Florida RV SuperShow

The biggest thing to report on this week was the RV SuperShow… Reputed to be the biggest in the country. With somewhere over 1,300 RV’s, there was supposed to be something for everyone. And it was just 10 minutes from our camp!

When buying a ticket, you were given a second day’s ticket free. I survived a second day, but Cherryl (smarter than me) opted to skip the second day. Read on to join me in a disjointed ramble through a very large show.

There were huge buildings with exhibitors, and several seminars on topics from travel destinations (Alaska!) and motorhome maintenance (Keep your diesels purring!)

I should probably get some disclaimers and definitions out of the way now. I don’t claim any of the following information is accurate or even interesting. I’ll just do my best. And here are some quick RV descriptions in case you are new to this or never really cared anyway.

Bumper-Pulled Trailers: pulled behind whatever vehicle you have that’s big enough. (Even motorcycles!)
Slide-on Campers: slid onto the back of a pickup truck. Sadly, very few in this show.
5th Wheel Trailers: pulled by a truck with a “Fifth Wheel” in its bed, like a Semi Tractor Truck uses. Usually bigger and heavier than bumper-pulls.
Class A Motorhomes: drivable rigs, where the RV manufacturer starts with a bare chassis and builds the whole house and driving area over it. May be gas powered, or have a diesel engine, usually in the rear, then called a “Diesel Pusher.”
Class B Motorhomes: drivable rigs, where the RV manufacturer starts with a van chassis and coverts it into livable space. Smaller and highly maneuverable.
Class C Motorhomes: drivable rigs, where the RV manufacturer starts with a “cut-away” chassis – usually a van front end with a bare frame behind – and builds the house behind it. Can be most any size.
Super C Motorhomes: like a Class C, but built on a heavier truck chassis, like a Freightliner Semi truck. Usually pretty large, and good for towing extremely heavy trailers, like stackers with multiple race cars inside.
Bus conversions: drivable rigs, bus bodies converted into usually fabulous motorhomes.

Wow, I was planning on a couple of lines… that got away from me! But now if I use any of those terms, you know what I mean.

Some RV’s are incredibly small, yet they manage to stuff surprising features in them, like little kitchens (where do you store the food before/after cooking?) No bathrooms and definitely no hot showers!

Tent trailers come in many varieties also.

Here is a nice Class A motorhome, with bunks and two full bathrooms/showers!

Most 5th wheel trailers have the master bedroom forward… this next one has a huge living room in that position and the bedroom in the rear.

Here’s another one with that layout.

These “Vintage” trailers are fun… a throwback to the look of the 50’s but more modern inside.

I’m partial to the Newmar brand… this is their Bay Star – a gas Class A rig with bunks.

And here is a Newmar Class A diesel – bigger, with bunks and two bathrooms.

While so many of the hundreds of rigs seem very similar, there were also some really unusual units. On the left is a 55 foot long 5th wheel! Designed to be pulled by a Semi tractor, it was set up like a home/office combo. And if you’re into huge, you may like this Show Hauler – it has gigantic wheels and tires coupled with four wheel drive, so you could drive this grey beast most anywhere.

Here is a very cool 5th wheel. The living area is forward, and towards the rear you step down into a sunken master bedroom (Still about 6.5 feet headroom) or you head up a stairway to two loft areas. These are carpeted and open – one has maybe 2.5 feet headroom and the other has 3.5 feet. It seems that grandkids with sleeping bags would love these spaces!

A couple of Motorhomes showed up nude… exposing the chassis that supports the whole rig. These are both diesel pusher chassis.

Lance has built beautiful slide-on campers for pickups for many years, and started building bumper-pull trailers a while back. I love their quality and features, and this one even has bunks!

If all the above is to plebeian for your taste, and you still want bunks, you could go with this nice Foretravel Class A diesel pusher. Very upscale, really nice woodwork, a lot of interesting textures (who wants to clean that shower??) AND, it’s marked down $366,000 for the show! (From almost $1.3 Million)

But of course some of the ultimate motorhomes are built on Prevost Bus chassis. (If you’re into this you know Prevost is pronounced Prey-Voh.) Several different conversion companies will start with an empty Prevost bus shell, and then add all the features needed to make it a home – and then some! Every conceivable gadget is included, and maybe some you might think are inconceivable! Most are custom made to order, so you can pick which exotic leathers, woods, marble, and so forth that should grace your motorhome. But be prepared to part with $2.5 MILLION!