This isn’t the Dallas RV Super sale show that typically happens in February or March each year at Market Hall. This is the Southwest RV Supershow. However, you probably wouldn’t know the difference. I think there are fewer dealers there, but just as many RVs to look at. Plan on a lot of walking if you go to one of these. The show is packed with every class and style of RV. Of course, I’m just a travel trailer guy, but we check them all out.

I typically look for trends when we go to these shows. If you remember two years ago, I mentioned that the bathrooms had become larger and more residential at the expense of the living area. This was not the case this year. The bathrooms on all the models we looked at, had normalized to what you would expect. After all, RVers don’t live in the bathroom, and if they do, they probably shouldn’t be on the road.

One interesting trend this year was to get rid of cabinets above the bed or in the main living area and go with a shelf that had a net mesh material over the front. It may look interesting to some folks but remember, all that stowed stuff needs to be put somewhere before you sail down the highway or it will be bouncing all over.

The travel trailers at the event ran the gambit from entry level to much more expensive models. I did not see Brinkley at the show, but I may just have somehow missed them. If they were outside the main hall, that could have been the case. By the time we got through the inside of market hall, I really was ready to call it a day.

Almost immediately when we arrived, A Grand Design Rep tried to corner me into looking at what they offered. I told him point blank “I have a 2017 Imagine, but I would never buy a grand design now given what has taken place over the last few years”. His response “I understand”.

I think you all understand I am very happy with how our 2950RL has performed. However, I cannot support a company that is not standing behind its customers. I have seen too many folks online who have absolutely been crushed by the frame failures. While they may not be the only company that has had issues, they seem to be the torch bearer.

You may also remember that I have said in the past that nothing I’ve seen since 2017 has made me think twice about buying another travel trailer. That may have changed this time.

Why? Well, I have always told Tammy that if we were to get another travel trailer there would be five things I would want that don’t exist on the Imagine.

  1. Azdel Construction
  2. Solid Surface Counter Tops
  3. Pex Plumbing in the majority of the trailer
  4. No Schwintek slides
  5. Outdoor Kitchen

Surprisingly the Alliance Delta 294RK seemed to hit every one of those boxes. It did have one major drawback, which we will discuss in a minute.

Alliance RV was founded in 2019, and in a short amount of time, they’ve built a reputation for making durable, well-designed, and luxury-focused RVs that cater to a variety of RV enthusiasts, including those who are full-time RVers.

So first let’s talk about the positives. A really nice layout with a rear kitchen and more storage than you could ever use.

A good size bathroom, and bedroom with cabinets that absolutely make sense along with a large wardrobe, reading lights, and the ability to deal with all the lighting from the bed.

The unit has two AC units that can be run on 30AMP service. However, I wouldn’t recommend that because you know what’s going to happen. Someone will use the microwave and blow a fuse. However, when the weather is nice, 30 amp will probably serve you just fine.

The main slide is rack and pinion, the most reliable you can get. The small fireplace slide is the Bal Exact Slide. This is a major improvement over the Accu-slide system. It has a better track record than the current schwintek slides that I have on the Imagine.

The construction is Azdel on walls and floors.

For 2026, they move from wrapped plastic counter tops to solid surface countertops throughout the trailer.

Now for the only drawback, and that is the cabinets. The bases and the doors appear to be wrapped vinyl over core lumber. This is absolutely the cheapest construction you can get. I have some of that in the Imagine but the doors are all hardwood. It’s rather surprising on a trailer that has so much to offer, that this is where they decided to cut the quality. I know how to do woodworking; and I am ok at it. Good enough that I can deal with that kind of stuff, but it’s not something I would want to do. Any sort of moisture will make those cabinets look like wrinkled paper. I would have been much happier if, at the very least the doors had been wood.

Back in 2007, Coachmen put the 277RKS together with real wood cabinets. They used a lighter type of lumber to do it, and it was spectacular. In my opinion, that’s where Delta needs to go.

Speaking of the Coachmen, this trailer gives us the perfect combination of the 2007 Coachmen (Which I loved) and the current Imagine 2950RL plus the outdoor kitchen of the 2015 Jayco. If you can ignore the cabinets, probably the perfect trailer. Also, the manufacturer designed this trailer for full-time living.

There is one other small drawback if you are a dish satellite subscriber and want to watch two TV’s. the satellite hook up is just a single connection. It is basically a jumper wire behind that that you can connect to TV1, TV2, or TV3. They recommend that you get a SWM switch (1 input, 3 output) if you want to connect more than 1 tv to satellite. However, that is not an option with the G2+ by Winegard (I confirmed this with them directly).

The options you have available if you are a dish subscriber is to either 1) Switch you connection in the underpass each time you want to switch TVs, or 2) buy a multi-coax wall plate. My recommendation would be to get a 4-coax plate. One connection would go to regular Cable, and the other three would connect individually to each TV. Not rocket science at all, but it should have been something they just did at the factory.

So, what exactly is the price tag of the 294RK? Well on the 2025 models you can probably get one at the show price of 43,000 dollars, maybe even less. However, the 2026 models have an MSRP of 62,000 dollars so you need to really go in there and deal. I would look to get 25 to 30% down on that price. In our case it looks like we will wait until next spring’s super sale to see what kind of show prices will be available. I’m in no hurry because I am very happy with the Imagine, and it looks brand new, so it would need to be an awfully good deal for me to leave it.

I do want to say that we spent a very long time at the show and visited many travel trailer manufacturers and floorplans. There was also a very nice Sprinter there. However, it didn’t offer quite as much as the Delta in terms of quality. In fact, I had to tell the salesperson that their fireplace was about to fall out onto the floor of the trailer. Tammy actually spotted that.

The other advantage of these shows is you get to meet some nice folks that are working in dealerships near you. I was pretty impressed with the knowledge of a few sales reps’ vs previous years at the show. It’s also nice talking with these guys about the industry in general.

I would encourage first time buyers to go to a show like this with a list of your “Must Haves” in a trailer so that you get an idea of what is available. Is there really a perfect travel trailer? Nope. Some come close though but beware any trailer must meet your family’s needs and more importantly have a quality track record. So do your research before you purchase anything. I would recommend going through everything from YouTube videos about the manufacturer and owners’ issues, BBB ratings, Facebook owners’ groups, and research the brands of appliances (Furnace, AC, etc.) that they are putting in the trailer as well.

So that’s my take on this year’s southwest show. Let’s see what next March brings at the regular super-sale event.