Copyright Janet Groene 2025. To ask about rates for usng this content, or to place on ad on all six Groene sites for one year, one low rate, email janetgroene@yahoo.com
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THIS WEEK'S CAMPGROUND GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS FROM OUR LOCAL SOURCES
MAKE THE MOST OF 2025
WINTER RV SHOWS
SEE WHAT'S NEW in this year's new RV designs, deals and desires.
By Janet Groene
The RV Show season is always exciting, especially this year when many popular shows are back after COVID and natural disasters.
RV shows add sizzle to the winter season. Some are also combination shows featuring RV’s and camping plus boating or adventure travel, fishing, hunting or general travel. They let us dream, plan, buy and see what is trending. They are fun.
First, make sure you know all the shows in the area you’re willing to travel. Do a browser search for, say, “RV Show + Your State” or “Camping RV Show + Region” (such as Midwest or New England). Then mark your calendar. Many RV shows are at fairgrounds and other venues that offer RV hookups. Reserve your site ASAP.
Attend the show at least twice. Many RV shows have a good deal on multi-day tickets. Go the first time with family or friends. Take the kids. Make sure everyone has a good time. Get a feel for the layout of the show, which may cover acres of displays indoors and outside.
Now is the time to focus on the hustle, free programs, handouts, snack bars, pageantry and pizzazz. See demonstrations, seminars, shows. Note exhibits you’ll want to visit later but keep moving.
Say you’re planning to buy a 21-foot towable. Before the show, you scanned the marketplace, read some reviews. You now have an idea of what brands you prefer, your price range and the weight your tow car or truck can handle. At the show, give 21-footers a once-over. Let the family try them on for size. Move on.
The same goes for other serious purchases. Say you’re looking for a new security system, or a new convertible sofa, or the latest technology in refrigeration. Note locations of these displays. Later you’ll talk turkey with every factory rep representing convertible furniture or security systems or refrigerators but your family would be bored stiff. Later, you’ll learn a lot by hearing competitors dish on each other.
Get business cards. Make notes. Listen to what family and friends have to say, even if you don’t plan to take their advice. Then leave the show before the kids get cranky. Now you have names and locations for serious follow-ups.
TAKE A DAY OFF TO DIGEST
Once you're away from the show, go online and do research. Let’s say you saw and liked the 21-foot Towbaby 4X, the Shadow Deluxe and the PullAlong XTC. You made note of their list prices and special show prices. Online, you check their reviews and see if they have had recalls.
Check with a financial site to get a ball park figure on the loan value of each. Contact your insurance agent to see what yearly coverage will cost. Some RV brands are more insurable than others. If you are looking at a motorized RV, check fuel costs.
If you buy this RV, where will you keep it? Does your zoning permit you to keep it on your own property? If not, what is the cost for indoor or outdoor storage with or without power, security and other features. All this information will serve as bargaining chips later.
DOWN TO BRASS TACKS
On or near the last day of the show, go alone or with the partner who will be your co-pilot. Sit down with sales people and factory reps. Listen to all sides. Compare verbal claims. Understand all specs, contracts, warranties. Get a list in writing of what comes standard with the rig. Know the cost of things you MUST add at once such as a custom tow bar, a roof-top pod or AC, undercoating, jacks, a satellite dish.
You’ll notice now that the tempo of the show has changed. There are more serious buyers and fewer tire kickers. Salespeople have taken the pulse of the customers. Is it a buyers’ or sellers’ market?
Many dealers are thinking about lowering prices to rock bottom so they don’t have to take the inventory back home. Some floor models will be roll-away priced now to avoid the high cost of taking the RV or gear back to the factory or showroom. On-site financing is probably nearby.
Now you are mentally and financially prepared to act now or walk away. The money for a multi-day ticket has been well spent.
CAMPGROUNDS; GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS
NEW OWNERS
A change in owners at any campground could mean anything from upgrades and improvements to evictions, new rules and rate changes. Check ahead.
A couple who are former full-timers now own the family friendly, year-round Corbin/Laurel Lake KOA Journey in Corbin, Kentucky. Upgrades will include additional patio sites with paw pens, a jump pad, new landscaping, general spiffing-up throughout and a new gem mining attraction to open in February. (606) 528-1534.
DEALS
Until the end of January, nightly rates at all Mississippi State Park campgrounds are only $25 nightly. Go to www.mdwfp.com/parks-destinations or call (601) 432-2400.
Fees in North Idaho BLM lands are about to increase. Camping will go from $10 to $20 at Mica Bay, Killarney Lake and Windy Bay. At Huckleberry, single RV campsites will increase to $30 per night .
NEW & UPCOMING CAMPGROUNDS & RV PARKS
In West Carrollton, Ohio (near Dayton) an abandoned water treatment plant on the Greater Miami River will be transformed into the 28-acre Whitewater Park. Keep an eye on developments as this becomes a destination with a campground, adventure park and outdoor recreation showplace.
A luxury RV resort has been approved for the town of Syracuse, Indiana. The 45-acre plot is expected to be developed 60% for 80 RV sites in Phase One. The remaining 40% will remain open. Eventually it’s expected that 230 RV sites will be available. As this story develops find news by Googling the North Travel RV Resort.
UPGRADES
Visitors to Hattie Sherwood Park, campground and boat launch in Green Lake, Wisconsin will see big improvements in 2025. Trees are being removed, opening up views of the lake frpm campsites. Water lines will go in and the 36 campsites will be re-leveled. Around the mill pond, a bird watching path and two observations points are being created. (920) 229-1828
With the improvements well underway, the campground at Roaring River State Park , Cassville, Missouri will reopen on February 25. Reservations are now available. Construction will continue, so keep an eye on developments. Call (417) 847-2539 or go to mostateparks.com/
A razzle-dazzle new playground at Delaware State Park, Delaware, Ohio has modern, all-inclusive features that spell a big welcome for all kids, regardless of abilities. The park’s campground has 200 electric sites.
CLOSURES
Campgrounds and US Army Corps of Engineers recreation areas at Lake Thurmond, Augusta, Georgia, are closed due to massive hurricane damage. The closure will last through 2025 and perhaps longer.
Everything is going and glowing at the year-round, deliciously fun Hersheypark Camping Resort in Hersey, Pennsulvania except that water is turned off for the winter. A water fill station is available.
SCROLL DOWN TO SEE IF YOUR STATE
WAS INCLUDED IN PAST POSTS
No comments:
Post a Comment