New to RVing from Tampa Bay

[avalen]

Welcome! You said the magic words, "shopping for an RV"! We are all over that! Keep us up to date on your search.
Looking forward to hearing more about you, too!

yea, what she said, "we are all over that" lets get to shopping woohoo!
oh, and before I forget...Welcome

[rvgrammy1953]

Too bad you can't wait till this summer and possibly buy the 5th wheel Lori and Ernie have. They're going to buy new and I just LOVE theirs (which they bought new a couple years ago). I would suggest when you find some floorplans, etc you like - start looking used. They are out there and can be steals!

I thought my ears were ring.... Beth's talking about me .....First, welcome to our wild and crazy bunch here....and yep, lots of help and opinions and advise when we are asked.....

We attended the Hershey, PA RV Show in Sept. and have really taken an interest in the Open Range 5th wheels.... I posted info on these in the General Thread under Our Shopping Options....and probably trade-in our 26ft. Rvision Dodge and purchase the RF287RLS come this summer...(Yep, gang, we've decided... ) But we've done alot of research online, etc....and finds this fits our needs and our towing capacity.....We've had Forest River products and have considered their light weight 5th wheels and they would be on our short list.....but we like the options and layout of the Open Range...also as full-timers we look for durability, which from reading Open Range Forums members posts, are reasonably good....

All I can say, is to shop, research, and find what best fits you.....(Spinner, our dog, likes the fact that there's lots of napping options available for him... )

And, of course, ask questions here....we all have answers....

[cpatinjones]

Welcome to the forum.

[Birdie]

Welcome to the crazyness known as WomenRVers. Sounds like you need to have your checkbook with you tomorrow. Sure hope you have lots of fun, take lots of pics and let us know what you love. A small 5er that you might run past is the Scamp. I see a lot of those in the west. Will be hoping to meet you at the FL GTG.

[froggi]

Welcome to the forum...we were at the Tampa show today as well. I understand your thought process issues on deciding what to get. If you go back to my initial blog (2006), you can see where I went from Class A to toy hauler fiver to gas vs diesel and ended up with a Class C. LOL! http://lilypad.froggilady.com/

Don't rule out used either...the money you save can be significant, especially in this market.

[Redwisher]

Thanks again for all the great replies and great advice.

I went and committed myself to this adventure today. Yep, I bet you all knew it would happen after my second day at the RV Super Show. That's what happens when you turn me loose with a credit card at a huge toy store. I went ahead and bought an RV dish drain for $5.86. So there is no going back now!

Today I saw something new to consider -- it is a Zinger ZF30RL by CrossRoads. Looks to be well made and surprising cabinetry (quantity and quality) for the price, and one of the few that comes with a 2 year warranty. It is very low priced, but does not have some of my "must haves". While I have seen some good reviews on it, in the back of my mind is some recording going off about "you get what you pay for". I was offered 28% off MSRP if I act before 5pm today and that particular unit is still available. As you can see, I did not act before 5pm. Maybe I'll hold out for a set of steak knives.

Other contenders are eye catchers from Wednesday. The Sundance XLT (25% off MSRP) and the Canyon Trail XLT (26.3% off MSRP). The Jayco Super Lite HT is not off the list either. I guess the Forest River models have fallen off the list, at least for now.

If all were the same price, I would go for the Canyon Trail that I spec-ed out. Needless to say, that was the most expensive of the bunch. Always works that way, right?

I would have thought I could get discounts of 30% or more at these shows with this economy. What do you think? Maybe I need to bargain harder?

Waiting and searching for used is still an option as well. Although I really like my toys new.

With all of the contenders I got to speak with the Manufacturer's Reps, which was definitely helpful. I also made notes and took pictures.

More on the saga as it unfolds ...

[VickieP]

You know.....we really, really wouldn't object if you wanted to post some of the pics for us to look at and dream along with you!

[Gentleladybear]

Welcome to the forum. We love Rv's, we love shopping, so put the two together and we are in heaven.

You have better will power than I had. Went to an RV show, 4 hours later drove my first one off the lot. Kept it almost 5 years, traded from a B plus to a C. Love it and plan to do some traveling, so wanted something a bit bigger.

Hope you get a chance to come to Silver River, meet all of us and share some time.

[Redwisher]

Okay Vickie, you asked for pictures, and here you are!

[Redwisher]

ooohhhh, you meant of the RVs!

Sorry! (hehe)

Try this link. This is the leading candidate. Some of the shots are mine and some I took off their website. My first adventure with snapfish -- hope it works okay.

http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumb ... =snapfish/

Underneath the TV will be an electric fireplace. If I go with this rig, it will be special ordered with the options I selected. I think the fireplace is the only visible option. I'll add my own TV instead of their $945 TV.

The RV show ends tomorrow, so I need to make my final decision. I've got them down 29.2% off of MSRP. I think I am in love.

[VickieP]

Absolutely beautiful dish drainer!!! Smarty pants!

The only way we can see your "other" pics, is if we join Snapfish. But it DID look good from the one outside pic.

[Redwisher]

Guess who is now the proud owner of a soon to be built Canyon Trail XLT 277FREL FW ???

I finalized the deal today and I am very excited. It will probably be 6-8 weeks before it is ready. Now I have a place for my dish drain!

Still finalizing my tow vehicle. Maybe that can be finalized this week. It would be nice to have something to pull it with.

I'll post pics in the Rigs thread when it is all put together.

By the way, what is the best way to post pics on the forum?

I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday!

[VickieP]

Celebrate, Celebrate! Way to go!!

I've found that Photo Bucket is the easiest one to use, it's what most people on here use, too.

[AlmostThere]

How exciting!!! Can't wait to see the final pictures! Happy dancing!!

[mitch5252]

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WOW - Congratulations! Isn't hard waiting? I hated that part.
I'm going to try and find your layout...

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