TAMPA, Fla. – Chilly and windy were the buzzwords Thursday and this morning at the Florida RV SuperShow at the Florida State Fairgrounds.
Ashley Bontrager Lehman and Chris Barth of Ember Recreational Vehicles were staffing their display this morning and said weather definitely was a factor with regard to Thursday’s traffic.
“It was quite windy. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a windier show,” Bontrager Lehman told RVBusiness, “and it was relentless, almost from the very beginning to the very end of the day.”
Barth added, “One of the funny things was, we have heat pumps with our Furrion Chill Cubes now, so we had our heat pumps going and we have the heat-massaging chairs, so all of a sudden there were crowds of people in these coaches warming up.”
Bontrager Lehman said there was a definite slowdown in the number of consumers roaming the show.
“The weather definitely didn’t play in our favor yesterday, but today the sun is shining and we’re excited to see what the day brings,” she said.
Barth characterized Thursday as an “interesting pre-qualifier. Florida folks typically don’t like it when it’s cold out, so people who were out – there were some – were buyers. We had some really great discussions, a lot of people were wanting to cover the show before making buying decisions, so we respect that and don’t try to push them.”
He said, however, that other consumers locked in on products – especially the new Touring Edition – which accounted for the first two sales at the show and that there was keen interest in several other models as well, largely because of Ember’s designs that offer flexible space.
Bontrager added that they had seen a good mix of buyers and lookers.
Consumers seemed to bear out that assessment.
Debra Monroe, from Cocoa Beach, Fla., was at the show looking over Class A units.
“I am an RVer, however, I’m out here just looking around and thinking about what might be my next unit,” she said.
Currently owning a Class A Fleetwood, she’s looking at upgrading to a diesel and she was unconcerned about the current economic climate.
“I feel like the economy is going well. I feel like I’m doing very well and it’s a process (the buying decision). I know what I want and I’m here to look at all the options and I’m saving up and keeping track of my finances, but the economy isn’t holding me back,” she told RVBusiness.
Also Class A owners, full-timers Rhode Island residents Mike and Sally Brito weren’t in the market for a new RV, but were visiting vendors and checking out the rigs to “keep our finger on the pulse of what’s new,” Mike said.
The couple were near the Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. (FCCC) booth where, “we wanted to touch bases with the Freightliner guys and see what services are available,” Mike said.
Sally added, “We upgraded last year. We weren’t planning it but we found a rig we liked (2024 Fleetwood Armada), so we upgraded.”
Robert and Amanda Ramsdell, from Woodstock, Ga., also were just kicking tires.
Robert came to the show by himself last year and “It was such a magnificent show compared to what I’ve seen before, I wanted her to come here.”
Owners of a 2024 Newmar Ventana Class A, they were eager to check out the Newmar display, but they also were attending several seminars, and checking out numerous vendors.
“We were here yesterday to attend seminars mostly,” said Amanda. “Mainly wanted to do the seminars in order to learn more about our coach because we didn’t have a diesel before and there’s a lot to learn. They can be very complicated with all the new technology.”
Boston natives Pete and Debbie Culbertson were definitely not kicking tires.
“We had a rig which we sold, and we’re just looking for something different,” Debbie said.
Former owners of a Leisure Travel Vans Class B, their interests were all over the RV landscape.
“We’d go back to the LTV, because it was a great rig, but we’re also looking for something larger,” she said.
“So we’re looking at small Class A’s and Super C’s,” Pete added.
“We’re just taking it all in,”Debbie said. “We’re just walking around, seeing different floorplans, features, engines – all those specifics, and then we’ll swing back and narrow it down to a couple units.”
They said they weren’t put off at all by factors like the economy out interest rates.
