RV rentals up by 1600%

Ray,IN · August 2, 2020

Also new RV sales are outpacing production. https://rvbusiness.com/brisk-sales-of-rvs-outpacing-production-plants-humming/

For anyone contemplating, this might be the best time to sell.

Edited August 2, 2020 by Ray,IN

Kirk W · August 2, 2020

RV rentals up by 1600%

aztex · August 2, 2020

I gotta tell ya....

Getting my Airstream when I did back in March was THE best decision I've made in a long time!

It's a 2019 and last one in stock almost nationwide. I found one other NOS across the country for 10% more! I backed out of the deal twice and dealer sweetened the deal each time till I could't refuse!

Now you can hardly find one! Dealers that had dozens in stock down to less than 10 if that!

I spoke with Tweedy's in Texas about some gear and he explained to me they are selling better than ever BUT now very concerned about replenishing stock! Being in business myself I get the problem of selling out and not able to restock. Worse than no sales in one sense... You can always have a sale BUT when shelves empty you're out of business!

I think this may last a while....don't manufacturers build for spring sales and slow production in summer /fall? Remains to be seen if they can adjust production as they will be hurting for lack or appliances and small parts as well!

DON'T SELL YOUR RV! I guarantee you will regret it!

fly2low · August 2, 2020

2 hours ago, aztex said:

I

DON'T SELL YOUR RV! I guarantee you will regret it!

I hope not, as I am putting mine on the market in a week or two

Danandfreda · August 2, 2020

We will have a 2011 mobile suites ready to sell in October when our new horizon gets done. Hopefully a good time to sell

aztex · August 2, 2020

12 minutes ago, Danandfreda said:

We will have a 2011 mobile suites ready to sell in October when our new horizon gets done. Hopefully a good time to sell

28 minutes ago, fly2low said:

I hope not, as I am putting mine on the market in a week or two

I suppose the caveat would be if you're getting out of the RV game entirely or have another lined up 100%.

Just did a search of a large local dealers inventory and Airstreams are sold out. 54 units incoming ~80% spoken for and no promise of arrival dates... Mid priced 5th wheels very few and over $100K models have slim pickin's!

Class A diesel; sold out

Class A gas; 1 in stock, 16 incoming and half sale pending....

Dozens if not 100's incoming with no delivery date posted...

Question is; is the panic over or will people plan for long term, next summer RV'ing? Sales traditionally slow in the fall. Dealers play fast and loose with sales numbers so I'd be even more concerned about a pig in a poke buy...

May be a risk trying to score big money on a sale right now in hopes of stepping into a newer model...again above caveats noted. But flipping RVs is a losers game.

Danandfreda · August 2, 2020

We’ve bought and sold a lot of campers and never felt we lost money. IF you buy right and take care of it and do the maintenance and sell it right you can get above blue book price if it’s the right buyer. We haven’t sold all that way but for the use we get out of it it’s a win. We are just selling ours because we are full time and have no place to keep it so our price will be a win for the buyer. It’s is less than we payed 3 years ago but it wasn’t new and we’ve been full time since February, rving is not a money maker it a lifestyle decision

rynosback · August 3, 2020

7 hours ago, fly2low said:

I hope not, as I am putting mine on the market in a week or two

Should sell quick.

Kirk W · August 3, 2020

15 hours ago, fly2low said:

I am putting mine on the market in a week or two

Are you giving up the road, or just changing RVs?

hdrider · August 3, 2020

We are pondering selling our New Horizon this coming winter, but only to build a new and bigger unit.

trailertraveler · August 3, 2020

I have a feeling that the boom may be relatively short lived. RV sales were going down in 2018 and 2019. If as the articles seem to indicate the increase in sales and rentals is the result of people still wanting to travel, their interest in RVing may wain as their previous types of travel become available again. In my opinion, Rving is more work than staying in a motel or bed and breakfast. There have been numerous discussions on this and other RV forums the past couple of years about RV sites becoming harder to find. Infrastructure like campgrounds and RV parks can not respond to changes in demand nearly as fast as RV production. Public campgrounds like state and national parks in popular destinations that take reservations were often booked months in advance even before the current situation. For families, facilities and programs at campgrounds and other points of interest may be reduced or not available at all. How that will work out for all the new RVers this summer is yet to be seen.

There was a statement in one of the articles that most of the sales have been in small towable RVs (I'm guessing lower price point), which have always dominated production in recent years. There have been many discussions about quality control. Will that suffer with ramped up production? Will that affect the longevity of new RVers in the community? I have read statements on this forum speculating that relatively few fulltimers last long term in the lifestyle. I suspect that is also true for many vacation RVers.

Like everything else about the current situation and the future, it is mostly unknown.

fly2low · August 4, 2020

13 hours ago, Kirk W said:

Are you giving up the road, or just changing RVs?

Changing RVs. Someone is going to get a good unit. We have taken very good care of the rig, and I like it, but I want more room and HP.

Ray,IN · August 4, 2020

We to are discussing selling our MH, we both have health issues that restrict extended trips now; and we just spent $5K replacing the injector pump distributor module at Cummins Great Plains.