Thor Industries now has $14 billion in backlogged orders

[rlw999]

From Business Insider: Thor Industries now has $14 billion in backlogged orders and is 'pretty much sold out for the next year'

And now, this boost in sales has grown into an over $14 billion order backlog, which is an almost 550% increase compared to the same time in 2020. Taking a closer look, Thor's backlog for towables and motorized RVs by the end of April in North America increased 766% and 548%, respectively, compared to the same time in 2020.

...

"Since a significant number of units in our backlog have already been retail sold, we currently believe the restocking cycle will extend well into calendar 2022," Martin said in the earnings report.

[valhalla360]

Grit dog wrote:
Appears from the posts here, and my recent searching, that the further east you go, the more RVs are available for sale and the cheaper the prices.

We headed west from Michigan. Bought in Omaha (long story not related to RV inventories) and saw plenty of RVs on lots out thru Utah, Nevada, Arizona and California, so I don't think it's how far east you are.

[Grit_dog]

Appears from the posts here, and my recent searching, that the further east you go, the more RVs are available for sale and the cheaper the prices.
Everywhere around here from Seattle to Spokane is very thin on inventory.
Dealers fill the front rows that face the highways and empty lots behind them, or carefully spaced out and staged parking of the inventory they do have.

Considering I never understood how seemingly so few customers at a RV place at any given time can buy enough new RVs to support the huge inventories you generally see, presumably if the lots are less than full, supply aint keeping up with demand.

[Sagebrush]

RV lots around my area of Alabama has plenty towables for sale. My local Gander RV is well stocked, from tiny tear drops to monster toy haulers.

Lots of Grand Design units for sale in Gadsden. I'm surprised people think those are good quality durable units on the web reviews, to me they are built like ultra light models. Very thin counter tops, very light duty cabinets and the floors flex as I walk around. I own an old light weight 5th wheel toy hauler, my cabinets and cheapo laminate counter tops feel more solid! Build quality hasn't gotten any better over the years.

I bet people will be selling many units because the RV sites are hard to come by where you want to go. A spontaneous trip better be a dry camping spot away from the popular areas.

[Tal_IL]

A large RV dealership near me currently lists 122 New RVs on their website. I count 31 of them that are on-site now, and the rest say "coming soon".

[valhalla360]

We picked up a new trailer last October. They had plenty on the lot and got 1/3 off the MSRP.

Then we took an 8000mile loop of the USA and never saw an RV sales lot without lots of units.

I would think if they can't get enough units to sell, they would be selling for close to MSRP.

[rlw999]

A1ARealtorRick wrote:
The part that confuses me is the huge inventories these RV dealers seem to have, especially towables. We just returned from a couple road trips, passing many RV dealers on the Interstate, with lots that literally look full. You can't convince me those are all sold units.

Maybe they're all waiting for warranty repairs 🙂

I'm only half joking, I called a few dealers around here for a repair and their first available appointment was 2 months (or more) out. I ended up fixing it myself, but I'd be pretty upset if I had a brand new RV that needed a repair and I had to wait weeks or even months for the dealer to even look at it.

[Desert_Captain]

My buddy just took delivery of a beautiful Lance 1685 that he ordered last January. The dealer told him if he ordered one today it would be June of 2022 before he would have any chance of delivery.

A very nice trailer by the way, he ordered it with 24 of the 27 available options and it is gorgeous. Lance you can trust for a quality rig, Thor… not so much.

:R

[RetiredRealtorR]

The part that confuses me is the huge inventories these RV dealers seem to have, especially towables. We just returned from a couple road trips, passing many RV dealers on the Interstate, with lots that literally look full. You can't convince me those are all sold units. If you go onto RVTrader, and do a nationwide search for Thor (without a specific type/model), there are nearly 4000 new units for sale. Even throwing out the 'pending sale' listings, the number is still quite high. PLUS, this is only searching the Thor brand -- not even taking into account Jayco, Airstream, etc. Are these dealer inventory units nobody wants, or is the extreme 'shortage' maybe not as bad as it's being portrayed? Just wondering.

[Second_Chance]

mdcamping wrote:
Will be interesting to see in a year or so if the covid newbies go back to the cruise lines, hotel resorts and airlines. I'm looking for an Rv upgrade in the near future, hope to have some decent new or used inventory

Mike

I'm already starting to see quite a few more near-new units for sale on the forums I frequent. The usual states are things like, "We're not using it nearly as much as we thought we would" or, "We realized this is more than we needed." Typical newbie discoveries when jumping in without learning much about RV life.

Rob

[mdcamping]

Not disagreeing with any of the posts, we might still chance buying another Jayco (Thor) as we have had relatively good luck with the brand.

Newmar was bought out by Winnebago, Thor owns Tiffin & Airstream

Mike

[thomasmnile]

Expand production? I see a looming shortage of "Amish Craftsmen". 🙂

[RetiredRealtorR]

gbopp wrote:

ZINGERLITE wrote:
Pre covid quality standards were hot garbage. What happens when you speed up production?

I didn't think Thor had a stellar reputation before the pandemic. It will be interesting to see the quality of the backlog.

Agreed. Of all the manufacturers, they're the one I'd trust least in the first place (but they sell tons of units because they're typically the cheapest). Ramping up production is bound to have an impact on quality.

[gbopp]

ZINGERLITE wrote:
Pre covid quality standards were hot garbage. What happens when you speed up production?

I didn't think Thor had a stellar reputation before the pandemic. It will be interesting to see the quality of the backlog.

[ZINGERLITE]

Pre covid quality standards were hot garbage. What happens when you speed up production?

[mdcamping]

Will be interesting to see in a year or so if the covid newbies go back to the cruise lines, hotel resorts and airlines. I'm looking for an Rv upgrade in the near future, hope to have some decent new or used inventory

Mike