op-up shops are the rage today — “flash” retailers opening short-term spaces that last for just a few days, often to feed a fad from athletic shoes to fast dining entrees. Imagine, though, if this concept took over an entire city; as you drive down major routes, you spy location after location displaying their top designs for the coming year.
Yup, you’re in Nirvana.
And it really does happen. That’s kind of how Elkhart, Indiana, looks during the Elkhart RV Open House. It’s four hectic days where virtually every major (and many smaller) manufacturers gear up to introduce their new models to RV dealers that fly or drive to northern Indiana from most every U.S. state and Canadian province. It’s estimated that 3,000 to 5,000 dealer personnel visit Elkhart during this late September event.
During those four days, the staff of RVBusiness buzzes around town, viewing hundreds of new RVs slated for production in order to present what it considers to be the best new towable and motorized RVs. For the 2023 model year, editors of RV Enthusiast joined them in visiting dozens of RV manufacturers during this event. At each stop, we viewed new models and queried executives, product managers and engineers to learn how certain designs and products were developed — and how they were expected to impact the industry.
Everyone involved then collects their notes — and their opinions — for RVB Executive Editor Rick Kessler, and the discussions begin. Eventually, a consensus is reached and a list of “Top Debuts” is compiled; from it, select RVs are selected as finalists for “RV of the Year” — and from that lineup, one model is chosen as the year’s penultimate RV.
This year, that model was the Winnebago HIKE 100 FLX.
And, while Open House is closed to the public, RV Enthusiast readers are the first consumers to see many of these units for the first time. The following pages showcase 19 of the best models destined for dealer lots in the coming months. They are distinguished by badging denoting the “RV of the Year,” the other nine “Top 10” units that the RV of the Year was selected from, and a handful of “Top Debuts” worthy of your attention. Every one of the RVs highlighted on the following pages brings something unique to the industry and deserves accolades — and strong consideration should you be in the market for a new RV this year.
Special thanks to RVBusiness Publisher Sherm Goldenberg, Chief Revenue Officer Gregg Fore, Executive Editor Rick Kessler, Editor Gary Gerard and Photography Director Shawn Spence, as well as writers Ben Quiggle, Ron Barger, Jim Mac and Travis Pryor for their assistance in creating this special section.
