In recent years Class A sales of used MH's from the USA has surged. Especially DP's. There are even dealers/brokers who were importing them on a large scale. RV'rs discovered that they could save anywhere from 15 to 20+% after expenses. On a $10,000 unit that is a substantial amount. Even new units were being imported. Importing also allowed the buyer to choose from a larger selection. This has all changed. Today it will cost almost 1.45 to buy a USD. Americans are crossing the border to buy used Canadian units that have not yet been priced with the weak Loony. How will this affect the sales of new units in Canada? Very few people can afford to buy a DP for say $250,000 and then pay an additional $100,000 in exchange. Dealers will also have to adjust the prices of their new units tro reflect the additional cost.. There are no Class A's being built in Canada. Even if there were the chassis and more than 50% of the coach is imported. This is very important for dealers as well as potential buyers. Will certainly affect the RV lifestyle of many Canadians. Naturally I am hoping the loony will recover. But that could take a long time. It might never again achieve anything close to par.Moisheh

I think your analysis is pretty much spot on.

I think what you will find is that the US dollar will drop down to the value of the loony. We can't continue to print money without consequences. Our National debt is unsustainable.

As long as there is all this turmoil in countries with really wealthy people the USA will be considered the safest place for investment. That keeps the USD high. But a 50 cent dollar will make Canada a much poorer nation. Remember Argentina? People would get their paychecks and run into the street to convert into USD. Their currency was dropping by large amounts every day! The weak Loonie will shatter the dreams of many new retirees. Forget snowbirding or a new RV.MoishehMoisheh

moisheh wrote:As long as there is all this turmoil in countries with really wealthy people the USA will be considered the safest place for investment. That keeps the USD high. But a 50 cent dollar will make Canada a much poorer nation. Remember Argentina? People would get their paychecks and run into the street to convert into USD. Their currency was dropping by large amounts every day! The weak Loonie will shatter the dreams of many new retirees. Forget snowbirding or a new RV.MoishehMoishehHard to say. In 2001 the loonie was .62 cents or there abouts. RV sales were fine. People were buying class A's, trailer's fifth wheels. There are two new truck camper companies in BC this year. The market adjusts. People go camping. Trade deficits disappears and industry hires like crazy to keep up with demand for goods at a cheap dollar. Already happening in the forestry industry.

moisheh wrote:As long as there is all this turmoil in countries with really wealthy people the USA will be considered the safest place for investment. That keeps the USD high. But a 50 cent dollar will make Canada a much poorer nation. Remember Argentina? People would get their paychecks and run into the street to convert into USD. Their currency was dropping by large amounts every day! The weak Loonie will shatter the dreams of many new retirees. Forget snowbirding or a new RV.MoishehMoishehThe higher the U.S. dollar the harder for their exports. The higher U.S. dollar makes manufacturing more profitable as they are paid in U.S. dollars. I import from 5U.S. companies and now with low dollar we are not doing none. local products are now cheaper.

Canadian Class A sales and the Loony | Good Sam Community

gonesouth
Explorer
Apr 12, 2016
If somebody is looking for a good used gasser, I saw an ad for an 03 Mountainnaire at C$29,000 which comes to about US$22,000. It was built in the US so I'm not thinking importing it to the US would be a problem.

I've imported rigs both ways and it isn't really a problem, though you have to follow the rules to the letter.
gonesouth
Explorer
Mar 30, 2016
Back in the late eighties I remember a year when we went from $1.10 US to 1.55. /stayed for a year but was back to par the year after that. I used to watch exchange rates daily and learned that it will be stable for a very short time, and predictions are like predicting the stock market.....the person who gets it right now won't be the one who gets it right next time.
Snowman9000
Explorer
Jan 16, 2016
John & Angela wrote:
One thing about the dollar being low is the massive up scaling in wineries and orcharding that happens when the dollar goes down. Its already noticeable in the valleys and in the interior. Every winery and orchard will be running full tilt and as always there will be massive labour shortages to get the crop in. We rely on trabajadores in large amounts to get this to all come together. Its going to be a nutso summer in the okanagan this year. There is one company that produces nothing but cherries in our area. They don't sell a single cherry in Canada. If you have a first aid ticket and speak spanish you have a job before you can say Hola starting at 18 bucks and hour as a crew chief.

Yes, markets are good like that.

Regarding forecasts, there is only one thing they are good for, but toilet paper works better for it. :)
I mean, did those same people forecast $30 oil?
John___Angela
Explorer
Jan 16, 2016
One thing about the dollar being low is the massive up scaling in wineries and orcharding that happens when the dollar goes down. Its already noticeable in the valleys and in the interior. Every winery and orchard will be running full tilt and as always there will be massive labour shortages to get the crop in. We rely on trabajadores in large amounts to get this to all come together. Its going to be a nutso summer in the okanagan this year. There is one company that produces nothing but cherries in our area. They don't sell a single cherry in Canada. If you have a first aid ticket and speak spanish you have a job before you can say Hola starting at 18 bucks and hour as a crew chief.
Jagtech
Explorer
Jan 16, 2016
We are seeing carrier loads of pickup trucks heading south out of Canada, as the value of the Canadian dollar drops. Good deals for US buyers.
The sad thing is that Canadian snowbirds will be re-thinking their plans to winter in the U.S. , and that will almost certainly cause financial hardships for resorts and tourist facilities in the U.S.
But this is all cyclical, and it will most likely turn around to where the $US and $CDN are more closely related, and things will be good again (I hope)!
Trap
Explorer
Jan 15, 2016
I'm 60 years old and I've seen a lot more subpar dollar than par dollar. If my memory is correct I can only ever remember a par dollar 4 times in that span of time. The last run of the par dollar was by far the longest that I can remember.
Canadians as always will adapt. Will it affect some of course, it may alter plans and change things.
Most likely I will see a par and subpar cycle again in my lifetime and life will go on.
moisheh
Explorer
Jan 15, 2016
Dollar is at 1.45. If you but US$ it will probably be 1.47 or more. I spoke with my RBC broker today. he says the next 5 months will be brutal for the dollar and the market. But they feel that the dollar will start to recover in 3Q and the market as well. They are forecasting a 75 cent dollar for the beginning of 2017 and that is what they think it will be for along time. Of course forecasting the Lonnie or the market is like guessing ! When the dollar was horrible more than 10 years ago Canada still had a good manufacturing base. Since then México has taken over most of the auto production. Many US corporations have closed their Canadian plants and moved the production to the US or Asia. In 2000 a weak dollar was good for manufacturers. Today it does little for our economy and actually raises the cost of living. Look for quick price increases for Electronics and other consumer goods.

Moisheh
cvbdsl
Explorer
Jan 15, 2016
It's already affecting the used car market in Canada. Article in the paper used an example of a car that a US dealer bought for $10K USD in Canada and sold in the US for 12K USD - making around $2K gross profit. Seems 200-300 cars a month are moving from ON to the US.

Maybe MH's might be next? Give me the right price in USD and I'd sell and buy again when I retire in 3 years.

Chris
bsinmich
Explorer
Jan 14, 2016
This is the year that Canada is on SAlE. I am thinking of going to Newfoundland for the bargain prices this summer. I always have a couple hundred Canadian dollars so I can start a trip any time. That is depreciating faster than the mutual funds here in the US.
GeeWillakers
Explorer
Jan 14, 2016
I'm in the market now for a used Class A. Don't need to buy as I'm not retiring for a year or two but going to look at a few in Vancouver this weekend. Prices do seem high in the used market where discounts probably aren't what they are for a new unit.

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