The Pennsylvania RV and Camping Show, America’s Largest RV Show, held in Hershey, PA reported record attendance at this year’s event. Over 31,700 people attended the event held at the Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Complex; GIANT CenterSM from September 14th – 20th – almost a 14 percent increase from 2008 and a record for the history of the show.

The event was very successful for its many exhibitors. Opening with Industry Days, the show gives manufactures the opportunity to meet with dealerships to discuss their new product line.

“Fairmont was able to sign more new business than last year,” John Soard of Fairmont Homes says.  “The retail days were notably busier than in previous years, and there were very qualified destination customers in attendance.  Everybody in the park model village was upbeat about the attendance.”

Sales were also on the rise during the show’s public days. “Tiffin Motorhomes, Inc. set a new sales record at this year’s Hershey Show,” said Nick Palm of Tiffin Motorhomes Inc. “Tiffin's Retail Sales were up 235 percent over retail sales last year.  Consumer attitudes were very positive, which reflected in the increased sales.” Jean-Claude Guilbault, regional sales manager of Roadtrek says, “We had the best show in Hershey so far.”

“It was a fabulous show,” Show Chairman Dan Saltzgiver, owner of Reichart’s Camping Center, Hanover, PA says. “Hopefully it’s an indication that the economy and industry is turning around.”

The excitement of the RV lifestyle brought thousands to the show to check out the 2010 models and cash in on the spectacular prices. The Pennsylvania RV and Camping Association (PRVCA), the organization responsible for managing the event, contributes a portion of the event’s success to value recognition by consumers. “GoRVing has done a wonderful job delivering the message to consumers that the RV lifestyle offers great value to families and we continued that message into the marketing of the show,” Rebecca Lenington, Executive Vice President of PRVCA says. “PRVCA also increased its marketing initiatives by dipping into reserves at a critical time for our members.”

The show proves that consumers are hungry for recreational vehicles. Low interest rates and government tax incentives were the icing on the cake making the PA RV & Camping Show the ultimate time to purchase a new RV. The vast array of new 2010 products and with 59 manufacturers exhibiting, there was no better place to shop and compare.

Mark your calendars now for the 2010 PA RV & Camping Show held September 13 – 19, 2010 at the GIANT CenterSM in Hershey, PA! For more information visit largestrvshow.com.

Road trippin' in a hybrid RV Family saw 17 states this summer: Space Center, alligator swamps, Tut’s treasures, stalactites.

Jesse and Luke Herzog have visited 45 of the 50 states — and the brothers are only 7 and 8 years old.

Every year, the boys and their parents, Brad and Amy Herzog, spend summer on the road, traveling around America in an RV. It’s a tradition that got rolling in 1996, shortly after Brad and Amy got married.

Every year, the boys and their parents, Brad and Amy Herzog, spend summer on the road, traveling around America in an RV. It’s a tradition that got rolling in 1996, shortly after Brad and Amy got married.

“We were living in Lincoln Park,” said Brad, 40, a native of north suburban Deerfield. “I turned to her one day and said, ‘How’d you like to quit your job and we’ll buy a big old RV and travel around the country for a year? I’ll write a book about it.’

“We were living in Lincoln Park,” said Brad, 40, a native of north suburban Deerfield. “I turned to her one day and said, ‘How’d you like to quit your job and we’ll buy a big old RV and travel around the country for a year? I’ll write a book about it.’

“To my surprise, she said yes.”

The newlyweds journeyed through small-town America for 314 days in their 34-foot Winnebago.

“It was a magical year,” said Brad, who parlayed the experience into his first travel memoir, States of Mind (Pocket Books).

“What we didn’t anticipate was falling in love with the RV experience,” he added. “We’ve done it 10 summers in a row.”

The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association picked the Herzogs, who now live in Pacific Grove, Calif., to serve as ambassadors of sorts for the RV lifestyle. The trade group sponsors the family’s two-month long summer road rambles, and Winnebago sets them up with a sweet set of wheels. In exchange, Brad blogs about their experiences at gorving.com/blog and talks to reporters like me when he passes through town, as he did last week.

Chicago was the scheduled starting and ending point for this summer’s tour, which began June 16.

“We pick a different section of the country every year,” Brad said. “This summer, we focused on the Southeast.”

The location wasn’t the only thing different about this year’s trip. This time, the Herzogs were testing a concept hybrid RV. Their 2009 Winnebago Adventurer uses a diesel engine and electric motor to power the 36-foot motorhome.

“This is the first of its kind; it’s never been done before,” said Winnebago Industries spokeswoman Kelli Harms. The hope, Harms said, is that the hybrid can get upwards of 13 miles to the gallon. The non-hybrid version averages about 8 to 10.

“For a house, it gets great mileage,” Brad said of his hybrid home on wheels. The trip’s green theme coincides with Brad’s recently released children’s book S Is for Save the Planet: A How-to-be-Green Alphabet (Sleeping Bear Press).

The Herzogs’ “house” boasts lots of space, a pair of flat screen TVs, bunk beds for the kids and a king-size bed for Brad and Amy. “We only have a queen-size bed at home,” Brad said.

The non-hybrid version of their motorhome costs roughly $150,000. Winnebago Industries hasn’t set a price — or a release date — for the hybrid model.

The refrigerator door in the Herzog’s RV was covered with a big calendar showing the places the family visited this summer: 17 states and Washington, D.C.

They spent the 40th anniversary of the moon landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They rode an airboat through the alligator-infested swamps of the Everglades and took a tram under the stalactites of the Fantastic Caverns in Springfield, Mo.

“I like to call it education designed as entertainment,” Brad said.

They covered the entire 400-plus miles of the scenic, serene Natchez Trace Parkway, and shared an elevator ride with the famous Peabody ducks at the historic Memphis hotel. While in Memphis, they checked out the National Civil Rights Museum, which prompted Luke to say, “I sure am glad Barack Obama is president.”

They watched Chinese acrobats in Branson, Mo., and gawked at King Tut’s treasures at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.

A lot of planning goes into these summer trips, as evidenced by Brad’s phone-book-thick binder of information on sights they’d set out to see.

As for the highlights of their 7,000-mile journey, the boys loved parasailing in Key West and playing wand-waving wizards at the live-action adventure game MagiQuest in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Amy, 40, said she’ll always remember their Fourth of July, when they watched a minor league baseball game and fireworks in the tiny town of Pearl, Miss.

“There were all these families there, enjoying their time together,” she said. “It was just one of those great moments.”

Brad’s favorite stop was a mere 200 miles from Chicago: the special effects-laden Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum in Springfield, which he dubbed “the Disneyland of presidential museums.”

After 50 days on the road, the trip was supposed to end in Chicago on Aug. 4. But they decided to tack on another week and venture up to Duluth, Minn., and the Wisconsin Dells (for more MagiQuest fun at Great Wolf Lodge) before heading home to California.

“We live on the Monterey Peninsula, which is about as gorgeous as it gets,” Brad said. “But it’s still great to get away every summer.”

Video courtesy Fox21 Online