Pittsburgh RV Show. A few observations

[jgillott]

I had the opportunity to spend the day at the Pittsburgh RV show yesterday. There were a couple of things that stood out to me this year that I hadn't noticed in years past. For those of you who follow the RV market closely, I was wondering if you have also noticed these trends in your areas.

1) There were destination trailers everywhere yesterday. Almost every dealer there had several lines of park models on display. I also noticed that there are many, many new styles including lofts, multi level designs, etc.

2) More Motorhomes at the show this year than in years past, especially entry level Class C. Winnebago, Coachman, Forest River, and Jayco all had quite a few models represented in the $50K-$70K range. Not that any of these are top of the line units, but certainly something to consider if you were somone looking to jump in to the RV world and didn't already have a tow vehicle.

3) Aluminum sided stick built trailers are back from almost every company. A few years ago, there were only a few models on the floor that were not fiberglass. Now they are very well represented by every company.

4) Didn't see a truck camper on display anywhere yesterday. Last year, Palomino had a small display. Didn't see anything this year unless I missed it somehow.

5) Suprisingly, there wasn't as many small, lightweight trailers represented as I would have expected or that have been there in the past. Some in the sub 22' range, but most were the 30'+ range.

 

[crispyboy]

I haven't been to an RV show in a few years but that surprises me that there aren't more sub 22' trailers. With the high cost of fuel and high cost of heavy duty towing vehicle (which sometimes is a dedicated tow vehicle that just sits around depreciating) I am surprised there isn't more lightweight trailers.
It seems like #1 and #5 on your list go hand in hand - people are buying the park models as a destination as they don't want to own and maintain a mobile trailer and dedicated tow vehicle.

That's too bad about the lack of truck campers at the show but I bet you might find more west of the Mississippi river where there are more places to boondock.

 

[SSteilow]

Yes, the Truck campers are usually west. I believe Denver had a RV show this last weekend, with a lot of TC Manufacturers involved. Seems thats the dividing line, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Arazona and West, where TC's are in larger numbers.
Scott

 

[Road Dog]

"Where are the smaller trailers?" I asked at an RV show up here. The salesman thinking is simple: there's limited space so show a few high end models and lure the customer back to the yard where all the trailers are. Nobody buys a trailer at a show.

 

[Jim W]

"Where are the smaller trailers?" I asked at an RV show up here. The salesman thinking is simple: there's limited space so show a few high end models and lure the customer back to the yard where all the trailers are. Nobody buys a trailer at a show.

We did; DW and I bought a 318SAB Cougar in 2010. We were not even planning on buying one since we had a 2006 Ameri-Camp Summit Ridge 5er. But the offer made was too good to pass up the dealer also provided three slide toppers mount at no additional cost to secure the deal. Salesman overheard the wife say she liked the couch and the two recliner chairs over the single jack-knife couch we had in the Summit Ridge and this started the process.

Jim W.