Great Company - Houston RV show

[Waynem]

Well, today was opening day at Reliant Center, Houston for the Houston RV show.

DW and I met Jim and Joan (JimF) in the parking lot as discussed by phone contact. I even saved him a parking place by defiantly blocking any other access to the space, except Jim (not really, but there was a good spot for them) We enjoyed their company all day. Great people and good time had by us.

We started with the Keystone line of Montana's, including the 10th Anniversary edition. All the new things have been previously discussed, so I won't bore you with the same details. Jim and I are both convinced the the 3400RL's that we presently have are as good as, if not better. I guess that is a matter of choice.

We looked at many, many other 5er's and still think that the Montana is the better by for the money. Also, we looked at some motorhomes from $124,000 to $1.5 million. DW was disappointed because the $1.5M was locked and we could not track dirt into it. So she decided not to buy it. (Whew!)

Of particular note was one Motorhome in excess of $500,000 that the four of us were in. We were prodding and probing the interior, and Jim pushed up on a ceiling part that he found and when you pressed it, you could tell that it would rattle all the way down the road. My DW suggest a fix, and Jim coined the following phrase:

"You can tell you're a redneck ifyou have to stuff toilet paper in the ceiling of your Motorhome to stop the rattling."

We got the hungries and stopped for some fast food there in the Center. All I'll say is that it was filling and expensive.

Jim and I were suckered into buying some "magic" tape. Hey! It worked on my finger. We'll really see if it works when we need it.

It was getting late and I had one more stop to make. The "Folding Boat." Jim and Joan had an errand to run and left me wallowing in the stern contemplating if the fish would finally bite if I had a boat. SOOOO! After much discussion with Ken of Porta-bote, I ended up buying the 10 footer. It's the one they had their for display and it looks big enough for DW, me, and pooch Miya. Now of course, I don't like exercise that much, and even though it comes with oars, I also bought the 5Hp Nissan motor. I'll let Y'all know how it runs and floats when I get it and try it out.

Thanks Jim and Joan. We enjoyed the company.

[JimF]

Great post Wayne, had a great day, still chuckling about the toilet paper in the celing of a $500,000 motor home.

[SlickWillie]

Wayne, about the boat. There is a gentleman from Ohio here that has the Port-a-boat (?). He runs a 9.8 Merc on it, has a trailer that bolts together, and hauls it to the San Patricio Nav. District harbor landing near us. He runs all over the bay here in the boat.

He had offered to take me fishing, but I politely worked my way out of it.(brought my boat down at Xmas) Although I know it is a good boat, he and I are both pretty good sized men, and I'm not sure it was designed for that load. IIRC, he is running more HP(HP equaling weight) than the boat is rated for. All in all, I have been in impressed when I see him out with the boat. It seems it flexes with waves, instead of cutting through them. Good boat in my opinion.

[Waynem]

Will,
Depends on the size of his boat. A 14 footer will handle the 9.8, as with the 12 footer. Anything less than that and I'd be weary. As for the weight, the specs can be seen here.

According to the verbal I had with Ken, the 10 footer will hold 3 grown people with no problem and still only drawer 4 inches of draft. I had gone in with my mind on the 14 footer, but still wanted to see size demo's. The only one at the show was the 10 footer. I sat in the stern seat and felt comfortable. For what the DW and I have in mind, the 10 footer will meet our needs. I'll just keep in mind not to go deep-sea-fishing.

The flex is built into the boat. It allows for a smoother ride in choppy waters, similar to a rubber raft. Stiff boats have a tendency to bounce you to death. The hull is made out of a dense polypropylene. It's easy on the feet when standing and casting.