Sunday, January 11, 2009

RV Show Rio Grande Valley 2009


We headed out Saturday morning bright and early leaving the house around 7:15. We stopped to fill up with gas and pickup a hot chocolate and bread for the road. It got pretty foggy along the way and we had to slow down a bit even though I was in a rush to get to the show. We saw one accident where a Jetta had spun out off of the road. The highway patrol had already arrived along with the tow truck. No one was hurt so that was a good thing..




We crossed the border without a hitch. The border guard asked us where we were going and we told him the rv show. He was all jazzed and said he wanted to go too. He had been wanting to buy and I told him now was the time. Some motorhomes are getting discounts as high as 50%. That conversation got us through without a longer revision. Hey, afterall, I was hot to trot to get to that rv show.

As we entered the fairgrounds you could see all the rvs and park models lined up. The event center sits in the middle with rvs on each side and another area set aside for the vendors.
Here are my three picks from the show and I will explain a little bit why. First pick for boondocking is this Phoenix Cruiser. We had seen this in previous years but the prices were way to high. This year we saw a price reduction of over $20K. The Phoenix Cruiser is a low profile Class B+. We go places that have low trees and low bridges sometimes and we can't have a very tall rig.
The interior provides more space than what we have today in the trailer but without the added length of the combination TV and TT. The bath is in the back and very good sized shower. The best part is the twin bed section that can be closed off from the front of the cabin. I am an early riser and I could go up front and do my thing without disturbing the SO. The kitchen is adequate and just about equal to what we have now. I don't care much for the little loveseat but hey, that can always be changed. Overall, it gets a 9.8.


Second pick was an Open Range travel trailer. We loved the length of 33ft but a dry weight of under 7000 lbs. plus the open space in the living/dining/kitchen area. I am more into living area than anything else. This would be good as a part-time rv for us as I doubt we will ever fulltime. This rig gets a 10. Maybe someday (sigh).

The third pick would be the Presidential Suite from Holiday Rambler. Gracious fulltime living but not at an affordable price. This guy runs between $88K - $110K MSRP. But it really is like home and I liked the solid construction as well as the design and use of colors. It feels light and airy as well as open. This is a sharp fifth wheel and I have a feeling they are taking the place of Teton Homes that recently closed their doors. This one gets a 9. The bath is extremely large as is the bedroom.

The vendors were out in force hawking their wares. Everything from clothes to rv supplies as well as rv park lots and parks for snowbirds.




2 comments:

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  2. We have that same model Phoenix 2551 that you liked.

    We are on our third year and it is a very solid rig. The under 10' is great as the car dealers can get into their service bay. The 93" wide is nice for Mexican roads.
    Turning radius is terrible, gas mileage should be better about 10 mpg.
    The grey water tank is too small.
    The factory build one a day and can custom build it anyway you want. We had roof racks put on for my canoe or kayak and mounts for my solar arrays.
    See my blog http://khmexico08.blogspot.com/

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