Day Three of the 2010 Fall Detroit RV Show

After a great first two days of the 2010 Fall Detroit Camper & RV Show, I spent Day Three walking around, talking to several people, inspecting the RVs and basically just enjoying myself.

I met up again with Bill Sheffer, Executive Director of the Michigan Association of Recreation Vehicles and Campgrounds, which is the host organization for the show. He mentioned that attendance through the first two days was up 40 percent from the previous year, and I can personally attest to a ton of people coming to the show for Day Three. 

The Day Three post will be ready for you to see sometime this weekend.


Since I cannot make it to the show on Saturday -- my son has a baseball game in the morning and we have plans for later that afternoon and evening -- the video I have for you with this post is the 2011 Monaco Diplomat 43PD5 motor home I talked about on the Day Two post. I will be back on Sunday for the final day of the show, though!

Our host for the video tour is John Monterusso of American RV in Grand Rapids, who was gracious enough to meet me before the show opened on Thursday for an exclusive tour of the Monaco Diplomat.
 
This motor home is a treat. Most people go to the RV shows to see what's new, and Monaco outfitted the Diplomat with a never-before-seen innovation. Bill Sheffer coined it the slide-within-a-slide, so that's what I'll call it too.

The slide-within-a-slide is exactly what the term says it is. On the driver's side of the coach is a slide with the refrigerator, dinette and couch. A push of a button extends that slide 3 feet out of the coach. Then, another push of a button extends a second slide, this one containing just the dinette and the couch, out another 2 feet. The whole process takes about 40 seconds, and the interior space it creates is very impressive, especially since another 3-foot slide is on the opposite side of the coach.

The video just concentrates on the slide-within-a-slide innovation. I recorded more video of John showing off the rest of the coach, but to include all that would have made the file size too large for upload. There's so much more to the Monaco Diplomat that you owe it to yourself to seek one out and discover a truly luxurious and well-planned motor home.

Some of the specs on the 43PD5 Diplomat:
-- GVWR - 33,000 pounds
-- Overall Length - 44 feet, 3 inches
-- Overall Height - 12 feet, 7 inches
-- Exterior Width - 100.5 inches
-- Interior Height - 84 inches
-- Gray Tank - 62 gallons
-- Black Tank - 40 gallons
-- Fresh Tank - 100 gallons
-- Fuel Tank - 100 gallons
-- LP Tank - 39 gallons

FYI: The 21st Annual Fall Detroit Camper & RV Show is Oct. 6-10 at the Rock Financial Showplace, 46100 Grand River Avenue, Novi, MI 48374. Hours are Weekdays 2-9 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Adult admission (ages 13 and up) is $8, senior admission is $7, and children 12 and under get in free! RV show ticket will also get you into the Fall Remodeling & Design Expo, Thursday through Sunday. The show will feature all types of new recreation vehicles — over 200 units and 50 brands displayed — ranging from folding campers, motor homes, travel trailers, truck campers, park models and fifth wheel travel trailers. Booths featuring parts and accessories, campground information, on site RV financing and RV rentals make this the complete RV show experience.