RV Show trends - Fiberglass RV
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Old 02-21-2016, 03:27 PM   #1
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RV Show trends

Not one true molded fiberglass trailer at the show I just attended and not much new to report. The trend at the Saratoga/Wilton Mall RV show in upstate New York seems to be bigger is better. The word HUGE would best describe the overwhelming majority of travel trailers displayed. Some are so long telephone service between the front and rear would encompass two area codes !!!
Hard to find any travel trailer that did not have multiple slide-outs. I am not a fan of slide outs as most leak sooner and later and add a lot of weight.
Even the few smaller trailers (stickies all) were very heavy coming in at well over 5,000 lbs with normal cargo and supplies.
All in all I'm glad I bought my unit years ago when the industry still knew how to make light weight units.
As big as these road monsters were the bathrooms were still very cramped.
Kitchen areas still lack food preparation counter space.
I attend these shows to try and discover new remodeling design ideas...this time I came away empty.
I did find two motor homes in the 24-26 foot range that I liked. One was by Forest River it was built on a Mercedes Benz platform and power train...roomy and first class. The other was a Mini-Winni built on a Ford F-350 platform.
These were the only two I found that were not monsters and at the show prices not too expensive. The 24 to 28 foot size motor home strikes a nice balance in size, price and affordability. They all had molded fiberglass roofs that blended into the lower body panels.

If the number of buyers at this show is any indication of sales volume campgrounds are going to get very crowded next summer. Lower gas prices may boost the number of new RV campers.

Happy Camping !
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Old 02-21-2016, 04:09 PM   #2
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Ditto from the RV show here in Minneapolis!
New this year was the trend to have the bathroom with an exterior door. I guess that way the kids don't track mud across your Italian marble floor.
Last year I was suprised to see Airstream go with cheap plastic hinges and bathroom door latches but this year they returned to higher quality hardware. I am not sure if that was just the difference in models the distributor brought in or a shift at corporate.
In the northern states we are seeing more RV/ice houses at these shows and on lakes in the winter. Last year I saw a few and this year I bet there were more than a dozen on the show floor. They seem on pace with the toy haulers. That said I can only recall seeing one at a campground last season.
The Bambi Sport was the most interesting thing at the show unless leather Lazy Boy recliners, electric fireplaces, 54 inch hdtv's, multiple slide outs, and drop down decks are more your style.
I will be cozy in my 15 foot slice of fiberglass heaven camping where they can't fit.
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Old 02-21-2016, 05:08 PM   #3
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We did the show/manufacturer tour a few years ago. I remember also seeing not much and a Forest River was one of the few I noted. It was when I saw a Casita, however, that I knew I had found my category.
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Old 02-22-2016, 09:56 AM   #4
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Ditto for the big RV Show in Tampa, Florida a couple of months ago. There were NO fiberglass trailers featured anywhere, and only one group of non-fiberglass teardrop type trailers. But there were lots and lots of $350,000+ Class A behemoths.
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Old 02-22-2016, 10:14 AM   #5
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And we've been hearing tales from other campers about being offered 30 year "mortgages" on a new coach! One guy said he was shocked to be offered that long....even AFTER he told them that he was 74 years old. No problem, they said. So he signed on the dotted line.

Been in Florida since mid-December and can tally up the number of fiberglass egg campers onto one hand. Amazing because we've had lots of "lookers" at our unit and most had big, big rigs....the men wanting something small like ours but the women wanting bigger.

All we know is---we're happier than stink.
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Old 02-22-2016, 10:16 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by Uplander View Post
Not one true molded fiberglass trailer at the show I just attended and not much new to report. !
Thats pretty well how it is in these parts as well, rarely a fibreglass trailer at an RV show - if there is one it will most likely be a Bigfoot as they sell through dealers. RV Dealers are usually the folks who rent the show space rather than manufactures. A seem to recall that when Escape was first starting out they did have a trailer at one of the local shows but haven't seen one at the shows for several years now.
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Old 02-22-2016, 10:16 AM   #7
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We met our first Casita in the reserved parking lot of a big RV show where there were no fiberglass trailers. It belonged to one of the sales guys for a big box brand! Just happened to be unlocked so we walked in, looked around, and decided a Casita was perfect for us.
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Old 02-22-2016, 10:55 AM   #8
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The RV show at our local fair grounds had nothing smaller than 28 foot in a trailer or motorhome except one Sprinter Van MH conversion that was still $80k. Even though they had none of the smaller units at the show I bet they sell a lot of the little $13k, $109 a month payment trailers back at the lot. These little stickies actually look nice inside, but I know they are just waiting to start rotting and falling apart. Heck, a $109 a month is no money, but still a lot more than my paid for Scamp is costing me.
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Old 02-22-2016, 11:25 AM   #9
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We attended an RV show in Nashville, TN. Saturday with some friends. Surprisingly, from the last time we went, they zero'ed in on several "smaller" campers (No FG of course). They did display several "R-Pods" that are considered "smaller" campers. Also, the "T@B" is in abundance as well now with a bath. AND to my surprise, they had a couple of "Tear-drops". But wowwwww...they were upwards $11-15K!!

I didnt then and still would not want the T@B until it sheds all the ABS "Plastic" trim. When I was searching for a small camper to pull with my Nissan Frontier, I test-pulled a T@B up Monteagle Mt in Tennessee near the RV dealer (Scenic Roads RV). It pulled fine, but this one at the time did not have a bath and it had "surge" brakes to which I did not care for. Then while I was on their forum, many kept complaining about the ABS trim cracking...of course it will...it's cheap plastic out in the sun!

After backing out on an expensive HILO '15 (Over $16,000 in 2009!), I ordered the 13' Scamp.
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Old 02-22-2016, 06:27 PM   #10
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I haven't been to RV shows but I have noticed our local RV giant dealership pushing the Riverside White Water Retro. From the street they're cute as heck and designed to mimic the canned ham days. Looked into a couple of floor plans online just out of curiosity. The smallest trailer was $16,900 and no match for my scamp in weight.

The vintage look in almost everything from bicycles to RV's is def a trend. Anybody selling a used egg now will probably fetch an even better resale price than usual for quite some time, especially with extended wait times for new ones.

Oh yeah. Still love my Shrimp Scampi!


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Old 02-22-2016, 06:37 PM   #11
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Same with the RV show here. It was huge with hundreds and hundreds of units, with less than 5% under 24'.

You will likely never see any of the moulded fiberglass trailers there, as they are sold direct only, and these RV shows are hosted by dealers, not manufacturers. I imagine there is incentive to the dealer from the manufacturer though.

I did did buy a GoPower 80 Watt portable panel, they had them and the 120W on sale for an excellent price.
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Old 02-22-2016, 06:51 PM   #12
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I refuse to pay for parking and admission to have somebody try to sell me something.
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Old 02-22-2016, 07:11 PM   #13
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I can just imagine the conversation between unknowing mates at one of these shows, if an all-molded-towable manufacturer was parked next to a like-sized sticky and comparably priced. Not knowing why a molded towable may be the better choice, they'd probably focus on more room and bling. Where we focus on maintenance, durability and possible fuel savings due to lightweight and shape.
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Old 02-22-2016, 08:07 PM   #14
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Just a thought. Has anyone ever taken their Egg to one of these RV Shows? Get there bright and early and park it right out front in the lot?

That would be fun, and probably informative for the show-goers. :-)

Am I evil?
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Old 02-22-2016, 08:46 PM   #15
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If you can buy a boat at a show, it's a dealer gathering "show". Same with RV shows. If they're selling and you can buy? It's not manufacturers, but a collection of dealers selling. They put on the show in hopes of generating foot traffic and most of all, sales.

Since neither Casita or Scamp have dealers, these shows are not going to display them. It's not like either are hurting for sales anyhow.
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Old 02-22-2016, 08:57 PM   #16
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From what I'm seeing on Youtube videos for RV shows -
- slides are being added to smaller RVs
- gelcoat at lower end units
- larger selection of models by a mfg
- better construction
- valances on windows
- Florida windows? correct term?
- Larger refrigerators in all size units

From when I purchased my Casita in 2006 there are a whole lot more of better constructed small RVs.

It really is amazing the number of mfgs and product lines.
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Old 02-22-2016, 09:04 PM   #17
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My only reason to go to a RV show is to look at the little Airstreams. I enjoy checking out their newest decorating schematics and floorplans.
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Old 02-22-2016, 09:55 PM   #18
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RV Show trends

I just attended the Austin RV Expo In the coliseum at Austin Texas. It was amazing! There were some really beautiful RVs. They had a fully loaded Bigfoot 17ft trailer. It had LED lighting and even had a generator built in! In a 17ft! 4,400 pound axel. You don't have to worry about over loading with that axel. Retail was $54,000 but show price was $44,000. It was really hard to walk away from such a beauty! They also had their Camper.
They had the 20ft trailers for $12,000 and the 21ft for $15,000. These trailers had a lifetime warranty on the whole trailer if you bought it from Princess Craft RV!!!! I liked the Mini Winnie by Winnebago with gel coat fiberglass sides. The layout was really nice and so was the material.
Some RVs had huge kitchens with full sized stainless appliances, stainless refrigerators with double doors and a drawer for the freezer on the bottom, washer dryer, kitchen with an island, dual recliners, ceiling fans, fireplaces, dual TVs and chandeliers. Two huge bathrooms with tub and two sinks. The cabinets had great construction with dovetail drawers and solid wood. TT with 12 to 15 years of warranty on the roofs against leaking.
The Airstreams were on display too.
To bad Casita wasn't there. It's only 150 miles away from the show.
My wife and I had a great time at the show.


Happy Camping!
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Old 02-23-2016, 04:12 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LyleB View Post
Just a thought. Has anyone ever taken their Egg to one of these RV Shows? Get there bright and early and park it right out front in the lot?

That would be fun, and probably informative for the show-goers. :-)

Am I evil?
Was thinking exactly the same thing! Evil? Evil like a fox!

Though...hard enough to find these little units, hard enough to wait to order one, so maybe a little evil, at that.
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Old 02-25-2016, 08:57 AM   #20
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Am I evil?
Maybe?

The big 3 Egg manufacturer's are already sold out for 6-9 months or more. The new egg offerings from new upstart manufacturer's are unproven with long-term product quality being an unknown. The history & legacy of egg trailer manufacturer's is littered with failures, poor quality products and poor customer service. The egg manufacturer's are all Mom/Pop business's with no dealer network to support. You want it you order direct from Mom & Pop. The big RV manufacturer's sell almost exclusively through local RV dealers. At most all of these "Public" (Not closed RV industry shows) RV shows the RV's trailers and coaches are shown by local dealers in your local market who have the trailers & coaches they show in inventory available for immediate sale. Bigger is better and that means "Mo Profit" for that dealer so that means you show bigger and better to make "Mo Money". The exact opposite was the theme at the recent RVIA none public RV Industry show last December in Louisville where the manufactures were showing/selling the product to the dealers. Smaller and better design was the theme at RVIA. It is VERY EXPENSIVE to display at any of these "Public" or "Closed Industry Only" shows anywhere in the country. If there is no ROI (Return On Investment) it's an easy decision for egg trailer manufacturer to not display at any of these shows public or industry closed.

I could go on and on about the differences between the business models of the egg manufacturers and other RV manufacturers so the question still stands:

Why would any fiberglass egg trailer manufacturer choose show their product at your local RV show?
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