Off to Ottawa RV SHOW at CE Centre this weekend

February 28, 2012 16d Comments

As many of you already know, my other favourite past time (besides hunting & fishing) is camping and RV’ing. Over the years, I have owned 5 different trailers – from a tiny 600 lb soft-top tent trailer, to a 32-foot Park model, to the 31-foot Salem 5th wheel we purchased last summer.

Salem1

I just love camping and RV’ing, there is something special about enjoying the outdoors and spending time in an RV. I believe it’s the sense of adventure and social aspect that I’m addicted to. RV’ers just seem to share a special bond, I don’t know what it is. At home we are fairly private people, but once we arrive at the trailer in the summer a whole new social-life takes seed.

 

truck

This weekend, I’ll be bringing the family to the 19th Annual Ottawa RV SHOW at the spankin’ new CE Centre. It’s not that we’re necessarily in the market for a new trailer, but these shows are fabulous on a number of levels.

Regardless whether you’re in the market for a $100,000 Class A or a $5000 pop-up, the Ottawa RV Show has it all. In my case, I’ll be searching for accessories – a new ‘add-a-room’ for our trailer or perhaps an awning extension. Whatever the case may be, I know this show has all the experts’ right there under one roof and more trailers than you can shake a stick at.

Hey, you do realize that camping season is less than 3 months away. 

Better get crackin’!!

RVSHow

 

For more information: http://www.ottawarvsale.com/

 

Outdoorsguy

16 thoughts on “Off to Ottawa RV SHOW at CE Centre this weekend”

    1. Hey Rob, you figure that’s what it is? I thought it was just some nice camping enthusiast lady named Clara..hehe..Ok, that one is gone.

      Sneaky buggers!

      Outdoorsguy

  2. Ya, how many people ya see using html in their post to embed links and talk about this and that that has little to do with the article?

    On another note, we bought ourselves a 29′ jayco this past winter, just getting it ready for being our portable hunt camp; solar power, dual batteries, programmable thermostat, LED lighting etc looking forward to a bit more comfort when we come back at the end of the day.

    1. Rob, Jayco is a very good product. I know one of the Jayco sales guys from across the river..he visited in the Jayco plant in Michigan last fall and was quite impressed. Your 29 footer most likely has at least 1 slide and is a great size for a portable hunt camp. Most mobile hunt camps, as you know, are not quite so swanky!

      So, you’ll have a solar panel set-up to keep the batteries topped-up…which will in-turn run your (12 V) 3-way fridge and lights? Then after that you’ve got propane for the stove and oven..etc Sounds pretty smart to me! You could run the fridge on gas, but I’ve always found that to be a pain…and you gotta watch because those RV fridges cost upwards of $1500 and more to replace.

      Outdoorsguy

  4. Ya we’ve got 240W in panels, two 150AH 12V batteries, so in theory we shouldn’t have to run the generator much to make sure the furnace fan will still run through the night. The fan in that thing is 91W per spec, so gotta watch it. The LED lights are well worth the money if you are putting a lot of time outside of the park. They run <1/10th the power the incandescents use (1hr incandescent light is 9mins solar per bulb)

    At 25kbtu the furnace burns through a 30lb tank in under 21hrs of run time. At -10c it took 2hrs to get to 20c, and was running every 8 mins for 10mins straight. So assuming we run it all day, I need 10x 30lb tanks, but that's where the programmable thermostat comes in. Figure 1/2 the day we don't need heat because we aren't in there, so in the 12 remaining hrs we have 2hrs run time to get to temp and 5 1/2hrs run time during the night. That drops us to 4 tanks for the same 15 day trip.

    This also cuts back the power requirement by 0.53kwh a day. Doesn't sound like much, but assuming that we get perfect sunlight and 100% efficiency, that's 2.2hrs of charging right there.

    1. Rob, obviously you’ve put considerable thought and planning into this system..great job and I cant wait to hear how it works out for you this fall. Will you be using this trailer for the moose hunt?

      Oh, and Congrats btw..your response is the Outdoors Guy Blog’s 6000th comment!!

      Let the pigeons loose..hehe

      Outdoorsguy

  5. Camping is a wonderful family activity. I have so many great memories of camping with my parents. We met many good friends and we really enjoyed the simple things in life. And, we had many laughs — cooking mishaps on the fire pit, picnic table (with our dinner on it) capsizing because we all sat on one side, watching my poor Mother do the “june bug jig” while being dive bombed by June bugs. My parents eventually built a cottage, which I have now inherited, but I will never forget my camping experiences.

  6. Ya, last year was the last year I’ll be tenting it for moose up there, 2 weeks soaking wet and cold was enough for me. We looked at a wall tent, but the size and weight would make bringing the kids difficult so this was the next step. Will be a first for me, have only been in a trailer back in the early 90’s and was far from luxury ha.

    Taking a look at the dealer it was actually surprising how far they’ve come in the last 20 years, leather seats, fireplaces, full baths etc. Oh and real mattresses and not those little foam things. How could I say no to a new toy?

    6000 comments? Dang, you are putting the other blogs to shame.

  7. make sure you take a 110 dryer with you … propane heat does not dry your clothes that well. we used to stay in trailers but the roads were so ruff we drove 100 km round trip to get in .. if you cant take a dryer .. take a small wood stove and make a small hut to dry your clothes

  8. Ya we’ve got a 110 heater we run off the genny (use it to keep the tent warm and dry clothes and what not), works well enough and keeps the kids happy in the evening when we’re stuck in the tent.

  9. brand new trailers are very imposing but don’t stop there, make sure You do your homework on the dealer, ask how long their service people have been employed with the company. I did not & suffered the consequences of bad relation with Leisure Days in Kingston which is owned by RV Canada. 3 years to repair & still dealing with issues that was address by them but never fixed properly & the worse is that they did not keep any paper work on all items that was wrong with the trailer which is a Denalli 31 SB fifth wheel made by Dutchmen. This all started the first weekend when the slideout shot into the roof & so on.

  10. Hey Jeff
    Two years later and I come across your blog. lol
    I was actually looking for your permission to use the upper photo with credits to you for a website I am developing. I engage in the tedious repairs to RV’s that occur all too frequently these days. With the general public innocently ignorant of what to look for when purchasing any RV our website will be designed to help possibly avoid purchase of ‘lemons’, regardless of the manufacturers. Our experience in repairs to onsite locations continues to expand as we usually come across new challenges. Whether it is frustrating plumbing, electrical, propane or structural repair it is disheartening for owners when we explain and show them the extent to damage that has reared its ugly head after even short ownership.
    The bane of slide leaks that are unnoticed, seeping plumbing damage, roof, wall and floor rot, trim design that forces water into the interior or the myriad of other design and manufacturing errors all lead to the costly and time consuming repairs that, in my opinion, should never have occurred. I do not mean to intimidate new or present RV owners. I would prefer to encourage detailed inspection of any and all potential purchases and definitely annual inspections by a qualified RV technician.
    We have noted that even retailers in general are unaware of where to inspect and what to look for. I have personally saved excited folk from purchasing ‘lemons’ when offering an inspection. The current owners were not even aware of the actual condition of their ‘perfect’ RV. I think making a few enemies is better than seeing folk spend their savings on something that is going to cost them another two or three thousand to repair, or more.

    This all said, as I do tend to ramble on when typing, I would appreciate your permission to use the photo of the Salem on our upcoming website. You have my email and I look forward to hearing from you, assuming that you are still monitoring this blog. 🙂

    Sincerely
    William

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