scientists have been trained on using night-vision goggles to stand guard for polar bears,” said Prof Julienne Stroeve from University College London (UCL).

“You can’t ever go out on the ice without someone being there with a rifle. [The bears] could eventually smell the ship and if they get curious enough they’ll come and check us out.”

Prof Stroeve is in the seven participating teams from the UK.

She will join the Polarstern in mid-winter. Her experiments will assess the accuracy of the radar satellites that are used to map the thickness of the sea-ice from orbit.

These spacecraft work by bouncing a microwave pulse off the floes, but there is some uncertainty over where exactly this reflection occurs in a column of snow and ice.

If the UCL scientist’s suspicions are confirmed during the MOSAiC cruise, it would have implications for our current assessment of the status of Arctic sea-ice.

“It would be thinner than what we’ve been estimating so far,” she told theBBC’s Inside Science programme.