CCM Show NEC Birmingham February 21-26 February 2017 (1 Viewer)

Wombles

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Quite a bit of discussion about this Show http://www.ccmshow.co.uk/ at the moment so thought it might be helpful to share some hints & tips to help anyone attending for the first time. Have posted ours below but would welcome any others from Funsters so feel free to post :)
Parking is included in the cost of your ticket & plenty of room to park the motorhome but not allowed to stay overnight. Car parks are normally some distance away from the main building & as lots of Show halls to walk around so might be a good idea to hop on the free shuttle bus that take you from the carpark to the main entrance but don't forget to note which car park you are in!
Sensible shoes - not just because of the large area that you might cover but also going up & down all those motorhome steps of varying heights safely.
Wear layers as although may be cold outside it gets really hot in the halls with all the lights & people.
Taking a rucksack with food & drinks is a good idea as cheaper & don't have to queue. Suggest only one rucksack if two of you as some manufacturers don't allow them to be taken into their premium models so may have to take it in turns or leave it outside.
There is the option of visiting M&S Simply Food at the nearby airport by walking then using the free Air-Rail link - we did this last year & it's a bit of a walk but easy. Any NEC staff should be able to point you in the right direction as they are normally friendly & helpful.
You can go in & out of the halls freely just don't forget to get your hand stamped the first time you leave. When it's busy & crowded being able to get outside in the fresh air for a break is really good.
Pace yourself - it can be a lot to get around (although the October Show is bigger) & if you have a limited time suggest planning & prioritising the stands you want to see. Suggest downloading the floor plan from here Link Removed on your phone. Also more detailed info. about the stands & larger map at the back of the Show guide - pick up your free copy on arrival.
There is free Wi-Fi so worth checking any prices or information online before buying - some sales staff don't know all the facts or might even make it up to get a sale :(
Take photos of Show prices & layouts (there are usually boards outside each motorhome) & anything else that you might forget later. It's easy to be dazzled by all the glitz & excitement of the Show.
Ask for a cooling off period with your choice of motorhome held if you do agree a sale - 24 hours is normal.
Be friendly & smile - it's long hours & hard work on the stands so more likely to get a good deal if you are likeable not demanding :)
 
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Wombles

Wombles

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Wombles

Wombles

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For anyone who might not have spotted it - see above link for free drink voucher at the Show :)
Having been to quite a few October Motorhome Shows at the NEC it will be interesting to see if the Show Deals are as good :unsure: at this smaller Show...
 
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Wombles

Wombles

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We only had one & a half days to look around this Show thanks to Storm Doris - had to leave late to avoid the winds & lots of delays on the motorways with overturned vehicles :eek: Even though this Show is smaller than the October one we found plenty to look out & would have liked longer.
Good points:
The halls used for this Show being at the opposite end to those for the October Show had a larger selection of places to eat & a much shorter (undercover) walk to the M&S at the airport for survival supplies. Also closer for the shuttle bus to the nearby Travelodge.
There were quite a few motorhomes as well as caravans plus loads of small stalls including interesting ones not seen at the October Show.
The Swift free tea/coffee voucher worked & their stand had great hospitality staff & good coffee (y)
Bad Points:
Crowds - more than usual even on the weekdays as school holidays in that area.
Motorhome dealership sales staff - although some stands did have perhaps one representative from the manufacturer they weren't always in attendance so without that professional calming influence there were some very pushy & even unpleasant tactics :mad: & sometimes uninformed sales information was being given out :( Think it doesn't help that the dealers had their own stock there & were paying for their stand - in October it's the manufacturers who supply the stock & pay for the (very expensive) stands. Thankfully there were a few gems though who knew their products & were up to speed on the VED situation with regard to their models too :)
Deals ???? With no manufacturer offers think it looked unlikely that many got deals on current models as good as at the October Show unless they bought older stock not on display. Still plenty buying though so hopefully some did...
Note to self for next year - remember that the NEC shuttle buses to the car parks stop at 7pm to avoid another long refreshing walk in the rain even if we did catch up on our email :whistle:
 
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Wombles

Wombles

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Here's a few products that we spotted:
Soplair screen covers on the Roadpro stand https://www.roadpro.co.uk/brandcategories/soplair-brand
89513de455430e8d30480418e7cd0a0f.jpg
c6ed3aa22163964c3edbbc5cbd84af15.jpg

Understand that these are very popular in France so it was interesting to see an alternative version but no idea how good they are & not cheap starting at around ÂŁ175 with 2 year guarantee. The outside fabric looks tough & waterproof but the inside softer mesh layer didn't look as durable.

iboost Connect from BROKEN LINK - new through the roof fitted version of this popular system.

antenna-lowered-Large-128x160.jpg
iBoost-Connect1-608x604.jpg

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Wombles

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These looked very striking & the price was too - these awnings & tents reminded us of bouncy castles!
http://gentletent.com/

ÂŁ1385


This one (ÂŁ1467) is shown against an A Class motorhome in their brochure:



ÂŁ685




GentleTent_FotoCollection_PhotoBassetti047.jpg
 
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Wombles

Wombles

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Date for our diaries - 17-22 October
for the next Motorhome Show at the NEC :)

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Enword

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Who else thought this was about Bikes? :LOL:
 

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