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RV Sales -- Good News / Bad News


Zulu

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We were there at our Montana rally in Sept there is not enough room to park the completed RV's and not enough transport drivers to deliver them .  Tthe unemployment rate in that area was under 3%..

Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky

SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter.

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So glad that the RV industry is doing good, however, they do need to do a better job an construction and quality control.  They are taking advantage of the new people and selling many units that are border line junk and will start to fall apart in a couple of years.  

The other problem is the limited RV parks and the volume of long term residents.  Our RV club is loosing one park that we use a couple of times annually for rallies.  The park was purchased by investors from California that have decided that the park will no longer accept rallies.  It will become a full time or long term park.  It is all about the money.  They would rather have a full park with a steady income of monthly users rather than having 30 or 40 sites for rallies, plus the upkeep of a rally building.  They do say they will have a FEW sites held open for overnight stays.

We have run across several places that no longer accepts rallies. 

With all of the Millennials and the up swing in weekend use, it is very hard to get sites in the state parks and corp parks on any weekend unless you book 6 months out.  So the spontaneity of a trip and stopping where ever you want, is pretty much gone.  Campground rates are going up and more never places are taking the RESORT approach.  They have amenities that are not of interest to me or my wife.  We have no interest in swimming pools, hot tubs, exercise rooms, golf courses, media rooms, concrete pads and roads with grass and manicured lawns.  

The industry and the RV lifestyle is changing and not necessarily for the better in my opinion.

Ken

Amateur radio operator, 2023 Cougar 22MLS, 2022 F150 Lariat 4x4 Off Road, Sport trim <br />Travel with 1 miniature schnauzer, 1 standard schnauzer and one African Gray parrot

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On 12/7/2017 at 1:24 PM, rm.w/aview said:

Getting the walk-in sites at State Parks to avoid the reservable sites is easier mid week, unless of course someone plants their RV there mid week to ensure a weekend spot. 

We are currently hosting at a Texas State Park, where all of the sites are reservable. For much of the year you cannot get a site on Friday or Saturday night as they are all reserved months in advance. So even mid-week travel doesn't solve the issue for some state park systems. 

Sadly, a significant percentage of the reserved sites go unused as folks don't show up (for whatever reason). But the park holds the site for the first reserved night, in case of late arrival. By then the site can't be released back into the system in time for someone else to reserve it for Saturday night. An imperfect system, to be sure...

Mark & Teri

2021 Grand Designs Imagine 2500RL, 2019 Ford F-350

Mark & Teri's Travels

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26 minutes ago, freestoneangler said:

It is my belief that the HUGE volume of used stock, as Baby Boomers begin to call it quits, will start impacting new sales.  I also suspect this is going to happen to the RV Park models - where supply will exceed demand and drive prices lower.

That will be a good thing for anyone wanting to buy.

When is this going to happen?

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49 minutes ago, freestoneangler said:

It is my belief that the HUGE volume of used stock, as Baby Boomers begin to call it quits, will start impacting new sales. 

The industry news is projecting that 2018 will be an even bigger sales year than this one. But it is a market that goes up and down a lot, mostly with good or bad economic times. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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24 minutes ago, Kirk Wood said:

The industry news is projecting that 2018 will be an even bigger sales year than this one. But it is a market that goes up and down a lot, mostly with good or bad economic times. 

Hi Kirk. My point is that I see the boomer population projecting a different dynamic/factor on what the historical RV market up's and down's have shown.  Two principal reasons for my thinking; first just the very large population we're talking about, and second the amount of those retiring early and with amounts of income the subsequent generations are unlikely to experience in such numbers.

52 minutes ago, Biker56 said:

That will be a good thing for anyone wanting to buy.

When is this going to happen?

I think it is already starting as the back end of the "GG" and very front end of the boomers are reaching the point where RV travel and/or park model ownership is no longer feasible.  As a tail end boomer, it could be a great market for a buyer. It would be particularly so if we have another down real estate market as recreational properties often take a worse hit.  But that could also be a bad thing if the basic infrastructure that supports the RV parks starts to deteriorate (thinking more park model parks here; HOA issues, lot lease and park mgmt. problems, etc.).  Just my .02 cents worth and cloudy crystal balls worth. :lol:

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The RV industry is  almost entirely dependent on the economy.We have seen the effect of the economy on RV sales, Campgrounds, Snowbirding .It makes no  difference what generation you are you got to have the $$ to purchase and since RV's are primarily a luxury item they are the first to suffer. The Goshen, Elkhart,In area manufacturers about 80% of all rv's  and we have seen the effect on that area when the economy tanks.The economy went into recovery in mid 2009 and has been booming since.The RV industry will remain strong as long as the economy does. The unemployment rate in that  area is @ 3% now and it was @ 26% at the economy low point.

 This area in Central  Florida has the same issue as the economy is dependent of the attraction  industry  and all that supports it hotels, motels, restaurants, resorts, snowbirds.When the economy tanked it was rough  here. It to has been booming since mid 2009 every year we think it can get no better but it has every year. It has slowed somewhat this season but not due to our economy . The European and some South American economies are soft and they are not showing up in their usual numbers. WDW has laid off workers in the resort area as reservations have dropped.The snowbirds are still strong but a strong USA economy is not enough to  maintain WDW's profit margin.  We hope it keeps up but we keep a close eye on the market and our 401K

Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky

SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter.

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