All-Valley RV Show draws Winter Texans

MERCEDES — License plates in the parking lot at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show grounds in Mercedes on Thursday ranged from Michigan and Wisconsin to Ohio and Illinois. They provided a strong sampling of Midwestern states.

Winter Texans and RV enthusiasts had turned out in droves to inspect the latest in RVs and RV accessories at the All-Valley RV Show.

Luke and Sally Davis, from St. Charles, Mo., said they already own an RV but have enjoyed coming to the show for the past few years to check out the latest models and technologies the industry is offering.

“We came here to see what kind of new products they’ve got coming out,” Luke said. “We also just come up here for parts. I buy my fuel filters here and my air filters here.”

The show, which is the second largest in Texas, features motor homes, travel trailers, fifth wheels, campers and park models in addition to more than 90 booths of parts, supplies, services, and travel and tour agents, as well as representatives from various campgrounds, resorts and other related organizations.

Bill and Sharon Maginot, from Terrell, east of Dallas, came to the show for much the same reason as the Davises.

“We’re just window shopping,” Bill Maginot said.

Bob and Pam Johnson, who have an RV at South Padre Island and will be there for the next couple of months, were out enjoying a nice day.

“We’re not thinking about buying anything. It’s just a pretty day outside. So we’re just walking around and checking it out,” Bob Johnson said.

Pam Johnson said there were a few motor homes that caught her eye, particularly an Air Stream Bullet because it has a pleasing interior layout.

“I liked the Bullet. It was the layout. You go in and some layouts are good and some are just perfect,” Pam said.

It was a sleek black model with a price tag of a little more than $120,000, a discount from the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of more than $130,000.

All around the floor the story was the same: While RVs and motor homes are expensive, many prices were marked down from their original MSRPs.

Tudy Krom, an exhibitor for Swenson Inc., was featuring three motor homes, also with reduced prices.

“These are less expensive units than Swenson has brought in the past, but they have gotten a lot of traffic, which is good,” Krom said. “We brought these because they are less expensive, you have a lot of room and they are light and easy to pull.”

The units ranged from $20,000 to $30,000.

Across the floor, Steve Roberson, a sales manager with Camper Clinic II, RV Camping Center, of Buda, was showing off a 30-foot Flying Cloud made by Air Stream with a price tag of $80,000 to $85,000.

“This is a very popular line. It’s the number one selling of the series for Air Stream because of the life-long interior and the traditional Air Stream look,” he said as potential buyers went in and out of the unit to check its features. “They have Blue Tooth for your phone; it has iPod-type hook-ups; there are LED lights on the inside and out. It’s got the latest state-of-the-art technology.”

And he said there is one reason Camper Clinic II returned this year to the All-Valley RV Show: Winter Texans.

“We’ve been down here for the last two years. There is an opportunity we come down here for called the Winter Texans,” he said.