Record RV sales.

[goducks10]

It's no wonder quality has nose dived over the last 2-3 years. They can't pump em out fast enough.
http://www.rvbusiness.com/2017/09/rvia-august-rv-shipments-are-best-on-record/

Need a job?
http://www.rvbusiness.com/2017/09/elkhart-initiative-focused-on-attracting-workers/

[SidecarFlip]

You mean 'Amish Craftsmanship' will be replaced by machines? Maybe a good idea.

[bob_nestor]

One big problem with manufacturing these days is "process". Companies have jumped on the Process bandwagon thinking if they define the right process for doing any job it will drive down costs, be repeatable, reliable and with the proper training can be taught to anyone thus ensuring timely, repeatable, quality results. Unfortunately it moves accountability and responsibility from the worker to the "Process" - if something isn't right it's because there's a flaw in the Process. But this also eliminates the worker's pride in a job well done and the craftsmanship he or she can bring to the job.

The upside of all this Process stuff is eventually the Process can be programmed into robots; the downside is people will be replaced with machines.

[colliehauler]

That in a nutshell explains part of the reason for the low quality get them out the door mentality.

[CavemanCharlie]

The upside is that when the bubble bursts there will be a lot of slightly used RV's for sale cheap.

[SidecarFlip]

djsamuel wrote:

SidecarFlip wrote:


Good way to look at it. HGTV effect.....

In 35 years of RV'ing I've always stayed smaller. Smaller means 'less stuff' to pack and unpack, better fuel mileage from the motor and easier to store. I winter my unit inside my barn so storage is a non-issue and no storage fees. At one time I thought as we (my wife and I) get older, we'd want a bigger unit but that never played out. We stayed small. We have no issue with it, have learned to pack accordingly and are quite content with smaller.

+1 My wife and I really enjoy our 24' camper. Normally just the two of us, sometimes a visitor or two. When we watch the huge units coming in a park or going down the road, we look at each other and say that we like ours better. That is for our situation. We see many cases where the situation would require a unit much bigger than ours. Of course my wife started camping as a kid with her parents and five brothers and sisters in a 15' Shasta.

I started in a tent with a backpack as an Eagle Scout. Tent, backpack, cook kit (still have it and the pack), the tent rotted years ago, Some non perishable food, my favorite was DAK canned ham, spam and bread. powdered milk and cereal. Always took my fly rod along too. As I got older, graduated to a COX tent camper, then a Serro Scotty that I had a long time. Then a Lance truck camper (had that a long time too) and now a P'up truck camper. Such luxury. It has a wet bath (I used to use a stream to wash in), toilet (always dug a hole and used that) and a bed that is off the ground and not subject to getting flooded when it rains and I have a real furnace too and a fridge so I can keep stuff cold, take perishable food and actually eat 3 squares.

What a life.

Still take my fishing rod though. Very seldom, if ever use a campground. With my outfit, any turn off or primitive spot is a campground. Preferrable in the woods, away from other people and those distractions and irritations.

[jarata1]

ScottG wrote:

2oldman wrote:
Harder to find RV spaces too. I do notice a lot of beginners with brand-new trucks and 5ers. I guess these are baby-boomer retirees.

This!
More and more RV's sold but fewer spaces (at least in this state) all the time.
I would think places like C to C and 1KT are doing great because there sure isn't enough state CG's to go around.
I bet newb's are shocked to find it's so hard to find a camp site.

Just think you were once in their position and all the old timers said oh my look at all these newbies

[djsamuel]

SidecarFlip wrote:


Good way to look at it. HGTV effect.....

In 35 years of RV'ing I've always stayed smaller. Smaller means 'less stuff' to pack and unpack, better fuel mileage from the motor and easier to store. I winter my unit inside my barn so storage is a non-issue and no storage fees. At one time I thought as we (my wife and I) get older, we'd want a bigger unit but that never played out. We stayed small. We have no issue with it, have learned to pack accordingly and are quite content with smaller.

+1 My wife and I really enjoy our 24' camper. Normally just the two of us, sometimes a visitor or two. When we watch the huge units coming in a park or going down the road, we look at each other and say that we like ours better. That is for our situation. We see many cases where the situation would require a unit much bigger than ours. Of course my wife started camping as a kid with her parents and five brothers and sisters in a 15' Shasta.

[SidecarFlip]

jplante4 wrote:
It's like the HGTV effect. When we sold our house, everyone was looking for stainless and granite in the kitchen and "updated" (read huge) bathrooms. Never mind that stainless and granite always look dirty and that gi-normous master baths take up valuable floor space for a room you're only using an hour a day tops.

When I was racing boats, we always saw a bump in the numbers at the starting line the year after an America's Cup. You always see more joggers on the road after a Boston marathon. The following year it goes back to normal.

Good way to look at it. HGTV effect.....

In 35 years of RV'ing I've always stayed smaller. Smaller means 'less stuff' to pack and unpack, better fuel mileage from the motor and easier to store. I winter my unit inside my barn so storage is a non-issue and no storage fees. At one time I thought as we (my wife and I) get older, we'd want a bigger unit but that never played out. We stayed small. We have no issue with it, have learned to pack accordingly and are quite content with smaller.

[SidecarFlip]

Interestingly, I financed my current outfit entirely, nothing down and I never asked for a particular term on the loan. I have excellent credit so I knew there was no problem. I get the loan papers and the term is 10 years. I kind of wanted maximum 3 years but I'll take the 10. I have no desire to go 10 years (and I'm not) so I make triple payments every month... As with any loan, it falls under Rule 53 so there is no prepayment penalty. Right now, I'm paid up through May of 2020. When I reduce the loan balance to around a grand, I'll get a payoff and be done with it.

However, I think about people who finance their units 10 or 15 years and can only make the payment and no more and the accrued interest they pay over the life of the loan. Financial institutions make out like a bandit and after 10 or 15 years, the unit isn't worth squat anyway.

In my view, a lot of the current trend to buy (and finance) a huge outfit falls right back on the dealers and the push to buy 'bigger' because you can finance bigger.

For me, bigger isn't better. I want (and bought) a unit that fits my needs and lifestyle. I don't park my outfit and sit inside with the ac on, watching a big screen TV. One, I don't have a big screen TV and 2, I don't have ac (though I am considering adding a roof mount unit this winter). The only thing we do in the unit is sleep, shower, use the pooper and cook meals and even that is not all the time. I prefer using provided facilities (showers and poopers) over using mine. Less issues with cleaning and dumping. In 2 years, I've never used the toilet in the camper and I prefer to cook meals on a wood fire outside. Meals taste better than cooked on a propane stove anyway.

Guess I'll never be a 'Glamper'.

I know I'll never have a huge unit either.

[jplante4]

It's like the HGTV effect. When we sold our house, everyone was looking for stainless and granite in the kitchen and "updated" (read huge) bathrooms. Never mind that stainless and granite always look dirty and that gi-normous master baths take up valuable floor space for a room you're only using an hour a day tops.

When I was racing boats, we always saw a bump in the numbers at the starting line the year after an America's Cup. You always see more joggers on the road after a Boston marathon. The following year it goes back to normal.

[hypoxia]

A "Skilled Worker" in Elkhart is anyone that shows up to work.

I enjoy camping where the familys with kids, popups etc show up. It seems like every camping or aviation event I attend is all geezers. Kids do seem to go to boat stuff.

A percentage of those are going to take our place as geezers move on. They will have better equipment than we had and it will be a pleasant experience for them.

The largest obsticle in their path are the Forest Service policies restricting camping and access.

[WTP-GC]

SidecarFlip wrote:

RV's are a funny thing. Most buyers prefer a virgin unit that hasn't been slept in or the toilet used in or cooked in.

It usually takes a few trips out before the newbies learn not to cook in the toilets, but hey...we've all got to learn somehow :B

Generally speaking, our culture is in the same cycle they were in prior to the 2008/2009 housing bust. Bigger, more expensive, above their means, loan originators acting loosely, etc. As one popular financial guy says: "people not acting their wAge"

So, with all the same key ingredients, it's only a matter of time before it goes bust again. Even the RV industry leaders know it's coming, so as in any business, you fill the bank as fast as you can with as much as you can while it lasts. In the meantime, though, it does make campsites harder to find and campers less considerate.

[Ralph_Cramden]

SidecarFlip wrote:
What will be interesting is when the economy bubble breaks and all those new RV's become liabilities. That will be interesting.

Economies are always cyclical. What goes up, must come down, and will.

People with 10 and 15 year RV loans will be in deep do-do and because an RV is a discretionary purchase for most, it becomes the first to go.

Yes it will be interesting my friend, and it's only a matter of time. When not if, I think sooner rather than later.

I watch these new owners at the State Park with shiny new rigs that you can tell is their first. Just watching most back up is great entertainment. And most do not start small either, they went out and bought a 36 footer for their first RV. A few Fridays ago I counted 4 out of about 30 or so people coming in, who scraped a stop sign cutting the left hand turn into the loop road too tight. New trailer....with a nice scratch down the side. And watching some trying to level up is awesome also.

The last few years I see more and more at the state park who never leave their rig. They seem to sit inside all day with the AC running. That leaves me scratching my head. Whats the point? You could do that in your driveway or yard.

[goducks10]

SidecarFlip wrote:
What will be interesting is when the economy bubble breaks and all those new RV's become liabilities. That will be interesting.

Economies are always cyclical. What goes up, must come down, and will.

People with 10 and 15 year RV loans will be in deep do-do and because an RV is a discretionary purchase for most, it becomes the first to go.

Not to wish a depression on anyone but it will sure cut down on the crowded CG's.