To go or not to go (RV Show)?

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Isaac-1

Isaac-1

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Well it is that time of year again where the regional RV show comes to town.  I have not been in a couple of years, and am debating going just to walk around see the new RV's and be disappointed with their quality control, etc.  I have no intention of buying, am happy overall with the coach I have now, and don't plan on replacing it until I have some type of lifestyle change (go full time, win the lottery, etc.).  So assuming it is nice weather, and I don't have anything else going on, what do you think, should I go or not?  The last time I was at this show I was rather disappointed with the vendor hall setup, as few if any were RV related, instead it was people selling beef jerky and cell phone plans, so if it is the same this year it only really leaves the RV's themselves to look at.

Ike
 
If you don't enjoy yourself, then definitely don't go.
We really enjoy RV shows, even though we've had the same trailer for years and have no intention of changing.
Yes, the quality remains dictated by price competition, but it's fun to see the new ideas (few) and fads (many) come and go. In the end, I've always come away felling validated, that all the research and deliberation we did (mostly AT RV shows) before we bought our rig was worthwhile. As a bonus we've enjoyed chatting with other attendees.
YMMV
Besides, it's a good excuse to let myself have that loaded Italian sausage sandwich that I really shouldn't eat.  ;D
 
All too often the local "RV Show" has only a few actual RVs but several vaguely related vendors, e.g. mobile phone, satellite tv, or "outdoors" stuff. State & regional shows, though, are often fairly good, at least in variety of RVs.

If your local show was as disappointing as you describe a few years back, I see little reason to think it will have changed any.  I'd skip that and look around for a larger show, even if you have to make a journey to see it.  Make a weekend vacation out it and have some fun.  Some of the better regional shows include Hershey PA, Florida Supershow in Tampa, and the FMCA Rally/Show at Indio CA.  Here's a list of major events from the RVIA:

https://www.rvia.org/upcoming-consumer-rv-shows
 
We love to go but as Gary said, I guess it depends on the venue. We have a pretty good group of dealers here in Central NY that puts on two nice shows every year at the NY State Fairgrounds in Syracuse. A couple of years have been sort of blah but they are usually well-run and have a lot to offer. This past Fall's show was the largest ever. For us it's fun to get away for a day and look at everything from the cute little teardrops all the way up to the $300k+ dream rigs!
 
Here's one that started yesterday in North Carolina:

https://www.greatatlanticrvshow.com
 
My wife and I went to several RV shows, the best being in Hershey, PA, as part of our search for a motor home.  Before going to the show we decided on a Class A, with several must haves, king bed #1.  Fortunately I was allowed to drive the size motor home we were considering, which told me I could handle it as I would be the only driver.  We also went to local shows, which I felt that the major benefit was that we were sincerely interested, and met several factory reps as well as dealer reps, who were willing to spend more time with us answering our questions and concerns.  Yes, there were disappointments regarding quality, but that was part of the learning process.  Unfortunately, some of the quality defects are not readily seen, as we soon learned after we made our purchase.
 
For years, the Harrisburg, PA RV show (mid-February) was one of our favorite escapes from the dreary feeling, if not the reality, of the miserable Northeast Winters.
 
I might be tempted to drive round some local RV dealers ( presuming there are some nearby ) instead as they may have opted not to attend if it is not a productive place for them..    Or go see a movie, or have lunch!
 
jackiemac said:
Oh stop it.  You are becoming just toooo perfect  :D ;D
Click to expand...
My door is open, any time you're in the states! Although I won't be doing any hunting this year because we'll be on the road ?
 
Thanks for all the replies, this is a regional show https://centralgulfcoastboatrvshow.com/ billed as the largest on the gulf coast, though I have my doubts about that.  It is mostly outdoors, though they do pack a number of the smaller trailers and boats indoors.  My disappointment with it last time was the near complete lack of any RV related vendors indoors, you could not even buy a sewer hose, just those vendors that show up at any show where they think they can sell their stuff (gun shows, home shows, RV show, etc.).  I think last time there were 2 RV related vendor boths, one was selling RV time shares, the other represented a campground about 100 miles away.
 
For us it was an escape from cold, wet dreary winter. We could spend a few hours dreaming about how we would spend our lottery winnings (as if that was ever going to happen) DW picked up a few seemingly useful widgets, some actually got used, and I got to drool over gaziilion dollar class A's. Then we went home to our old fiver and reality.
 
RVMommaTo6 said:
My door is open, any time you're in the states! Although I won't be doing any hunting this year because we'll be on the road ?
Click to expand...
We need to swap routes...
 
RVMommaTo6 said:
My door is open, any time you're in the states! Although I won't be doing any hunting this year because we'll be on the road ?
Click to expand...

Why let being on the road stop you from hunting?
 
jackiemac said:
We need to swap routes...
Click to expand...
Omg that would be so cool if we crossed paths!!!

Isaac-1 said:
Why let being on the road stop you from hunting?
Click to expand...
I don't have the freezer storage in the RV for a whole deer. And I'll be busy with the kids, they don't want to learn to hunt :/ I offer every year but they're very much not into it, except eating it lol
 
We've been in Quartzsite for a little over a month.  The whole place is like an RV show.  My kid called it "Geriatric Burning Man".
I've been driving by LaMesa RV's lot every day just about.  One of these days I'm going to stop in, just to see what a $406,000 coach looks like inside.
 
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