We just spent the entire day at the Tampa RV Show, billed as the world's largest....and I believe it!

I would say there were at least a thousand campers on display, maybe twice that....just huge!

We went in maybe 40 different RVs from Prevosts to A Liners, from Airstreams to the new Eco Green campers. There were many cool gadgets and features, but not really tempted by any.

One thing we noticed right away were the abundance of mini Class As, some puller diesels and some pushers, yet each time we went into one of these we were virtually alone, whereas the 40+ footers were often waiting line only. Perhaps this dispells some rumors or perhaps this is just people wanting to look at the big money rigs, your guess as good as mine.

Cheri won a free night at a KOA and I got some free sample lubricants. Enough to pay for the $10 each to get in for two days.

High and low lights:

* Met the great bunch from Parliment Coach Works in Clearwater Fl, they now own all the right to Wanderlodge and upon pressing suggested it will go into production once again.

* Met the folks we camped next to at Disney two weeks ago completely by chance, proving how small the RV world is.

* Confirmed my slide phobia after viewing a $2M Prevost conversion where the floor was crudely cut up and wobbled up and down when walked on.

* Saw about a million cool accessories and bought only one, a plastic sleeve that lets me hang rope lights along the awning.

* Got to eat great carnival food

* Got invited to camp host in NC for two months at an RV resort

* Got to remember my days of Pop-ups and Fifth wheels and be thankful I'm now driving one of "those" rigs that I used to be only able to marvel at!!

Corey, did you go in any of the really monster 5ths? We just saw one on TV last night that had a fireplace, big screen drop down, and you'd never know you were in a coach. I think it was about 285, and you'd need a lot of truck to haul it, but it sure was cool.

Yes, we went in the Montanas and Big Sky 5ths. Huge room with all the slides, but I commented that you need to be in shape with the many stairways up and down, The fireplaces are fake of course. Interesting for about a minute.

One Prevost had a projector TV over the bed that projected to a drop down screen in front of a picture window. A lot of hardware when a TV mounted neatly would do.

You get the impression that the industry is constantly striving to outdo the competition and they might have left the customer's interest in their dust. For instance, faux diamond encrusted knobs throughout one Prevost, many had very uncomfortable simulated alligator (I think) seats. Really over the top.

Another weird trend is to eliminate the traditional dinette in favor of a bar where you sit side by side, the only answer for why was that is what customers want. Again, I question that and think it is just a trendy thing to do this year.

One thing that did impress me was the slew of new switches that carry multiple functions on one normal sized light switch. They are easy to use and take much less room than a bank of toggles.

The wood work, paint work and trim was sub par on a lot of the mid range coaches. Almost any Barth would put the wood finish to shame on the new ones. Right before we left I noticed a remote entry key pad that is exactly like the one on my Wanderlodge located on a new Parliment Prevost. They cut the hole a little too big on one corner which opens it to water intrusion. I guess I expect a little more for $2M.

Anyway, it's easy and fun to be critical. We still had a great time and there are a lot of innovative features and floorplans. In the end there is only so much you can do with 45 feet or less.