Yesterday
was the last big RV show until fall for pretty much the whole state of Florida. It
was in Tampa at the fairgrounds and thankfully the vast majority of it was
inside and air conditioned. It's quite a bit smaller than the really big one in January.
I knew that
it was going to get hot really early so I made a beeline to the outside stuff
and got through those before the real heat got intense.
Spent some
time in what I call the ‘gauntlet’ which is the smaller vendors hawking
anything from exclusive getaway vacations, to RV cookware, to RV add-on stuff,
to pretty much anything you could want for an RV. These people can be extremely
aggressive and will literally get in your way as you walk to stop you. I had
one lady try her very best to put some sort of device in my hand figuring that if
she got it there then I would be hard pressed not to buy it. Guess again.
Spent a good
deal of time in the main show area and went through a bunch of 2016 models. To
be honest, they look very much like the 2015 models with a few new useless gadgetry
items thrown in.
I even went
through several class C units, travel trailers (never own one of those again),
and some class A rigs. I’m still totally convinced a fifth wheel is the right
choice for me. Even some of the $500k class A units just wouldn’t be what I
would be comfortable in. Granted they have lots of shiny in them, but in my
opinion they aren’t laid out very well. Plus, they all basically have the exact
same floor-plan.
I thought I
had seen all the models on display at the show and was getting ready to leave
when a salesperson walked up and we started talking. This guy was good. I mean
really good. He didn't bombard me with a ton of questions about buying an RV, It almost seemed like he just wanted to have a normal conversation with
someone. I'm so affable that it felt completely normal to me (Sucker!!).
He eventually did ask if I had seen anything I liked. I said yeah, there's a front living model over there that I liked quite a bit. He then asked if I had seen the one over here, and no I hadn't seen it tucked back in a corner. So I figured I'll go look just to humor the guy.
Whoa, nice rig. It was a little bigger than I am planning but not that much bigger. I spent a good bit of time going over it in some detail (remember I'm an engineer). The sales guy picked it out almost immediately. Basically it was, "You're an engineer aren't you?", busted again. He said he can always pick us out because we will invariably start looking at construction and details rather than the shiny stuff.
So about that time the factory rep guy comes over and we get into a big discussion about building materials/insulation/tankage/electrical/etc. as we tour around the rig. He finally ends it with an offer to come up to the factory in Indiana and take the factory tour. I asked if he means the 'Tourist Tour' where you watch the stupid little video, See a small portion of the assembly line through a glass window or something. He said 'Nope, I'll give you a hard hat and safety glasses and we'll go walk as much of the line as you want.
So I figured I would really push the envelope a little and see just how far he was willing to go. I asked if I could order the rig from the factory and watch it being built. He said that it was an unusual request but he's had it before, and yes I could do that. All 5 days of it.
He eventually did ask if I had seen anything I liked. I said yeah, there's a front living model over there that I liked quite a bit. He then asked if I had seen the one over here, and no I hadn't seen it tucked back in a corner. So I figured I'll go look just to humor the guy.
Whoa, nice rig. It was a little bigger than I am planning but not that much bigger. I spent a good bit of time going over it in some detail (remember I'm an engineer). The sales guy picked it out almost immediately. Basically it was, "You're an engineer aren't you?", busted again. He said he can always pick us out because we will invariably start looking at construction and details rather than the shiny stuff.
So about that time the factory rep guy comes over and we get into a big discussion about building materials/insulation/tankage/electrical/etc. as we tour around the rig. He finally ends it with an offer to come up to the factory in Indiana and take the factory tour. I asked if he means the 'Tourist Tour' where you watch the stupid little video, See a small portion of the assembly line through a glass window or something. He said 'Nope, I'll give you a hard hat and safety glasses and we'll go walk as much of the line as you want.
So I figured I would really push the envelope a little and see just how far he was willing to go. I asked if I could order the rig from the factory and watch it being built. He said that it was an unusual request but he's had it before, and yes I could do that. All 5 days of it.
Say what??? He
totally called my bluff! I’d be almost tempted to buy the damn trailer just to
see if he would make good on the agreement.
Seriously
though, it is a nice unit and with a couple of small changes that he agreed to,
I could very easily see myself living in it for ~8 months at a time.
I did stop by Lazy Days on my way back to Melbourne and snuck onto the sales lot without the sales people catching on. I've been there enough times to have figured out how to do it.
They STILL don't have that 293RK on the lot!! Or if they did, they sold it already. Kind of irritating because I wanted to spend some real time in and around it to try to get a better feel and not have a salesperson irritating me.
I'll keep watching and get over there quick when they get another one.
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