So after a couple of weeks in North Georgia to acclimate away from our Florida winter extended stay, it was back on the road again to close out our Tampa RV Show purchases from back in January.
We've already been enjoying our new collapsible storage containers since January. They are much more functional and save more room than our previous nesting containers, and of course they're prettier colors. Those were Barbara's big purchase from our visit to the Supershow.
Mine took a bit longer to complete, and were WAY more expensive!
First, we finally upgraded our Jeep to add a brake assist module. It helps to slow down the Jeep while towing, allowing the RV to slow quicker. Technically, we've been illegally towing for 4 years since we got the Jeep because it's mandated in all 50 states, but we had never quite gotten around to making that purchase at the time we upgraded to the Jeep as our tow vehicle.
The folks at Roadmaster had a really good show deal on their Invisibrake product, which differs from every other brake assist product in that the unit doesn't use a mechanical arm on a box to depress the brake pedal while towing. It uses the car's vacuum system to draw down the brake pedal, thereby applying the brake. What's really nice about it is that the product is always installed out of sight under the driver's seat, instead of being installed and removed during every trip.
The downside is that it really takes a professional to install the product. So it's a good thing that the Roadmaster sales rep had a really knowledgeable installer in the Tampa area to make that happen, especially when we found out that our Jeep was manufactured in a transition year from Jeep proper to their new owners – Stellantis. The laser sensor which is installed on the brake pedal arm requires a flat surface, yet for some reason our 2015 Jeep Cherokee had a rounded arm. So that had to be ground down to provide a flat surface. There was also the whole “tapping into the car's vacuum system to make it work” thing. So the new system worked out great once we had a proper towing cable for the RV.
Our last purchase at the Tampa Show was theater seating to replace our large, uncomfortable and HEAVY Flexsteel sofa bed. We went with the folks at Bradd & Hall in Elkhart, Indiana. Made by Amish craftsmen, this is the top of the line furniture for RV-ers, and given our full-time status of heavier use, was worth the extra cost (almost double) of other RV furniture manufacturers. They were also going to take out our old couch, trim off about 8” of window valance, and bolt the seating onto our slide.
But Bradd & Hall were in Indiana, a state which has quite possibly the WORST roads in America. By the end of the trip I had almost lost one of the bedroom closet doors to the jarring we were taking and had to tighten a few screws in our panoramic window in the kitchen.
Btw, next on our purchase list: New front shocks!
However, the folks at Bradd & Hall were every bit as great as advertised. The theater seating is incredibly comfortable, the fabric has a buttery kind of feel and nearly matches our existing furniture color, and the motors used are whisper quiet for both extending the seats and adjusting the headrests for easier TV viewing or for just taking a nap. That part came in handy on a drive day when I was particularly tired and needed a break.
They managed to squeeze us in during an already full day of installs, and had us out in less than 2 hours. The new seating is also Grover-approved, which as you know is the most important thing to be in the RV.
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| Our nice new theater seating. Grover approved! Those tray tables can be simply lifted out and stored if need be, or just swung to the side when not in use. |
So Tampa Show purchases complete.
Next up in Parental Parolees: seeing some friends and visiting a new state!
