Winter RV Shows?

**Tweety** · 01-07-2011, 11:02 AM

Is anyone planning to go to any of the winter RV shows? Allentown is this weekend. Is that one worth going to? We usually go to the one at the Oaks Expo Center, but weren't impressed. Never been to York - how's that one?

ihsolutions · 01-07-2011, 11:47 AM

I go to every local show, not sure why, but I can't seem to restrain myself. We have two per year, one in October and another in late February. They are nowhere near the size they once were, and I'd guess there are less than 50% as many dealers as there one were.

Poppy & Nana · 01-07-2011, 01:53 PM

We usually go to two also...one this weekend (Camping World's - we went yesterday) and then one in March both are at the NYS Fairgrounds in Syracuse.....we saw one Sunline it was a 2000 Advancer - and the salesman was just putting a SOLD sign on it - we did not get a chance to meet the new owners - they left rather quickly and we still have rows of TT's to look at.

I have to say - some of the larger 5'ers were really nice and saw a Heartland TT which was so-so (I hear that they are comparable to Sunline) it was a 2009 NEW leftover with a very attractive price tag.-...I liked the layout - just not the fit & finish!

We'll make the trip out in March and look again - but we are just LOOKING!!!!!

pwb01 · 01-07-2011, 06:08 PM

There's one at the local mall in Schenectady, Community college in Troy 15 miles away and one in Saratoga 30 miles away all this weekend. So many trailers, so little time. I like to see what's new and usually come away with a renewed appreciation for Sunlines, their workmanship and floorplans. The new Airstreams are kind of nice though. (talk about pricey.....)

We usually hit the big one at the state fair grounds in Syracues in a couple of months. There they usually have something like 600 units on display.

phillong · 01-07-2011, 06:49 PM

My wife and I went to the Allentown show today. Maybe it was the snow this morning, but it was very empty as far as patrons go.

I was not over impressed with what they had at the show, but then my wife and I visit some of the same vendors during the summer at their places of buisness. So we saw many of the same units.

I did notice some very good show deals, but not in the market right now.

Phil

**JohnB** · 01-07-2011, 09:20 PM

Our big one here at the fair grounds is in early March. I like to go and look to pick up ideas. Cindy keeps giving the "what are you doing now..."

Most everyone is climbing inside and here I am looking under them.... Axles, slides, frames etc

"We" may end up there and may not. Or it will be me alone...

ihsolutions · 01-08-2011, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppy & Nana

I have to say - some of the larger 5'ers were really nice and saw a Heartland TT which was so-so (I hear that they are comparable to Sunline) it was a 2009 NEW leftover with a very attractive price tag.-...I liked the layout - just not the fit & finish!

When you are used to the fit and finish of a Sunline it's hard to go look at anything after that. (Un)fortunately Sunline is no longer around for people to make that comparison at shows.

My best friend bought a Heartland North Trail last summer and I was impressed with the quality, at least considering what he paid. Heartland does a pretty good job engineering design characteristics IMO but not so great with fit/finish and detail, even in the case of my fiver. For example, my rig has laminated roof, walls, and floor which are terrific and high R-value, but if you open up the wall behind the basement the wires/pipes are running wild and not very well organized. This doesn't matter to a lot of people, but it does me. So although the structure of my rig is great some of the detail items are lacking. The detail is where almost every mfr seems to cut corners from my research, so I picked the brand I liked the best and which I believed had the best build quality, as far as the structure goes.

pwb01 · 01-09-2011, 06:04 PM

Went to two shows this weekend and not surprised, I still like the Sunline the best. Not much new out there this year and they seem to be pushing 27' and above and 16' and under. In the last couple of years there's been a lot of small ones introduced such as the r-pod and I-camp. The T@B lead the way a few years ago.

We started with one and loved it but decided we needed to be able to get up in the middle of the night without involving shoes and flashlights.