Things I saw at Quartzsite

I'm now a member of the "Q-Club", and I'm going back next year!

I’ve been to the desert (on a horse with no name)!

I’ve heard about the Quartzsite RV show for years, but the timing never worked out for me to attend. One issue is that while the Hershey show is a 90 minute drive from my Funkworks Lab near Hagerstown, MD, Quartzsite, AZ is 2,400 miles away which would be 33 hours of drive time. So it takes a flight, a rental car, and then a 2-hour drive from the Phoenix airport to Quartzsite. Under perfect conditions that’s a full day of travel there, and a day of travel back. And I’ve learned not to pet the scorpions!

That’s a big tent!

It’s one thing to see it in pictures, but it’s even bigger in real life. And baby, it’s cold inside. I found a few vendors selling infrared heaters, which was a popular spot for me in the morning.

Electric bike sales were booming!

I’m not sure how many Lectric Bikes they sold at the show, but I heard one bike salesperson say they moved 500 units (bikes). I believe it, because what started as a huge roped off area full of bikes at the beginning of the show was nearly empty by the time I arrived last Thursday.

I was hanging out with Tony Barthel and the team from MasterVolt (ABC Marketing) discussing solar, lithium batteries and powering RV air conditioners off-grid). So at my suggestion, Tony and Peggy set up their Jackery 1500 and 100-watt solar panel as a test of charging their Lectric bike battery on solar power alone. I’ll do a full article on solar charging electric bikes later, but it worked perfectly. And I could have sold Tony’s Lectric bike a dozen times that afternoon. 😁

Yes, I did teach an RVelectricity Seminar

I had an SRO (Standing Room Only) seminar one afternoon, which actually spilled out of the media tent and into the walkway. Since I was the last seminar of the day, I answered more questions after the class in the media tent as Tony brought me a (well deserved) beer. And then we moved over to his camp, and I answered more questions for an hour (and drank more beer 🍺). You all must really want to know about electricity!

I’ll probably teach a 3-day MasterClass at Quartzsite next year.

One hour just isn’t enough time to do a full overview of RV electricity elements, so I’m signing up for a 3-day MasterClass at Quartzsite next year. Each 1-hour seminar will be followed by a 1-hour Q&A session next door. And if we’re clever enough, Tony and I might try to live stream it simultainiously. That would allow you to attend my 3-part RVelectricity Quartzsite MasterClass no matter where you are in the world. Please comment if you like the idea.

Let me know if your group will be at Quartzsite (or any other Show/Rally) next season…

If so, I might be able to schedule a special 1-hour seminar for your rally group out in a remote camping area. I know you’re out there, but I don’t know who you are. So please leave a comment below, or contact me directly on this blog.