As an indication of how popular Class B and small RVs have become, consider the Super B RV Show held in Glendale, Arizona, where nothing but small motorhomes were on display from the major manufacturers.
We're talking about Class B motorhomes (generally under 24 feet), Class B Plus which adds a little bit of width and length, and Class C motorhomes, which run from 26 to a tad over 30 feet in length.
They were all here at this show, the second annual held inside the University of Phoenix stadium, which is also home to the Arizona Cardinals. This weekend, the playing field, emptied of its retractable turf field, was filled with 156 recreational vehicles from Roadtrek Motorhomes, Thor Motorhomes, Leisure Travel Vans, Tiffin Motorhomes and Winnebago. We are sure of the number because Jennifer and I ran a contest on a Facebook Live report we did from the show asking viewers to guess how many RVs were on display. Daniela Lessard Lockard, by the way, was the winner, guessing the exact amount and winning a $300 GoSun solar cooker.
The event was sponsored by LaMesa RV, one of the nation's largest RV dealers with a dozen RV stores across four states – Arizona, California, New Mexico and Florida.
“Class B RVs are hugely popular,” said Jason Kimbrell, who runs the business started 45 years ago by his father. “We are amazed at the demand for them. People love the maneuverability and the functionality. They can go anywhere, do anything and really enjoy the RV lifestyle with these vans. It just makes sense to do a show like this dedicated just to Class B recreational vehicles.”
The Super B show is the only one of its kind in the nation, though I have heard from at least one dealer and one state RV dealers organization who have expressed interest in doing a similar all-B event.
Jennifer and I came to see the products, interview representatives form the various manufacturers and meet and greet readers of the blog, followers of our social media platforms on Facebook and YouTube, and listeners to our podcast.
It was an amazing demonstration of the power of social media for us. Thousands and thousands of people viewed the Facebook Live posts we did at the show. Several people who live in the Phoenix area said they saw the reports and came to the RV show because of them.
We interviewed Kimbrell; Jim Hammill, CEO of the Erwin Hymer Group of North America and Roadtrek Motorhomes; Tim and Trent Tiffin from Tiffin Motorhomes; Dean Corrigal of Leisure Travel Vans; RV engineer Yan Seiner from Roadtrek as well as several listeners and fans we met at the show.
You'll be hearing many of those interviews on upcoming episodes of the RV Podcast. Others will be featured on a series of videos I shot for Mike and Jennifer's RV Lifestyle Channel on YouTube that show and tell the differences between the different types of Class B and small RVs.
We were thrilled to meet so many of our followers, who drove to the event from Utah, California and all over Arizona. We went out in the parking lot to look at some of their rigs and the ways they had customized it. Jennifer picked up some tips from them that she will be sharing on her segment of the podcast.
Jennifer had the most excitement from the visit, though.
While moving a folding chair at a table at the show, the chair collapsed, crushing her hand. That was Thursday afternoon. She worked through the pain on Thursday and Friday but by Saturday, the swelling was so severe that we took her to the emergency room of a hospital where X-Rays confirmed she broke a bone in her hand. But like the trooper she is, she was discharged from the hospital and immediately went back to the Super B Show, where we did the Facebook Live report you can click on below.
A lot of people wanted to know where Bo was. Since we flew out to the show, Bo stayed home in Michigan with our daughter and her family. We fly back on Sunday, pick him up and then hit the road in our Roadtrek on Monday for a multi-week trip to several Southern states.
We had a great time at the show and look forward to returning next year. Meantime, start looking for our videos to show up on our RV Lifestyle Channel next week.
One Response to “The Super B RV Show”
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May 02, 2017at5:11 pm, Ric. said:
We made the trip to Glendale from Prescott area for the show on friday. Rather disappointed. Had hoped to see some accessories & ideas to incorporate into our RT190. Asked at RoadTrek to meet Wendlands, sales people we spoke with didn’t seem to know them.
And, class ‘Bs’ we saw have gotten so big they have lost the practical
purpose of true ‘Bs’. Guess that’s why they are now billed as Super Bs! We won’t waste our time on this “super sales event’ again!