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The Critters · 09-15-2018, 06:19 AM

Spent 4 hours at the Southwest RV show in Dallas. I was ready to buy but there was nothing I wanted. It seems that the RV business is thriving and the sales people are fat and happy. All that time I had 4 salespeople offer to help and two of those were manufacturer reps. The majority of the sales teams seemed to be busy on their phones, behind their curtains, or all gathered in small groups chatting with each other. Many big Class A's, B's, C's and Fivers. I guess those are the moneymakers. Limited in what I would call a "couples camper", what we are looking for. I did find out that you don't need a truck to pull a 8000 lb. trailer. That's what I overheard one salesman tell a customer that was looking at one. Lol. I'll keep shopping the lots and hopefully find what we need.

ThePowells · 09-15-2018, 08:25 PM

Don't feel special...You will probably go to several and

. We went to the one in Columbus Ohio in January and decided it was a shop vac more than a RV Show. It was less than 1/4 what Raleigh is and over 1/4 of that show was CW. A salesman sitting at a table doing PPW with a young couple I was standing behind the ferret going

while Kelly was going

. There were 1 or 2 class A's, Less than 5 class Cs, and everything else was trailers. The bright spot was that CW had great bags for all the stuff that wasn't there. The one thing I did learn was that I need to add cosmetic company (or maybe clown face paint) stocks to my retirement portfolio as they were having a cheerleading competition in the same building. We did get 1/2 off admission with our CW membership (last day of that) and free parking ($13.00 for RV).

The Raleigh fall show was way off from the previous shows, so we are going to Tampa for their January show.

Monkey Run · 09-15-2018, 09:05 PM

We have been attending the free dealer RV shows, sometimes one dealer, sometimes multiple ones. Free parking too. Didn't experience lack of attention, we had more sales people than we wanted at the multi dealer events. Camping World has them on their huge campus, that was great, we wandered most of the day looking at whatever we pleased without sales chasing us around. Two of them did say if we needed assistance to shout out, it was a fine experience.

Unfortunately, the only coach we found at any show that the admiral really liked was a used 2013 type A with a front diesel. The price was 99K on sale and they offered us almost nothing for our coach, said they wholesale anything over seven years old due to "liability reasons".

rml1998 · 09-16-2018, 05:53 PM

Most RV salesmen that we encounter are used car salesmen without a clue about Class A Motorhomes. I’ve owned several big rigs plus a few class C’s and immediately dismiss these jockeys and ask for an expert. If finding they really don’t have one we move on. You can’t fool a seasoned RV owner so don’t even try cause I’ll trap you in a lie every time. I could be a gold find for a dealer if I wasn’t retired and enjoying our travels too much. Maybe a part time gig in a location we liked might appeal to me so keep trying dealers. PM me

grindstone01 · 09-16-2018, 07:16 PM

We too have been soured on RV shows. Too many people, RV's are packed w/people and the available sales people are clueless to answer questions. Our best option is to wander a RV sales lot and then get a salesperson to re-visit the RV's we are interested in.

redrocks · 09-16-2018, 08:52 PM

Just purchased a Rockwood 2304KS after looking six months at various floor plans. Great couples trailer.

The Critters · 09-16-2018, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindstone01

We too have been soured on RV shows. Too many people, RV's are packed w/people and the available sales people are clueless to answer questions. Our best option is to wander a RV sales lot and then get a salesperson to re-visit the RV's we are interested in.

Pretty much is what I'm down to now...Roaming the lots. We visited a local lot Saturday, found something we liked but the salesman told me he was unwilling to come off any on the price of the TT. I made it known that if he was willing to move on his asking price, we could get something going. He told us he wasn't, so we walked. I expect an email from him when it gets slow and he needs some Christmas money. I can wait.

The Critters · 09-16-2018, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redrocks

Just purchased a Rockwood 2304KS after looking six months at various floor plans. Great couples trailer.

I'll check it out. We have locked in on a Winnebago 2500RL. We like the quality over the others we have looked at. Had our sights on the Jayco 24RL but the Winnie we found seems to be much better with all the same features and options at a better price.

V3600 · 09-16-2018, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Critters

I did find out that you don't need a truck to pull a 8000 lb. trailer. That's what I overheard one salesman tell a customer that was looking at one.

The following all pull more than 8000 lbs. Dodge Durango, Lincoln Navigator, Ford Expedition, Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, Cadillac Escalade.

Perhaps the salesman knows what he is talking about.

grindstone01 · 09-16-2018, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Critters

Pretty much is what I'm down to now...Roaming the lots. We visited a local lot Saturday, found something we liked but the salesman told me he was unwilling to come off any on the price of the TT. I made it known that if he was willing to move on his asking price, we could get something going. He told us he wasn't, so we walked. I expect an email from him when it gets slow and he needs some Christmas money. I can wait.

Now that you know what you want, check with dealers around the country for the same model TT. If you save some $$, it might be worth a road trip and a chance to try the TT out on the way home.

ThePowells · 09-16-2018, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by V3600

The following all pull more than 8000 lbs. Dodge Durango, Lincoln Navigator, Ford Expedition, Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, Cadillac Escalade.

Perhaps the salesman knows what he is talking about.

And they are all on a truck chassis.

The Critters · 09-16-2018, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by V3600

The following all pull more than 8000 lbs. Dodge Durango, Lincoln Navigator, Ford Expedition, Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, Cadillac Escalade.

Perhaps the salesman knows what he is talking about.

That was only part of the conversation we were overhearing. He had an answer for everything the man was saying. The guy wasn't interested but the salesman wouldn't take no for an answer. Pretty obvious he was only trying to fill his own pockets and didn't have the customers best interest at heart. A lot of the same I'm experiencing as I shop. Several, not all, are trying to sell me something they want me to have, not what I want. I think I have a pretty good idea what I can pull and what I'm looking for.

The Critters · 09-16-2018, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindstone01

Now that you know what you want, check with dealers around the country for the same model TT. If you save some $$, it might be worth a road trip and a chance to try the TT out on the way home.

Curious about how that works...service, warranty, etc. I am noticing that the main complaints from dealers are service after the sale and warranty work needed but refused because the owner didn't buy the TT from that particular dealer. I'm open for taking a road trip if needed though. Thank you.

The Critters · 09-16-2018, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThePowells

And they are all on a truck chassis.

I guess the salesman was right. You CAN pull a 8000 LB. trailer without a truck...if you just want to pull the trailer empty. Even the SUVs with the truck chassis are at their limits without modifications. I told a saleslady that I could pull a TT with my lawnmower when she questioned why I didn't want a bigger trailer that was too heavy for my TV. She wasn't concerned that the combined weight, truck, trailer, pax, cargo, was too much overall, just that the truck could pull it.