Saturday, January 19, 2013

Rv Show Goodies

 

Wesley Chapel, Florida  (high 76, low 55)

 

We decided to head back to the Tampa Rv show yesterday.  We were able to get in the second day free, so other than the $6.00 parking it didn’t cost us anything.

Or did it?

For some reason, every time we go to the Rv show we come home with a bag full of goodies. At least, we didn’t come home with a new motor home! 

Do these Rv shows have such great bargains, or is it that they just present them so well that you buy?  Or is it just that we’re suckers for new gadgets?

We came upon a booth selling these little thingy's that looked like colored plastic straws.  It intrigued us so we stopped to see exactly what they were.

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They’re called  “gripstics” and are actually pretty handy.  Once the guy showed us how they worked, we were sold.

They look like a straw but there is an opening on the bottom with a hard plastic insert.  They are used to seal plastic bags.   Great for chips, bags of lettuce, pet food, and any type of plastic bag that needs to be sealed. 

Do yourselves a favor and check out their website here.  They looked pretty good at the show, but the true test was at home and I’m happy to say they work great.  We always have a bag of pretzels, nuts or something that needs sealing.  I think they were worth the $20 we spent for the large bag.

No, I don’t make anything from the company and are not affiliated.  I just like to share a good product.

 

 

Another Rv show “bargain” we found was 3 nights camping at  Florida Gateway Rv Resort  in north Florida for only $60.  They have lots for sale, and I’m sure they hope to sell you a lot while your are there.    The lots are  are pull thru’s with their own private outdoor kitchen, fire pits and covered hot tub.  They look really nice in the pictures.

It’s right on our way out of Florida and we figured it would be a nice place to stay for a few nights, and the price is right at $20 a night.

 

We snagged quite a few free camping trips, with several for 4 nights.  One is at a Class A luxury Rv resort  in south Florida. 

 

One more item we purchased is a Sewer Solution rv waste water dumping system.  We have been buying the Rhino Flex sewer hoses for a while now and although they are very nice, they don’t seem to last long, and they start leaking.  Sitting out in the hot sun and getting drug over concrete doesn’t help.

The Sewer Solution is a water powered jet-pump system that comes with a 3/4 inch hose that will be easier to store, and hopefully will last longer.  It has no expensive motor to install like the macerator type.

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It was $99 for the show special which included one 10 foot hose.  We opted to purchase another 10 foot hose for $24 more.  The two hoses connect together easily.

The next picture explains how it works.

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The guy that invented it (supposedly) was there demonstrating it. 

He said they were selling very well.

Some people walked by and told us they had one and loved it.

Then the salesman/inventor said he only had one unit left.

Do you think it was a set up?

Okay…we’d better grab it before it was gone.  Talk about impulse buying!

We  haven’t hooked it up yet, but I did some internet research and found some good reviews.  I also noticed they are selling them at Camping World. 

I think it’s going to be good for where you have full hook-ups, but maybe not so good at a campground dump station.  You have to attach a water hose to it (it does have an anti siphon valve) and the water pressure breaks down the solids.  I believe it may take a little longer than just a regular dump, but I could be wrong.

Hopefully, it will last longer.  I believe we’ll still have to have the other kind for dump stations.  We’ll see.

We also bought a nice little folding beach cart.  I haven’t  gotten a chance to take some pics of it yet, but it’s pretty cool, and was only $15.00.  Al used it to carry around our stash from the rv show and he even brought it back the second day.    You could use it for taking a load of clothes to the laundry, or even a bag of trash.  I’ll take some pics later.  We felt it was a great deal for the price.

No more Rv show today.  It’s back to the gym and then start grocery shopping for our trip to the prairie.  There are no grocery stores nearby so we are trying to bring everything we’ll need for two weeks.  Yeah, right.

16 comments:

  1. Always something you can find to buy at these shows, hope everything works out good for you.

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  2. Sitting out in the hot sun and getting drug over concrete doesn’t help.

    And that's absolutely true. I can never figure out why most people (everybody except us!) leave their sewer hose hooked up. Even though we don't end up at many full hookup camp sites, we get out the hose and dump only when the tanks are nearly full. About once a week. We're still using the original Rhino-Flex hose we bought about three years ago.

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  3. The hardest thing to bring along is enough fresh veggies. Living in Ca or Fl we get spoilled.

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  4. Looks like you got some good deals. I guess you weren't tempted enough by the $1 million MH's??

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  5. Good thing Al got that cart, because it was so little a new Class A wouldn't fit in it. ;c)

    Good deal on those camping nights, remember resist, resist, resist those strong sell tactics.

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  6. Well you amaze me again. We were at the same show but we didn't see any free nights anywhere just those give us all your info so we can bug you and spin the wheel to get something you don't want things. We have one of those little carts or at least I'm pretty sure they are the same and we love it. Used it all the time to walk to the laundry at QR.

    FYI Lazy Days free food for the ordinary guys has been discontinued. Two weeks ago. We just missed it. The woman claimed that they had complaints about the quality of the food so they shut the "Front Porch" down, redid it and now they charge for better food. hmmmmmmmmm
    We'll talk.

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    Replies
    1. We got quite a few free camping nights..mostly in Florida.

      Too bad about LD.

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  7. You will love the Sewer Solution. We have used it for 2.5 years and have the original hose(s) and leave it hooked up all the time if we have fhu. We only dump when necessary but do not remove the hose. It's tough and the system works very well. It does take a little longer at a dump station but not enough more to justify dragging along another hose. We kept the stinky slinky for a long time just in case, but recently got rid of it. We just never used it or needed it.

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  8. If you're a sucker, so Paul and I end up coming home with things we never thought we needed. We have bought a few things we could still live without. But most the items have been good purchases.

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  9. Sounds like you had a fun day finding great stuff ~ was sure nice seeing you 2 and hope we get to hook up again so we can chat more...
    Have fun
    Donna

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  10. Hope the weather was better than Thur. I think it was. Look forward to hearing how the new sewer system performs.

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  11. Sorry we missed you at the RV show. I think we were there the same days. A guy next to us in Sebring had the same sewer connection system that you bought and loved it! Looks like you definitely got your money's worth with the free/reduced rate camping.

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  12. Sounds like you found some bargains on campgrounds. Wondering what your plans are for TT this year? We got several one night free camping coupons and one week free if we reserve one week at regular rate with Sun RV Resorts. Like the looks of those bag closures and they wouldn't take up much space.

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  13. Sounds like you found some good stuff! Enjoy!

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  14. I called the Florida RV Gateway Resort about purchasing the VIP card for $60 and they told me the card cost $800. Did you just purchase 3 nights or did you get the VIP card? It looks like an amazing resort but we just want to try the 3 night special.

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