In December of 2015 after the Christmas rush, SoWeWentUncle made a passing comment that he would like to visit the RV Show in January for fun. SoWeWentUncle’s family had been RVing for a long time, and he already had a camper, so this was something his family did on a fairly regular basis. He had been jokingly telling us we needed to get into camping with him for a couple years now. SoWeWentMom’s response had always been “I don’t Camp”. We are pretty sure he thought his comment about going to the RV show had been basically ignored, so when on a whim we called him up to say lets go he was more than a little shocked.
SoWeWentUncle was already going Friday night with his younger Sister’s family, but he would be willing to go again on Saturday, the last day of the show. However, he couldn’t come until late in the afternoon.
Now SoWeWentMom wasn’t all that enthusiastic about going to the show. With two young kids, and an already busy schedule, it was just one more thing to try and cram into said schedule. Ultimately she relented, because it was getting out of the house and that was a good thing.
Prior to the RV show, we had never discussed the possibility of getting a travel trailer. In fact, other than hearing about the fun time and nostalgia of SoWeWentUncle as he talked about camping with his family; RVing had not really ever been discussed in our house. So this excursion was intended to be nothing more than something fun to do with SoWeWentUncle.
Leading up to the RV show, SoWeWentMom and I had been looking at buying a ski condo or similar in Summit County. We had saved up a decent amount of money, but we were no where close to being able to afford anything habitable in Summit County without having to timeshare it and have a mortgage on a vacation property. This was really discouraging for us as part time mortgaged vacation property was not something we felt was a wise choice. We were also having a lot of difficulty spending so much on a piece of property that would tie us and all of our vacations to one very specific location.
While we intended to get to the RV Show earlier on Saturday and have SoWeWentUncle meet up with us, life happens. We ended up not being able to leave for the show until after 4:00 PM, giving us only a couple of hours at the show. We hemmed and hawed, and finally decided what the heck lets go, check out the show, and grab a bite to eat.
So we went to the RV Show……….
At the show, we were able to get some dinner for the kids and then started looking at the travel trailers and fifth wheels. We couldn’t believe the number of trailers, variety of features, and crazy things we saw. SoWeWentMom was amazed at how many trailers had more TV’s in them than we had in our home. Many of the trailers and fifth wheels include separate entertainment rooms, fancy kids area, and wonderful finishes. SoWeWentKids were just having a blast running from trailer to trailer and checking each one out.
Then, we started to realize that there were models that met the needs of our family at a price and weight that we could manage (or so we thought). Suddenly SoWeWentMom realized that this was not only something she could do without actually having to involve a tent, but it was something we could do AS A FAMILY. Many of the trailers were totally in our price range without having to finance, and would accommodate travel around the country in a surprisingly more comfortable manner that previously thought. After recovering from the shock that SoWeWentMom actually could see our family doing this and enjoying it and was seriously interested in buying a Trailer, we quickly began going through several trailers in our price range. We started to resolve the features that we felt mattered to us and narrowed down the type of trailer we wanted.
From there we looked at the different manufacturer models that fit our criteria. Without a lot of verbal communication SoWeWentMom and I were getting on the same page of what we wanted in a trailer and that we were serious about getting one. This was additionally made a lot easier in that SoWeWentUncle has been planning and camping for a while so we weren’t as worried about whether we would use it, only about just what we were looking for, and which model fit those needs.
Finally, after looking at similar models several times and taking the time to sit in the model at the top of our list, we took the plunge. [Side note: while in the model we finally ended up ordering, SoWeWentSon (age 4 a the time), realized we were actually buying a trailer and decided that exact model was ours. At that point he began trying to chase other buyers away, which was beyond adorable.] As the show was closing (after it closed actually) we placed an order for our trailer. So with he show shut down and crews hauling the trailers away, we were up in the closing room ordering our Jayco Jayflight 28BHBE travel trailer. We left around midnight (SoWeWentKids had totally passed out on the couches in the closing room at this point), but we were excited and about to embark on a growing series of amazing adventures and vacations.
So We Went to the RV Show……… and after only a couple of hours our families lives were changed forever and definitely for the better.
So We Went to The RV Show ... 