Ocala is about an hour away from our site at Rodman Campground but we have been over there a few times in the last week. The first time we went to check out Salt Springs and visit the historic Ocala downtown area. One thing we came away with was the notion that this area is big on horses! There are a lot of horse farms in this part of Florida.
We have an appointment scheduled later in month at the Cummins Repair Center so we found where it was and saw that they have a number of pedestals and water sites for an overnight stay.
The Ocala RV show was in town and we got tickets on the BOGO day (Buy One Get One free). Last month we visited the Tampa RV show. That was a big one. This was much smaller. Last year they had about 5000 visitors.
It was a rainy, blowing kind of day and a little cold so there wasn't a big crowd. And we got there a little early. Later when we left lots more people were showing up.
The entrance tent had the typical selection of tables and booths. We didn't see any new products this time.
We are always a little intrigued by the smaller Aliner campers.
And I like to check out the Class C RVs.
But the real surprise for me was the Vanleigh 5th wheel by Tiffin. I didn't realize they had gotten into the market but sure enough. They brought the Vilano model to the show and it was impressive. We are not in the market for a new RV but this really surprised me.
Since it was still a little early in the day, I was able to talk with the salesman some and he indicated they have built 85 and have 61 sold and in the campgrounds throughout the Southeast.
Tiffin Motorhomes bought an old mobile home plant in Burnsville, Mississippi and currently employs over 125 people. We look forward to going through the facility in May when we are planning to get some work done in Red Bay.
By far the highlight of the day was getting a chance to stop by and see Howard and Linda Payne. We have known them for years. They have been very generous with advice and information about this lifestyle on
RV-Dreams.com. Anytime I talk to someone about RVing, I send them to their web site first.
They both are doing well and we got a photo before we left. We are big fans...
Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!
Yep, we're big fans of Howard and Linda, and like you, we send many people their way with RV questions. They've done a great job educating folks (us included).
ReplyDeleteNice to see Tiffin in the Fifth Wheel market. Maybe their outstanding quality will make other fiver manufacturers do better with the competition.
Always fun to see what's new in the RV world...another kind of fiver is intriguing...Your header picture looks like a nice spot too!
ReplyDelete