The people and products from the Hershey RV Show
Takeaways from America’s Largest RV Show - Hershey
We made it to “America’s Largest RV Show” in Hershey Pennsylvania for our first of what we think will be be many visits to this show.
Our tour guide Bill took us to some great Pennsylvania attractions, including a Goofy elephant museum!
We also report on a gadget we really need for sitting outside on these beautiful nights.
Other places to hear the podcast
Mentioned on this episode
We ran into Andrew from Camco - you can see that episode here.
We ran into Jason Epperson from RVMiles, Traveling Robert, Janine Pettit from Girl Camper and Jeremy Puglisi comes to us from the RV Atlas
The Cooler Keg is a portable kegerator
We bought these cord ties from cord-tie.com
The Hershey RV Show is presented by the Philadelphia Recreational Vehicle and Camping Association https://www.prvca.org/
Tony’s review of the Oliver travel trailer: https://www.rvtravel.com/rv-review-oliver-legacy-boondocking/
This is our favorite RV fresh water hose.
Our story about Mr. Ed’s Elephant Museum and Candy Store in Pennsylvania - truly Goofy USA!
If you’re confused about solar, battery power or just want to upgrade your RV we have found the solutions from ABC Upfitters are both reliable and exceptional.
We have a podcast episode and video where you can learn more here.
Automated transcript of StressLess Camping RV podcast episode 325
Tony
Whew. Well, we've been to America's largest RV show.
Peggy
That's right. We're in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and we have done what we believe to be the first of many years of attending the Hershey, uh, America's Greatest, no-
Tony
No, America's Largest.
Peggy
... America's Largest RV Show.(laughs)
Tony
Yep. Uh, our guide, Bill-
Bill
Hey.
Tony
... took us to some great-
Peggy
Yes.
Tony
... Pennsylvania destinations, including a goofy place that is an elephant museum and a candy store, and peanuts, of course.
Peggy
And being in this beautiful chamber of commerce weather, we sat outside a lot, so we have a gadget for you-
Peggy
... that is a must have.
Tony
Oh boy, is it ever. We have this week's podcast along with the notes, stories, and discounts that go with it at our home on the web at stresslesscamping.com.
Peggy
Don't forget to like and share, and thank you for joining us for Episode 325. Stressless Camping.
Tony
Stressless Camping. I'm Tony.
Peggy
I'm Peggy.
Tony
We're two R-
Bill
I'm Bill.
Tony
Yeah. Whoops, yeah, sh- sorry, Bill.
Tony
And we're two RV industry veterans who travel part time-
Peggy
... in a Rockwood mini Lite.
Tony
2506, looking to share big adventures and help you with great tips-
Peggy
Tricks.
Tony
... and discounts. And, and, we're missing something. We are in Hershey-
Peggy
Oh.
Tony
... and, yeah, Hershey makes chocolate, but... Here, can you hold that?
Peggy
Hershey also makes Reese's.
Tony
And you can go to the Hershey store and get things you can't get-
Peggy
Anywhere else. You can only get them at the Hershey store. Now, I'm not gonna eat chocolate until we're done, 'cause-
Tony
Oh.
Peggy
... I don't want people looking at my chocolate teeth.
Peggy
But I will hold onto that for later.
Tony
I'm gonna eat a Reese's, what is that?
Peggy
Um, it is, it is peanut butter pie miniature cups.
Tony
Mm-hmm. They're very good-
Peggy
It's great.
Tony
... except if you've just brushed your teeth.
Peggy
It's good, it kinda has that crunchy, c- you know-
Tony
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
... graham cracker crust crunch to it.
Tony
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
So, it's quite tasty.
Tony
Mm-hmm.
Bill
Mm-hmm.
Tony
We just didn't bring a trash can.
Tony
All right. Where in the world are we? I mean, I know we're in Hershey. What's the name of this park, Bill?
Bill
Gifford Pinchot State Park.
Peggy
So technically, we're not in Hershey at the moment.
Tony
True.
Peggy
Because we, uh, could've stayed in Hershey if we wanted to pay four times as much-
Tony
Yeah, but-
Peggy
... and if we had planned a lot earlier.
Tony
Well, but this place is absolutely beautiful.
Peggy
Oh, it's so beautiful here.
Tony
But what it does have is electric. What it does not have is water. Well, it has water and sewer at a central location. What we wish we had-
Tony
... were water and sewer, because what we do have is our ABC Upfitters Mastervolt power system.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
And we could ru- have run the entire time without plugging in, uh, and that's one of the beauties. It offers you a lot of freedom of choice in where you camp and how you camp and all of that. If that's the kinda thing you want, more flexibility, more camping, more choice in a system that's built by one company, so there's no finger pointing, our friends at ABC Upfitters are the people to call. And you can reach them at 574-333-3225.
Peggy
That's 574-333-3225 or use the QR code hidden somewhere on(laughs) the screen.
Peggy
Or, look at the show notes.
Tony
Yeah, absolutely. You'll find all of, all the resources there. But they, they really are good people and they do a great job and, uh, we've been very pleased. Bill's been very pleased.
Bill
Yep.
Peggy
Yes.
Tony
And he's customer number one.
Bill
That's me.(laughs) Yeah.
Peggy
That's right. He was up-
Bill
We worked... It's just been working great.
Tony
But they always treat you like number one.
Peggy
That's right. That's ...
Tony
What in the wide, wide world of sports did we see at the Hershey RV Show? First of all, what we wanted to see was maybe not what everybody wants to see there.
Peggy
Yeah, probably.
Tony
Right? Um, our goal going in was to see people, many of whom we have only talked to virtually.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony
Uh, we met, in person, the vice president of Camco, for example, Andrew, uh, who we've had as a guest on the podcast, so you can find that episode linked here or somewhere. We got to spend time with our friend, not enough time-
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
... Janine Petit from Girl Camper. It was a whirlwind of just-
Peggy
That was, yeah.
Tony
But it was, it's always great to see her, and Janine, you're looking good.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
You are j- boy, you look so healthy and happy, it's great.
Peggy
Yes.
Tony
We got to spend multiple times with our friend Jason from RV Miles.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
And we have drank multiple beers-
Tony
... with our friend Robert and his wife, Ile, from, uh, Traveling Robert.
Peggy
Traveling Robert. Yep. And, uh, really, like, the number of people who said, "I want to meet you," that is like a big thrill for me. You know, like I'm glad that you're all out there watching us and listening to us, but the fact that you want to like find us and say hello and shake our hands is exciting to me. And also, the people who, we'd just be walking, you know, talking through the vendor area and someone would stop and say, "I know that voice. I listen to you guys."
Peggy
That is such a thrill for us. If you ever are in a situation where you think, "Hmm, maybe I shouldn't bother them," don't think that.
Tony
Yeah, no-
Peggy
We-
Tony
... it's not a bother. We-
Peggy
... love when people come and say that they recognize us.
Tony
Yeah. It's, uh, it's the greatest thing in the world, and we have appreciated meeting quite a few of you.
Peggy
Yes.
Tony
Uh, another person-
Peggy
That's the sweet-
Tony
Another person we met who will be on the podcast soon is Jeremy Puglisi.
Peggy
Yes.
Tony
And we got to see all his books and we bought some of his coffee.
Peggy
That's... We bought some of his books.
Tony
We bought some of his books-
Peggy
That's right.
Tony
... and we bought some of his coffee, so not like, he didn't have like a pot there, he-
Peggy
Yeah, no, we didn't drink-
Tony
... Jeremy, yeah, so-
Peggy
... a cup of coffee. We bought coffee beans.
Tony
They sell, uh, coffee beans.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony
So, we got the Black Tank Blend.
Peggy
We did.(laughs)
Tony
Can't wait to try it.(laughs)
Bill
... RV Atlas.
Tony
Yeah. Oh, yeah, RV Atlas is their podcast.
Peggy
We also did not look at the thousands(laughs) of RVs that are on site. It was, uh, I mean, literally it was overwhelming to me how many different RVs-
Bill
Well-
Peggy
... were there. Now if you're shopping for an RV, this would be a great place to go 'cause it covers everything out there, right? Uh, but not being shopping for an RV, it was just-
Tony
It's dangerous to go-
Peggy
W- we(laughs) -
Peggy
... there's-
Tony
... shopping for RVs.
Peggy
... there's just no way, there is no way that we could have seen even a portion. We, we did spend a day, the kind of hanging out in the RVs and looking at things, but, uh, but we still only hit probably a f- 20%-
Tony
Well-
Peggy
...(laughs)
Tony
Yeah. Well, I mean-
Peggy
... that was there.
Tony
... we did, we did a live feed from Rockwood.
Peggy
Yes.
Tony
So we got to see the new Rockwoods. Uh, we've, we have seen some of them. We got to see more of them.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
Um, we did meet our friend, Christopher Barth, from Ember RV.
Peggy
Sure.
Tony
We got to meet the vice president of, uh, Lance.
Peggy
Yes, the new-
Tony
And see the new-
Peggy
... new owners.
Tony
... the new... Yeah. Well, not the... Not-
Peggy
Well, no, I mean-
Tony
... so fast, but-
Peggy
... but under new ownership.
Tony
Yeah. Lance is now a pri- if you haven't heard, Lance is now a private company again. It was part of a company called The Rev Group.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony
And it was their only travel trailer brand, and it was their only, uh-
Peggy
Truck and camper brand.
Tony
Yeah, and the only production outside of the general Indiana-ish area.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony
So, it would... Lance is still in southern California. They're the last real RV company building in southern California, and, uh, you know, that used to be... Interestingly, that used to be a hotspot-
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
... of RV manufacturing.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
And they're the last holdouts, really.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
So-
Peggy
And so under new private ownership-
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
... and so we got to look at some of their campers, tru- campers and travel trailers. We... Uh, I mean, there are just so many.
Tony
Oh, it was-
Peggy
I mean, just you-(laughs)
Tony
... yeah.
Peggy
There's too many. Uh-
Tony
Yeah, it-
Peggy
... and then, of course, my favorite, walking through all the vendors, right?
Tony
Yeah, that's really what we were there for.
Peggy
It... And it wasn't even so much that I wanted to buy anything. We bought a couple things, but it's not-
Tony
Like these chairs.(laughs)
Peggy
Yeah, the chairs. It's not so much that I wanted to buy things. I just like to look. I just like to see all the things out there, and s- and see people buying those things. And of course, you know, half the things we already own, right?
Tony
Half?(laughs)
Peggy
Let's face it.(laughs)
Tony
More than half, but-
Peggy
There's a, a good percentage of things, a- and, you know, we can go right past the ones that are specifically Class A things, or-
Tony
Yeah, we... Like the towing systems.
Peggy
Yeah, or resorts in Florida, you know?
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
That's not gonna s- hold that much interest to us, but all the gadgets and the th- doodads and the things, I love just spending time just wandering through those aisles.
Tony
Yeah. Um, one of the... So there were a few highlights of gadgets for me. One was, there's a dude, happened to be named Tony-
Tony
... and he came up with a portable CO2-powered Kegerator-
Peggy
Oh, yeah.
Tony
... that's based on a, an ice chest. And this thing, uh, we'll, we'll put a little video about it, but-
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
... it was, it was very impressive.
Peggy
That was very impressive the way it came together and went, like, super easy and quick together. Yeah, that was a good engineering feat.(laughs)
Tony
Yeah, and just very well built. Uh, I also liked the, um... We looked at mattresses.
Peggy
Yes.
Tony
And got to, uh, test lie, test lay-
Tony
... some of the new mattress-
Peggy
Test rest?
Tony
Test rest, there we go.
Tony
Test rest. It's test rest camping.
Peggy
Yeah.(laughs)
Tony
Um, the...(laughs) From, uh, Brooklyn Bedding.
Peggy
Yep.
Tony
And we, we really did like their mattresses a lot. So-
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
... who knows? There may be-
Peggy
Who knows what'll happen? How about your favorite, Bill?
Bill
Um, I liked the mattress. I've actually been having a little bit of a sore back all week, um, so that was kind of interesting to me. I also liked... There was a guy selling, like, rubber covers that went over the stairs-
Tony
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Bill
... of your RV, and it was... It seemed like it perfectly fit and everything, but a little on the pricey side. Um-
Peggy
Something to consider, think about.
Tony
Yeah.
Bill
Yeah.
Tony
Oh, there was something else I saw. I can't remember now. Doggone it.
Peggy
Now we also bought those, like, tie straps-
Tony
Oh, that was it.
Bill
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
... they're kind of like silicone, you know, stretchy rubber, l- like zip ties, reusable, of course, and we bought a set of th- they were giving away one for free, and then we all said, "Oh, I could use it for this and use it for this." So-
Peggy
... we bought some and we've been using 'em. We'll put some pictures up here of w- how we've been starting-
Tony
I'm-
Peggy
... to use ours.
Tony
... trying to think of where I put the rest of them.
Peggy
I, I put 'em away 'cause you left 'em out.
Tony
Ah.
Tony
Wait, here I could get one.
Peggy
Okay. They're right inside that cabinet there.
Tony
Might as well, right? I mean, it's a, that's a good visual.
Peggy
And as if by magic, he has one in his hand.(laughs)
Tony
Well, and I walked all the way over to our trailer-
Tony
... which was so exhausting, I better eat-
Peggy
Oh my heavens.
Tony
... a Reese's-
Peggy
Give me that.
Tony
... peanut butter pretzel-
Peggy
Oh.
Tony
... which is only available here in Hershey, apparently.
Peggy
Okay. So this is called... It's brand new. They just released these. It's called the Cord Tie, Cord Tie, and it, um, you know, has these two notches in the top so that you can put your... You should probably take the iPad from me.
Bill
Hmm.
Peggy
You can p-(laughs) put the thing through the slot, and actually, he was saying you put it through-... the first, the lower slot and then snug it around, like, your cable or something, and then it's always attached to the cable and then you can use-
Tony
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
... this to, like, wrap the cable.
Tony
Yeah, and then you make a little handle.
Peggy
Yeah. And so it's very handy. We'll put a link... I, I'm pretty sure they... yeah, they have a website.(laughs) They're just so new, um-
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
And the brand name is new. And so, we'll put some links to that but they're really sturdy. They came in yellow and black, I believe.
Tony
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Peggy
And we got yellow so that we'd be able to see them everywhere. And two sizes. This is the smaller, right?
Tony
Mm-hmm. It said okay.
Peggy
Yeah, this is a smaller. There's actually one that's quite a bit longer.
Tony
But I could... yeah. I could grab the-
Peggy
And they're made in the USA.
Tony
Yeah, I like that part, made in the USA.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
Uh, I'm gonna wrap our power cord with that.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony
Um, our, our, uh, spare water cor- uh, water hose. I knew there was a name for it.
Peggy
Water hose.(laughs) Geez.
Tony
Genius.
Peggy
Yeah, the backup water hose.(laughs)
Tony
I haven't had enough Reese's.(laughs) So the way the vendors are, there's a big rink there at Hershey, like a hockey rink.
Peggy
Well, right. So it's, it's not, it's not that the rink is at the show, it's that the show is at-
Tony
The rink.
Peggy
... the local hockey rink, yeah.
Tony
Yeah. So- The Giant Center.
Peggy
The, the Giant Center.
Tony
The Giant Center. And so, there's like the upper walking around area, which is normally where you'd wait in line for your beer and snacks if you're watching a hockey game.
Peggy
And bathrooms.
Tony
And bathrooms.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
And that's where they have, like, all these vendors around that perimeter, including, that's where we saw Jeremy from RV Atlas and things like that and-
Peggy
Where we bought the cords.
Tony
Where we bought the cords. There was a ton... some of the vendors are vendors we've seen at tons of other shows, so-
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
... it was good. So there's all this stuff you could see there, and then you can go down like where the ice normally would be if it was a hockey game. At least I assume that's where they put the ice. I don't know. I didn't see a dang Zamboni.
Peggy
Yeah, down on the floor they had a whole bunch more vendors, like rows and... of vendors, and then all the stands, you know, they're too steep, you couldn't put vendors there, but it was a nice place to sit and eat a snack and watch everybody shopping and-
Tony
Like Reese's.
Peggy
... like m- if you took your bag of Reese's, sure.(laughs)
Peggy
Uh, you could, you know, get a hot dog or-
Tony
Yeah, we-
Peggy
... you got a... you got... you said you really liked that Philly sandwich or...
Tony
A barbecue. I think it was a barbecue.
Peggy
Barbecue, barbecue sandwich, yeah.
Tony
Yeah, it looked good. That was, that was no... they did not skimp on the meat on that sandwich. It was good-looking.
Peggy
Yeah, it-
Tony
Yeah, the main concourse around has the seminars.
Peggy
Has the seminars, that's right.
Tony
I mean, yeah. And there's seminars which we didn't know going in, although we knew Mike Sokol was gonna be there, and he was on our live feed, but, um-
Peggy
But there was a... there were four rooms that had seminars all day long. Well, kind of five, because down on the floor, there was an area, there was one couple doing seminars there all the time.
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
And we've met them and my brain is just blanking out.
Peggy
Sorry, guys.
Tony
But if you wanna learn stuff, there's... these seminars are really good. We rec- we know Dave Helgeson, Mike Sokol, and Chris Doherty, and a number of the presenters, and they are just top-notch presenters. So the seminars were another good reason to go there.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
Um-
Peggy
And another good reason why we'll spend more days there next time becau- next year, because we... you know, being our first time, we didn't really kn- we kind of knew what to expect.
Tony
Oh, Bill gave us a good, uh-
Peggy
We've been to RV shows, sure. But, I mean, just the... I think just the volume of(laughs) of stuff to see and the, the... honestly, the volume of people. I am glad-
Tony
Well, we aren't even there... today, we're recording this on Sunday and-
Peggy
I wasn't gonna admit that. We were gonna say it was over.
Peggy
But yeah, we could be there today.(laughs)
Tony
Well, it is over by the time you watch this, but we could be there today, but as Bill said, eh, eh, eh... Sunday is-
Peggy
The weekends are gonna be the most-
Tony
Nuts.
Peggy
... crowded. So we went on Tuesday, which was like an industry day. We're not open to the public, and-
Tony
That was awesome.
Peggy
... that was great. A lot of vendors were still setting up so we, you know, we kinda shopped. Actually, we bought the chairs, which was a good thing because by the time we went back on Thursday, they were... these chairs actually come... we'll put some pictures, but with like a footstool, and-
Tony
The footstool is extra.
Peggy
All right, well, yeah. I'm sorry.
Tony
You can get a footstool. Like a, um-
Peggy
When, when you buy these chairs, you can also buy a footstool, and the footstools were like gone by the time we went back on Thursday.
Tony
And they said they would be.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
But these are really nice. They're from Dometic, and they're like padded chairs, and they have a moveable headrest-
Peggy
And they move.
Tony
... which you could use as lumbar-
Tony
Oh, and they re- recline.
Tony
Yeah, I'm, I'm very ple- and they're light, too. They're-
Peggy
Yeah, they're very light.
Tony
... they're, but they're pretty solid, so... and a three-year warranty, so-
Peggy
Oh.
Tony
... there you go. From our friends at Dometic.
Peggy
Anyway, uh, so even the crowd... to me, the crowd on Thursday was enough of a crowd, and it really... I, I understand, I get it. It was not a crowd,(laughs) but it was enough for me. But, we are already making our plans for next year. There is a non-hookup, a dry camping site right across the street from the Giant Center, and it's-
Tony
It's basically a lawn.(laughs)
Peggy
It's basically... yeah, just a big empty space. But they do have a shuttle service that goes in. So I think if I didn't have to deal with parking and I could come and go really easily, you know, go in the morning and get tired of the crowd and go back and, and rest at, at home and then go back or something, I would be more apt to go more days. But as it was, the, the, you know, the driving and the parking and then the crowds was just-... too much to think about.(laughs)
Tony
Well, and Jeremy was saying in the past it stayed open till 8:00.
Peggy
Until 8:00, yeah.
Tony
And, and now it's... This year it was just 7:00, which is still plenty late.
Peggy
Seems like a lot, but they were-
Tony
Especially if you're a vendor on your feet all day.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
My word, ugh.
Peggy
But they were recognizing that that final hour just really... Uh, and you know, for them, they have children, and that, that extra hour that's getting right up onto bedtime and stuff, was... It was a big deal for them to be able to stop a bit earlier.
Tony
Any other stuff we missed though, like?
Bill
Well, we did see a bunch of trailers that weren't Rockwoods too.
Tony
That's true.
Peggy
Oh, that's true.
Bill
We went through Lance and Ember and-
Tony
Yeah.
Bill
... enjoyed that. I actually really liked the Embers myself. Um.
Tony
Yeah.
Bill
We did take a little bit of a road trip-
Tony
Yeah.
Bill
... to see all of the trailerovers 'cause they're not allowed to-
Tony
Yeah, that's funny.
Bill
... display.(laughs)
Tony
Yeah, so Oliver-
Peggy
So, uh, oh, real quick. So the Hershey show i- is... The, all the RVs that were there were being presented by a dealership.
Bill
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
And there are, there's like three or some-
Bill
Actually, I think this year it seemed there were a lot more dealerships.
Peggy
More dealerships.
Bill
There had to be five or six at least.
Peggy
But there... It has to be a dealership in Pennsylvania, right?
Bill
Mm-hmm. Right.
Peggy
So if, if no dealership in Pennsylvania sells Olivers, Oliver can't be at the show because, because-
Tony
And they-
Bill
And they weren't.(laughs)
Peggy
... because... Oh, that's what I'm saying, because the dealers are the ones that bring their... The rigs to the show.
Bill
Right.
Tony
Yeah, it's a, it's, they were-
Peggy
Just to make that clear, so it's not like Hershey RV Show says, "No Oliver. Get away from us." It, that, it's not that specific.(laughs)
Tony
Well, but-
Peggy
It's not like they aren't allowed, but they just aren't represented e- by a Pennsylvania dealer-
Tony
Well-
Peggy
... that is in the show.
Bill
Right. Their closest dealer is Massachusetts.
Peggy
Oh, okay.
Tony
The Hershey Show is presented by the Pennsylvania... I was just gonna look up the, the name of the organization.
Peggy
PRCA.
Bill
PRV... PRV.
Tony
But it's the PRVCA what-
Peggy
CA.
Tony
Pennsylvania Recreational... See, I'm gonna screw it up. We'll put-
Peggy
Camping Association, I think.
Tony
Yeah, we'll put the link in the show, in the-
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
Peggy will put it in the, like a-
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
... caption there. But yeah, it's presented by the dealers' association, so obviously they're gonna support the people who are part of that organization.
Bill
Mm-hmm. Right.
Tony
And so Bill wanted to check out the Oliver trailers, so(laughs) so-
Peggy
They were just in the Staples parking lot down the street.(laughs)
Peggy
Which was fine. It also was not crowded.
Tony
No.
Peggy
Yeah.
Bill
We were the only ones there.
Tony
Yeah, yeah.
Peggy
At the moment that we went, yeah, we were the only ones there. We saw people as we drove by. People were there, you know, all the time, but-
Bill
But it's not the crowd of Hershey and you-
Peggy
It's not the crowd, yeah.
Bill
Oh, we don't have to pay to park or pay for admission.
Peggy
Right.(laughs)
Tony
And, and plus you could buy office supplies 'cause it was in a-
Peggy
But it was in the Staples parking lot.(laughs)
Tony
... Staples parking lot. I wonder if there are other brands-
Peggy
Hey, you go to buy a stapler and you end up buying an Oliver and taking it home.
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
"Hey, honey, I got a great deal."(laughs)
Tony
Yeah. "I have pencils, and by the way, I spent $90 grand on a trailer."
Tony
"Sorry."
Bill
But they can't even give you the price.
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
That's true.
Tony
That was interesting, because they are a-
Bill
Not a dealer.
Tony
They're not a dealer. They're-
Bill
They're just a couple guys hanging out in the parking lot.(laughs)
Tony
With a couple of guys from, uh, from-
Peggy
"I'm just, I'm just camping here. You wanna see my rig?"(laughs)
Bill
Yeah. Yeah.
Tony
But, but it was, it was good to see them in person. I've only read about them and written stories about them, but never actually s-... Well, we had a listener who showed us his once.
Peggy
Mm-hmm. That was-
Bill
There was one at, um, the RV Miles Open House last year on the, on the-
Tony
Right. That's right. That's where it was.
Bill
... rig crawl. That's where I first saw it and kinda said, "Wow."
Tony
Yeah.
Tony
Yeah, their... Oliver is, if you don't know... Uh, we'll put a link to a review I've written about them, but they are a fiberglass egg-style trailer, but on steroids because they are a very premium product-
Bill
Yeah.
Tony
... and priced as such. So-
Peggy
They were really nice.
Tony
They are very nice, and they-
Bill
They said they compete with Airstream. That's their-
Peggy
Yeah.
Bill
... main competition.
Tony
So they're like a plastic Airstream.
Bill
Yeah.(laughs)
Peggy
A plastic Airstream.
Tony
Without all the rivets that you have to maintain.
Peggy
Oh, okay.
Tony
They have a Legacy and a Legacy Elite, the Legacy Elite being the longer of the two.
Bill
Mm-hmm.
Tony
It's a two-axle trailer. And that one had enough solar that it was running the air conditioner-
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Bill
Yep.
Tony
... there in the parking lot-
Peggy
Yep.
Tony
... 'cause there was no hookups there, so that was kinda cool.
Peggy
Yeah.
Bill
Good.
Tony
I don't know-
Peggy
What else is on our list?
Tony
Food.
Peggy
Oh, food.
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
Okay, so I mean, you're at a sport- a sporting venue. If you've ever been to any kind of a sporting event, you know, or a fair, a renaissance fair, a state fair, the county fair, food prices are insane. Right?
Tony
Yeah, they're... It's always-
Peggy
And that is... Is, uh, that's to be expected. So the first day that we were there, we bought gyros and they were $16, and they could've had more stuff in the bread.
Tony
Well-
Peggy
But-
Tony
... yeah, it was... Uh, uh, yeah, that wasn't very good.
Peggy
And your chicken was dry, but-
Tony
Oh, yeah. The chicken, the chicken tastes like wood.(laughs)
Peggy
But for the same $16, $18, th- the same, right?(laughs) $16 to $20, you had a really good barbecue sandwich.
Bill
It was $22 for a brisket sandwich and a-
Peggy
And-
Bill
... can of Dr Pepper.
Peggy
We, that day, ate from the vendors inside. You know, the ones that you would... If you were there watching a hockey fight, uh, game.
Tony
Game.
Bill
Game.
Peggy
Match. I don't know. Whatever. Anyway, uh, they had that kind of snack bar open, and so we got hot dogs from there.
Tony
And they were-
Peggy
They were a little less expensive. They were decent.
Tony
It was a fun... It was a, a long hot dog.
Peggy
Yeah, it was a long hot dog.
Tony
I didn't feel at least ripped off. And the hot dog itself was actually pretty good.
Peggy
It was pretty tasty, yeah.
Tony
And I'm a hot dog-eating fool, so...
Peggy
So, of course, you know, expect to pay fairer pri-... Not fair, but fair prices-
Peggy
... when you're gonna eat there. And you're bound to eat there because you, you know, it opens at-... nine and, or ten and closes at 7:00.
Tony
So, in effect, you could bring in a lunch-
Peggy
I suppose you could. I don't th- I don't remember them really checking. They... You went through a metal detector.
Tony
Yeah.
Bill
Yeah.
Peggy
But if you took food, I don't think that they would have a problem with that.
Bill
And Dometic outside had a little area with tables and chairs that you could-
Tony
That's right.
Bill
... put a picnic in if you wanted to.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
Yeah, yeah.
Bill
Like, behind all the food trucks.
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
Yeah. So, there was a good variety of food, but just know that you're gonna pay for it and just-
Bill
One big advantage if you're parked across the street, camping, dry camping-
Tony
Yeah, you just go over, yeah.
Peggy
Right. Go, go back to your camper and have, have your lunch in the air conditioning and then go back out ready to fight someone over-
Tony
If you have your system from ABC outdoors.
Peggy
Oh, yeah.
Tony
That is.
Bill
Go visit your dog.
Peggy
Right, yeah.
Tony
Yeah, go visit your dog.
Peggy
Uh, he'll, he will miss daycare.
Tony
Uh, hey, how do you want people with-
Peggy
I don't think he's gonna like that idea.
Peggy
He said, "Dad, why don't I get to go to doggy daycare?"
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
'Cause you're here, you're fine.(laughs)
Tony
A couple of days, Zapp- Bill's dog, Zappo, got to go to this doggy daycare place where, you know, the dogs run around and-
Peggy
And he loved it.
Tony
... and, yeah. But yeah, the food was, eh, it's fair food, right?
Peggy
Yeah. Yeah.
Tony
I mean, the bad thing is I didn't see that much deep-fried stuff.
Peggy
Not really, you're right. It wasn't like-
Bill
You know, the Northeast, you don't see it as much as this.
Tony
Oh, really?
Peggy
It wasn't like deep-fried Twinkie fair food.
Bill
Man.
Peggy
It was sandwiches and cakes.
Bill
Sausage and peppers.
Tony
Yeah.
Bill
Cheese steaks, burgers.
Tony
How do you have state fairs without deep-frying everything?
Peggy
Well...
Bill
Where we're used to state fairs, it's like, wow, they deep-fried, you know, like, alligator bites.
Peggy
Stick of butter.(laughs)
Bill
Yeah. There's deep-fried butter and-
Bill
... all this crazy stuff. So, of course, maybe that's why Bill looks like Bill looks like, and we look like we look.
Peggy
Perhaps, perhaps. And of course, uh, speaking of food, you know, it's been a minute since you had a bite of Reese's, right?
Tony
Oh.
Bill
Oh.
Peggy
I'm not offering you one, I'm just reminding you. We did go to the Hershey store across the street and that was fun. We got to buy Hershey's that isn't available anywhere else. And they have, uh, like a ride. You ride in this little cart on a track-
Peggy
... and it tells you how they make the ch- you know, how they process the beans all the way up to the chocolate bars, and so it was pretty fun.
Bill
That's the replacement of the factory tours that, that I used to go on as a kid.
Peggy
That they used to have at factories.
Tony
'Cause you've been coming here for years.
Bill
Yeah.
Peggy
Yeah.
Bill
It's three and a half hours from my house t- to here with no traffic. Typically about six hours.
Tony
But, mm, man.
Bill
Good stuff, huh?
Tony
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
Mm.
Peggy
We are gonna be here for a few more days now that the show is winding down and, and over.
Tony
Over?
Tony
Did you say over?
Peggy
And we are... Bill's gonna s- so kindly show us around more of the state, and so next week probably we'll still be talking about Pennsylvania, even if next week we'll be back on our way to Indiana. We will talk about Pennsylvania-
Tony
That's where we plan to look at a bunch of RVs.
Peggy
Yeah, we'll look at a lot of RVs there-
Peggy
... because that's kind of all there is to do during the dealer-
Tony
Well, there's Amish crack jokes.
Peggy
Well, I mean, but during the dealer open house, it's all about RVs. It's not about the gadgets and the, the, all that stuff, so-
Bill
And significantly less people.
Peggy
And... Right.
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
Yeah, significantly fewer people.
Tony
But I think more RVs.
Peggy
And more...
Tony
Maybe.
Peggy
Well, probably more options of RVs, but just not, not the crowds because it's really... It's not open to the public. It's designed to have dealers come in and decide what RVs they want to buy for their inventory for the next year. So, we are privileged to get to go to that, and we'll talk more about that of course. But... And next week we'll talk more about the other things that we're doing in Pennsylvania. But I think just talking about the Hershey RV show is enough of a topic.
Bill
Mm-hmm.
Tony
Yeah, I think so.
Peggy
Now, one of the other people that we got to meet up with, and we have met him on several occasions, Rich Luehr from Air Gear Store, and we kind of were texting like, "Okay, I'm over here. Now I'm over there."
Peggy
"But I'm over there, but now you're over here." And we said, "Okay, we're heading down to the, to the, you know, ice vendor area," and we were walking down the stairs and Rich came walking up the stairs.(laughs)
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
So, it's a good thing we took the same stairwell. And we sat to the side and chatted with him and, uh, told him ag- again how much we adore the water hoses that we bought from them in, I looked it up, December of 2021. 2021-
Tony
Same date.
Peggy
... uh, is when we bought these hoses and we are still using the same two hoses. They look brand new. They are... They're just completely wonderful. I can't say enough about those hoses. They are... Uh, I mean, Air Gear sells, sells many other things and wonderful things that we own, but those hoses are just really... They don't kink, they're easy to... They're easy to wind up and fit into a bag, and, and they have been exactly the same for almost five years.
Tony
Yeah, I mean-
Peggy
Almost four years.
Tony
... we leave them out. They're like coiled, I almost said like an old telephone cord, but some of you are like, "What's that?"
Peggy
They're... You might not know what that means. You're like, "Telephone cord? I don't see a cord."
Tony
Well, but anyway, they're coiled and we have had them plenty of times stretched between the trailer-
Peggy
Uh-huh.
Tony
... and a faucet and a spigot.(laughs)
Tony
And, uh, they just go right back in the bags that they came in, uh, you know, they, they truly... It's truly a high-quality product.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony
It's not the cheapest water hose you can buy, but you know what? How many hoses would we-
Peggy
Try the best and cry only once.
Tony
And cry only once, yep. So they-
Peggy
We went through several hoses before that, you know-
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
... we did the flat one and we still have the white one as a, you know, the one that came with the trailer as a backup. But we really only use that if the water is really far away.
Tony
I may have used that as a gray tank flushing hose.
Peggy
I sure am glad you told me that.(laughs)
Peggy
I don't think I'll be using that for freshwater anymore.
Tony
No. So anyway-
Tony
Yeah, if you're looking for high-quality w- water hose, uh, that you buy once and you're set, uh, this is a really good product and, and we, we have really enjoyed it.
Peggy
And hi, Tofy. Sorry, we missed you.
Tony
Yeah.
Tony
So here in the state park, the first night, we were all out. We got bitten like mad from mosquitoes.
Peggy
We did. And th- the weather is so incredibly perfect-
Tony
Oh, it's so fantastic right now.
Peggy
... you cannot not sit outside. Like, it's so wonderful.
Tony
I'm, if there is a mosquito in the county, it is gonna find me.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
And I am still all itchy and bumpy from the mosquito bites, and then I remembered, oh yeah, dummy, you have a really functional, good working mosquito repellent.
Peggy
Thank you.
Tony
It's not the Reese's.(laughs)
Tony
But it's the Thermacell.
Peggy
So there are a few different designs of this. This, uh, this might be an older design that doesn't-
Tony
Yeah, I think it is.
Peggy
... come anymore. This is actually a lantern. If we would put a fresh battery in it, it would work as a lantern.
Tony
No, we, I put, I charged them.
Peggy
Oh, you did? Oh, my bad.
Tony
Look.
Peggy
Okay. That is actually a lantern. I suppose you could attract more bugs that way.
Tony
Potentially.
Peggy
But the whole point of this is to repel the bugs, and so there's a little... Here, you hold that, please. There's a little butane canister in there that lights aflame, and that you might be able to see the smoke, but maybe not. And that flame heats up these little pads that are soaked in...
Tony
Let's see. It's... I don't know if you're watching this, there's the butane. You open it and, uh, you screw in the little butane thing. This pad has seen better days.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
It's, it's done.
Peggy
So we-
Tony
But it's easy to swap them.
Peggy
So it, like, warms up the oils in this pad and kind of dissipates them out and around. And so, this is not really meant to kill. It's meant to repel.
Tony
And it works.
Peggy
It keeps the mosquitoes away, and it works really well. We'll talk maybe next week about how we kill the ones that don't repel.(laughs)
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
Uh, but we have this burning now because we are sitting outside even though it's not nightti- you know, dusk, which is when they tend to get worse. But there's still a lot of little floaty things in the air, so...
Tony
Yeah, I mean, we've been pleased with the Thermacell for some time. And as I said, if there's a mosquito in the county, it's gonna find me, bite me, and then tell its friends to come and join the party.
Tony
So I'm the, I am the mosquito attractor. That's the res- re-
Peggy
Mosquito repeller.
Tony
Thank you. That.
Tony
Da, da, da, da.(laughs) New mouth and it ain't working.
Peggy
Oh, no. It's probably got too much chocolate in it.
Tony
There's no such thing.
Tony
You're right. I should probably have a pretzel to counteract all that chocolate.
Peggy
Oh, my heavens. All right.
Tony
Hey, it's Reese's. Mm. Yeah, I, I was, like-
Peggy
Sometimes we drink beer on camera. Sometimes we just eat candy.
Tony
Yeah. That's not candy. It's health food. It's pretzels and peanuts.
Peggy
Health food.
Tony
And pretzels and peanut butter.
Peggy
Okay.
Tony
It's health food.
Peggy
Silly me. All right. So one thing that we will tell you about-
Tony
Ooh, I can see the peanut butter.
Peggy
... that Bill, that Bill took us to is our Goofy USA. Of course, if you're listening or watching, you're gonna want to go to the YouTube playlist on our YouTube channel called Goofy USA, and we're gonna tell you about Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum & Candy Emporium.
Tony
Yep. So, Ed and Pat Gottwald opened a general store in 1975 where he was known as a showman in the area. That store was, you know, a typical general store, but it also, they did events there and they had a candy counter. And while the store ultimately closed, the candy counter was pretty successful. So, after that store closed, the couple saw an abandoned property for sale and bought it, turning it into Mr.
Tony
Ed's Elephant Emporium. And at one point, somebody gave Mr. Ed, uh, uh, an elephant, and it just, it became a thing, you know? So-
Peggy
Just one little statue of some sort.
Tony
Yeah. Um-
Peggy
Uh, it's happened to me.
Tony
Yeah.
Tony
Bears in our trailer.
Peggy
Bears in our trailer. Dragonflies all over my house.
Tony
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
It happens.
Tony
So when they opened that store, there were about 2,000 elephants there. But over the years, rooms were added to accommodate more elephants and more candy. And one of the things that hasn't changed since 1975 is Miss Ellie Funt.(laughs)
Peggy
Miss Ellie Funt, she's out front and she greets you with a little video with her eyes blinking, and she int- she, you know, welcomes you to the store and tells you her history. And Mr. Ed apparently just fell in love with her-
Peggy
... and had to have her, brought her home, and she has lived out there ever since.
Tony
So over the years, Ed and Pat took their business on the road, traveling the country with their candy and peanuts, doing arts and crafts shows, fairs and other events, and also running the store. At their peak, the couple did 42 events in one year while also managing the store-
Peggy
Wow.
Tony
... which is pretty impressive. Most events were done with both of them, but sometimes they even had to split up to cover more ground and did events with their daughter, Tammy, and the rest of the staff. By the early 2000s, Mr. Ed's elephant collection had grown to 10,000-
Peggy
Wow.
Tony
... thanks to donations from friends, family, and customers. The little museum regularly made national news for its huge collection and was a favorite of collectors throughout the world.Visitors to the historic Gettysburg area, and locals alike, really enjoyed the business for its selection of candy and of course-
Peggy
And fresh roasted peanuts. Mmm.
Tony
That's right.
Peggy
That smell of freshly roasted-
Tony
Mm-hmm.
Bill
Mm-hmm.
Peggy
... nuts. Oh, boy. Yeah, so they have the roasted peanuts. They have the candy-coated nuts, the pecans and-
Tony
Oh, yeah.
Peggy
... and, and almonds. Um, and then they have homemade fudge. They have, like, all the candies. All the hard candy that you can, you know, buy by the bag or the bucketful. The all, the old-fashioned, you know, the, the candy you haven't seen since you were a kid, they have it there. The, uh, locally made fudge, and then they have the Pez room.
Peggy
And that is terrific. Yes, you can buy candy there, but there are also on display, like, so many old Pez dispensers. You can buy new Pez dispensers.
Tony
Yeah, there's tons of new ones too.
Peggy
But there are some that are just on display, and it was, you know, a, a step back in time to see, "Oh, I used to have that Pez dispenser." And(laughs) -
Peggy
... that was really fun.
Tony
Bill, you got a, you got a Pez, right? You got one or two-
Bill
Yes, I bought a Pez there to bring home. It's a surprise. Don't tell anybody.
Tony
Oh, oh, oh. Shh.
Bill
But yeah, I will say, I've been to the Pez museum in Connecticut.
Tony
Oh, you have?
Bill
Where it's in the factory, and it's, oh, they have more Pez than we saw.(laughs)
Peggy
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Bill
At Mr. Ed's. But that is the second most I've ever seen.
Tony
Oh, man.
Bill
'Cause they had a whole wall that you could buy. It was-
Tony
Yeah.
Bill
... tough to pick out one to buy.
Peggy
Right, right.
Tony
I was looking for certain ones. I didn't see 'em. But I, I just, I only looked quickly.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
So. Well now, the store is in the hands of Ed, Mr. Ed's grandson-in-law, Isaac, and his granddaughter, Nicole. And under their management, the store has actually grown quite a bit.
Peggy
Mm-hmm.
Tony
There's so many elephants in there, but there's really, I don't know how they would fit more pachyderms in there, but they may just try to find the trunk space.(drum roll)
Peggy
Oh, no.(instrumental music) Oh.
Tony
An elephant museum with delicious fudge and candy galore? Well, that's just goofy USA.
Peggy
Well, that's just goofy USA. Okay, so whenever we last asked the question of the week, I know we didn't do it last week 'cause we did a real short, um, talk with Bill about what we were gonna expect at Hershey. And but the last time we asked, and this is a great example-
Peggy
... how do you find and keep friends while you're on the road? And we met Bill at the first time we went to-
Tony
Frog, Frog Rally.
Peggy
... the Frog Rally. He was, well, he was technically still in training for the parking crew.
Tony
Right, right.
Peggy
And we-
Tony
And you had long hair.
Peggy
Yes. We arrived so early and snuck into the fairgrounds really early, and so we met him then, and we have had the privilege of hanging out with him, you know, at least once a year since, right?
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
We've, we get to go to a lot of events together. He comes to a lot of our things. He makes it all the way from Long Island to Quartzsite-
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
... to hang out with us. I'm sure it's only for us.(laughs)
Bill
Nothing to do with the fact that my sister lives in Phoenix, right?
Peggy
Nothing to do with that.
Peggy
And, you know, and then a couple weeks ago, when we actually asked the question, we were moochdocking at Tony and Tina's-
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
... T and T RV.
Tony
Who, who we also met through the Frog Rally.
Peggy
Yes, and so we, uh, love your stories. Thank you for sharing how you, you know, how you meet people and how you get to hang out with them whenever possible. And this week, because we were around people shopping for their first or next RV at the Herfy s-... at the Herfy Show-
Tony
Herfy Show.(laughs)
Peggy
At the Herfy Show-
Peggy
... we thought maybe we should ask, have you bought an RV at an RV show?
Tony
Have you bought an RV at an RV show?
Bill
Sort of.
Tony
Okay.
Bill
My, I got show pricing, but I missed the show.
Peggy
So, we would be interested in hearing your story, what your experience was like, how you, you know, what show you went to, and how your experience was, and if you got a great deal. And, uh, that is our question for this week.
Tony
And you can answer that question at our fun and friendly Stressless Campers Facebook group. It's one of the best reasons to be on Facebook in our opinion.
Peggy
Indeed.
Tony
Did you know that we did a once-a-week newsletter, and it's free? And we really do a good job of protecting your personal information and not sharing it with others?
Peggy
We also do a really good job of not sending you more than one email a week 'cause-
Tony
That's because we have 18.
Peggy
... that's all we have time for.(laughs)
Tony
Yes.
Peggy
And so if you would please go to any page of the website and sign up for the newsletter, you'll get once, one a week. It'll remind you about the podcast, and it'll tell you about other things that we saw and heard and learned in the RV world over the past week.
Tony
Yep. Uh, you can find the notes for this episode along with the links, and there's some fun pictures and such, at our home on the web at stresslesscamping.com under the podcasts, and this is podcast 325.
Peggy
You can also at stresslesscamping.com find our favorite RV services and products page. I think that's what it's called.
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
Products and services. Anyway, that is where you will find all the things that we love, all the services that we love, and a lot of them, you will find discounts. So if you buy them through our site, you will get a discount. We will get credit for referring you, and we really appreciate that.
Tony
It's what keeps the lights on.
Peggy
And, and we want you to get those discounts.
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
So please, before you shop, check us out.(laughs)
Tony
Yep. Of course, we are in all the social places, but you can start at stresslesscamping.com, and from there, jump off to all the places. We know you're wasting your time along with us.
Peggy
If you are a listener of the podcast, please remember that you can subscribe for free on any podcast catcher, and we are saving you a seat around our virtual thermos cell fire.
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
And if you're watching on YouTube, we really appreciate it if you'd take a moment, we'll talk really slow right now, find the like button, cha-ching-
Peggy
... find that subscribe bell, and if you want to, you could pause, wait a minute, let me tell you what to do. Find the share button, run over and share this link to s- to your Facebook page, and then come back and finish.
Tony
Or Reddit or-
Peggy
Or Reddit-
Tony
... or TikTok or-
Peggy
... or TikTok, or all those places.
Tony
... like wherever.
Peggy
Yeah.
Tony
Yeah.
Peggy
All the social places.
Tony
We don't, we don't care.
Peggy
Thank you for-
Tony
I mean, we care that you share, but-
Tony
... not where.
Peggy
We don't care where you share. Thank you for-
Tony
If you care.
Peggy
... sharing.
Peggy
Thank you for liking, thank you for subscribing. All those things really help us a lot.
Tony
Yep.
Peggy
And as long as you keep helping us, we will keep sitting here and talking to you.
Tony
Yeah.
Tony
Is that a promise or a threat? I'm not sure.
Peggy
A threat.(laughs)
Tony
Okay. Well with that, that's what we have for you this week. We sure appreciate your joining us here from the great state of Pennsylvania, where I am feeling candy starved at the moment.
Peggy
Oh, no.
Tony
But thank you, oh, oh, thank you so much for being here and most of all...
Bill
Stress Less Camping.
Peggy
Pass the peanut butter.(laughs)
Speaker 4
We hope you learned a lot, and had some fun, and got some tips for your next Stress Less Camping adventure. We're honored by your reviews on Apple Podcasts, which helps others find us too. Don't forget to subscribe so you won't miss out on the adventure, and we look forward to your joining us next week. Until then, happy camping.
Tony
We sure appreciate your joining us here in Kershy-
Peggy
Kersy?(laughs)
Tony
Kershy?
Peggy
Kershy, Pennsylvania.
Tony
Yeah.
Tony
We sh-(laughs)
Tony
That's a blooper you gotta put at the end.
Peggy
I will.(laughs)
