Inland NW RV Show presents plenty of possibilities to shoppers
One year ago, we weren’t living in an RV.
No -- we were attending our first RV show, thinking about the possibilities. We studied massive fifth wheels. We took a load off inside tiny teardrop trailers. We drooled over a custom Airstream Sprinter van.
In other words, we looked at everything, and started thinking about what we really wanted.
Your chance to dream is coming right up. The Inland Northwest RV Show is Jan. 24-27 at the Spokane Fairgrounds.
“The RV show is kind of like a big banquet,” said Jack High, a former Spokane resident who is now traveling in the Southwest in his RV. “You can’t possibly eat everything on the menu, but it’s fun to look.”
The Inland Northwest RV Show takes over the entire fairgrounds, with inventory from six RV dealers: Airstream of Spokane, Freedom RV, Parkway RV, RnR RV Liberty Lake, RnR RV North Spokane, and RV’s Northwest. Meanwhile, Click It RV offers its own event, the National RV Show in the Spokane Convention Center the same weekend.
Even if you aren’t ready to pull the trigger and buy, the shows offer vicarious thrills.
RV enthusiast Tom Clark of Spokane attends the Inland Northwest RV show nearly every year. Clark is a fan of vintage travel trailers -- he owns two ‘60s era pull-behinds -- but he likes to see what’s new on the market.
“It’s fun to see what the guys who are spending the big bucks are getting,” he said.
About those spendy rigs: You can check out the Class A motor home of the year from Winnebago and Spokane’s first half-million dollar RV made by luxury manufacturer Newmar.
“You get to explore everything -- even something that’s well above your pay grade,” said Laurita Mikalatos of Coeur d’Alene.
Last year, Mikalatos used the show to comparison shop and ended up buying a Rockwood Mini Lite travel trailer.
“We absolutely love it,” she said. “We had been looking for a long time and finally found it.”
The advantage of shopping at the RV show is the variety you'll see, Mikalatos said.
“It’s nice to see the different brands because you can compare them side-by-side and see what’s going to work for you.”
If you do decide to buy, you’ll get to jump into the Allstate Cash Machine, an enclosed booth with $1,000 flying around. Grab all you can in 30 seconds and it’s yours, said Steve Cody, producer of the Inland Northwest RV Show.
“A lot of RV shows are pretty quiet,” Cody said. “Ours is anything but -- there’s a lot going on.”
Besides vehicles, both shows next weekend offer displays for other RV-related products and services, entertainment and refreshments. Tickets for the Inland Northwest RV Show are $8 for the entire weekend. The National RV Show is free.
Recent reviews
We’ve traveled more than 8,000 miles since hitting the road in late September. That means we’ve stayed in more than a few places and have some favorites.
Check out our blog and you’ll see reviews from these destinations:
- Sam’s Family Spa, Desert Hot Springs, Calif.
- Happy Traveler, Palm Springs
- Marina Dunes, Monterey Bay, Calif.
- Point of Rocks, Prescott, Ariz.
- Rancho Sedona, Ariz.
- Monte Bello, Taos, N.M.
Going Mobile answers
We asked readers for their RV show advice in our last column. We heard from our friend Seabury Blair Jr., who said: "I think RV shows are an excellent place for a prospective RV owner to look at a variety of RVs, get advice from factory reps, see the huge assortment of RV accessories and meet and talk to other RVers."
