Hershey Show Meetup Next Week

wincrasher · 09-09-2015, 05:46 PM

I've got a casual meetup planned with my Facebook group at the Hershey RV show on Friday, Sept 18. We are meeting in the main parking lot at 9:00 AM at the location shown on this map:

Everyone is welcome to join us. This is just a meet and greet, but I'm sure some will want to break into groups and tour the show.

Let me know if we can expect any of you to join us.

Thanks,

R

mrshowtime3 · 09-15-2015, 03:53 AM

Is this show worth going to? Good amount of class Bs? I havent heard any news of a Transit model reveal like I was hoping to see.

wincrasher · 09-15-2015, 01:30 PM

No, it's horrible! Probably the biggest RV show in North America. So many RV's you probably won't have time to see them all. If I were you, I'd stay home and buy my new RV on the internet.

stanw909 · 09-15-2015, 02:11 PM

Windcrasher meant to say yes. It is worth going to and as stated above you are welcome to join him and his class b Facebook group but bring sunscreen and anti sarcasm spray.

mrshowtime3 · 09-15-2015, 05:57 PM

lol what I mean is.....I dont care about any RV except B's. So I was hoping they are well represented from all the companies. I thought I read on here last year that someone was annoyed with the show. That it was mostly dealers and very little in the way of manufacturer reps with real knowledge of the products.

wincrasher · 09-15-2015, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrshowtime3

lol what I mean is.....I dont care about any RV except B's. So I was hoping they are well represented from all the companies. I thought I read on here last year that someone was annoyed with the show. That it was mostly dealers and very little in the way of manufacturer reps with real knowledge of the products.

Don't know where those comments come from. Last year there were reps from all the manufacturers onsite. There were lots of B's. Hopefully there are some new players - but Great West Vans is likely a no-show.

mrshowtime3 · 09-19-2015, 02:42 AM

Went today later in the day today, good time. I dont really get the chance locally to see B's so this was the first time in person. And we are thinking B+ now. Just a bit to cramped for us when you count a 80lb dog. But I still do like most of them.

The 59G, which I previously preferred to the 59k, was the biggest let down. That bed is just not doable for us. It seemed like a twin bed. Dont know how FitRV does it. And the bath is not as large as it seemed in videos. The sink bulge is annoying. The 59k was nice. Still dont like the bath. Either make it a dry bath or a true wet bath. Cant imagine dealing with that button up curtain. Other then that we really thought that was a nice model.

Got to meet Dean from LT. Nice guy. Really really liked the Unity Murphy bed model. Quality in those units was the best I saw there IMO. Have they stopped pushing actual B's? I believe they only brought their B+ line to the show.

We liked the Dynamax Rev when you consider the price. My worry is the single rear wheels. I guess you could get by ok on a normal B having the Rams single rear wheels, but seems bad on a B+. Curious if anyone here has a B+ on a Promaster and could weigh in on if the single rear wheel is a big drawback on something that size.

I thought the quality of Coachhouse is pretty poor on some little things when you consider they are priced like the big boys. The shower seemed like it may leak the first time you shower.

wincrasher · 09-19-2015, 03:08 AM

We've talked before about how the Trend and the Rev drive. You can find those posts with a search. One thing that has been pointed out before is that the payload on these types of RV's is alittle less than the regular B Promaster conversions, but not a tremendous amount. The fiberglass bodies must not be much heavier than the metal van bodies.

wincrasher · 09-19-2015, 03:10 AM

I had the good fortune today to talk at long length with Jim Hammill of Roadtrek and Russ Garlin of Winnebago. Very interesting. Sorry I missed Dean.

mumkin · 09-19-2015, 03:10 AM

You can't beat LTV quality. They have suspended their Class B units for the foreseeable future. I think I heard that they are down to an 8 month wait now that they only make the small Class C's. (Unity/Serenity/Libero...and even they are now properly calling them a C on their website... I only nagged at them about it for 4 years. LOL)

I'm surprised at your comment on Coach House, Mr Showtime... They do have a good reputation, but their floor plans and styling never appealed to me. They are the only one piece fiberglass body though. Did you see the Arriva?

wincrasher · 09-19-2015, 03:13 AM

I'd agree that the Coach House C's looked old school. Thought the Arriva was pretty good looking. Someone must have thought so too, because it had a "sold" sticker on it.

B Eventually · 09-19-2015, 04:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrshowtime3

Went today later in the day today, good time. I dont really get the chance locally to see B's so this was the first time in person. And we are thinking B+ now. Just a bit to cramped for us when you count a 80lb dog. But I still do like most of them...

...We liked the Dynamax Rev when you consider the price. My worry is the single rear wheels. I guess you could get by ok on a normal B having the Rams single rear wheels, but seems bad on a B+. Curious if anyone here has a B+ on a Promaster and could weigh in on if the single rear wheel is a big drawback on something that size.

Try adding 55 lbs to that dog and three kids too and you're in my predicament. Fortunately we can make several of the B+ layouts work for us. I'm hoping to check out a Trend in person soon since I like that layout the most but I'm afraid we'd max out the vehicle's capacity with just our 6 bodies.

Has Dynamax upgraded the Rev to a fiberglass roof yet? Last I heard they were still putting rubber roofs on the Rev.

mrshowtime3 · 09-19-2015, 04:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Transit

Try adding 55 lbs to that dog and three kids too and you're in my predicament. Fortunately we can make several of the B+ layouts work for us. I'm hoping to check out a Trend in person soon since I like that layout the most but I'm afraid we'd max out the vehicle's capacity with just our 6 bodies.

Has Dynamax upgraded the Rev to a fiberglass roof yet? Last I heard they were still putting rubber roofs on the Rev.

Didnt get a chance to talk to a rep for dynamax, they only had one REV there that I saw. It was the one with the bed on a lift like on the Trend model. But yea still a rubber roof as far as I know. Thats whats going against it. Rubber roof and single rear wheels IMO. Quite an overhang on that thing too.

Boxster1971 · 09-19-2015, 05:04 AM

I spent a couple of hours at the show today. Well worth it for B-van fans. There were more B-vans then I've ever seen at this show. Nice surprise was the Midwest Automotive Design collection of four Sprinter conversions.

B Eventually · 09-19-2015, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrshowtime3

Didnt get a chance to talk to a rep for dynamax, they only had one REV there that I saw. It was the one with the bed on a lift like on the Trend model. But yea still a rubber roof as far as I know. Thats whats going against it. Rubber roof and single rear wheels IMO. Quite an overhang on that thing too.

I hope they didn't under engineer the lift mechanism like Winnebago did in their Trends and Itasca Vivas. The Trend/Viva forum has many bed reliability complaints. It's been such a problem in the 14/15 Trends that they upgraded the brackets that supports the lifts for the '16.

mumkin · 09-19-2015, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

Nice surprise was the Midwest Automotive Design collection of four Sprinter conversions.

I agree. I saw one at my dealer when they were putting in my new battery. They are really luxurious... high end. I didn't ask about the price as I'm not interested in Sprinters. But I suspect that they are pretty pricey.

tbirdman · 09-20-2015, 01:27 AM

Saw a Rev today. Although initially it looked good, it felt cheap. In fact most of the units I saw would be hard pressed to measure up to the quality of my 2002 Coach House although I would never buy one new as they just too much $$$.

I still hit my head on every Chevy based Class B I saw and I'm only 5'7".

mumkin · 09-20-2015, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbirdman

Saw a Rev today. Although initially it looked good, it felt cheap.

They are Forest River... everything that I have looked at that they produce seems very cheaply made.

wincrasher · 09-20-2015, 02:05 AM

I got my writeup done of my observations at the Hershey show. Follow the link to my blog. It's really long, with lots of pictures.

Wincrasher's Travels: Hershey RV Show - September 18, 2015

peteco · 09-20-2015, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wincrasher

I got my writeup done of my observations at the Hershey show. Follow the link to my blog. It's really long, with lots of pictures.

Wincrasher's Travels: Hershey RV Show - September 18, 2015

Thanks for taking the time to do such a great writeup. I went to Hershey in 2010. Convinced us we wanted a B and a Roadtrek 210P in particular. Bought a 2006 a few months later. Talked to RT head at the show, Hanemaayer, who was very helpful. It is interesting that the Chevy is still around and Roadtrek is updating them.

Did you happen to see what compressor refrigerator they are putting in the 210? I think my fridge is on the way out and I would like to replace with a compressor fridge. Of course I will need to add solar, which I want to do anyway.

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