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Rhode Island RV & Camping Show

By jayjazz · Comments (0)

Wednesday, April 15th, 2015

Our fourth and final New England camping show took place this past weekend at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, R.I. We were really excited because the event website promised motor homes of all sizes, including Class A’s. We were also looking forward to using our new Vivitar DVR 787 HD action cam to record all of the action (product review coming soon!).

We arrived at the show at about 5:30 PM on Saturday and of course, I had to run back to the car because I forgot my Good Sam card. It was worth the run, though, because we received two admission tickets for half off! Previously, we have been hitting these shows as early as possible but we hoped that by arriving later, there would be fewer people so we could spend more time taking videos.

The show entrance was on the second floor and as we entered the hall, all we could see was the usual row of vendor tables and raffles. As we neared the end of the row, something LARGE and white caught the corner of my eye. We quickened our pace and as we turned the left corner, there they were: THE MOTHERLOAD!!! Rows and rows of beautiful, new Class A’s! I was so excited that I didn’t know where to begin. We skipped the first row entirely and headed right for a yellow and white Winnebago Brave at the front of the second row. The retro look of the Brave is really fun and this rig just won the RV Business “RV of the Year” award.

We spent a good two hours jumping in and out of every class A on the floor and a few trailers, too. There were so many awesome motor homes at this show…it’s better if we just show you!

The 2015 Vegas RUV by Thor Motor Coach gets our “Cutest in Show” vote. This coach is available in four floor plans with lots of big rig options!

2015 Newmar Dutch Star 4369. This 45-foot behemoth was stunning…and expensive! They had several mops on hand for people to clean up their drool on the way out 🙂

One unit we really liked but didn’t get any video of was the 2015 Surveyor Travel Trailer by Forest River. There were two models on hand but this unit comes with several different options, which are divided as expandables, couple’s coaches, family coaches and fifth wheels. We spoke to a sales person from MacDonald’s RV Center in Plainville, MA, who stated this is one of Forest River’s best selling models. Check them out here!

2015 Berkshire 38′ Class A Diesel by Forest River

Forest River R-pod Midwest RP-178

2015 Forest River R-pod Midwest RP-178, custom painted by artist Dean Loucks!

2015 Newmar Dutch Star 4369

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Tags : Rhode Island, RVing

New Hampshire Camping & RV Show

By jayjazz · Comments (0)

Wednesday, April 1st, 2015

This past Saturday, we attended our third RV show of the year, the 43rd Annual NH Camping & RV Show in Bedford, New Hampshire. Billed as New Hampshire’s largest camping show, the event featured dealers and campground owners from all over New England.

As with the previous two RV shows, it began to snow in the morning and continued throughout the day. Arriving at NH Sportsplex around 11:30 AM, we saw a giant cluster of cars cramped near the entrance and realized that the main parking lot was full. We ended up parking in the back lot of a Land Rover dealership across the road and trudged through the slush with a couple dozen other folks to reach the event.

It seems that we have been setting our expectations too high because once again, there weren’t any larger motorhomes on display. The main building had two 23 foot Class C’s that were nearly identical but unfortunately, that was it. However, both buildings were full of new model trailers and pop-ups and we spent most of our time hanging out in these. We also took advantage of a show special to renew our Good Sam membership for the next two years and receive a $25 gift certificate to Camping World. New toilet, here we come!

The most notable rig on display was the 2016 Winnebago Spyder Toy Hauler. This 24-foot man cave on wheels was the most eye catching unit we saw and was a lot of fun to hang out in. I really like the use of cargo netting throughout and we hope to install something similar when we remodel the overhead bunk on Lady T into a storage area.

Check out our pics and video for this and other units from NH Camping & RV Show!

J&J

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Tags : RVing

Worcester RV & Camping Show

By jayjazz · Comments (0)

Tuesday, February 24th, 2015

Another Saturday, another RV show! After dropping my car off at the mechanic to assess some exhaust damage caused last week by Mother Nature’s boundless wrath, Jay and I drove down to Worcester to check out the Worcester RV & Camping Show at the DCU Center. We attended this show in 2014 and were not very impressed, but we decided to give it another go because we had two free passes.

Unfortunately, there were even fewer big rigs this year. There was only one motorhome on display in the entire showroom, a 24 ft. Class C. We did, however, tour several nice travel trailers and there were plenty of fun, super light models such as Forest River’s popular R-Pod and the Riverside Retro. We also checked out a couple of neat 2015 hybrid trailers. These models have a traditional trailer design with pop-up style sleeping compartments on each end. These are perfect for families who need the additional sleeping space but want a smaller rig overall, and they are becoming quite popular.

Since we were closer to home, we took our time at this show and made sure to get more video action for your viewing pleasure. Again, we helped ourselves to any free literature from local campgrounds and resorts and picked up brochures for our favorite trailers from the show. Check out the pics below. There weren’t many vendors compared to the Springfield show so we didn’t purchase and goodies this time around. All in all, we had a swell time but next year Worcester, PLEASE BRING IN MORE MOTORHOMES! The DCU Center has the height for it and we definitely have the interest!

Upon leaving the show, we were greeted by a wet, heavy snow…déjà vu anyone? My thoughts drifted to Lady T and the summertime sadness that I’m convinced even the heartiest New Englanders are feeling right now. Later on Saturday evening, we sifted through dozens of brochures to pick our Memorial Day camping spot and after an hour or so of deliberating, we settled on…..

Well, you’ll just have to keep reading to find out! Don’t forget to follow us on FB, Twitter, and YouTube. See you on the road…

J&J

Our top picks for travel trailers were the Coachman Freedom Express 246RKS and the Starcraft Launch 21FBS. Have a look!

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Tags : RV Show

Springfield RV & Camping Show

By jayjazz · Comments (1)

Tuesday, February 17th, 2015

This past Saturday, we decided to brave the frozen tundra and trek out to western Mass for the Springfield RV, Camping & Outdoor Show at the Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds. The show is the largest in the Northeast, with over 250 exhibitors from all over New England and an annual attendance of 34,000 people.

We arrived around Noon and were excited to see that the looming Nor’easter and subzero wind chills hadn’t deterred the thousands of crazy camping lovers that showed up for the expo. There were three huge buildings full of the newest rigs, toys and accessories and dozens of vendors, selling everything from jewelry to jerky. One of the unique vendors was Custom Themed Solar Lights & Crafts. They make one-of-a-kind solar lights out of landscaping logs…check out the awesome Route 66 themed lamp we picked up to compliment Lady T!

We took our time in each building, stopping frequently to pick up campground and RV resort brochures to help us to decide on where to visit during the 2015 season. We also toured several new trailers and RV’s, allowing ourselves to daydream into the future when we hope to someday be full-timers (and lottery winners). And no J&J outing would be complete without taking a few goofy pictures!

Around 3 PM, we hit the road, right when the storm was starting to get gnarly. After this last month, it’s been feeling like summer will never get here but the RV show has rejuvenated our spirits and we know it won’t be long before were cruising in the open air once again, with the windows down and the radio turned up, an endless stretch of asphalt before us and this miserable winter fading from the rearview. Viva la road trip!