Wednesday January 17th 2024

The temperature was around fifty this morning and I couldn’t hibernate in a warm bed. I had to drive to the outskirts of Tampa for the first day of the Florida RV Super Show. I wanted to get there before the crowds built, so I was aiming for as close to the 9AM opening as I could manage. I left the campground before 8AM and got to the Florida State Fair grounds sometime between 9 and 9:30. Traffic was very heavy on Interstate 4 and then there was a backup getting into the fair grounds parking area.

I have been to this show several times before. The last time I attended was either in 2017 or 2019. The show is advertised as Americas biggest consumer RV show, but the September RV show in Hershey Pennsylvania makes a similar claim. I have been to that show too. This one is probably bigger, but it really depends on how you measure the bigness. The main thing that makes both of them more significant than all the regional RV shows around the country is that the RV manufacturers rather than the local dealerships are the organizing factor. The RVs are all arranged by manufacturer. One dealer may be showing different manufacturers products in different areas of the show and never actually showing all of the products they sell at their dealership.

In the first couple of hours I was able to move around freely in the chilly air and see a lot of things. My late morning the crowds were growing. You never had to wait long to tour and RV, but the aisles in the vendor, merchandise and campground buildings were wall to wall people. Campers have dogs and dogs are welcome at this show. Outside they are not a real issue. Inside is another thing. Many of the dogs seem to be very intimidated and scared in the packed vendor halls and others were just plain in the way. I really thing they would have been happier getting left at home.

I went to the show to see what is new in the industry, and pick up information on new campground and accessories. It isn’t time for a new RV yet, but I am always looking at future possibilities. I only made two purchases while at the show. The first was a mediocre slice of pizza for lunch and the second was a new cover for my tow bar. My current cover came off in two pieces when I took in off last Sunday.

Overall it was an interesting show and I had a good time. There were lots of changes since the last time I went to a big RV show. Perhaps the biggest surprise was the small role that Camping World had at this show. At past shows Camping World was the biggest dealer organization represented and everyone was wandering around with massive yellow Camping World promotional bags. At this show the General RV family of dealerships had the biggest presence. Smaller Red promotional bags with the General RV logo were the dominant accessory for show goers.

As far as answering the question, “Is this the biggest RV show in the Country?”, I did lots of walking, climbed in and out of a multitude of RVs and I am very tired this evening. It was big enough for me and that’s all I care about. If I was in Pennsylvania in September, my answer would probably have been different.