With fuel topping $4 a gallon in many parts of the country, outdoor enthusiasts are rethinking their recreational vehicle options.

Long a staple of African safaris and Euro-Australian holidays, the car top tent offers comfort, convenience and an inexpensive getaway. Rooptop tents start just under $1,000 (plus shipping and handling) and go up, depending on design, options and current value of the U.S. dollar.

“Sleep safely above the rocks, the mud and the critters,” say the folks at California-based CarTop Camper. It fits virtually any vehicle equipped with an adequate rack system.

Skydome Cartop Tent of Canada “unfolds in seconds to become your base camp.”

For a really rugged roof tent check out the Italian-made Autohome: The original range of vehicle roof top tents.

ShippShape of Australia says it is the “ideal accommodation for people on the move.” The tent, designed by Doctor Ship in 1985, is “mounted above your vehicle and away from the creepy crawlies and crocs.”

Now in their mid-50s, Billy and Akaisha Kaderli decided to retire early–more than 17 years ago at the ripe old age of 38.

Early into their retirement they bought an RV and toured the western states for two years. Since then they have traveled all over the world and homebase in their park model trailer in Mesa, Ariz.

The Kaderlis share their experiences and how they did it on their Website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com. For a variety of books and DVDs on retirement and RVing go to RVBookstore.com.

To view a recent video of the couple by NBC Channel 12 News in Phoenix, click here.

Photo: Billy and Akaisha high above Picton, New Zealand. Source: RetireEarlyLifestyle.com

Speaking of van conversions and class B motorhomes–Larry Edsall wrote in The Detroit News this week about the new Dodge Sprinter  ”Penthouse” by Sportsmobile.

The 55-year old company ”created the pop-up system, which became popular when Volkswagen bought rights from the company to create its famed 1960s-era campers,” wrote Edsall.

Sportsmobile introduced the popup roof system to the Sprinter to provide room for extra beds or additional storage area.

“The Penthouse features an electrically powered and reinforced fiberglass top with five vinyl windows to provide light and ventilation,” wrote Edsall.

“The electric top can support a roof rack and when raised offers 7-feet, 9-inches of interior height. The overhead bed features its own reading lights.”

Read more in “Pop-top Sprint roof is spacious.”

Photos: The Dodge Sprinter’s Penthouse roof system adds sleep room for two or more people or elevates a bed so equipment can be stored. (Source: Sportsmobile West)

James B. Kelleher wrote an insightful piece last week for Reuters about how, among other things, some motorhome manufactures are shifting gears from primarily producing fuel-hungry class A buses and back to more van conversion class Bs.

“Rising gasoline prices, falling home values and tightening consumer credit are driving U.S. recreational vehicle sales off the road as the business enters the normally busy spring and summer selling season,” writes Kelleher.

“The industry is scrambling to adjust by laying off workers, selling real-estate assets to raise money and bringing back cheaper, more fuel-efficient vehicles whose popularity peaked during the last oil crisis in the 1970s.”

Read more in  ”Downturn drives motorhome makers into a ditch.”

Photo: Courtesy of RVIA.

According to Toxic Trailers Website: “The problem (of high formaldehyde levels) is not confined to RVs and mobile homes, but also can be a significant health threat in regular homes, offices and portable classrooms” … even baby furniture.

To read more about what the RV industry has to say about formaldehyde go to an item on RV News Service posted by Russ and Tina DeMaris.

The Cooking Ladies, Phyllis Hinz and Lamont Mackay, are in the first week of their 8,700-mile, summer-long promotional trip in their 40-foot motorhome from Ontario, Canada to British Columbia and back.

“These intrepid cookbook authors are out to make a statement, about food, about life on the road and above all about having fun,” writes Valerie Hill in The (Kitchener, Ontario) Record.

After a friend died in the mid-90s the women decided life was too short. They sold their business and their homes, “held at least 10 yard sales then hit the road in an RV, traveling North America investigating regional cuisine.” The result was a number of cookbooks.

Read more in: “Cross-country cooking–RV-driving authors are out to make a statement about food and life on the road.”

Photo: The Cooking Ladies. Source: The Record.com.