Hyperinflating RV prices and people who pay any price

Looks like a popular subject. Thanks for the replies. Lots of differing opinions. I'm going to go ahead and believe that it's not "different this time" and that we're going to see some pretty cheap RVs in the coming years. Historically, they are one of the worst financial "investments" a person could make insofar as depreciation is concerned. I see a lot of money going up in smoke.

As a cash buyer, now isn't my time. In the future, it will be. I'm going to put some money into my 5th wheel this summer and continue to use it. According to NADA guides, it has only depreciated $2,500 in the past 8+ years. That's like $26 and change per month. Hah! And as a full-timer I have used this thing more than most people.

bighatnohorse wrote:
Our long planned trip to Africa was delayed (maybe permanently) due to Covid19. It was big bucks.
Money sitting in the bank is no good. We bought a new camper.

Tanzania & Kenya are open.

Thought about going back but we are looking at Ecuador and the Galapagos right now.

mkirsch wrote:
Oh, and I wouldn't consider $1400 or even $4000 as "hyperinflating."

Beat me to it.

Replaced our trailer last fall. Got 1/3 off the MSRP without a hassle.

Might it have been a few hundred cheaper a year before...maybe but nothing crazy.

Our long planned trip to Africa was delayed (maybe permanently) due to Covid19. It was big bucks.
Money sitting in the bank is no good. We bought a new camper.

mkirsch wrote:
Look, you all know what happened last year about this time. The world shut down completely for THREE MONTHS and for many months after that there wasn't much going on.

But you could go camping..

Not so. Most of campgrounds shut down solid at the time, where even last fall campgrounds had lot of restrictions.
Mostly bathrooms were closed.
Last spring AZ and NV kicked out all snowbirds, what created quite a situation.
When I expect that some hotel travelers will sell the RV they bough last year, some of them might actually like the idea.
Just last Saturday my friends tried to drive their RV via Red Rock Canyon Park.
The park had so many visitors that they close the gate and made it "by appointment only". When this is happening when Covid is still in force, what can we expect in July?

Oh, and I wouldn't consider $1400 or even $4000 as "hyperinflating."

Look, you all know what happened last year about this time. The world shut down completely for THREE MONTHS and for many months after that there wasn't much going on.

But you could go camping.

It was BIG NEWS on all the outlets that RVs of all types were flying off the lots as people with nothing better to do bought RVs and hit the road.

In the meantime the RV manufacturers were shut down. The supply chain STILL hasn't caught up and probably won't for at least another year.

This is simple SUPPLY AND DEMAND ECONMOICS, folks. Demand goes up. Supply does not meet demand. Price goes up.

Geewizard wrote:
Just wait a year or two. The newbie buyers will find out the TC life is not for them and sell. There will be a flood of used units once people figure it out.

Absolutely. People will go back to their old ways and forget about RVing.

Just wait a year or two. The newbie buyers will find out the TC life is not for them and sell. There will be a flood of used units once people figure it out.

I agree we are in a bit of a gold rush in the current RONA era. But I don't expect new prices to come down in the future. Think about the additional cost of every American that touches any part in the camper making $15 an hour.
Whether you view that as a good or bad thing is irrelvent. Prices have to go up to support it.