What is this thing “Quartzsite?” For any RVer who has looked at a map, it’s a small town in Arizona. Very small. According to the Quartzsite Chamber of Commerce, Quartzsite is a small town in the Arizona desert off I-10 that is surrounded by BLM land, only about 17 miles from the southern California border and 100 miles from Mexico.
While normally a quiet desert community during the summer, it starts filling up in October with winter RV snowbirds seeking to avoid snow shovels and heating bills. The local population swells from as little as 3,000 to over 2 million.
The weather is a huge draw as well with daytime temps often in the 70s. There are thousands of acres of open, flat land, 11,000 acres of which are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) but there are also 70 RV parks in the area.
The Big Draw
With an audience of well over two million RVers, two major phenomena happen: Tyson Wells and the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show.
Tyson Wells is a 25-acre outdoor show with 2.2 miles of aisle frontage with vendors putting up tents filled with anything from wood carvings to tools you didn’t know you’d need to water filters, RV parts and more. It’s a flea market of super size that knows the audience is out there in an RV.
There is also a vendor who sets up a very large tent that is as large as some grocery stores and stocked almost as well. Many of the provisions are canned and shelf-stable, but there is a selection of fresh items as well.
But the main stage is the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show which is a nine-day extravaganza of RV and home goods under what quite literally is a giant circus tent with an atmosphere to match.
The show goes nine days – Jan. 18-26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (3 p.m. closing day) at 700 S. Central Blvd., Quartzsite, Ariz. Among its appeal are the latest gadgets for those looking for upgrades to their RVs as well as simply learning more about the RV lifestyle with workshops and seminars. Attendance at the event is free for spectators, as is parking. Located just off Interstate 10, 125 miles west of Phoenix and just 20 miles from the California border, this sleepy little town plays host to an RV extravaganza that started in 1982.
The tent that houses the event has grown again this year to 650 feet in length with show promoter Kimmy King describing it as being 40 feet longer than last year.
“We had a big jump – exhibitor participation is up this year,” she told RVBusiness.
While some have said that this isn’t really an RV show, per se, that’s only part of the story. “There’s a little bit of everything because the show is a little bit of everyone,” King said.
The event is a destination, a huge rock and mineral show and an exceptional people-watching venue. Attendees will be able to walk through hundreds of new and pre-owned RV models and there will be over a dozen, fully-staffed RV service bays offering repairs and service plus immediate installation of many of the items exhibited and sold at the show.
It’s also a selling show – last year Lectric eBike company sold containers of bicycles with a test track set-up for demonstration rides.
The big tent is surround by additional exhibitors including food, Internet connectivity and a smaller seminar tent. The seminars have proven to be quite popular with this reporter’s company being in charge of the tent and presenters like Mike Sokol and Todd Hensen. There will also be a meet and greet of some of the more notable RV Content Creators who attend the show at 4 p.m., Friday, Jan. 24.
History of the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show
The big tent event was the brainchild of Kenny King who was selling RV awnings at the time. Quartzsite was already a gathering for RVers and, on the drive back to his home in Southern California ,Kenny told his wife, “I can put on an RV show there.”
From that inspiration the show grew with Kenny partnering with Mal Mallory.
“Mal really set up the grounds to have the show. Kenny was the front of house, Mal was the kitchen,” said Kimmy King, Kenny’s daughter.
Founder Kenny King remarked that the property that the show was on came with a surprise – a good source of water. In 2015 the King family bought out Mallory.
Kimmy got her degree in Criminal Justice but started helping around the office. At the same time she took on more responsibilities at the business until, in 2018, she was running the show while Kenny could be the face of the operation, which he enjoyed. In 2021, Kenny passed away, leaving Kimmy with full responsibility for the operation. Her first solo year included a rain storm and huge winds, both of which are very unusual for the show. Oh, and this was the same year Covid was part of the landscape.
More highlights of the show
Those who don’t already have an RV, or might be interested in an upgrade, should know that RV Country, a dealership with 14 locations in the Western U.S., is back again with over 250 RVs on display. From small trailers to huge towables and motorized rigs according to Curt Curtis. Part of the appeal of the show is the choice of RVs, with pricing Curtis describes as show pricing.
“We’re probably more aggressive than normal here just to accommodate interest rates,” noted Curtis in describing the price structure. “The snowbirds are arriving daily.”
On opening days there will also be live music this year with popular full-time RV duo The Border Hookups performing on Saturday and the Heber Ridge Duo on Sunday.
Camping in Quartzsite
With all that open land there are a huge number of groups who gather in Quartzsite with interests of all sorts. Bands of people with the same brand of RV, people with similar interests, old friends and a variety of RV associations all stake out their corners of the open land and gather to rekindle friendships. Yes, there is even a portion of the desert carved out for those who prefer to limit their attire to what they were born with.
One of the big collections of campers are followers of Bob Wells and participate in the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous. Wells gained fame on YouTube for his videos advocating Cheap RV Living, his channel’s name. He was also featured in the movie Nomadland which reflected a lot of the Wells’ followers.
In fact the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous is a gathering of nomads who trade tips on living a low-cost lifestyle in everything from cars to RVs. Now organized by the Homes On Wheels Alliance, which seeks to provide resources for these followers, their gathering is a very popular event unto itself. There is a specific gathering for women followers only from Jan. 8-10 and then for the entirety of the organization from January 11-16.
A good number of these followers attend the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show to find work throughout the year and the number of opportunities in the tent rewards many with plentiful employment opportunities.
Quartzsite is a truly unusual place for so many reasons, but many of the people who go to escape winter’s chill find a camaraderie and lifestyle that draws them back year after year.
The post Organizers Report ‘Big Jump’ for 2025 Quartzsite RV Show first appeared on RVBusiness - Breaking RV Industry News.