Paul Sherry RVs Blog

Louisville Recap

posted by PaulSherryRVs @ 2:22pm, Monday 12 December 2011.

Hey everyone, just wanted to give a quick update on our Louisville experience. 

The show was great as usual.  Mike and Jim Sherry decided to take the almost the entire RV team this year including themselves, Jake Shell (service manager), Robin Sulfridge and Bill Clark (RV Sales Reps), and myself Luke Schenkel (internet marketing and sales).  We were able to get everything we wanted to get done, and spend quality bonding time together. 

Last Tuesday November 29th, 2011 we all piled into a conversion van and set off for Louisville.  After stopping at Camp Washington Chili in Cincinnati for breakfast (delicious), we arrived at the Kentucky Expo Center around 11:00AM.  Our plan was to dedicate the first day to meeting with our current reps for the current lines that we carry, and then explore new opportunities on day two, and it worked out great.

First we stopped at the Pleasure-Way Class B RV Vans display. We were greeted by our sales rep who showed us some of the new stuff the have out for 2012. First was the, Pleasure-Way Basis, which is a simpler and more affordable version of the Lexor.  It is built on the Chevy chassis and laid out the same as the Lexor, it just doesn't have all the bells and whistles, and its priced over $20,000 cheaper!  We looked at a new paint scheme and floor plan available for the Plateau.  The paint scheme is a tan, beige, and black combination that looks really sharp.  The new floor plan is rear bedroom floor plan that features a hard door that separated the bedroom from the front living and kitchen area.  This allows couples to go to bed and wake up at different times without disrupting each other.  Since there is a TV in both the front and back, it also means that couples don't have to fight over whether to watch the football game or Dancing with the Stars!

Next we stopped by the Forrest River display and visited our Georgetown and Cherokee reps.  Georgetown had some aesthetic as well as functional improvements.  Aesthetically, Georgetown had a new paint scheme called Parfait, they updated the old Midnight color scheme, and added some nice touches on the interior of the coach including a new sofa that looks great and is also more comfortable than the old sofas.  Georgetown also added a new floor plan and a new optional flip down bunk over the cab.  Other changes include an additional 3” of interior head room, a full fiberglass rear cap, and more.  Keep you eye out for a full article on the 2012 Georgetowns.

We didn't spend too much time with Cherokee because we spent a lot of time with them at the Elkhart show.  Most of our time spent with Cherokee was picking out our next round of 10 units that we needed in order to get the Power Pack Special that I wrote about in a previous post.  But Cherokee/Grey Wolf/Wolf Pup/Wolf Pack also had some good new stuff for 2012 including an industry-first option for a drop down bunk in the living area slide.  This bunk expands the length of the slide and can sleep two people head to foot.  It's on a track and it comes down over the dinette and sofa with a push of a button.  The dinette and sofa still fold into a bed if you need the extra sleeping capacity.  Cherokee and Grey Wolf also had some new floor plans that I will feature in another article.

Again, we didn't spend too much time with the Conquest line because we spent an entire day with them at Elkhart a couple weeks ago.  However, Conquest and Ameri-Lite did have some new stuff for 2012 including new color schemes and some new floor plans as well.  Again, keep an eye out for a future article

Sunset Trail was next on the list.  Here we checked out the anticipated Sunset Trail Fifth Wheel.  They had one of the three available floor plans at the show.  The the interior was beautiful, as usual with Sunset, but our concern was idea of the front slide.  This is when it's good to take Jake along.  After servicing RVs, travel trailers, fifth wheels for over 20 years, Jake has a pretty good idea if something is going to leak or not.  After a demonstration of the double seal system that was designed by a top automotive engineering firm, Jake and the rest of us are convinced that leaking will not be a problem with these fifth wheels.  That being said, we might order a few for the spring.

On day two, we woke up early and ate breakfast at a very interesting place called  Lynn's Paradise Cafe.  The food was great, the service was great, and the atmosphere was unique to say the least.  After a filling breakfast, we headed back to the show to look for new opportunities.

Since we got everything done that we wanted to on Tuesday, we spent Wednesday roaming the show, checking out our competition, and looking for new opportunities.  In a previous post I mentioned that we were going to keep an eye out for a new line of fifth wheels to carry.  We checked out a lot of different lines, but have not yet found the right combination of price, features, options, and available floor plans.  So while we are not picking up anything in the immediate future, we are still considering a few options we came across at the show, and we also might pick up a few Sunset Trail fifth wheels in the mean time.  Sunset Trail only has three floor plans available, so it's more an extension of the travel trailer line than a full-on fifth wheel line in our eyes.

After spending a few hours at the show, we headed home and got back to business.