 | One of the main reasons for visiting Los Angeles was to go to the
53rd California RV Show at Pomona on the LA County Showground. As we
entered we were greeted by a 'Scots' pipe band. There were other
entertainment groups scattered around including a barber shop quartet and a
Latin American combo. |
| We weren't really
looking for a new van but just to see what the market was like. There were
hundreds of fifth wheels, a very popular style in the US but almost non-existent in Europe because we don't have the love affair with the pickup
which is so prevalent in the US. Some of these fifth wheels are just huge. They are
limited to 400 sq ft, because anything larger is classed as a mobile home. |  |
 | We did find this
Canadian-built Kodiak which was quite interesting, having double glazing,
another thing almost unknown here. Most US motorhomes are 102in wide and not
legal in the UK. So we were looking more at smaller units which could be
brought back. But this one, like so many, was built on a Ford 6.8L petrol-engined
chassis. At
8-9mpg not really viable for Europe. |
| This mini caravan was more fun. Sometimes known as an egg, it comes in a
variety of striking colours but is more of a novelty than a serious
contender in the market. |  |
 | This was a
manufacturers' show and this was a mind-bending example of what is possible.
This had twin slideouts (one each side), each 27 ft long. Inside they would
build whatever you wanted. This just had a dance floor. A mobile square
dance rig! |
| Underneath the big class As you have storage but not always on
this scale. This is an under-frame slide carried to an extreme. There was
another one the other side and we saw some with a huge television mounted in
a slideout - mobile cinema? |  |
 | This unit had
'cool' written all over it, including the price, a 'cool' half million plus. |
 |
But it wasn't in the same class as these. This was one of three shown at
$1-1.5M. They weren't letting ordinary plebs walk round. But the door opened
to show the built-in wiring rack. An electrician's nightmare, but small beer
if you can afford one of these. They take seven months to build. The paint
job was pretty cool too. |  |
 | Not as expensive
but with a lot more something was this monstrosity. It came with a matching
'toy box' trailer for your ATVs etc. Now I haven't seen one on the road yet
and I don't think I'd miss it! |
| Couldn't miss this one either. Another one with a matching
trailer, but this time with guest accommodation as well - queen bed, shower
room, kitchen and diner, plus a drop door end allowing the
garaging/transport of a car. This was from an outfit specializing in custom paint jobs. Well, yes, I
could see that! |  |
 | But for sheer
style you can't beat a Harley in the garage. This is what you can do when
you put a motorhome on a big enough chassis. |
| More interesting to us was this 24ft motorhome built by Rexhall
on a Mercedes 2.7L diesel Sprinter chassis. This was one of two prototypes which were
going to be shipped back to Germany. Since no European motorhomes have
slideouts this will be a real eye catcher. At 18mpg to a US gallon this was
exciting some US interest also. The price was $77k (about
£42k) Since we could ship it back for
about $2k this was very interesting to us. |  |
 | The interior
needed a bit of work but in this configuration it would sleep six and was
very well equipped. We would have swapped some sleeping accommodation for
some more storage but they would have been prepared to make some changes for
us. We may yet look at this again before we leave this area. They are rumoured to be building a 26ft version. |
|