Louisville 48^th RVIA show

 Thank goodness for Americans and their positive mental attitude!  The RV industry is by no means back to its old self however there are certainly green shoots appearing and that’s pretty much all those guys need!  We didn’t know exactly what to expect this year after the show was so decimated the previous year however we were pleasantly surprised.   Nearly all the usual suspects were attending and all of the factory representatives were beaming with positive remarks and enthusiasm for the current rise in sales and what could be achieved in the year ahead. 

 Our first appointment at the show was with the new ‘Monaco RV LLC’ who had invited us to a special unveiling of their Brand new ‘Vesta’ model, this is the first model to be designed together with new owner Navistar.  The ‘Vesta’ offers what Monaco are calling the most aerodynamic design for years!  Also on display were several models with the new ‘slide within a slide’ floor plans including the Holiday Rambler ‘Aluma lite’ – I actually reported on this model two years ago when the first prototype was shown however the model never went into production, until now.   

 It was amazing to see how much emphasis most manufacturers are putting on Trailers and Fifth Wheels, these seem to been the saviour of the industry in many parts and many dealers I spoke to have simply stopped selling motorised products in favour of towables.  There was an entire hall this year displaying only towables and there were some notable large manufacturers that have gone as far as to stop building A Class motorhomes, namely Gulfstream Coach.  We had many years dealing with Gulfstream through the 80’s and 90’s and motorhomes were always their backbone so to see a company like that only displaying towables and C Class models was a shock, 5 years ago they had upwards of 15 different A Class motorhomes on offer!  Displaying opposite was ‘Carriage’ who proved how far the towable market has come with their new ‘full wall triple slide out’ fifth wheel retailing at $200,000.  

 Not everyone was consolidating and looking to cost effective production, the ‘new’ Fleetwood Motor Coach were displaying the sublime and some would say grotesque ‘American Coach Heritage’ with a price ticket of $850,000.  Displaying a windscreen sign saying ‘size really does matter’ and promising 430 Sq Ft of internal space it does seem that the high end of the market is alive and kicking! One of most successful motorised A Class manufacturers in America currently are ‘Thor Motor Coach’,  Thor have been the parent group of many manufacturers such as Four Winds, Airstream, Damon, Dutchmen etc.  For 2011 Thor have decided to join all of its motorised product together under one banner and lose the brand names Damon & Four Winds.  Displayed on their stand was the fantastic new Thor Windsport model which was easily the best A class model of the show, the Windsport offers more 7.5 ton floor plans than any other A class on the market and oozes quality over and above the lower specification Daybreak and Hurricane.    Our favourite new floor plan from the Windsport model was the 31 J offering ‘mid sofa / front horse shoe lounge’  and a brilliant new electric front bunk with air mattress that fits completely flush into the roof – thus meaning a possible 8 berth! 

 One model that did confuse us however was the new Thor Ace, introduced to us by Thor as ‘revolutionary to the industry’ and ‘a concept between A class and C class’ I’m afraid came woefully short of the mark.  The Ace is certainly built to a price and with the high overall height and bulbous front forehead this motorhome is not a pretty sight!  We also found the factory tried too hard with gimmicks such as dog food bowl draw under the shower tray and rubber shower curtain that was apparently anti bacterial!  Bizarre.