Sep. 27—ELKHART — At the Elkhart RV Dealer Open House dozens of RV Manufacturers are meeting with dealers and sales reps this week to explore the industry's newest innovations.

"This is our opportunity to showcase all the brand new products for the 2023 model year," said Josh Miller, Keystone vice president of Sales. "Most of our dealers have not seen the stuff that we're presenting here and this is our first chance to get them excited about the new latest and greatest."

It's the first time the open house has been held since before the pandemic.

One interesting new concept is the convertible bar within the Keystone Fusion toy hauler. As opposed to sofas that are seated in the garage space usually, in the 2023 Fusion, a queen bed/sofa converts into a bar and is also lifted into a storage position so the garage can be used for a variety of other purposes from bedrooms, to toy hauling, paint studios, dog shows, grilling competitions.

"The product manager, he saw something similar in a boat, and he wanted to add it to this product line," said Jon Brock, director of Research and Development for Keystone. "The initial prototype was actually built out of wood and sticks early on into COVID."

Since then, Keystone has filed a patent for the concept.

"A doctor bought a couple of units that he brings to race tracks," said Rocco Lisa, district sales manager of Fuzion and Impact. "That way whenever they need to bring someone in and get something taken care of, this whole area can be mopped out and they can run them right up inside. There's really a lot of uses overall."

Another popular concept that's developing in the RVing industry, according to Miller, is smaller campers.

"It's really catering to those people that have lighter weight tow vehicles, and they want something a little easier to maneuver into tighter campsites, maybe get off the grid. That's a big growing segment for us," Miller said. Keystone is also expanding its solar and lithium battery offerings to help campers get off-grid while camping.

Keystone isn't the only manufacturer helping to take its consumers further off the grid either.

At Heartland, every unit is now prepped for solar power, for up to two 190-watt panels.

Catering to the consumer preference is also important for RV companies. Another way Heartland is doing that is by offering an air fryer in every new unit. It's a part of the oven set-up.

"How it is right now, everybody wants to have an air fryer," said Lesley Melvin, director of marketing for Heartland, Cruiser and DRV. "Space is huge when it comes to an RV, so rather than putting an air fryer on the top of the counter, it's now built into the oven."

Heartland has also launched a consumer app, which allows owners to enter their vehicle identification number to receive real-time updates about the state of their unit, tracking parts, warranty, service information and more.

Moving on into the future, with apps and other high-tech options, Entegra Coach recently did a complete upgrade of its dashboard, going entirely digital.

"We've had the same dash for 15 years," said Todd Hahn, regional sales manager for Entegra Coach. "Despite a host of new features, and popular features such as the largest windshield in the industry, keyless entry, and more, the dashboard has remained the same.

"I can do so much with this coach from the tower," Hahn explained. "I can put navigation (on the screen) and I put my camera there. You have side radar; you have front radar. About the only thing this doesn't have that you might have on a car would be lane centering or lane departure. I can level the coach here, climate control, shades. ... I can do so much from this tower."

Entegra Coach boasts many unique traits as compared to their counterparts in the industry, with thick floors and installation as one of many ways to create a quieter and smoother ride, but what Hahn described as a plunger-type apparatus helps to keep things in place while the RV is in motion.

"To make sure this (kitchen island) doesn't slide out when I turn a corner, there's an electromagnetic lock. When I release the air brake, the magnet holds it in so it doesn't roll out on you," Hahn said.

The Elkhart RV Dealer Open House is ongoing through Friday.

Dani Messick is the education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News. She can be reached at dani.messick@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2065.