ELKHART, Ind. – The second full day of Open House Week kicked off with unprecedented lines flowing out of the RV/MH Hall of Fame, as dealers lined up to get their badges to check out the latest Thor vehicles and get their wrist bands for admission to Tuesday night’s Keith Urban concert.
By about 10 a.m., the line stretched out the door of the Hall and back nearly to the entrance of the Thor exhibit.
Whether the attendance spike was due to renewed activity by dealers or interest in the concert remains to be seen, but product representatives at Thor divisions seemed to be busy throughout the day. The area around the outdoor stage was rather full Tuesday night, as well. Photos were not permitted for publication, so RV PRO was not able to supply full coverage of the event.
Meanwhile, over at Forest River’s East to West facility, ’80s rock band Styx took the show and played about an hour and a half for close to 1,000 people.
The biggest part of the selling wraps up Wednesday, with both major manufacturers holding giveaways. Forest River will give away a mobile service vehicle and Thor is hosting a dealer drawing to give away a pontoon boat or a choice of vehicles including a Corvette, a pickup and an SUV.
Early in the day, traffic remained slow at both supplier events at the Elkhart Airport and at the Hall of Fame. A quick check with some dealers in attendance indicated they were mostly interested in restocking their rolling stock and not so much in the supplier areas.
One dealer from Pennsylvania said he had just come from the annual Hershey Show near his hometown and had seen all of the suppliers there, so he didn’t need to visit them again.
