It's jam packed with 12-15,000 people all weekend coming to see RVs from all the major dealers in the area," Bill Bradley begins telling The Buzz. Bradley owns Westlake Promotion, Inc., a company that puts on five different RV shows in the Northwest, the next one being the Washington State Evergreen Spring RV Show, April 12-14th, at The Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington. Monroe is about 35 miles northeast of Seattle, to give travelers an idea of the location.
The show has been going on for 37 years. "This will be our biggest ever in terms of square feet," Bradley says. According to the website, there will be three full buildings with over 250,000 square feet of RVs. Westlake has taken care of this show, as well as other expos for the RV industry, home, Christmas, and more for over 35 years. They are the largest producers of RV shows in the Northwest. Bradley started from the bottom and made his way up to his own company. "I started cleaning the benches when I was 16," he recalls.
Now, while preparing for this spring show, he is excited by the progress of the RV industry. "The industry is booming right now," Bradley says, "And I have noticed a few things the past few years. Sales have always been good for travel trailers and fifth wheels, but I've noticed that the super expensive motorhomes are selling as well and that is a great sign for RVs."
Family checking out a Jayco Jayflight travel trailer [Photo/Blade RV Center]
He also noticed the demographic shifting. "A lot more young people are getting into RVs," Bradley notes. "So the age range is basically 20-years-old to infinity!" And the good thing about having young folks get involved in RVing is that it is a lifelong pastime. “It starts with a couple looking for something small, then they have a few kids and want something bigger like a travel trailer, then their kids invite their friends and they start looking at fifth wheels, and maybe when they are retirement age they will be looking for a larger Class A motorhome,” Bradley speculates.
Carl Baker, Jr. of Apache Camping Center in Everett is also getting ready for the show. "We have been doing this show since the beginning," Baker says. Baker notes that this show is "relatively small compared to the other, which is nice because it has a laid back atmosphere." Another thing Baker likes about this show in particular is that it gives Apache a chance to bring out some of the more unique, specialty trailers they offer. "Bill Bradley doesn't give us a lot of square feet," Baker laughs, "So we pack it with truck campers, tear drops, and squeeze in what we can." Apache does not do any advertising besides their website and attending trade shows, so it is important for them to put on a memorable display.
Apache Camping Center carries a lot of unique RV brands that are sure to be a hit at the convention. For example, the ALP Adventurer Campers are high-end truck campers that are designed and constructed in Washington. They also sell the interesting Bigfoot Travel Trailers, constructed in Canada and similar to Oliver Trailers in that they are of high quality, fiberglass construction. These, along with other interesting campers like the Aliners, Little Guy Teardrops, and T@B trailers, will be at the show. “We see a lot of people here coming with the potential of buying something, instead of coming with something specific in mind,” Baker says. “So we like to keep it interesting.”
Mike Rosso of Blake RV Center in Mt. Vernon says they use the show to really kick off their season. "We bring just about everything we can," Rosso says. "We hope to have about 30 to 35 pieces there." Blake RV is an exclusive Jayco dealer and will be showing off the popular Jayflight Travel Trailer. "We don't participate in the bigger Seattle show because we find it is mostly people getting their feet wet," Rosso explains, "And this one is a little more out of the way and in season, so people are more serious about it." Rosso says that they are a smaller dealership and tend to do pretty well at the shows. "This year we expect to sell about 20 of our trailers that we are bringing," he says.
The Northwest is a beautiful place to camp, explore and travel around in your motorhome. Going to shows like the Washington State Evergreen Spring RV Show in Monroe is sure to be fun outing to spark some sense of adventure. Check out the show map and other info here.
Business, Features, RV Lifestyle, Trade Shows & Conferences, Washington