Tag Archives: kentucky

Campground Review: Louisville South KOA

We generally make it a habit of supporting state parks when it comes to our camping adventures. Generally the sites are are more spread out and the scenery is a little nicer compared to most RV parks. However, recently we had the opportunity to meet up with some fellow small trailerites at the Louisville South KOA in Louisville, Kentucky, organized by two former T@B owners, Ken & Bonnie Pleat. The Pleats are in their second season of workamping, and the Louisville South KOA is their summer “job” for 2012.

Up until our stay at the Louisville South KOA, we had stayed in just one RV park. We typically wouldn’t stay at a KOA due to their higher cost and close campsites, but since this was a special circumstance, we gladly decided to attend.

After checking in at the office, I was rather surprised to find a gentleman was waiting in a golf cart next to my truck & trailer waiting to escort me to my site. THAT was a first! Sure, I could’ve found my site on my own, but it was still a nice little perk.

As predicted, the sites were close together, but since we were among friends, I had no complaints. And any time I get a site that’s level from side to side, it’s worthy of praise.

The Louisville South KOA offers sites for just about any camping need, from tents through 40′-plus motorhomes. Don’t have a tent, camper, or motorhome? No worries, they also offer a nice selection of Kamping Kabins.

Other amenities include hiking trails, a heated swimming pool, miniature golf, a well-stocked store (with reasonable prices as well), and outdoor movies during the summer months. While we were there, the popular attraction for the kids camping there was the Jumping Pillow. These can be found at an increasing number of KOAs throughout the U.S., and the one at the Louisville South KOA was getting a pretty good workout.

And if your “kids” happen to be of the four-legged variety, there’s even a playground for them too:

After our experience at the Louisville South KOA, we plan on giving some more KOAs a try. With us camping with our 14 month old grandson on a somewhat regular basis, we like the family-oriented activities KOAs…and other RV parks for that matter…have to offer compared to camping at state parks. And to help offset the higher costs at KOAs, they offer a discount card where you save 10% off your campsite fees and accumulate points at the same time which you can use for credit on future campsite fees.

Overall, our experience at the Louisville South KOA was a good one. The employees there treated us well, the facilities were well kept, the comfort stations were clean, and there was enough to do to keep us occupied. It was everything I expected a KOA to provide and more. Hope your experience there gives you the same.

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A Day at the RVIA Show — Part 1

Tuesday morning saw an early departure from home for the 130 mile drive south on I-65 to the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, KY for the 49th Annual RV Trade Show. Despite a 30 minute delay north of the Ohio River due to the I-64 bridge west of Louisville being closed for the past 3 months, I managed to arrive just before 10am.

Since it was my first time at the event, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. After several attempts to register, I finally found the press room where us “media types” had to check in. After signing in, I was told that I had some info to get in my mailbox. “My what?” Apparently all the media types had their own mail slot filled with press releases, company info, and even a 1GB flash drive from the fine folks at Go RVing.

I grabbed my mail and off I went. I soon found an area where I could look at the map they provided so I could coordinate a plan of attack for the day. After looking at the map, I wondered if 7 hours there would be long enough. My first part of the plan would be to just walk the entire show to get a feel for where everyone was. Just when I thought I had seen everything on my first walk through, a new wing popped up with either a whole big section of RVs or a wing of suppliers hawking their goods.

After awhile, the stack of stuff from my mailbox was starting to become a hassle to carry along with my trusty Nikon D-40.  My mission soon turned from figuring out the layout of the show to finding a booth that was giving away free bags. I stopped by the booth of Denso Heavy Duty and they were kind enough to let me have not only one, but two of their bags for my growing stack of stuff. Now it was time to get serious!

Since I knew this would be my only day at the show and because I was there to find material for the blog, I focused on, obviously, small travel trailers. What I found from all the manufacturers in attendance is that there are a wide array of options across just about all income levels, whether it was the Airstream Sport 16′, which retails for nearly $40,000

to the lower end Jayco Swift SLX, which can be had for just over $9,000.

The majority of the trailers I went through had some nice, usable floor plans, along with various interior features that caught my eye. Then there were some trailers that I just liked because of their eye appeal. Here are some observations on trailers I liked for one reason or another:

–As mentioned a few weeks ago, the Gulf Stream Visa 17RWD didn’t disappoint when I saw it first hand. Good floor plan and that sleek exterior design:

The new Springdale Fireside: Not the most attractive trailer out there…

but the interior had this very nice looking rustic/log cabin look on the walls and cabinetry.

It was good to see Forest River has finally got a decent exterior package for the r-pod. What used to look like a circus trailer…

has now been upgraded to a nice cream base and a much more toned-down exterior scheme:

And since this post will likely be a little longer than usual and since it’s nearing 1:30am, I’m going to cut this post into two and continue over the weekend. I’ll return with some more that I liked, one that disappointed, and even my own personal “best of show”. Stay tuned!

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49th Annual RVIA Trade Show

November 29-December 1 marks the RVIA’s 49th Annual National RV Trade Show in Louisville, Kentucky. Over 60 manufacturers and over 200 suppliers will be on hand for three days of product debuts and exhibition. I was fortunate enough for the RVIA to offer me an invitation to attend…and attend I will!

Most of the nation’s leading recreational vehicle manufacturers will be on hand, as well as many of those who produce small travel trailers, such as Little Guy Worldwide, Livin’ Lite, Riverside RV, and the bigger manufacturers such as Gulf Stream and Forest River. One booth I’m interested in visiting is that of Travel Lite. They’re a truck camper company, but will be debuting their first endeavor in the travel trailer arena with the new Idea travel trailer, which will come in lengths from 16 to 18 feet. Travel Lite has plans to donate a portion of each Idea sale to Habitat for Humanity.

The annual Louisville trade show has always been a showcase where new models are debuted. Last year, Riverside’s Bob Taulbee introduced the world to the Riverside Retro, which is in production today with a new floor plan soon to come off the line.

(photo courtesy the Goshen News)

However, not all units that debut in Louisville ever see the light of production. Case in point, in 2008, Airstream debuted the Scout concept trailer. Highly retro in design, but for whatever reason never made it to production.

What other new trailers that will debut at this year’s RVIA trade show will be answered in the coming days. Stay tuned, as  I’ll have plenty to update you on.

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