Why Are RV Industry Leaders Feeling So Cheery?
If you’ve been reading The Boomer Chronicles for a while, you already know that I’m an RV enthusiast (at least the kind of compact, camper-van-style RV that I took on a trip last fall as a loaner from the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association). RVs, like most other high-ticket items, have taken a beating in the last couple of years. They are expensive, and who can secure a loan to buy one? Yet, these days, RV industry leaders are feeling optimistic.
Next week, the industry is holding its 47th Annual National RV Trade Show, at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. The event, called “Outlook: 2010: Let the Sun Shine,” will draw about 1,000 RV professionals on Dec. 1. The sponsor, the RVIA, says: “There will be plenty of realism mixed in with our optimism, but we have a lot more good than bad to report. Richard Coon will give the latest shipment forecast. Go RVing will debut new television commercials and new web video content. RVIA’s public relations team will deliver a report on the ’state of our image’ following the economic blizzard the RV industry is digging out from.”
Frankly, I think it’s way too soon to celebrate. What say you?
November 24th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I don’t have a sense of getting out party hats and whistles yet… but, one thought did cross my mind. Perhaps, a percentage of people, who have sold their homes, are considering an RV lifestyle. I’m not sure, if this would be any “real savings” – especially if we go through a high gas price cycle. For those who are single and looking for work, this may work well for them. For a family lifestyle of adults and children, I sense, this would eventually prove to be stressful.
I would love to RV live and travel and on a positive note, I am glad they have not gone the way of dinosaurs yet and that the industry is optimistic. Not sure if they are too far ahead of the times for that sense of optimism.