Community Forums

Doug427 · 10-30-2020, 07:15 PM

We just bought our RV in March, a week or two prior to when the COVID chaos hit. As a result we've hardly used it at all. It's our first RV, and I've spent lots of time on here learning all that I can so that once the health and economic chaos this virus imposed upon us is finally relieved we can get in and hit the ground driving. We're learning as fast as we can, and you guys have been awesome. We've learned so much from you all and we greatly appreciate the patience and generosity with which you have all imparted your hard earned experience and wisdom to us.

That said, one thing that really confuses us is Quartzite. In a nutshell, what exactly is it? Is it a traditional RV show? Is it some sort of rally or get together? Is it both? Is it the largest RV show each year? If not, what is? It seems extremely crowded and very tough to get space to attend. If it's just a large RV show why do so many deal with all the chaos of finding a spot to attend when you can just go to another RV show?

We'd like to attend, but we don't even know why, as crazy as that sounds. Is it even possible to find a space to stay at on short notice? I won't even know if we can attend until about 5 weeks before the show, due to works schedules for me only being available 5 weeks in advance. Is it worth it for us to even go through the gyrations it'll take to get there?

What we're really interested in is seeing a large variety of exhibitors to learn more about what's available to us to make our RV more enjoyable and/or comfortable to use once we really start using it. Is this the show to do that at, or is there another show that would be better for that? The only RV show we've been to is last years local to us Houston RV show, and I was very surprised to see the small number of accessory and service exhibitors there. Of course there were lots of dealers selling new RV's as would be expected, but as we already have our coach we're looking more into equipment and upgrades for ours, as we like ours very much! Along these lines, there was very little there to see.

Any input anyone can give on all this would be greatly appreciated.

Mjc · 10-30-2020, 07:18 PM

I only pass thru there on the way to other places but there are people and RV's scattered all over the desert out there.

Bob_C · 10-30-2020, 08:07 PM

Am in Quartzsite now, and have been for a while.....It's kinda like going to a fair, with a little of everything......and park space fills up quickly, and there are quit a few......a lot of people dry camp around here......suggest you google Quartzsite RV show.....lots of vendors also not in the big tent area....

Sco70ttie · 10-30-2020, 08:14 PM

Check out this link>>>

https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-b...quartzsite-az/

Bob_C · 10-30-2020, 08:30 PM

The bookstore guy passed away a couple years ago.......

House Husband · 10-30-2020, 08:31 PM

We're some of the dry campers mentioned above. There is always room in Q for more RVs. Just east of the big tent is a very large camp ground that I have never seen full. If you elect to go off grid, there is unlimited space.
Q is not for every one. It's in the desert with dust. There are suppliers of all sorts in Q. I.E. food, hardware store, drug store, post office, etc.
To show up at Q for the first time by yourself is quite difficult.
If you want to attend, I'll be glad to be your tour guide and show you the in and outs.
Just drop me a private message and we'll discuss the dos and don'ts. And where to meet up
Come try it, you'll either love it or hate it.

Richard

CamJam1 · 10-30-2020, 09:03 PM

Well, I just learned something. I've lived in Arizona for 44 years and always thought the annual RV gathering and Gem and Mineral show were one and the same, but I see from the link above that they're actually two different events!

dons2346 · 10-30-2020, 09:16 PM

Q is an interesting place. Our first trip there was in '99 and we said we would never go back. Since then we have missed 1 year. We go to mile post post 99 where the ham radio guys hang out.

desertdd · 10-31-2020, 07:00 AM

We have winter in the area for about 15 years but stay at an RV park at Brenda. My gut feeling is there are going to be more spots available as the Canadians most likely will be absent this year. The Rv show has an abundance of kettle, knife, cure all health products vendors. There are a lot of RV's to view and one reason we bought one down there some years ago. My opinion is that I am not impressed with the RV parks right in Quartzsite, but that is just an opinion. If you want to dry camp there always seems to be plenty of spots available. I kind of enjoy the flea market which is huge. Then there is the big ice cream stand by the RV show tent. Don't get suckered into buying ice cream from a stand that claims home made ice cream with an old hit and miss engine running a fake ice cream maker. I got suckered into buying a cone from him once and when he told me the amount, I just said I was only buying an ice cream cone not his stand. Have fun!

hedhunter9 · 10-31-2020, 08:08 AM

We went last year for the first time... There is something for everyone..
We dry camped out in the BLM land just east of the town.. You could drive for miles in any direction and see RVs parked out in the desert.... A million of them.
And.. Plenty of room.. we had nobody parked within a couple hundred feet of us any time. We stayed a couple weeks..
The RV show in the tent was crowded. We really didnt see much new that we hadnt already seen somewhere. There was a large number of RV stuff outside the tent area and thru out the whole area. We had a new windshield put in by one of the vendors there. We looked at Solar equipment as well, but most prices were too high and we passed....
There is a GIANT flea market area (several areas actually) that the wife loved as she is always looking for something to buy !!
The gem show is another favorite of hers and she bought enough rocks that our poor Outlaw toyhauler was overloaded and nearly dragging the ground ! LOL. She bought some of those huge Amethyst purple rocks. I even bought some unique small polished rocks and arrowheads.. ;-)
There are places to get water $$ Dump $$$ LP $.
There is RV parks $$$$ there is Long term Camping $ There is BLM camping. Everything from free to high end...
We took our dual sport bike and our Scooter and would ride around the area just taking in the sights.. There is so much to see and you will see everything you can imagine..
There are groups that camp together as a yearly happening. Brands of RVs. or ?? you name it..
We took the scooter out in the surrounding foothills on jeep roads.. Some were ok.. Some were rocky and we got in some hills that were challenging but fun.. We saw lots of Side by sides and a lot of electric bikes out there in the hills... I think we put 200 miles on the scooter just riding around the area.
We also took off and rode up to Parker AZ for some prescription Meds one day and there was a big off-road race going on up there, so we took that in as well. We then rode backroads and crossed over into Ca. There is some beautiful scenery going up there and we got some great photos.

Bob

hedhunter9 · 10-31-2020, 08:21 AM

Here is where we parked in the BLM land. (not set up yet.) cant find our trip pictures. PC is acting up..

Mr_D · 10-31-2020, 08:32 AM

Made it to Quartzsite again earlier this year with friends I met online. Met up in OR and traveled together. Just drove to an area we heard about and parked. They only stayed a week while I stayed another 10 days or so.

Crasher · 10-31-2020, 10:32 AM

We stopped there in 1999 for the first time out of curiosity. It was interesting with a lot of places to spend money. We went back a couple times and stayed for a week mostly for an FMCA 4-Wheelers rally. We spend our winters 70 miles north in Lake Havasu City and have been back there once in three years just for a day. Nothings changed in 20+ years. Still plenty of places to spend money. We only stayed for a few hours and was glad to get home. As was mentioned, you will either love it or you won't. We probably won't go back for some time.

Tigerfan1 · 10-31-2020, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug427

We just bought our RV in March, a week or two prior to when the COVID chaos hit. As a result we've hardly used it at all. It's our first RV, and I've spent lots of time on here learning all that I can so that once the health and economic chaos this virus imposed upon us is finally relieved we can get in and hit the ground driving. We're learning as fast as we can, and you guys have been awesome. We've learned so much from you all and we greatly appreciate the patience and generosity with which you have all imparted your hard earned experience and wisdom to us.

That said, one thing that really confuses us is Quartzite. In a nutshell, what exactly is it? Is it a traditional RV show? Is it some sort of rally or get together? Is it both? Is it the largest RV show each year? If not, what is? It seems extremely crowded and very tough to get space to attend. If it's just a large RV show why do so many deal with all the chaos of finding a spot to attend when you can just go to another RV show?

We'd like to attend, but we don't even know why, as crazy as that sounds. Is it even possible to find a space to stay at on short notice? I won't even know if we can attend until about 5 weeks before the show, due to works schedules for me only being available 5 weeks in advance. Is it worth it for us to even go through the gyrations it'll take to get there?

What we're really interested in is seeing a large variety of exhibitors to learn more about what's available to us to make our RV more enjoyable and/or comfortable to use once we really start using it. Is this the show to do that at, or is there another show that would be better for that? The only RV show we've been to is last years local to us Houston RV show, and I was very surprised to see the small number of accessory and service exhibitors there. Of course there were lots of dealers selling new RV's as would be expected, but as we already have our coach we're looking more into equipment and upgrades for ours, as we like ours very much! Along these lines, there was very little there to see.

Any input anyone can give on all this would be greatly appreciated.

Never been to Q but the largest RV show in the country is in Tampa in January. Tons of vendors and RVs. If your purpose is to look for accessories that would be my choice. Not sure if it will be on this year due to COVID.