Will we see a new surge of RV 1st timers?

[BuckyII]

Over the past week, my wife and I have had several discussions with different friends and acquaintances regarding travel options. Most have said they will be afraid to fly, take cruises and even stay in motels. One couple went so far as to say they were thinking of renting a Winnebago for when they drive North, to avoid motels. I realize these fears will subside somewhat over time. However, am wondering if we may see a significant rise of interest in RVing as a vacation alternative?

 

[Jim]

Over the past week, my wife and I have had several discussions with different friends and acquaintances regarding travel options. Most have said they will be afraid to fly, take cruises and even stay in motels. One couple went so far as to say they were thinking of renting a Winnebago for when they drive North, to avoid motels. I realize these fears will subside somewhat over time. However, am wondering if we may see a significant rise of interest in RVing as a vacation alternative?

Depending on how long the economic interruption lasts, there is a good chance there will be some attractive RV offers available. That coupled with the above mentioned fears, make a good atmosphere for new/more RV purchases in the future. Just my .02 of course.

 

[NWIP]

People have been more at home, spending more time with families and trying to relieve stress by doing things outdoors. In some areas this has had negative impact on social distancing closing many National parks like the Grand Canyon.

I think this pandemic may bring changes in the way people vacation bringing more people to the outdoors. This will benefit the RV industry but will not cure the effects that they will be facing.

 

[sheridany]

Does everyone remember buying their first RV? I sure do. It was a total comedy in hindsight. Bay doors opening not knowing how to turn on the wipers.

Here’s a guy who decides to buy a Prevost from watching Andrew Steele although he claims he’s driven big rigs all his life.

 

[Jim]

Does everyone remember buying their first RV?

That's a tad bit nicer than my first RV!

 

[steamyb]

Probably folks that have lost homes or apartments will downsize into RVs to avoid being homeless. Then as they travel looking for work, they will hopefully realize that they have not failed. The System failed them, the Dream was an illusion, and that our Worth is not the Sum of the Crap we Accumulated. IMHO

 

[Billie Bud]

I think you will see those who lose their livelihoods sell off their toys. At the same time, this will be an appealing way for folks who have never tried this way of traveling and vacationing.

I think new rv sales will go down somewhat, but the used market will be strong. I actually think it will be about the same with the exception of some being forced to sell as first timers come into the market.

 

[FL-JOE]

I tend to agree with Billie Bud's prediction. Many retired travelers were probably freaked out hearing stories about the poor souls trapped on cruise ships and/or stuck in another country when this whole thing took off. Also, depending on how congested their home metro area was they may have started thinking it would have been great to have an RV to get away from it all.

I think the market for new expensive RVs will suffer for a couple years. The cheaper pull behinds and general used market may not suffer much at all. Heck, with record low interest rates on the horizon some lower end types of RVs may even see a increase in sales.

 

[Neal]

What happens to housing may affect the RV sales. For example with lower rates it may trigger some that weren't ready to buy to buy which in turn means some getting to sell and convert from S&B into RV. Just a guess and potential side effect. Also some that were wanting to cash in on their real estate investment the time may be now vs. later.

 

[fish_fanatic]

I just purchased my second travel trailer Saturday and the all of the dealerships here in Utah are swamped. The dealership where I purchased mine sold 17 in a six hour span and our salesman stated that he believes many are buying them because they are concerned about losing their homes. He also thought that they were buying while their credit is still intact expecting for the worse. This pandemic has a lot of people making choices that may not be in their best interest and we can only hope circumstances change.

I am grateful my profession is considered to be essential but it is my opinion that everyone's source of income is essential. So in my opinion for sure we will see many, many new RV 1st timers and I think you will see a trend of more of them being the younger generation.

Randy

 

[Neal]

Interesting. Not what I expected but that is an interesting insight as to why. Hoping for the best for the RV dealerships and hope people are making wise decisions. I know a friend of my mother's in her 80's just bought a Class B she's always wanted and finally decided to do it. Not sure if she'll full time but it's a very interesting situation we'll be observing in the RV industry.

 

[fish_fanatic]

It is a very interesting and trying time for many that have never experienced anything like this before.

Personally I am over it and am ready to move on thus I upgraded my trailer.

 

[Neal]

Over the past year I've been really big into the motto that good will come from it, speaking of when bad things happen. If something is broken I'll make it better in the end. If I have to redo something, it will be better. This motto is becoming broader with each situation, I think in many other aspects of my life things will as a result be better. Attitude is 9/10's of the solution.

 

[RKins]

I just purchased my second travel trailer Saturday and the all of the dealerships here in Utah are swamped. The dealership where I purchased mine sold 17 in a six hour span and our salesman stated that he believes many are buying them because they are concerned about losing their homes. He also thought that they were buying while their credit is still intact expecting for the worse. This pandemic has a lot of people making choices that may not be in their best interest and we can only hope circumstances change.

I am grateful my profession is considered to be essential but it is my opinion that everyone's source of income is essential. So in my opinion for sure we will see many, many new RV 1st timers and I think you will see a trend of more of them being the younger generation.

Randy

I wonder if they are financing the RV. If they are worried about losing their S&B I doubt they would put their savings or much, on the new RV purchase - maybe a 3-5yr 0 interest deal?

 

[Billie Bud]

We’ve been out now camping for two weeks with one more to go south east coast. Here is what we’ve seen....

Campgrounds are full...this will be the way people vacation for the next two years, I believe. Even seeing tons of tent camping. This is the most amount of small trailers and teardrops with added screen rooms I’ve ever seen. Lots of new rvs, too, but most are pull behinds. I think folks are buying whatever they can pull behind their vehicle right now.

I have not seen but a few newer higher end class A’s. I think that is because most of those folks full time and are older and are not out on the road, yet, for the most part.

We are already booking things for next year twelve months in advance and finding it difficult to get the sites we want. I know for beach state parks that tends to be the norm, but even looking at the off season,it’s the same.

 

[Neal]

This morning I had a consultation with Microsoft Advertising to review the RVForums advertising setup and he offered at the start of our call about the uptick in RV activity. Later today this popped up in my Twitter feed:

 

[Billie Bud]

With Camping World, Thor, and Winnebago stocks moving up and latest announcement by Airstream that they are operating at full capacity now to fill orders, I think we can safely say new purchases are on the upswing and of those, many are first timers.

Also, folks are renting rvs like crazy. Some of these new purchases are people buying them and then renting them out. My niece just rented one on the spot and barely got it. The guy had just bought it the day before and had others on the list interested in renting behind her.

One of hubbys coworkers who has never rv’d before Is renting one and hitting the road to simply get away and work remotely.

 

[FL-JOE]

I think there is a mentality starting to grow where people are turning into modified preppers, or survivalists due to the covid-19.

I have read a couple news feeds recently that there are a growing number of Virologist and other Doctors that predict the covid-19 virus will be with us forever. It will not matter if someone comes up with a vaccine in 2020, 2021, or whenever, the virus will never go away but continue to circulate through the worlds population. The vast majority of the worlds population will develop an immunity to its effects and some day the worse cases could be no more serious than a bad cold. Many of them agree that they way we work and play will be changed forever.

If you believe even half of what some of these people are saying then the temptation to live self-sufficiently in an RV would be strong.

 

[Akdare]

Finally sold my old coach. Consigned it in January, and we all know what has happened since. The sales guy told me that he’s been really busy with sales of both new & used coaches...


It's the summer of the RV. Even Trump wants to get one
It's the summer of the RV. Even Trump wants to get one

 

[Jim]

Watching the market literately blow up with new sales, it looks like I may have picked a good time to build an RV park!

Congrats on selling the old coach @Akdare.