Florida RV SuperShow’s Opening Day Draws 19,345 People

[embedded content]

Bagpipers entertained show-goers Wednesday afternoon. (Photo: Gary Gerard/RVBusiness)

The big news at the Florida RV SuperShow at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa on Wednesday (Jan. 18) – the first day for public admittance – may have been the number of people who decided to come out and have a look around.

Dave Kelly, executive director of the Florida RV Trade Association (FRVTA), which organizes the event, said 19,345 showed up to view the latest and greatest the RV industry has to offer. The tally falls just short of last year’s record total of 20,300.

The opening day atmosphere was decidedly upbeat with good traffic, positive conversations and perfect weather. With a favorable forecast for the remainder of the show, officials are expecting another good run for North America’s largest consumer show.

Aside from public interest, a couple of noteworthy industry events took place Wednesday – luxury motorhome chassis builder Prevost unveiled its new design and Winnebago announced an all-electric Class B protype, built on an electric rear-wheel-drive Ford Transit chassis.

Winnebago Outdoors President Huw Bower introduces the fully-operational prototype of its all-electric, zero-emission eRV2. (Photo: Shawn Spence/RVBusiness)

Winnebago eRV2

The Winnebago event, emceed by Winnebago Outdoors President Huw Bower – largely chronicled in a press release in Wednesday’s RVBusiness.com newsfeed – featured a question-and-answer session during which attendees asked Winnebago team members about the vehicle’s range, charging network adaptability, MSRP and availability.

Russ Garfin, Winnebago Industries product manager, explained the vehicle’s range, as published by Ford Motor Company, is 108 miles per charge.

“We understand that that’s not the range that we want to take to the commercialization of this product, but it is very much suitable and appropriate that we quickly start our long-term testing … and our commercialization is planned when we have the next generation of range available to our customers,” Garfin said.

Bower added, “And I’d say we are actively working on range extension opportunities to extend the range beyond the range of 108 miles that is currently published by Ford.”

Regarding availability, Niles Whitehouse, vice president of sales and service, explained, “Right now the team is focused on delivering the premium quality experience that our customers expect, so we are not ready to give a final date on when it will be available for commercial launch, but the team is working hard on that.”

Team members also were unable to provide an MSRP.

As for what type of charging stations can be used, the eRV2 charging ports can accommodate any type of house charger or EV charging stations that would be found at a campground. Tesla charging stations are proprietary to Tesla vehicle and would not be applicable.

“We’re proud of this vehicle, we’re proud to showcase it to you,” Bower said in closing the press conference. “We think this is an important milestone not just for Winnebago, but for the RV industry as a whole and we couldn’t be more proud to showcase this event to you today.”

Prevost President Francois Tremblay with a new, unpainted Prevost H3-45 shell. (Photo: Gary Gerard)

Prevost H3-45

Earlier Wednesday, Sainte-Claire, Quebec-based Prevost, a subsidiary of the Volvo Group unveiled its updated H3-45 motorhome chassis.

“Basically, the big thing you will notice is that we really worked on the aerodynamics of the vehicle,” Prevost President François Tremblay told RVBusiness during the press event. “There are two ways you can work to improve aerodynamics, on the horizontal axis or the vertical axis. We actually hit both.”

He explained that Prevost went with a 5-degree tapered angle on the horizontal axis of the front cap.

“You see that on the front of the coach, there is an angle to really reduce the size of the front facia and improve the airflow,” he said. “And the other thing we have done on the vertical axis, we actually slanted back the windshield about seven inches, which also improves the airflow of the coach.”

The benefit, he said, is a 12% increase in fuel efficiency. Other benefits include a quieter, smoother ride and a cleaner exterior because less dust and road film are kicked up during travel.

Other improvements include a redesigned front end that allows better access to the driver air conditioning units, wiper motors and defrost systems. The front junction box has been expanded and now has an interior door to protect components from the elements.

“We are trying to reduce repair time, making it easier for mechanics to access critical components,” Tremblay said. “We enlarged the size of the service door to improve access.”

New integrated LED headlights are brighter and more powerful.

“We wanted to keep the same DNA when it came to the design of it, but basically now you have LED lights that have the same output as Xenon lights with 20 times longer longevity,” Tremblay said.

The dashboard, steering wheel and instrument cluster also has been redesigned to be more driver friendly. “It’s more modern and more automotive and the new cluster also gives drivers more information where everything is integrated with TPMS, luggage bay sensors and other things,” Tremblay said.

In previous product launches, Prevost would introduce new platforms in the seated coach market segment first, and a year later introduce it in the motorhome market. In this launch, the seated coach and motorhome platforms were launched simultaneously.

“Now, for the first time, you basically have our new model being introduced in two market segments at the same time,” he said.

So far, upfitters have been happy with the changes and are seeing the benefits of the new platform, Tremblay added.

With regard to market conditions in the ultra-luxury segment, Tremblay said, “As you know the RV market has been booming, so we’ve seen the same impact for us. Our sales have increased by 25%, so we’ve seen kind of the same trend we’ve seen in other classes. Now, the challenge is it pushes the orders out. Now if you want to buy a new Prevost, count on an 18- to 24-month lead time.”

Scott Puch, sales manager for Millennium, inside the shell chassis of a new Prevost H3-45. (Photo: Gary Gerard)

He said reducing lead time is hampered by supply chain issues. “It’s been improving, but it’s still a challenge. For an example, pre-COVID, we used to have about 15 back-ordered parts per day on the manufacturing line,” he said. “When you reach 30 you get into trouble having to put the unit in the backyard and bring it back when you get the part. Now we’re running between 100 and 150 backordered parts. It brings into pay another level of complexity with regard to manufacturing. But it’s improving. It used to be in the 170s.”

Between Volvo and Prevost, seated and motorized, the company expects to sell between 600 and 800 coaches this year.

The Prevost units on display at the SuperShow this week are shells – a couple of which had been painted by upfitters Featherlight and Millennium Luxury Coaches.

“We’re really excited about that new front end and that new dash,” said Scott Puch, sales manager for Millennium. “Up until now, we’ve made our own dash. We took the Prevost dash out and put in our own to fit all of our components. With Prevost’s new dash, they’ve given us the opportunity to use their existing dash and still house all of our extra components.”

He said driver-friendly ergonomics are also going to be a big improvement in the new chassis as well.

Ember RV VP & COO Chris Barth, left, and President & CEO Ashley Bontrager with the 20FB Touring Edition. (Photo: Shawn Spence)

Ember Giveaway

Another event creating a bit of a buzz around the SuperShow is a drawing in which one lucky show-goer will go home with an Ember RV travel trailer, which is parked near the entrance to the Expo Hall.

“It’s really exciting,” said Ashley Bontrager, Ember RV founder, president and CEO. “We’re giving away a 20FB Touring Edition. People can register at every entrance here at the show. If you miss the entry at the show for some reason, FRVTA has a link to register on the show’s website. Really excited to be partnered with them to do that.”

The Florida RV SuperShow remains open to the public today (Jan. 19) through Sunday. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Hundreds of units encompassing every type of RV – from pop-up campers and teardrops to luxury Class A motorhomes and everything in between – are being displayed by nearly 40 RV dealers.

Two exhibit halls play host to 400 supplier booths offering virtually every type of RV accessory.

Food vendors and roaming entertainers also are on hand. Admission is $15 and includes a second day for free. Children under at 16 are admitted free.

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/florida-rv-supershows-opening-day-draws-19345-people/