RVIA Louisville Review

[vintageracer]

Just returned last week from the RVIA Show in Louisville last week. Lot's of RV's of all shapes and sizes.

Observations compared to previous years at the show.

This year a LOT more larger trailers on display. This included large towables and 5th wheels. I saw only soft side pop-up and a few hard side pop-ups. Lot's of "Sprinter" motorhome conversions along with a lot more large Class A motorhomes than in previous years.

Airstream had the Fiberglass "Nest" trailer front and center in their display with "No Photographs" signs out front of their display. Ya Right!!! The "Nest's" on display looked very nice, well built and a good design. Saw 1 Oliver trailer. In the parking lot!

Parkliner introduced their new fiberglass trailer. Looked nice with retail pricing right in line with Scamp and Casita.

Last year 2016 Hymer showed 3 different fiberglass trailers for introduction in the Spring of 2017. That never happened. Went to the Hymer booth to see these trailers again and they were not there. Hymer also owns Road-tek and the Road-tek Hymer display was FULL of Sprinter and Dodge Sprinter conversions. A discussion with the National Sales Director tells me that sales of the Motorhomes is so good that the the manufacturing and engineering efforts have been totally directed at the Motorhomes at the expense of the trailers shown in 2016. They are looking at 2018 now for introduction of the trailers to the US market. That again could be delayed based upon motorhome sales.

The most interesting rig at the show was shown by Furrion. A nice motorhome RV with roof-top helicopter pad, seating and hot tub.

Here are some pictures for you enjoyment!

[vintageracer]

Mo Squares

[vintageracer]

Mo Squares 2

[floyd]

You say that the Parkliner price is "right in line with Scamp and Casita".
What was the price? From former threads and releases we were led to believe the Parkliner would be $37000 list... Not so? Are they really 10-15 thousand less than predicted?

[David B.]

Mike, thanks for the much anticipated pictures of these two new FGRV releases.
Dave & Paula

[vintageracer]

Originally Posted by floyd

You say that the Parkliner price is "right in line with Scamp and Casita".
What was the price? From former threads and releases we were led to believe the Parkliner would be $37000 list... Not so? Are they really 10-15 thousand less than predicted?

I asked their representative the expected MSRP for the trailer as shown at the show.

Answer around $30K.

[Paul O.]

A heli-pad on top? At first I thought you were kidding! I guess a retired special ops guy would love one.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by vintageracer

I asked their representative the expected MSRP for the trailer as shown at the show.

Answer around $30K.

The web site says base price is 30K plus options, delivery, paperwork etc.
20K will still buy a Standard Scamp16 with lots of options. I assume the same is true of a Casita 16.

[brian m.]

I like the staircase. Might need to put one in my Casita...[emoji848]

[Wallo]

Originally Posted by floyd

The web site says base price is 30K plus options, delivery, paperwork etc.
20K will still buy a Standard Scamp16 with lots of options. I assume the same is true of a Casita 16.

I just bought a 16' Casita Spirit Deluxe. I didn't get alot of extras, but I have the standard features and comforts, air/heat, outdoor shower. It came in a couple grand under $20K. Well within the reach of alot of people. Less than a new car.
Very comfortable, easy to hook up and tow with a vehicle that is equipped to tow up to 3500#.

Looks like Parkliner is trying to position itself in the Oliver/Bigfoot category. Even the Escape is less. Parkliner had a rocky start originally. Time will tell if its quality and features are worth $30K.

[ecmbob]

Drove from SLC area to Mesa, AZ to pick up my 2018 Parkliner. I ordered most options, and excluding my Chalet trade, the cost was about 31k. My wife and I camped at nearby Usery park for three days to see if everything worked, then at Sedona for three nights, then one night in Kanab (really cold there, won't try that again). It is indeed a great camper. Things I must still do are to make shelves and bulkheads for the storage cabinets. I was getting some sway on the road, so I'll be getting sway bars. The cabinet doors for the most part open upward, so they will require struts to hold them up when using them. The outside storage door has bonked my head at least three times, so that will be the first to get something to prop it up. An option you should have is the tank monitor. This unit has am/fm/dvd player, tv, furnace and AC, the awning door handle, screen door.
Be aware that Parkliner does not make the bunk option now. They discounted for me since I had ordered that. I believe I can make a bunk easily.

We slept on the queen bed, and found the cushions to be very nice. We had a 3" pad over them, but I think you could go thinner. This is a nice, tight camper that holds heat well. Overall, I believe Parkliner is on target.

[Raz]

Great pictures. Thanks for posting. Wonder why No Pictures and what they would have done if you'd been caught.

[Paul O.]

Originally Posted by ecmbob

... The cabinet doors for the most part open upward, so they will require struts to hold them up when using them. The outside storage door has bonked my head at least three times, so that will be the first to get something to prop it up. ...

I don't know what kind of hinges Parkliner uses, but if they are like the Scamp hinges, you can try this.
I took the hinges off and filed another flat on them to hold the door open against the ceiling. See pics. I may have posted this before; if I did, here it is again. Sometimes things are hard to find.

[cpaharley2008]

Looks like the Nest has a 3 tier/step interior? No sure that is conducive to nighttime sleep walking. Also the Parkliner has 2 types of windows, frameless and framed? Wonder why the lone framed over the kitchen?

[SteveGP]

Looks like Airstream has significantly rearranged the interior floor plan of the Nest. It looks like the side table (eating area) is gone, with the front queen-sized bed turned into a u-shaped large dinette. The result is a more "normal" small-trailer floorplan.

I'm not sure it's an improvement, though. We really appreciate having the two-person dinette in the front of our Scamp, separate from the bed in back.

[charlsara]

By prohibiting pictures they will insure a lot will be taken!