RV Shows

[cosmotini]

My daughter and son-in-law were joking when we went into a lot of the trailers whether it was decorated by Bob Evans or Cracker Barrel.

[rettoc625]

"Hey honey, wanna buy a spaceship trailer?"

[Condoluminum]

I spent several hours wandering the SF Bay Area 2008 RV Show at Alameda Fairgrounds in Pleasanton this evening, and was pretty stunned by lack of paying visitors.. Sales People outnumbered guests, all the food concessions were closed by 6PM, and the Waterless Cookware guy cooked free dinner for all the others staffing booths in the "gauntlet" area of active services vendors.. In several of the buildings (all connected by covered walkways..) I was the only guest in the entire building, and had to talk to the sales people just to be polite.. Lots and lots of colorful Class A motorhomes and Toy Haulers and Toy Hauling Motorhomes..

Toscano's was there with 9 Airstreams, 4 of which were FB 25-27 models, including a Classic Limited FB27, with leather and hickory and drawer-mounted microwave... Several versions of designer interior International's were on display, with aggressive price reductions, supported in part by show subsidy from Airstream Inc.. Several had loop DVD video of Porsche Cayenne-towed trailer swinging through slalom and lane change swerves while white box trailer nearly rolled and swayed out of control.. Also had 22' Safari Sport on display, as well as new 20' Safari SE with Rear dry bath arrangement. Toscano's has moved into new larger facility on oposite side of Los Banos, and seem to be doing OK.. The did sell 4 of trailers over initial weekend, but explained they'd be happy to order a duplicate if I needed one. They also had new Domani Fifth Wheel trailers on display, which are stunning in interior design, and about same prices as 28' Airstream... Several sales people complained about news media and government focusing on bad economic news and lowering consumer confidence to trigger recession.. Sure looked like that was going on, as some sales people were pretty aggressive. One young man showing me exciting features of $325K Motorhome cheerfully volunteered that it could actually be pruchased for about $250K... Not a difficult negotiation to get quick 23% discount with no effort...

[rettoc625]

Originally Posted by Condoluminum

I spent several hours wandering the SF Bay Area 2008 RV Show at Alameda Fairgrounds in Pleasanton this evening, and was pretty stunned by lack of paying visitors.. Sales People outnumbered guests, all the food concessions were closed by 6PM, and the Waterless Cookware guy cooked free dinner for all the others staffing booths in the "gauntlet" area of active services vendors.. In several of the buildings (all connected by covered walkways..) I was the only guest in the entire building, and had to talk to the sales people just to be polite.. Lots and lots of colorful Class A motorhomes and Toy Haulers and Toy Hauling Motorhomes.. ...

My husband and I noticed the same thing at the Hartford, CT RV show a couple weeks ago. The isles were not as crowded as I remember from last year. I also noted a number of large, motor homes that were sold at the show.

If you are not already committed to the RV lifestyle, it is hard to justify the expense of a gas loving vehicle that gets even worse mileage toting an RV. I bet smaller, older, lighter RVs will be more popular than ever.

Mary

[Foiled Again]

Well as a full time Airstreamer I jumped out of homeowning at the top of the market (luck not genius).

Airstreaming is has a cool factor that just cannot be denied.

The fact that you can live in high style at dirt cheap prices seems to be a great big fat secret! (OK, I bought an 08 Chevy Silverado - but think 10 year lifespan!)

I still work fulltime, so I'm not lucky enough to travel every week, but it's a NICE place to live and the people I meet are exceptional. I go on 4 to 8 trips a year - and don't have to stress out over packing or unpacking!

The dweebs selling the moho's (which at $350K or even $250K) seem to be missing the boat - or the home alternative if you will. In some areas of the country this IS the viable answer to home ownership.

So is fulltiming just mobile trailer trash, or is it an "alternate lifestyle"?

Curses, Foiled Again!

[Silvertwinkie]

Ok, I just got back from the suburban Chicago RV show.

Let me say that for the most part, the RVs I saw were just complete and total junk. Walked into one and the sales rep was trying to find out where, what looked like a trim part belonged that fell off.

Numerous fit and finish issues on every single unit, except for the units that were several hundred thousand dollars. Airstream was not at this show and from what I understand, was also not represented at the show last weekend in downtown Chicago.

All and all, I'd have to give the show a D and most of the products an F.

There was one unit however, I think it was made by Fleetwood, it was called a Silver something. It seemed to be very well built and fit and finish looked good. This unit was talked about here on one of the threads and this was my first chance to get into one to take a look around. Not sure if this unit was typical of what is built, but if it is, a lot of RV builders could take a few hints on assembly and QC, even Airstream!

[jimmini]

After year of hearing about it I went to the "BIG" Quarzsite AZ RV show last week in the "BIG" tent. I was real disapointed it was more like a POOR county fair.More people selling dice and slice stuff,pots, pans and other junk than RV or things for your RV.All I can say about it, is that it was FREE if you dont count your gas and time. It was a waste of GAS$$$ and time.