“People have cabin fever,” said Robert Constant, who co-chairs the 49th annual event at the Big E fairgrounds. “They get the bug to buy at the beginning of the (spring) season.”
Phil Gooljar, of Bethel, Conn., holds his niece Kristina Guillet at the steering wheel of a 36 foot, $142,000 Winnebago "Sightseer" Recreational Vehicle at the Springfield RV Camping & Outdoor Show at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield Sunday.WEST SPRINGFIELD – “It’s probably the best show we’ve had in five years,” said Marc LaBrecque, owner of Diamond R.V. Centre, Inc., in Hatfield. “The economy’s turning around, people are buying.”
LaBrecque spoke Sunday from inside a 2011 Earthbound Copper Mountain 29 travel trailer, which he said is completely “green.” Made of composite materials and aluminum, the trailer boasts two flat-screen TVs, stereo with surround sound and thermal panel windows for better insulation, all standard, and can be solar-powered.
The Earthbound is one of countless exhibits at the 49th annual Springfield R.V. Camping & Outdoor Show. About 240 dealers, campgrounds, resorts, clubs and more converged on the Better Living Center at the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds this weekend, drawing huge crowds.
And it’s not over yet. The show began Friday and ends its four-day run Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Robert Constant and his wife, Judith Constant, of Westfield, chair the event. They said 19,000 people came to the show Saturday.
Robert Constant said 34,000 people attended last year in total. Organizers had expected 30,000 this year, and he said the final number may end up higher.
LaBrecque said he’d sold 14 R.V.’s as of Sunday, each of which cost more than $40,000.
Generally, shoppers at Diamond R.V. Centre pay 20% down and about $325 a month, he said. But this year, customers are giving larger down payments or even buying the units outright, he said.
One shopper gave a $15,000 down payment on a unit that costs $326,000 and said he’d pay off the rest in two weeks, said LaBrecque.
“If you use an R.V. 10 times a year, it’ll pay for itself,” said LaBrecque.
Todd Emerson, general manager of Longview R.V. Superstores in Windsor Lock, Conn., said the company sold 13 units at the show, each worth between $15,000 and $70,000.
“It’s been awesome,” said Emerson. “It’s a pretty good day when you sell 13 units in the middle of the winter.”
“People have cabin fever,” said Robert Constant. “They get the bug to buy at the beginning of the (spring) season.”
Kathy and Marilyn Daniels, sisters-in-law from Belchertown, said they were tired of winter and attended Sunday to look for new campgrounds and check out recent upgrades to camping tech.
“There’s something nice about being in a camper,” said Kathy Daniels, who said she camped in a tent for years when her children were younger. Now she has a hybrid RV, which is a hard-side trailer with ends that pop out to create tents.
She and Marilyn Daniels said they were going to Pennsylvania in August, but will start taking their respective trailers on the road when the weather permits.
“People are looking for alternative ways to have vacations,” said Judith Constant. “Camping is cost effective.”
The show is put on by volunteers from Pioneer Valley Chapter 8 of the North American Family Campers Association.
Admission is $9 for adults (there is a $2 discount coupon available here that can be used for all adults in one family); $5 for seniors and disabled American veterans; and free for children 12 and under.