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Old 02-19-2018, 06:11 AM   #1
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Went to the Chicago RV show this past weekend.

We spent saturday wandering the RV show "buying" our next rv...

I suppose I should clarify that... when we're ready to buy something new in 10-12 years or so, we'll be buying something like what we saw on saturday

We expected to see more accessories vendors, and really didn't see much of that, although we got some new ideas of campgrounds locally to us to check out for quick weekend getaways. 99% of the floor space was covered by just about every rv layout you could think of, so it was really nice to get ideas on what we liked, what we didn't, and not really have salespeople breathing down our necks... at only one vendor did we have a salesperson following us, and even that wasn't bad once I made the comment that we're not in the market right now as we enjoy our current rig.

For reference we currently have a 2001 Bounder 34D (ford gasser, single slide), previous to that we had a Weekend Warrior toy hauler.... we love the class A, and will likely stick with that in the future.

One thing we noticed was that all of the Class A's there in the bedroom, the windows are side by side on the bed, we have always really liked the windows at our head go get really good cross ventilation... not sure if this is a new trend that's here to stay, but it would take getting used to.

I really like all the units with ceiling fans... in fact, I may just have to figure out how to install one in at least the bedroom of our rig to allow for not running the A/C on warm nights when there's little breeze.

Some of the 5th wheels felt bigger than our house... if we ever decide to go back to a truck/trailer combo, we'll absolutely be getting a 5th wheel.

Oh, and the sconces in the new Tiffin motorhomes are awesome.. need to find out who makes those and upgrade ours... looks like a stainless steel flame with an LED in the bottom...
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Old 02-19-2018, 07:15 AM   #2
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If you have a vent in your bedroom the Maxx-Fan has a ceiling fan mode where it recirculates with the outside lid closed. It will also reverse direction in regular mode to pull air in or push it out. Might be lots cheaper than a real ceiling fan and maybe more useful.
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Old 02-19-2018, 08:39 AM   #3
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Hmmm... we don't currently have a vent in there, but now you got me thinking about if I could just add one...

-J
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Old 02-19-2018, 09:12 AM   #4
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One of the items we looked for when we purchased was a bedroom with the windows on each side of the bed. At night we close all the windows except the bedroom and turn on the bathroom fan, it pulls air through and creates a wonderful breeze for sleeping.
At the Denver RV show in Jan most everything there was fifth wheels or pull behinds. Probably less than a dozen class A's, and 2-300 of everything else. A fair amount of class B's. Years ago it was almost reversed, looks like the market is changing.
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Old 02-19-2018, 09:26 AM   #5
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For bedroom venting without a fan or vent in the bedroom, try this; Use your fantastic fan in kitchen/living room on exhaust and close all windows except the one in your bedroom. Advantage is that the fan is far enough away that you can't hear it run, but with all the windows closed save the bdrm window, you will pull cool night air in right over your heads.
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Old 02-19-2018, 09:36 AM   #6
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Our first motorhome back in '98 was a '94 36' Southwind with a Ford 460. Not a bad coach but it rode like a truck. Had that coach for 6 years, then bought a 2002 Tiffin 36' diesel pusher. Much better ride and quieter up front...
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Old 02-19-2018, 10:21 AM   #7
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One of the items we looked for when we purchased was a bedroom with the windows on each side of the bed. At night we close all the windows except the bedroom and turn on the bathroom fan, it pulls air through and creates a wonderful breeze for sleeping.
At the Denver RV show in Jan most everything there was fifth wheels or pull behinds. Probably less than a dozen class A's, and 2-300 of everything else. A fair amount of class B's. Years ago it was almost reversed, looks like the market is changing.
We noticed the same thing at the 2017 Denver RV show - at best 10 Class A's, and almost no accessory booths. LazyDays had a large booth, without much in it. Most of the others were resorts and the usual sprinkling of goofy stuff vendors selling all sorts of concoctions. I'm not sure we will ever go back, even if we get back in the market for a replacement motorhome.
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Old 02-19-2018, 10:39 AM   #8
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You mentioned campgrounds locally. We've not visited Chicago and one of the reasons was availability of RV parking. Or lack thereof. I spent a year there in the Navy but would like to see again, that was 50 years ago.

Any suggestions?
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Old 02-20-2018, 05:29 AM   #9
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You mentioned campgrounds locally. We've not visited Chicago and one of the reasons was availability of RV parking. Or lack thereof. I spent a year there in the Navy but would like to see again, that was 50 years ago.

Any suggestions?
there's very little to nothing within 2 hours of the city.

our 'weekend getaway' location is typically Sugar Shores Campground in Durand, IL (about 20 minutes or so north of Rockford), the access road in and out isn't the greatest, but if you take it slow it's not bad. Full hookups, but the sites are somewhat small and hard to get into. We have friends that have permanent sites there, so it's nice for us.

Other places to check out (which we haven't stayed at yet)... Chain o Lakes State Park in Spring Grove, nice part of this one is that it's about a 5 minute drive from the Metra stop in Fox Lake which gets you into the city in about an hour and a half, be careful tho as it's literally the LAST stop on the train line, and there's very few trains, so you have to be on time.

We've also stayed in Amboy and Lasalle areas, those are close to Starved Rock, but again, 2 hours or so from the city.

I hate dealing with traffic and city life, so we've never looked for anything closer.

-J
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Old 02-20-2018, 08:20 PM   #10
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You mentioned campgrounds locally. We've not visited Chicago and one of the reasons was availability of RV parking. Or lack thereof. I spent a year there in the Navy but would like to see again, that was 50 years ago.

Any suggestions?
There are a few places closer in.

Hollywood Casino in Joliet has an RV park.
Hotel & RV Park in Joliet | Hollywood Casino Joliet
Dupage County Forest Preserve has a campground at Blackwell Forest Preserve, only open weekends and holiday weeks.
Things-to-Do/Outdoor-Activities/Family-Camping
Sandwich Fairgrounds in Sandwich has a campground.
Welcome to the Sandwich Fair Association - Sandwich, IL

There are others in the area, mostly to the far west, 1.5-2 hours from the city.

If I were visiting, I would stay at Hollywood Casino. Close to I-55, straight into the city.
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Old 02-20-2018, 10:31 PM   #11
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Thanks for the suggestions.

One of our plans to visit Chicago includes taking a train from California and then flying home. We'd stay downtown and take public transportation. That's how we did New York City.
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