Teardrop trailers | Scenic Pathways

See our calendar of Best 2023 RV Shows this winter. See other show and RV links at the bottom of this page.

ChicagoLand RV Show

The 2023 Chicagoland RV and Camping Show will be held February 16 -February 19, 2023 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. (see links lower down this page)

Here’s an idea of what to expect from our attendance at previous shows. I particularly enjoyed touring a number of Retro Campers and Travel Trailers (pictures below).

Airstream Bambi Sport — The AirStream Sport 16 is the pinnacle of compact luxury RV Traveling

The Chicago RV-Camper Show is about 10 times larger than the Madison RV Show we attended a few years ago. Hundreds of pull-behind campers, travel trailers, fifth-wheel trailers, and motor homes from Class B to mammoth luxury coaches.

We scored some discount coupons online which saved us “seniors” $4 off the regular $12 show price. But we got clipped real good at the nearby parking – $15 and still had to walk almost two blocks to the Convention Center. A better deal for parking and only about a block more of walking is the CTA Blue Line Depot at 5801 N. River Road (2.5 blocks north of the Convention Center).

While the Donald E Stephens Convention Center is a large facility the exhibit space was quite odd-shaped so it was really easy to get turned around and lose your sense of direction. If I went again I’d want to bring a compass to help navigate. Many times we stood around trying to figure out if we’d been down this aisle or that one.

Some of the highlights for us. Getting a chance to tour some of these luxury Motor Coaches. We see them often during our travels but never have been in one before. Another unit we’ve admired from afar but have never seen up close and on the inside are the famous Airstream Travel Trailers. One dealer had several sizes from a compact 16 footer to the larger, more luxury models. We spent some time admiring the new Winnebago Fuse, built on a Ford Transit chassis. I think this one is going to be a winner for Winnebago. We also liked the Winnebago View 24J, a very classy and well-appointed compact Class C motorhome built on a Mercedes chassis.

TearDrop and Pod Trailers

We did some Pod & Teardrop Trailer profiles a few years ago in an earlier RV Show article. We saw a few new models at this show and some we were familiar with but now tricked out with more accessories and distinctive styling.

Pod or teardrop trailers like this Tab are offering stylish and compact camping alternatives to tents.

Vintage & Retro Travel Trailers & Pods.

Our favorite camping units at the show were the Retro & Vintage travel trailers that have become more popular recently. Love the shape and the moon hubcaps. One both Jo and Eileen thought was really neat was one made by Amish craftsmen, the SunRay Travel Trailers in Shipshewana, IN.

Sunray Campers — We loved this Sunray Retro Camper made by Amish Craftsmen

The “most” Retro of the show was Riverside Whitewater RV’s Retro available in a variety of sizes and styles.

Moon hubcaps, whitewall tires, fire engine red, classic looks from the 50s

Sunray Amish Craftsmenship — Real wood interiors in Cherry or Oak, decent quality finishing touches on appointments

The Red & White theme carried through in the interior on the naugahyde benches. Check out the formica table and checkerbox tiles on the floor!

Retro bedroom — The Whitewater Retro features warm wood interiors and more red and white in the bedroom area.

Gulf Stream’s Vintage is their entry in Retro Travel Trailer category.

Gulf Stream Vintage — The shape, moon hubcaps, hammered stainless rock guard, and red and white exterior mark Gulf Stream’s entry in the retro line.

stylish kitchen of the Airstream Bambi — This is the polished “art deco” interior of the Airstream Bambi trailer pictured at the top of the page.

Art Deco interior of Gulf Stream Vintage — I liked the rounded art deco look and the intimate bedroom layout of the Gulf Stream Vintage.

Links to more Retro and Vintage RVs

winnie-brave retro motor home — Winnebago’s Brave recalls vintage Winnies from many years ago, but with modern conveniences.

VW bus style travel trailer — The Dub-Box recalls the classic VW bus in its travel trailer design

The Scotty is a classic — The classic Serro Scotty comes in 3 different models

shasta-airflyte — CH Camper re-creates the look of the 1961 Shasta Airflyte Travel Trailer

happycamper — The HCI Happier Camper marries modern engineering with a retro look.

Bowles Road-Chief Travel Trailer — The Bowles Road Chief re-creates an innovative design from the 1930s with luxurious interiors and features.

Really loved the Bowless Road Chief but I’d have to sell the farm to afford it!

RV Show and Information Links

Ross

Touring the Madison, Wisconsin RV & Camping Trailer Show

The 2023 Madison RV Show will be held on Feb 3, 4 and 5, 2023

Pods, Tear Drop and Ultra Lite Campers were popular items at the Madison RV Show. (For more on these new trends in travel trailers, scroll down for photos, descriptions, and info links lower down this page)

Held at Madison’s Alliance Center, the Madison RV Show features hundreds of trailers and fifth wheel “homes”, many of them more suitable for parking at a campground for several months than weekend traveling or traveling around the country. Jo and I had hoped to see some motor homes but there were only a handful in attendance.

class b motorhome reviews — See our reviews of Best Van Motorhomes

Best RV Shows for 2023 Winter-Spring (go here)

More RV Show & Review links near bottom of the page

RVing & Outdoor Lounging

We are seeing more and more of these fancy outdoor kitchens as a popular feature in the larger travel trailers and fifth wheel homes. Another accessory is an outside plug-in and a mount for a flat screen TV and a set of outdoor entertainment center speakers. All these features seem oriented to the camper who spends as much lounging outside of their rig as they do inside. Keeping with this theme, another relatively new feature we noticed were units that were equipped with an the additional outside entrance to the RV that led directly to the bathroom. So when you are outside and need to go “potty” you can go directly there instead having to walk through the main living room of the RV. Would also be handy for the younger generation who may be tenting or in a pop-up camper next to the grandparents bigger RV.

In addition to the regular kitchen, this model offers an outdoor kitchen complete with sink, stove, microwave, fridge, and the usual outdoor bbq grill

This one had, in addition to the outdoor kitchen and bbq grill, a second outside entrance to the bathroom convenient for outdoor living

Pod Trailers and Tear-Drop Campers

A popular style travel trailer that seems to get a lot of attention are these retro tear-drop shaped models that are aero-dynamic and light enough (under 2000 pounds) to be trailered by a smaller, more fuel efficient vehicle (i.e. SUV not needed). These units are a nice graduation from tent camping because they can fit on smaller camp sites, are easy to tow, easy to store at home, and yet offer a clear improvement in comfort and protection from the weather over tent camping. Two of the more popular of this type of unit are the T@b (aka Tab) and the R-Pod. They come in a variety of floor plans, including slide-outs, expandablesome of which include the outdoor kitchen to give more room inside for other amenities.

The largest and most completely outfitted of the compact pod trailers are those offered by Forest Rivers R-Pods

Compact, but the unit even includes a separate bedroom

The convertible dinette and kitchen sink (stove is to the left out of view)

Even some of the smaller units offered an outdoor kitchen

The dinette (converts to a bed) inside the Tab. The cabinets also serve as a pass-thru from the outside kitchen

See our article on “Extreme Travel Trailers” – Camping Trailers for Back Country Camping

Pictures & Links to some Ultra-Light & Pod Travel Trailers

Forest River’s Pod Campers offer the most conveniences but are heavier than most in this class, yet they still would be classified as light.
forestriverinc.com/rpod/

The T@b also offers a number of extra features or conveniences but in a compact package.

The So-Cal Teardrop trailers are light and compact but offer a few ingenious comfort and convenience options.

socalteardrops.com

The Little Guy is the T@b’s little brother for the ultra-lite travler whose primary interests are a good warm dry bed ready to go in minutes if not seconds.

golittleguy.com

Camp-Inn offers 3 pod models offering size and convenience choices.

tinycamper.com

ProLite offers eleven models of teardrop campers from ultra-lite, minimalist to well equipped but still very compact travel trailers.

ProLite Travel Trailers

Best Full Featured Compact Travel Trailers

Airstream Bambi FB20 — The Airstream Bambi 20FB Travel Trailer

See the Airstream Bambi and Top Picks of Compact Towable RVs – Small full-featured travel trailers suitable for extended stays and maybe even full-time RVing.

Nearby Madison 2023 RV Show Links

The Wisconsin RV Super Show

Chicago RV & Camping Show – See our Review and Info on attending

Madison RV and Camper Show

Calendar of Best RV Shows for 2023

See our RV Resources Page for links to helpful resources on finding campgrounds and RV parks.

Happy Traveling,

Roscoe

Chicago RV and Camping Show