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  1. #1
    Site Team traveldawg's Avatar
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    Bad News / more Bad News - RV Sales.

    I'm seeing a lot of news about RV dealers seeing sales increases - a lot. Laced into the articles are comments about how folks are tossing out traditional vacations (e.g. hotels, airlines) in favor of hitting the "open road".

    My conclusions so far are kind of pessimistic - at least for me personally. It just seems campgrounds will be even more difficult to get into and manufacturers will be even more reluctant to consider any changes/options/packages to what they build (can GD really get more inflexible? - not sure about that).

    On the positive side I suppose it is good for the economy and the campgrounds. Campgrounds especially as i imagineer they took some big hits with income recently. So that's something I can be glad about.

    It doesn't matter to me that manufacturers are being so inflexible and unwilling to make changes or even offer different options/packages since I am not in the market. So - just sayin'

    The biggest impact I think will be on campgrounds. Many were already hard to get into with reservations made well in advance. The uptick in new owners can only exacerbate that.

    Same goes for BLM places, free camping sites, and boon docking - it was already hard to find places there too near popular locations. And I think the newcomers will want to be in popular places. Maybe not so much of a problem in remote places but I don't see newcomers going there.
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  2. #2
    Paid my dues 😁 FT4NOW's Avatar
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    On the other side of that is many people who think it's a good idea and buy an RV only to learn they really dont like it so much. Maybe in the distant future there will be a lot of slightly used models available for purchase which could help someone who is in the market or this could make it a good time to trade in your current RV for a different one. There is always a positive side to these negative outlooks, just depends what your current situation is. Also, I dont see a brand new RVer going to try out dry camping unless they have a background which includes previous dry camping, in a tent or something similar.

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  3. #3
    Big Traveler Wicked ace's Avatar
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    Just when it looked like the Millennials were getting over their infatuation with camping and I could get back to being a happy traveling Gypsy the world gets socked with a pandemic and then everyone else trying to crowd into the same space.
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    Last edited by Wicked ace; 05-10-2020 at 11:19 AM.
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  4. #4
    Big Traveler boyscout's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by traveldawg View Post
    I'm seeing a lot of news about RV dealers seeing sales increases - a lot. Laced into the articles are comments about how folks are tossing out traditional vacations (e.g. hotels, airlines) in favor of hitting the "open road".

    My conclusions so far are kind of pessimistic - at least for me personally. It just seems campgrounds will be even more difficult to get into and manufacturers will be even more reluctant to consider any changes/options/packages to what they build (can GD really get more inflexible? - not sure about that).

    On the positive side I suppose it is good for the economy and the campgrounds. Campgrounds especially as i imagineer they took some big hits with income recently. So that's something I can be glad about.

    It doesn't matter to me that manufacturers are being so inflexible and unwilling to make changes or even offer different options/packages since I am not in the market. So - just sayin'

    The biggest impact I think will be on campgrounds. Many were already hard to get into with reservations made well in advance. The uptick in new owners can only exacerbate that.

    Same goes for BLM places, free camping sites, and boon docking - it was already hard to find places there too near popular locations. And I think the newcomers will want to be in popular places. Maybe not so much of a problem in remote places but I don't see newcomers going there.
    In Canada, an often-used "fact" is that nearly half of Canadians are within a few hundred dollars of meeting their obligations each month. Stretched awfully thin - is something like that going on in the U.S. too?

    If so, the RV life may look like an inexpensive alternative after people are forced to sell or walk away from bricks and mortar homes as a result of pandemic disruptions. More pressure still.

    However it may be self-correcting. Getting a campsite is easy-peasy compared to getting service so there may soon be so many broken RVs around that people will just abandon them in place where they will rot and fertilize the desert for your return to boondocking.
    Mark - 2018 Solitude 310GK - 2017 F-350 diesel SRW short box - Pullrite Superglide hitch

  5. #5
    Seasoned Camper RobertS377's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FT4NOW View Post
    On the other side of that is many people who think it's a good idea and buy an RV only to learn they really dont like it so much. Maybe in the distant future there will be a lot of slightly used models available for purchase which could help someone who is in the market or this could make it a good time to trade in your current RV for a different one. There is always a positive side to these negative outlooks, just depends what your current situation is. Also, I dont see a brand new RVer going to try out dry camping unless they have a background which includes previous dry camping, in a tent or something similar.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
    I whole heartedly agree. If you have ever owned a boat , especially a big one, you quickly realize what is involved...like big bucks. We’ve been there and I’m sure there are many on this site who have as well

    I think a lot of folks may buy an RV In these times only to find it’s not for them for whatever reason, which could result in a good used RV market.
    Last edited by RobertS377; 05-10-2020 at 11:51 AM.

  6. #6
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    I'm seeing a lot of news about RV dealers seeing sales increases - a lot. Laced into the articles are comments about how folks are tossing out traditional vacations (e.g. hotels, airlines) in favor of hitting the "open road".
    I haven't seen that news, but, it doesn't surprise me much, and RV is as perfect a "social distancing while vacationing" tools as you can possibly build. Completely self-contained, can bring your own food (no need to interact with locals), never need to see/talk to someone to check in, no elevators, no choke points. I mentioned in another thread, but my mother, who had no interest in RV's before, actually asked me to help her make a long drive supporting her with the RV (so she doesn't have to stay in hotels, go out to eat, go the bathroom at rest areas, etc). It's not a huge leap of logic from "I need to be self-contained while traveling" to "I need/want an RV". It's also one of the reasons that I bought an RV (although, before COVID hit), I really like solitude and isolation from other people, I have more airline and hotel points that I can ever use, I could fly to Dubai and stay in the "7 star" hotel for months without spending a dime of my own money. I don't because, honestly, I can't stand the people all over me (in really high end hotels) or the crowds of people in airports or the terribly limited personal space (even in business class). I got an RV for a lot of reasons, but being "independent" was a big one, I really prefer that much more than people falling over themselves to "help" me (get a tip).

    I do wonder, particularly if this goes on for awhile, what will happen to the RV business. It could be an absolute boon, people move from Airbnb to "buy a rig and drive it somewhere for our vacations". Could also be a complete bust as people have less disposable income and scale back. I really don't know. What I'm near sure of though, the bans on RV travel/RV parks are insanity and need to end soon. So, I can't go to an RV park, but I can rent a hotel room 2 miles away in a high rise building with 1000 rooms? In what goddarn planet does that make sense. Hiking trails closed, restaurants open at 50% capacity?! Let's be honest and really assess risk here people. And, when that happens, I think RV travel is going to come close to the top (if not the top) of the list for the "safest way to travel". As it should; if the goal here is "distance", RV's are about as good as it gets.

    I found one video, hadn't seen it before, but it does support what you're saying (and what logic would seem to dictate here!):

    https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6154987260001/
    Last edited by Overtaxed; 05-10-2020 at 12:35 PM.

  7. #7
    Site Team traveldawg's Avatar
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    I think mostly I see news updates on sales, expect sales, etc. from RV Business. Here are a few articles...

    Camping World

    Here is one about rentals. . Geesh - I hate to see that. too many times these folks are new the experience and have no idea about some basic campground etiquette let alone how to maneuver or make utility connections. I helped a lot of these "campers" last season.

    Another rental review.

    There are more on the RV Business web site.

    I would have thought with so many people out of work they wouldn't have the money for an RV. My (bad) logic was they have a house payment, at least one car payment and then a RV or boat payment and the first payment they'd default on would be the toys. I guess I was wrong.

    Time to start planning the 2021 trips so I can get the spots I want.
    Larry KE4DMG
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    2019 310GK-R - Sailuns; MorRyde IS; Disc Brakes; 20K Reese Goosebox
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  8. #8
    Big Traveler
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    Wow, that Camping World stock performance is out of this world! It's nearly tripled in what, a month and a 1/2? If this rages on, I do think that the RV business, assuming people still have the money to spend, may in fact be one of the winners coming out of this. Which, in some ways is good, Grand Design will be a going concern, warranty service will be available, new models might be released. In other ways, not so good, the more business they do, the less they'll care about any individual customer, quality may suffer, stuff like that.

    Either way, I do think people are going to realize that, in this new world, RV's provide a real, safe, fun way to get away without putting yourself and others at risk; that could lead to very good and very bad things for all of us.

  9. #9
    Site Sponsor Skiddy's Avatar
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    I wonder about the increase in sales. Maybe it’s regional? Last year we stopped by a local dealership to check out the 2450RL, that plan was not available when we bought. I have had at least one call a week from the dealership (and others who sell GDRV) asking if I was still interested or could they help me with something else. They do seem to be working the phones of existing/previous clients.
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  10. #10
    Seasoned Camper chemist308's Avatar
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    We had a couple parked next to us that became full time because of what happened to their house. The story was essentially that they traveled for work, and came back to a house with everything stolen. They had to travel again and came back to missing wiring--yes, people stole the copper.

    Incidentally, I've also wondered if this is backlash from the great recession. I'm told a similar thing happened years after the great depression, because folks lost faith in home values and mortgages. I wonder if there's any truth to that.
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