ROLLING HOME
2007 CHEVY TAHOE LTZ
THE FIRST THING you notice about the new Tahoe is the bold new look. The huge, smooth body panels and moulded-in lights, bumpers, fenders, windows and door han- dles meld into a head-turning, trailer-tow- ing piece of sport utility equipment. With a 320-horsepower V8 engine, the
Tahoe makes easy work of a tent trailer and with a towing capacity of 3,493 ki- lograms (7,700 pounds) you won’t have to upgrade trucks when you super-size your trailer. Added to the proven Vortec 5300 engine
this year is Active Fuel Management, which is the brains that kicks the engine down to four cylinders when you don’t need eight. If it wasn’t for the electronic dash display telling you how many cylinders are firing, you’d never know you were virtually bouncing between two differ- ent-sized engines. There are a number of suspension
and handling innovations that contrib- ute to an improved ride. The steering is precise, cornering firm and braking ex- ceptional. By comparison, driving any previous full-sized SUV is like driving a well-worn sofa. The new dash styling, complete with
of Family Camping Future The The Future
of Family Camping title I’ve used here has multiple meanings.
First, Rolling Home is a new regular RV column appearing in future issues of Family Camping magazine. Secondly, even hardcore tenters like me, once kids are on the
posh wood panels, is very Euro-luxury- sedan and the seats are comfortable, es- pecially for smaller drivers and passengers. The AUX audio input jack, Bose sound sys- tem and eight-inch colour DVD screen makes the trip to the campground way shorter. For years, Japanese and European car compa-
scene, see our futures unfolding (or popping up) before us. And finally, both the Chevy Tahoe and the Starcraft 2414 we review here are next year’s models. And so, beginning where most fami- lies begin their summer holidays, we hooked an SUV to a tent trailer, put canoes and kayaks on the roof, car seats in the captain’s chairs, and Baby Einstein in the DVD play- er and headed out on Fam- ily Camping magazine’s first Rolling Home review.—SM
nies have been stealing from GM’s full-sized SUV success, never quite attaining North American burliness but winning style points for fit and fin- ish. This year GM engineers set out to beat the jokers at their own game. Now the king of the road Tahoe is truly fit for a king with the power to haul his castle.
www.gmcanada.com
2007 STARCRAFT 2414
BUYING AN RV is like building a house. First you decide on the size—as large as you can afford—then choose a floor plan that works and add only the appliances you need. You can always add bells and whistles but you can’t increase the size. The Starcraft 2414 is a big, folding
camping trailer with a functional layout; a great choice for first-time buyers. There is a lounge and table at one end and a sofa, table and kitchen area lining sides of the other end of the trailer. Fourteen feet of
trailer means more counter space, more el- bowroom and more valuable storage beneath. Beyond that, massive king- and queen-sized beds roll out, extending the set-up length to 24-feet. All this sleeping room provides even more storage space around your sleeping area. With the lounge and sofa flat the 2414 sleeps eight adults. We rolled into the campground just
as a family arrived at the neigbouring site. The brand new Starcraft drew the guy’s attention and he bet me a blend- ed margarita that I couldn’t unfold our trailer before he could set up his new condo-sized tent. Thanks to Starcraft’s 40 years worth of engineering, a slushy tequila drink never tasted sweeter. I was able to single-handedly crank, slide, bungy and zip it together while Buddy next door was still fumbling with poles. Camping to me is about being outside. The electric/propane fridge and sink with 72 litre
(19 gallon) storage tank on the 2414 are indis- pensible, but the feature that fits my style most is the propane three-burner carryout stove. We cooked every meal outside, rain or shine, under the 11-foot awning. I’ve always joked about getting a folding camp-
ing trailer as soon as I had kids. After our first trip in the Starcraft 2414 I’ll say that it is, for me, the future of family camping.
www.starcraftrv.com
FAMILY CAMPING 7
SCOTT MACGREGOR
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