MATS 2012

I registered and two really great loads came up so I passed. Hopefully, I will be able to make it next year. It seems easier for me to go to GATS than MATS, even though I only live 5 hours from Louisville. Dallas was great last year.

 

Yes, lot of great venders,

Like, truck lite, is coming out with LED head lights for the Volvo's in 3 to 6 months. ( 1,400 lumes per head light)

 

9+mpg and your meeting at Papa johns....does not compute


to me, if your getting 9+, your meeting at smith&wollensky's.

6 and under mpg meet at papa johns

 

We made it back in one piece a few hours ago. It turned out to be a great trip, despite my best efforts to screw it up through last minute non-planning. The show was fine anyway.

Friday was packed. Due to the aforementioned bad planning, we got there about 1pm, ended up parking way in the back 40 in the mud. Through coincidence, we prowled the vendor areas in the west and north wings and still managed to see what I had planned to. Guessing most of the crowds were pawing the big equipment displays in the south wing.

Saturday was actually a better day crowd-wise. An earlier start got us in there about 10:30 and parking was a lot better. We went for the south hall to see the new equipment and got a look at everything we came for. The show was less crowded with people. However, being the weekend, those fewer people had their out of control children along, climbing all over everything. I'm not a kid-hater or anything, but I can tell you if at that age I was doing half of what those kids were doing, I'd have been sitting out the rest of the day out in the parking lot with a knot on my head. Not a great big deal, but this is why I quit going to the new car shows. Next year I'll definitely skip Saturday though. Besides that, the show closed earlier Saturday at 4pm, so vendors were tearing stuff down pretty quickly starting at about 3pm.

I will be planning ahead for next time, at least getting a room reserved way in advance. I did the same last minute thing for Dallas last fall, but Louisville is definitely not thick with hotels like DFW is.

We had a great time meeting up with BBB and his better half Friday night for some good food and conversation, and even managed to prop up the finances of the poor local casino while we were in there. Hard work, but someone's gotta do it LOL

 

Heard he treated you and your wife to dinner? Still owe you a lunch myself next time I get down that way. Thanks for the help and keep in touch.

 

When I go to GATS I always plan on what I really want to see. If I have time to see other things, then great. That is good to do at any truck show. If you plan it right and see what you came for first, then you can take your time and see other things without feeling in a rush. There is plenty of parking, but you may need to do some walking to get inside. The earlier the better. You can also sometimes get a good deal on items you may want to purchase. I bought a height stick one year and saved about $35. I planned on buying it anyway, but saved money by buying at the show. You can find about anything you want at these truck shows. They will even sell you a new truck. The show in Dallas will usually have some heavy traffic due the location. It is at I-30 and where I-35E come together. I have never taken my truck since I have familiy who allow me to use a vehicle, but there is a lot of truck parking.