NEC show today (1 Viewer)

[Forestboy]

Just returned from the NEC show, had a good day and enjoyed the show as always.

All the usual stalls were there nothing very different, but I managed to speak to the 3 traders I went to see so came away happy except for maybe Webasto. The guy on the stall had no knowledge of the product but at least admitted it and has arranged for someone to contact me. We'll see

Things that surprised me this year.
Not a single RV to be seen. Even Travelworld were busy promoting their European vans.
The boat section was half the size of previous years.
The tent and camping sections seemed to be twice as big.
Must be a sign of the times.

Motorhomes
Big section with loads of new models on show. Must say some of the layouts are fantastic and very clever in the use of space, I particularly like some of the rear bathroom layouts.
But the build quality on most I looked at was quite dissapointing especially for the price of a small home. The one that did impress me however the was new Auto Sleeper clever design and seemed like good quality. Panel van conversions seem to getting more and more popular as well and some are really well kitted out I can see the appeal.

Anyway I had a good day and I'm sure others will have come away with completely different impressions.

 

[andyman]

We went yesterday. And we noticed only a few boats and no Rv's. Still had a great day out. Loved the Autotrail with fixed bed and rear bathroom.
Even bought a BBQ so now we have 3 for the M/H.

Andy

 

[Dalek]

I know why there are less boats . Friends we are going with on Friday are boat builders and told us that a lot of companies are going to Liverpool Boat Show end of April so ginving NEC a miss this year :thumb:

Dale

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[Peter JohnsCross MH]

I am not surprised about boats, only the very very rich can afford to buy a new one now and lesser mortals like me shudder at the price of fuel now.

My old girl uses a gallon a mile and at £4 odd a gallon, its bloody expensive, when I first got her, red diesel was 19p a litre!

Peter

 

[scotjimland]

Things that surprised me this year.
Not a single RV to be seen. Even Travelworld were busy promoting their European vans.
The boat section was half the size of previous years.
The tent and camping sections seemed to be twice as big.
Must be a sign of the times.

Thanks for the report and agree with your observations..

Fuel costs must be having a big effect on purchases, even running an average size euro van is not cheap .. for this reason I believe PVCs will become more popular..

camping is also having a renaissance .. we were amazing how many were in tents when we were camping in Scotland last year .. and later in Norfolk, the site we were on was predominately tents with a scattering of MHs ..

When we buy our next MH it will definitely be a PVC

 

[Dalek]

Do you mean tents?

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[Castaway]

I know why there are less boats . Friends we are going with on Friday are boat builders and told us that a lot of companies are going to Liverpool Boat Show end of April so ginving NEC a miss this year :thumb:

Dale

I was under the impression that the Liverpool Boat Show had been cancelled due to lack of support from the builders.

 

[Dalek]

OMG, so it has, just looked at website. Thats a blow to exhibitors that may of missed out by not going to the NEC.

Dale

 

[Forestboy]

Thanks for the report and agree with your observations..

Fuel costs must be having a big effect on purchases, even running an average size euro van is not cheap .. for this reason I believe PVCs will become more popular..

camping is also having a renaissance .. we were amazing how many were in tents when we were camping in Scotland last year .. and later in Norfolk, the site we were on was predominately tents with a scattering of MHs ..

When we buy our next MH it will definitely be a PVC

Yeah I can see the attraction in a PVC. The trend would appear to be heading towards smaller vans but have you seen the size of some of these tents. Some were as big as my old RV and much bigger than my Hymer

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[Dalek]

We have held onto our Outwell XXXL for future use for when Emily gets old and wants to go camping, we've got too used to the luxury of M/H to go back to camping

Dale

 

[Scout]

Ive got a pennine pathfinder in the garage, best luxury folding camper around, its even got a electric flush loo....

but I still prefer the motorhome

 

[Pat4Neil]

We started of with a caravan many years ago, then went to a trailer tent for several years. Then when the kids left home we went to tenting, but that was such hard work for the weekend, I just never got basic enough and would take lots of extras along which took longer to pack an unpack. But I couldnt get a comfortable bed, until we had the motorhome.

Well the motorhome is bliss, not having to pack and unpack , apart from to load to go away etc.

I can see the appeal of the PVC as you can park in a normal parking space, but not much storage again.

Our next jump is a big army truck which will only do 12-15mpg probably a bit less than that. Its gonna cost a fortune to fill it up in europe.

Never been to the show but wante to go to get some ideas for the selfbuild.
Maybe next year.

Pat

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