I was really excited to come to the Tampa RV SUPER Show since so many YouTubers that we follow rave about this particular show. NO, we are NOT interested in replacing “Vinny Ventana”. (Although I really do not like our inside steps! And we do like the Newmar Dutch Star) But overall, we love our floor plan, and are happy this is our home. 🙂 But, something unexpected may happen…
We spent two days at the show. We camped onsite in the parking area for $20 per night. However, it first cost $14 to enter the parking lot with an RV and a toad. Show Admission is $12 a person at the gate, or $11 if you order online. All show admissions come with a complimentary ticket for a second day. However, Wednesday is senior day, so it was only $10 per person, and was only available in person at the gate. (Credit card ) This is when and where you pay for overnight parking as a separate transaction. Overnight parking had to be paid in cash!
There was NO way we could see everything we wanted to see even with two full days! When it is hot and humid it becomes difficult to keep moving. The RVs can get quite warm and stuffy. Only a few RVs outside had air conditioning running. More would certainly have been nice–and maybe help sell more.
We had ample room during the day! 
No close neighbors at night! 
No electric or water, but also NO close neighbors after 6 PM!!
It was fun to look at a Prevost, American Coach-American Eagle, and of course the various Newmar levels of coaches, but surprisingly we spent a good amount of time checking out several class B+ “vans”! The Unity Leisure Travel Van with a Murphy Bed and a slide out was pretty cool. We had seen it prior to this show, but the Unity Wonder might be doable as well.
The Newmar Essex: This was REALLY nice! LOVED the kitchen and the entry steps (External and internal).
GREAT Kitchen with fabulous prep area and window! 
I really liked the floor. 
Residential refrigerator with cabinet front. 
Pantry 1 w/shelves and drawers. 
Pantry 2 with all pull out drawers. 
Villa theater seating 
Interesting U-dinette with table that moves in and out. 
King bed–window area can be fully open, translucent sliders closed, or with night shade down between window and slider. 
I really like the additional light this dresser area allows into the bedroom. 
Bathroom closet (cedar lined) 
Beautiful vanity with double sinks 
So much storage 
Great cabinets! 
Shower with foldup/down seat 
Shower with rain head 
Cedar lined closet with shelves 
Love the curved door. LOTS of storage space! 
price sheet 
Barry likes the lower TV-pulls out and swivels to eliminate glare from sun. 
LOVE these steps and the inside ones as well!!!
Leisure Travel Vans
Corner lounge area model 
Rear bath with toilet cover that keeps camouflages the toilet from living area. Kitchen area not bad. 
small convection microwave with heating element for grill mode 
Two burner stove 
Decent shower 
cubby hole for shoes 
Small storage between passenger seat and living entry door. 
Storage view 1 – upper part 
storage view 2 – shelves below upper hanging area 
storage view 3 door storage 
Nice DEEP kitchen storage drawer 
Murphy bed–sleeps lengthwise. Allows windows when bed stored. 
Dining table down…also has a small drink table. 
(Left) Storage opposite sitting area/Murphy bed. Opens DOWN 
(Right) storage area with outlets… 
Across from sitting are–top lifts ups for TV… 
Tilted up to reveal SMALL TV on the left portion. 
batteries 
Outside attachable table 
Rear bed model 
Rear bed – queen 
Bathroom 
Decent shower w/skylight 
Amazing skylight in living area that opens. 
Driver & passenger seats swivel to living area. 
Murphy bed slide out–allow bed to sleep side to side 
Unity w/Murphy Bed slide out 
Murphy bed -sleeps across the van. Upper windows available only when bed is down.
But then we stumbled upon Coach House. OMG! LOVED it! 27ft with 2 slides! It has two amazingly comfortable recliners with a queen bed in the back. The shower was a bit smaller, but still doable for this size. You could also open the bathroom door and use it to close off the bathroom with the bedroom. The kitchen prep area was incredible! Units come with lithium batteries and solar. A new chassis is coming out in two weeks. We told them they have a few years to get things perfected before we would be ready. 🙂 Just researching options for the future. Definitely worth looking at when we are ready for a smaller unit. This is 10ft shorter than Vinny. Not for us as a full-time living unit, but would be a great option for traveling for a couple months or so. It would allow for staying in more state and national parks, and spur of the moment exploration along the way. https://www.coachhouserv.com/
2 slides-smaller slide for bed area 
Cockpit area 
Residential recliners. Each with sturdy swivel table. 
Nice 
GREAT Kitchen area! 
Nice kitchen area storage 
pull out pantry after refrigerator 
Queen bed with window. Storage above. 
room to make the bed, +nightstand 
Bedroom tv + storage 
Closet 
tiny bathroom sink 
lithium batteries 
one-piece molded shell 
Floor plan 
Bedroom slide 
Slide with recliners 
Roomy living area 
Storage above recliners 
View front to back 
Kitchen area w/ 3 gas burner stove 
Table top swivels out of the way.
An UPGRADE for Vinny!
I was surprised to discover that two different companies of really nice quality Amish made furniture were at the show. Barry has been expressing a desire to switch out our couch for a theater seating piece that would give us two comfortable recliners. The couch hasn’t been bad, but I do need a small pillow behind my back. Ones we had seen in local furniture stores were too long, and we didn’t want to order anything online without being able to test comfort and fit. Bradd and Hall, which was one company I had been looking at online, is located in Nappanee, Indiana. We figured we would just wait till we made a trip through Indiana in the summer/fall of 2022. CHANGE of Plans!!
We visited both the Bradd & Hall exhibit and the Glastop exhibit multiple times over the course of both days. We found two that were super comfy! The theater seating one will fit perfectly in the 70″space. I preferred the versatility of theater seating where the console can be up or down, and it has pull out storage drawer in the front. This piece did that. Both companies gave us ultra leather samples to take to the coach to see what would work. We first started trying to match the dinette, captain and passenger chairs. A couple were close, but being close and not matching would not work, so we looked for a contrast/complementary shade. Bradd & Hall had the best one. “Distressed Bilagio – Desert Tan” actually matched the rope-like trim on the other sitting areas. We bit the bullet and made the order because it was exactly what we’ve wanted, and we saved $380 with a Show Price deal over the website prices. We got the fully electric recliner along with the tilt feature on the head pillow rest. We both love how comfortable it is! Can’t wait to get it!! Freight shipping cost is going to suck though, but going to Indiana now is not an option. This purchase was totally unexpected on this trip, but we are happy that we found exactly what we wanted, and were able to be confident with the color choice!
This is THE ONE! 
Runner-up
FAMILIAR FACES!
It seemed so unlikely to run into people we know from our travels. Bruce and Terry both from Thornton Creek Motorcoach Resort (pickleball) were at the show. Bruce was representing Thornton Creek MC Resort at its booth. It was pretty cool when I realized I knew him from playing pickleball. Then somewhere else in the exhibit areas we ran into Terry and his wife. I knew Jim Hoffman was going to be there that day, but I never ran into him, but Barry did as he was making his way back to our coach.
I ran into several people from “The RV THING” that we attended prior to the RV show. It helped that most of them wore their “The RV THING” shirts! I saw Deb and Randy Snowden along with Tom and Fay Waters a couple of times! When we saw each other the second time, I took a picture of them and we shared what we each had purchased. How funny that the three of us all had some sort of food grade silicon reusable “bags”. We had two different types. The ones I bought I intended for snacks on our travel days or day trips. Deb and Fay said they can pressure cook in their bags.
I decided to go check out the silicone snap bags that Fay & Deb had. I liked how they stood up on their own. They opened out nicely to easily put anything in or get it out. Learning how to pressure cook with them in the microwave was cool. I ended up buying a set of them –along with a set of Gripsticks that seal all kinds of bags like chips, crackers, veggies, etc., after you open them. They were at the same booth. The snap bags are about twice as much as the silicone bags I had bought earlier, but they are nicer and more versatile. I know I will be able to use both sets regularly. I’m really trying to get away from using disposable Ziplock bags.
Gripsticks 
Snap bags 1 open and 1 sealed 
Silicone food bags w/slide closer -all the same size 
“Slide closer” ones will stand up with something in them.. I like the oz/ cups level markings. 
Set of 3 Snap Bags–3 different sizes
Post show note: I do love the Silicone snap bags! I haven’t cooked in one yet, but the small one sure is slick for our mixed nuts. I really like how well the bag stays “popped” open. It is so easy to reach in while driving and easy to know you have it sealed tight when you bring the sides together and push the “clips” down.
OTHER “FINDS” – SOCO SWINGS & CANTERBURY CREATIONS
SOCO SWINGS
The Soco Swing chair/lounger was super comfortable, but you really need a spot to hang it. We don’t have this possibility as we travel, but maybe down the road when we get a “home base”. The aqua one pictured below is the portable style that packs into a bag. I really like the way it felt when I sat in it–and even more when I used the hanging foot rest. 🙂 Totally takes the pressure off the small of your back!
https://www.facebook.com/socoswings/
CANTERBURY CREATIONS 810-513-3094
These signs are weatherproof and fit securely on the posts designed specifically for them by the Amish. Pretty cool. Maybe next time. 🙂 Personalized with hand lettering. All hand painted. http://www.craftvillage.com
Fun entertainers
These entertainers went by fairly fast, so it wasn’t easy to get my phone into camera mode to get the best pictures. The Venetian gondolier was my favorite, but I thought the covered wagon pulled by an armadillo was pretty cute and unique. There was a man on stilts with a walker that had the two typical tennis balls, but these tennis balls were super big to work proportionately. It was pretty funny. I didn’t get the full length picture–just the bottom of the walker, but you don’t get the full effect. Most had music of some sort. A couple were “one man bands”.
