Pilgrimage to Tampa

The new year is almost upon us, and with just a little over 18 months before we make our final decision on the make and model of our future full-time land yacht, these pilgrimages to local and national RV shows become much more important.

In 2017, we made our first trip to the Hershey, PA RV show, billed as the world's largest. Being newbies at this, we didn't realize that setting aside just one day was not even remotely enough to see everything we wanted to see, nor did we realize that there are a host of RV's just waiting for prospective buyers to test-drive in a remote parking lot. Since we were still in search mode for the RV itself, we paid little attention to the hundreds, if not thousands, of third-party accessory providers that are vitally important to safe and carefree RV living. Hershey was an eye-opener, but Barbara and I realize we can and should do better if we want this transition to be a smooth as possible, given that neither of us has ever RV'd before.

Now, we don't know if the Tampa or Hershey shows are actually the largest (we'll let them fight over bragging rights), but all that really matters is that they are both pretty darned big. So in January, the place to be is in Tampa FL for their annual RV extravaganza. And this time, we're going to be better prepared than we were at Hershey. Don't get me wrong; we'll still be drooling over every motorhome that strikes our fancy, and spending an inordinate amount of time in the Tiffin section, but we'll continue to take objective looks at new offerings in our size and price ranges up to the day we finally order our dream RV. That's the big picture.

But this time, we'll dedicate a full day to speak to and investigate all those ingenious third-party vendors and their almost endless supply of innovations for the RV community. From tow dollies for the MINI, to power management systems designed to protect the electrical health of the RV, to tools, accessories and must-haves to help keep the RV up and running, and campground memberships that make living on the road more affordable, we're going to explore all who have decided to be at the show.

It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.

And we'll report back if there are things that are cool and interesting to us.