OPINION
It’s like the Daytona 500 for the RV industry!
As every NASCAR fan knows, the Daytona 500 is the granddaddy of racing. Every year it is the anticipation that starts with the marketing, team shifts, speed week, and finally the weekend race. We get to see whose team performs, who doesn’t last, and basically the pulse of racing for the rest of the year.
In the RV industry, the first weekend of January is what I consider the granddaddy of them all, the “Daytona 500” for the pulse of the RV industry going into the year. I have been in the RV industry since early 1983 and have been doing shows since 1988, first in sales and marketing for Winnebago Industry. After that I was conducting seminars throughout the country at over 1000 shows. I witnessed some explosions and some real tankers! I also think these shows indicate the true pulse of what the market has to bear for the following year.
Very few RV shows after March
If you remember back several years, the California RVIA Show in Pomona, CA, and one final year in Fontana, was the only major RV retail show in the fall. When it shut down due to COVID and the “bored” (yes, I meant to spell it that way) decided to cancel the show, there have been very few shows after March that have provided any measurable data for attendance or sales.
If you believe the Go RVing™ marketing “hype,” then you probably don’t need to read any further. However, this is the same group that stated repeatedly that “RVs don’t leak and they don’t break down”! They must be talking about the ones from Japan, which was the subject of a discussion earlier on quality that you can find here.
RV Supershows is, without a doubt, the largest and, in my opinion, the most professional event show promotor, with over 1700 shows to their credit. I have had the pleasure of conducting seminars at the Harrisburg (PA) Show the past two years and will be conducting seminars at six of the spring shows including Mobile, AL, which started Friday, January 5.
Purpose of RV shows
I talked with Rob Lynch, the President of RV Supershows, and he stated the emphasis is to bring fun and education back to the shows and the industry. According to Rob, “The past few years the concentration has been volume, cranking the numbers or ‘pushing tin’, and scaling back all the events and attractions that promoted the fun of camping. We are bringing back entertainment like the Marvel characters, and seminars from experts to make your RV experience more enjoyable.”
He added that the information we get from the regional shows will help tell the pulse not only from a Southeastern perspective but Midwest, New England, and the other 15 regions that are being represented. “We have true, trackable numbers for inventory available, attendance, and sales that will help provide an actual forecast and not a fabricated AI attempt.”
The Mobile, AL, show is over 100,000 sq. ft. and features a wide variety of units from the four major dealers in the market. Blue Compass features customized units from Forest River such as the Geneva and Aurora, only available in their dealerships. What I found impressive is that over 75% of their display models are new 2024 models. What is impressive about this is that dealer inventory of 2023 models and older is very high.
So start your show engines—the green flag has been dropped!
RV Supershows has this show in Mobile and another in Illinois, so it will be interesting to see what the pulse of the shopping public really is: what type of turnout there will be, what inventory and interest rates look like, and more.
It must be working. I just got an update at 8:00 p.m. Saturday night that attendance is up 20 percent! Also, I got a visit from a couple of loyal RVtravel.com readers, Kip and John, who came to attend the seminars.
What a wonderful couple! Thanks for joining us. This is what makes my sleigh fly!
I’ll provide a recap next week. Let us know what shows you’ve attended, or are planning on attending, in the comments below.
And remember, if you are in the Nashville, TN, area January 19-21, come see me for a full two days of seminars at the Nashville RV Show.
For a full list of upcoming RV shows, click here.
Dave Solberg is a leading expert in the RV industry and author of the “RV Handbook” as well as the Managing Editor of the RV Repair Club.
Read more from Dave here.
##RVT1138
Dave, are you going to be at the Springfield, MA show this year?
Unfortunately I will not be at Springfield. I’m conducting seminars for the Promotor, RV Supershows. You can find the list here. http://www.rvsupershows.com/events-calendar
I went to the Chicago RV Show sponsored by RVSupershows and was disappointed. I’m researching Class A and Class C Motorhomes that are between 30′ and 34′. They only had 1 that fit that category and it was from a manufacturer that I will not buy. There were about 6 smaller Class C motorhomes there. I know that TT and 5th wheels are the biggest sellers, but I wish there had been more MHs.
I have this same disappointment with the Dallas RV show. Tons of 5th wheels and travel trailers.Lots of way too expensive 40+ ft. diesel pushers and very few gas Class A’s. More C’s than A’s.
It amazes me that people will pay to be sold to. @@
Thank you, Dave! I may be able to put together a trip to Nashville to catch a seminar or two by you. Thank you for the dates. I’ll check your seminar schedule and see what may be possible. Safe travels! 🙂
Thank you, Dave! Thank you, too, for letting me know that you’ll be at the Nashville show on Friday, January 19th. I have made plans to attend the show that day to learn from your many seminars of that day. Safe travels! 🙂
I think I’m jealous of you Neal…Tennessee is just too far away at this time for us to travel to ☹️
I see your point, Bill. The closest show to the west coast by the outfit that hired Dave was in Chicago and ended today. The only remaining show remotely near the west is in Dayton, Ohio, February 16-18 (https://www.rvsupershows.com/events-calendar). Dave is doing six seminars each of the first two days and nine (!) the last day.
Thank you, Diane! 🙂
For approving your comment that was held for moderation? Our program does that whenever there’s a link in a comment–even for me! I love it when I have to approve my own comments!🤣 Have a good night, Neal. 🤗 –Diane
Yes, ma’am, thank you for approving my comment held for moderstion. 🙂
It’s not far for me, Bill. I am outside of Chattanooga and within 2, 2 1/2 hours of Nashville, depending on where in Nashville.
They need to reprise a west coast super show edition so that we can attend.
Just an update on Nashville. The seminar schedule has changed with more seminars. The original post was a quick cut and paste from last years Harriburg show that had different hours which they did not change. Seminars will start at 11:00 every day and going to one hour before closing. However I stay at the show for any Q&A and would like to do a Live if we can get some interest?
I don’t even bother with the RV Shows anymore, they’re a ripoff. And all they (dealers) are trying to do, is get you to buy an OVERPRICED piece of JUNK! I would never buy new, they’re all garbage (with the exception of maybe Airstream)!!!