Sparty is great for our travels but there are times more space might be nice. Mrs Ram picked up tickets (2 for the price of 1) to the Jacksonville RV show. We arrived early and waited for the 10 am opening. Before opening they played the national anthem which was unexpected.
Having arrived early we were near the front of the line. Despite asking earlier and being told we were ok with the printed on line tickets, when they opened the gates, we were sent to the ticket office to exchange our printout for small entry tickets. That put us in the big crush of people entering. And they forced everyone through the tiny aisle with booths selling wireless cellphone plans, folding boats and portable Jacuzzis.
Once we shuffled through that area we found ourselves amongst lots and lots of RVs. There were trailers as cheap as $10k and massive class A motorhomes costing many hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The Jacksonville Icemen mascot was on hand to help direct you to the Campers Inn RVs.
We were initially drawn to the RVs most like Sparty – vans converted to RVs. These Hymer vans started at $70k and quickly ran over 100k.
There were aspects that we liked about these (think in built toilet and shower as well as A/C). Yet the price seemed high for what you got and placement of closets, cabinets and TV made the bed hard to get in and out of.
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One thing Mrs Ram did like was the Thule OmniStep running board that slides out when you open the door. It is of course not available to buy as a separate item in the US.
We checked out some Class C RVs (van or truck fronts with an RV box attached) that were not that expensive. The Four Winds was as cheap as $50k. We could almost see ourselves in one of these.
We were surprised to see some of the smaller class A RVs (the ones that look like buses) like the Thor Axis for only $70k.
Generally we liked the smaller trailers but did look at a fifth wheel that was only $38k and had a fireplace.
One of the things we do not like are slide outs – they give more room inside but are just another thing that can stop working. Yet people must love them because they are putting them in everything now. We even saw one trailer that the slide out had a slide out.
Some of the trailers are called “toy haulers” having a built in storage area with a fold down door. You can store your bikes kayaks, ATVs or even a Smart car in these units.
The small trailers had some appeal for us. If we do less wandering and more staying in one place, having a base camp that we can leave when we go out to the bar or to the store might be nice. That $10k trailer sure had an attractive price but it was cheaply made.
There were some interesting small trailers that had room for your toys on the outside.
The small Lance model 1475 had a great layout for two people. It was small making it easier to maneuver but had a full bathroom and replaced that awkward kitchen table booth with comfortable chairs and swing table. Both of us could see hanging out there on a rainy or cold day.
The Vintage Cruiser RV had a retro look that was fun but what really appealed to us was the ability to have two separate rooms in a small trailer. In the 19ERD floor plan the bathroom door could be left open to separate the bedroom from the living/kitchen area. Mr Ram is often up early and he could get his coffee while not disturbing Mrs Ram.
And if you want a really classic RV look…
After a long day of wandering through many HUGE homes on wheels, we appreciated getting back into Sparty and let him know he was better than all of those over weight and over sized RVs.