FEATURED ARTICLE was a challenge since we waited until December to look ! Hillsborough River State Park had an available site – we got lucky and won ’ t procrastinate next time .
Wednesday morning , we drove into the fairgrounds and were escorted to our spot in a grassy field among other campers . There are large generators with 30-amp power runs to RVs in the rally areas , but it ’ s not always completely connected by Wednesday morning . Later that that day we had power , which was fine in Florida ’ s mild January weather .
Some benefits of camping in the rally onsite : free coffee and donuts three of the mornings , and entertainment like a band or several rounds of bingo with a few hundred of your new friends with some handsome prizes ranging from camp chairs to portable grills .
Staying onsite also means you can walk out your camper door and enter the SuperShow the moment it opens . We did this daily and avoided lots of the crowd for quite a while . It can also afford more time speaking with manufacturer representatives , of which there are far fewer than the dealer salespeople . We often find the most accurate and enlightening info will come from these conversations .
This year we had some focus . We love helping anyone with anything camping-related , and two families that we consider “ besties ” were on the hunt for new rigs . One had been almost full-time living in their travel trailer for a year while doing work out-ofstate . They have an adorable 1-year old daughter and since they left for their first work-stint with little notice , they didn ’ t spend quite enough time picking out their Grand Design bunkhouse travel trailer . It worked out for year-one , but they longed for more space overall , and a better bunk room layout for their new toddler .
Our other friends had a travel trailer when hurricane Ian came through our area in southwest Florida and totaled it ( and ours too ). Like us , they have three kids , and wanted the new camper to have a bunk room with a door and three dedicated beds instead of shared double-sized beds adjacent to the living room .
After some more Q & A about wants and musthaves , we scoured the show for campers that might suit our friends ’ needs and it led us to some eye-opening new layouts this year .
Take the SANIBEL 3952FBWB from Prime Time Manufacturing : a mammoth 46 ’ long fifth wheel with a spacious bunk room in the “ upstairs ” front area . With 4 beds in an “ L ” bunk formation , a desk , half bath , and entertainment / storage slide-out all up there , it could be a contender . Though L-shaped beds usually mean one someone ’ s kicking someone else if at least one kid is tall .
Consider the CEDAR CREEK 380MUD by Forest River , at over 43 ’ long with a guest suite up front that has a queen murphy bed , jackknife sofa , small loft ( toddler-sized perhaps …) and a half bath . And why does the model number end with “ MUD ”? Because it has a mudroom at the main entrance ! Shoe storage , coat hooks , and a bench are all right there .
We also wandered through loads of other travel trailers and fifth wheels , along with a peek inside some class A , B , and C motorized RVs . Our friends joined us at times Thursday through Saturday , and the family with three kids signed for a new travel trailer on-site at the show ! It was a floorplan we ’ d introduced to them and a brand new one from the manufacturer – and they loved it . It beat out all the others they ’ d been pondering a while , and they were able to get a good deal on it relative to market pricing and MSRP . Stay tuned to find out what they chose and why .
Our other friends are still deciding on their next rig . While the larger ones would need a truck upgrade and aren ’ t out of the question , probably a 35-40 ’ fifth wheel is in their future . We ’ ll let you know their choice and reasoning in a future issue .
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