RV Shows – Great resource for everything RVING
01-19-2015
We have spent some time talking about different avenues for obtaining your RV so Vicki and I thought this would be a good time to tell you what a great resource RV Shows can be.
If you are fortunate to be in Florida during the winter there is an entire circuit of RV shows the entire state is flooded with them from January – Late April. The really big one is held the second week of January each year in Tampa at the state fairgrounds, The RV Super show. Vicki and I had the pleasure of attending it this past weekend and it really is a great resource for everything regarding RV’s.
Whether you have purchased an RV already or just wanting to shop you can’t beat the RV super show. It gives you an opportunity to talk to the RV manufacturers and pick their brains. This can be especially helpful if you have purchased an RV and are wanting to do some renovations. You can see a wide range of interior designs and get some ideas on storage solutions, flooring, and lighting to mention a few. In addition to talking to RV manufacturers you can also talk to a wide variety of Campground owners and managers to see who is offering what at their resort.
Most of the campgrounds and resorts will be offering deep discounts on stays as well as giving out BOGO’s buy a day, week, month get one free. Those can be very handy we file ours away based on state and if we are in an area and decide we want to spend a couple of days Vicki pulls out the book and finds out what we have tucked away. Some of the campgrounds might even be looking for work campers and hosts for their season so if you are still looking too fill your spring or summer with a work camp job then that opportunity may present itself also.
Widgets and Gadgets, Oh my!
Now what would any trade show be without a slew of widgets, gadgets and items that you never knew you couldn’t live without till you saw it? Really RV shows are great resource to find out what new innovations are out there for the RVing community. Honestly I could write for the next 3 months on all of the different widgets and gadgets that we saw at the show but I thought I would touch on a couple that we thought may be helpful.
LED Lighting
In our Safari all of our interior lighting is T-8 florescent bulbs and until recently there were no LED’s that would retrofit that type of lighting. Converting your existing lighting from standard bulb to LED is an expensive endeavor however it will pay for itself in the long run. LED Lighting uses less power to run on your 12 volt as well as are much cooler to operate. In addition they last a lot longer meaning although your initial investment is higher you won’t have to replace the bulbs as often. There were several vendors at the show that carried a complete line of LED’s for your Motorhome or Trailer and honestly there was almost no difference in price.
TV Mounts by Mor/Ryde
As in most older coaches the TV housing is usually located over the front of the RV and it’s a space setup for an older “TUBE” type TV. Vicki and I have been struggling to find a TV Mount because we want a bigger TV as well as there are glass doors on each side that we do not want to lose access to. If we just mount a board across the opening and use a standard flat screen mount we would lose the usage of the doors on each side. Mor/Ryde has an entire line of flat screen mounts to solve all sorts of TV issues. The one we found is heavy duty it’s made to mount inside the cabinet but it slides forward up to 7 inches pulling it far enough away from the doors that we do not lose their functionality. It also tilts up and down to improve your viewing experience as well as full range of motion from side to side. I would suggest you check out their website Mor/Ryde to see if they can help you with your particular need.
GOstick Products
Wayne Edmunds is the President and the inventor of this very cleaver mounting idea. He has a line of products for hanging everything from your TV to the side of your motorhome or trailer to a FAN or a security light. The great thing is you won’t put a single SCREW into your motorhome or trailer. It’s done with a very cleaver suction cup. For Example the TV mount he sells will handle a Flat panel TV up to 35lbs. This day and age a 35LB TV is a VERY LARGE TV. He also has a FAN MOUNT so you can put a fan outside on those hot days for under your awning. I really would recommend checking out his website he has some really cool solutions for hanging things on your motorhome.
Seminars
Although Vicki and I did not attend any of the seminars I thought it would advantages to touch on this subject. Most RV shows have a variety of Seminars that are included with the price of admission. You can find seminars that are pitches for new products or educational from everything from general up keep and preventive maintenance to why solar is a great option in an RV. The bottom line here is RV shows are a great resource for everything RVing. Find one in your area and spend an afternoon wandering, you just never know what you will find or what type of idea may get sparked because of it.
Photo: Model GoStack-G
Photo Credit: GOStick
If you are fortunate to be in Florida during the winter there is an entire circuit of RV shows the entire state is flooded with them from January – Late April. The really big one is held the second week of January each year in Tampa at the state fairgrounds, The RV Super show. Vicki and I had the pleasure of attending it this past weekend and it really is a great resource for everything regarding RV’s.
Whether you have purchased an RV already or just wanting to shop you can’t beat the RV super show. It gives you an opportunity to talk to the RV manufacturers and pick their brains. This can be especially helpful if you have purchased an RV and are wanting to do some renovations. You can see a wide range of interior designs and get some ideas on storage solutions, flooring, and lighting to mention a few. In addition to talking to RV manufacturers you can also talk to a wide variety of Campground owners and managers to see who is offering what at their resort.
Most of the campgrounds and resorts will be offering deep discounts on stays as well as giving out BOGO’s buy a day, week, month get one free. Those can be very handy we file ours away based on state and if we are in an area and decide we want to spend a couple of days Vicki pulls out the book and finds out what we have tucked away. Some of the campgrounds might even be looking for work campers and hosts for their season so if you are still looking too fill your spring or summer with a work camp job then that opportunity may present itself also.
Widgets and Gadgets, Oh my!
Now what would any trade show be without a slew of widgets, gadgets and items that you never knew you couldn’t live without till you saw it? Really RV shows are great resource to find out what new innovations are out there for the RVing community. Honestly I could write for the next 3 months on all of the different widgets and gadgets that we saw at the show but I thought I would touch on a couple that we thought may be helpful.
LED Lighting
In our Safari all of our interior lighting is T-8 florescent bulbs and until recently there were no LED’s that would retrofit that type of lighting. Converting your existing lighting from standard bulb to LED is an expensive endeavor however it will pay for itself in the long run. LED Lighting uses less power to run on your 12 volt as well as are much cooler to operate. In addition they last a lot longer meaning although your initial investment is higher you won’t have to replace the bulbs as often. There were several vendors at the show that carried a complete line of LED’s for your Motorhome or Trailer and honestly there was almost no difference in price.
TV Mounts by Mor/Ryde
As in most older coaches the TV housing is usually located over the front of the RV and it’s a space setup for an older “TUBE” type TV. Vicki and I have been struggling to find a TV Mount because we want a bigger TV as well as there are glass doors on each side that we do not want to lose access to. If we just mount a board across the opening and use a standard flat screen mount we would lose the usage of the doors on each side. Mor/Ryde has an entire line of flat screen mounts to solve all sorts of TV issues. The one we found is heavy duty it’s made to mount inside the cabinet but it slides forward up to 7 inches pulling it far enough away from the doors that we do not lose their functionality. It also tilts up and down to improve your viewing experience as well as full range of motion from side to side. I would suggest you check out their website Mor/Ryde to see if they can help you with your particular need.
GOstick Products
Wayne Edmunds is the President and the inventor of this very cleaver mounting idea. He has a line of products for hanging everything from your TV to the side of your motorhome or trailer to a FAN or a security light. The great thing is you won’t put a single SCREW into your motorhome or trailer. It’s done with a very cleaver suction cup. For Example the TV mount he sells will handle a Flat panel TV up to 35lbs. This day and age a 35LB TV is a VERY LARGE TV. He also has a FAN MOUNT so you can put a fan outside on those hot days for under your awning. I really would recommend checking out his website he has some really cool solutions for hanging things on your motorhome.
Seminars
Although Vicki and I did not attend any of the seminars I thought it would advantages to touch on this subject. Most RV shows have a variety of Seminars that are included with the price of admission. You can find seminars that are pitches for new products or educational from everything from general up keep and preventive maintenance to why solar is a great option in an RV. The bottom line here is RV shows are a great resource for everything RVing. Find one in your area and spend an afternoon wandering, you just never know what you will find or what type of idea may get sparked because of it.
Photo: Model GoStack-G
Photo Credit: GOStick
Comment
mattymanFebruary 19, 2015 | 10:19 AM
Sorry about the miss comment on the date!
February 2, 2015 | 11:28 AM
I live in FL and always have and have attended the Super RV numerous times. It's great, however, the show is ALWAYS the third weekend in January, not the 2nd weekend. Thanks.
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