Consequences of RVing’s Unprecedented Surge

Like many on this forum we have had to adapt.

We still seldom make reservations but we now look for someplace for the weekend on Thursday rather than Friday this year.

We are seeing an awful lot of obviously very new units with very clean frames out there.

How long the fad continues remains to be seen.

Availability depends on when & what is wanted.Sunday to Thursday is easy.FHUs on the weekend, near impossible.

Adapterbility is the key.

There is little doubt that Covid drove many folks to adopt new hobbies and leisure pastime's and camping has seen a huge swell of newcomers. I too suspect that in a few seasons the glamour of it all will fade as rv's were never built well are coming off the line in even worse shape. Newbies will take them in for work and be stunned at the 2-3 month turn around for warranty jobs. Then the price of storage, the busy signals at parks or lack of available sites suiting their needs. Heck Ive been at this over 20 years and this year I want to quit rv'ing. I'm super frustrated at the overloaded campground system and all the "best kept secret spots" are overrun with folks that trash them. Many rigs will get repossessed and the market will be saturated with owners just trying to get out from their 15 year loans. No different if you want a mountain bike, kayak or other outdoor pursuits....Covid has left stores and rv lots picked over. I hope travel resumes and folks get back to what they did before. Fingers crossed anyways.

A friend was a first time RV buyer. It was so big, so roomy, so comfortable, so livable, so big, did I mention big? It was all these things, but the problem is he says most weekend trips he does not want to bother with it because it is so big, cost so much in gas, is such a hassle parking or pulling in, so much to clean after, the holding tanks (on any size) are not worth the trip (no his wife n daughter are not going to NOT use it), and me with my little small-as-can-be trailer (after many previous rvs) just hook and go with no thought of any of these worries...

This article is 10 months old. Looks like RV sales never slowed down.

https://rvbusiness.com/ssi-65303-retail-sales-in-may-12th-straight-record-month/

I see many first time buyers getting into very long 37' travel trailers and 42' plus 5th wheels for weekend trips. They are going to be frustrated once they actually try and use those. The ones I've talked to at dealers have never towed anything before either.

Almost all the first timers around here are grossly overloading their tow vehicles. I wish they would buy the smaller units and learn slowly instead of getting in over their heads. My family ignored me when I warned them. BUT, the dealer said their new Nissan Titan 4x4 four door truck could tow 9,000 or more easily in real mountains. I think they went on one trip and changed to a diesel F-250. Thankfully they had the money to do that.

I did lots of research before buying my first RV, thankfully the internet was running strong back then. I knew I would want larger trailers later so I never tried towing with my Ram 1500 truck, I went straight to a diesel 3500 back when the max trailer ratings were at 10,000 lbs for a 2wd dually! The good ole days.

I am already seeing this towing of smaller travel trailers behind small vehicles on the highways and campgrounds in large numbers. Also many TAD teardrop trailers and some pulled by motorcycles and all this only in past year or so.

The increase in the number of folks rving is certainly noticeable. But, I think in the next year or two, a lot of the folks that moved into rving due to the Covid virus will decide to get rid of their rvs. For a lot of folks, there is a lot more work involved in camping or traveling with an rv and many of the newer owners are going to decide to go back to more conventional methods of traveling/vacationing. My DW swears up and down that a lot of women are going to quickly decide that rving and the work involved is not their idea of a vacation. They are going to want to go back to hotel rooms with daily maid service, eating meals in restaurants and drinks served by the pool!!

And, I'm thinking that the next big change will be the number of new RVers that are going to want to own smaller rigs such as class B motorhomes or smaller and more innovative travel trailers that can be pulled by the daily suv! I may be wrong....but it is going to be interesting to see how rving changes in the next 5-10 years!

You missed posting this in some of the other sections.........

I’m hoping now that people will be back to work, and the enhanced unemployment benefits will be ending shortly, and summer will be over, that things will return to some sort of old normal!

But I have also noted that if hotels and rest areas were to allow for electric hookup reservations, they’d probably make out well as they’d get additional business from RVers who just need a spot to charge up and park overnight!

NamMedevac 70 wrote:
https://rvbusiness.com/woodbury-consequences-of-rvings-unprecedented-surge/

I ran across this article in another smaller so called RV forum and posting this for your thoughts if any. I am unaffected by this and therefore not alarmed, worried or upset. Happy trails to some.

Many RV sites are full, I've never seen such before along the beach areas. Air line flights have been growing 15% a month, I'm not one of them. I hate flying commercial these days, won't do it. But, I haven't had any issue finding overnight RV sites while traveling during the first half of the week in the Smokeys. I just got back from NC. Seems like everything decent was full by Thursday. When I was full timing I usually stayed a few months in one spot, so it wasn't too bad finding a place to go. I had plenty of time to find the next location.