Florida Trip Part 2: Florida Supershow & New Truck Camping Friends |
| Gordon White | Sunday, 24 January, 2010 | |||||||||||||||
|
Stand and Learn: Our Experience at the 2010 Florida Supershow All too often, members of the media refuse to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty in the subjects they cover. As a magazine, we seek out opportunities to experience what our readers and industry leaders experience first hand. This is the story of driving our 2010 Arctic Fox 865 over 1,000 miles south to the Florida Supershow in Tampa, Florida to take a stand. The Florida Supershow is widely accepted to be the largest RV show in the country and yet only one truck camper manufacturer and dealer was to be represented. Angela and I often discuss the reasons why truck campers are not a larger segment of the RV marketplace. What better way to find out than at a show where truck campers are the extreme minority. Okay, so maybe that’s not the only reason. Truth be told, it’s been darn cold in Pennsylvania this winter and here was an opportunity to take our 2010 Arctic Fox 865 truck camper and soak in some warm Florida weather. These are the tough sacrifices that we make on behalf of you and our industry. Someone has to do it.
Arrival and New Friends We had arranged to stay on site at the show in the rally area. Essentially, it was a large field with spray painted site locations and brought-in electric hookups. After a long drive south, it was all we needed. As we were escorted in, we found ourselves in a sea of hundreds of huge motorhomes and towables. Our campsite was literally surrounded on three sides by these behemoth recreational vehicles making us feel like fish in a bowl. Then we asked about access to fresh water and a dump and our friendly escort, Norm, took us on a ride to where the water was. On the way we saw a most beautiful site; two other truck campers side-by-side along a fence and away from the big RVs. Immediately we asked Norm if we could be camped with our fellow truck campers. He made the arrangements. Do you know it only took about two minutes before the other truck campers came out to meet us? We met Sara and Lynn Gill (LT) in their Lance 1191, and Rod and Mary Jo in their Lance 1181. It never fails that truck camper folks are our kind of people. They even helped us as we de-winterized the rig and filled with water. Instant friends. The LT showed me the double secret, truck camper only, bathroom shower location. If I revealed this top secret location in this article, I have no doubt that LT would track me down and things could get ugly. Suffice it to say that if you show up to the Florida Supershow in a truck camper, and LT is there, he will quietly reveal, after several careful looks over his shoulder and a short background check, the double secret shower location. Thank you LT.
Stand and Deliver The next morning it was time to work. On our way through the show, we met Tom Martin of Classy Chassis and admired his custom aluminum storage beds and interiors. If you’re at all interested in a Classy Chassis custom storage bed, you’ll be extremely interested once you’ve seen one for yourself. Brian Brawdy was taking a close look at one and we were also feeling the pull. They are impressive. For two days, Angela and I stood outside the entrance of the Conibear RV / Lance Camper booth and greeted show attendees as they walked in. When they emerged, we engaged them with a simple question, “What did you think of the truck campers?”. Our goal was to address any question or objection they had about truck campers before they left. Almost everyone walking into the booth was completely new to truck campers or had not owned a truck camper for many years. That said, there was plenty of interest in truck campers and we had a good number of attendees who were seriously researching the truck camper option. Angela and I had a blast answering questions. We both dearly remember what it’s like to be a truck camper newbie and have a soft place in our hearts for those who are just now researching truck campers. Even if there was just a glimmer of interest in their eye, we handed them our Truck Camper Magazine postcards and encouraged them to read the Newbie Corner and Buyers Guide. Overall, our help was well received. Many people where were leaving in a hurry turned around and were happy to take our information. On many occasions we were able to turn people around and send them back to take another look at the campers. Seeds planted.
Salmon Dinner and the Deluge On Saturday afternoon, TCM Ambassadors, Jerry and Reta Caldwell, showed up to help us with photography and scoped out any vendors who were offering truck camper related gear. The Caldwells have a Lance 1181 making our camper the lone Arctic Fox in the Lance house. After the RV show closed for the day, our new truck camping friends invited us over for a delicious grilled salmon dinner. We sat in comfortable camping chairs between their truck campers and talked about everything under the sun. For anyone who hasn’t experienced the magic of meeting new truck camping friends on the road, let me tell you that it is, by far, the best part of this lifestyle. We talked and laughed, and then the rain started. Lucky for us, LT had his awning out so we just pulled our circle a little closer together. Then it rained a bit harder and we pulled a bit closed again. Despite the rain, it was a wonderful evening. After a few well deserved yawns, it was time to run back to our camper. That night the heavens opened up and showed us the true meaning of heavy rain. Angela and I both love the sound of rain on a camper roof, but this was more like having a troop of Japanese Taiko drummers driving away the evil spirits on our camper. We’re talking serious tropical rain for hours on end. The next morning the dry field we were parked in had turned into a minefield of mud and standing water. Like the professionals we are, Angela and I suited up in our Truck Camper Magazine duds and walked to the show, in the mud, uphill, both ways. Just kidding.
Mission Complete After all was said and done, Angela and I had handed out almost all of our 1,000 postcards and had talked to hundreds of people. We had experienced first hand the challenging experience of standing for hours on pavement in the sun, wind, and rain while answering just about any question imaginable about truck campers. Most of all, we were both very excited to begin addressing some of the repeating questions and concerns we heard at the show. Look out Newbie Corner, there’s some content coming your way.
The Next Show In about three weeks we will be at the Springfield RV Show in Massachusetts. We’ll have another 1,000 postcards and the same goal. Please come out and see us. Special thanks to TCM readers LT Gill and Jerry Caldwell for taking photographs at the show. |
