Dealers & Campgrounds Discuss Changing Buying Choices & The Psychology Of The Lifestyle
Summer is in full swing and the evidence can be seen in campgrounds across the country with ‘Campground Full,” signs posted at the check-in booth.
While that reality can put a real damper on vacation plans, the RV industry is having itself a great year with industry-wide, wholesale shipments of all types of RVs reaching 376,246 units in 2015, according to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association. That was up 4.9 percent from the prior year and represented the highest annual total since 2006. It was the sixth straight yearly increase in RV shipments and things continue to roll along for the industry.
“We’ve seen younger people coming through here and staying longer and longer with their young families,” said Merry Glass, manager of the Lake Tahoe KOA. “We get the retired folks and the boomers, but we are finding that the young people are very serious about making RVing a lifestyle.”
More than nine million households own RVs, according to the RVIA. The vehicles can range from vintage trailers to luxury motor homes, but exactly who is driving this industry down the road?
Plenty of empty nesters and Baby Boomers are hooking up their fifth-wheels and heading out to campgrounds throughout the U.S., but young families and millennials are also buying up vintage trailers and Airstreams, taking their families on the road for weeks and even months and years at a time. The influx of millennial RV buyers has the industry expecting U.S. sales in 2016 to expand 5.9 percent from last year.
The RVIA’s most recent ownership report shows that the fastest-growing group of RV owners in 2013 was 35 to 44 years old, which is just slightly less than the industry's largest group of owners, which are between 45 and 54 years old. The average American RV owner was 50 in the 1980s, and today that age is 48 and falling.
GenXers, those aged 35-to-55, are also taking the place of Baby Boomers as the most likely RV owners - but the purchasing power of millennials - the largest age group, is on the rise.
“Many of our customers are interested in outdoor adventures like kayaking, mountain biking, snowboarding and things like that,” said Sam Borchard, a salesperson at Camping World in San Marcos, Calif. “They tend to go to more national parks than RV parks, because that’s what their age group does. Our sales of smaller Class C motorhomes have been on the rise for the last few years as younger, more active buyers enter the market. They are also looking at campgrounds that can accommodate large groups, because they like to meet their friends and socialize.”
With more than 16,000 public and privately owned campgrounds, nationwide increased sales and lower gas prices are all having an effect on the bottom-line for campgrounds.
That growth could be good news for the overall US economy as RV sales - large discretionary purchases - are seen as a leading economic indicator. A record 396,400 RVs will be shipped this year, up from 165,700 units in recession-hit 2009, according to estimates from the RVIA.
The $50 billion RV industry contributed to the US economy in 2015 included $16 billion in new RV sales.
Recent research, conducted by Dr. Richard Curtin, RV industry analyst and director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan, reveals the number of RV-owning households has grown to a new peak of 8.9 million households, up from 7.9 million in 2005. According to the report, 8.5 percent of U.S. households now own RVs, up from 8.0 percent in 2005.
"The data indicates that the basic appeal of the RV lifestyle remains as strong as ever," said Dr. Richard Curtin, who conducted the study. Curtin, an economist, is director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan. "Consumers want to enjoy the same cherished experiences of RVing while staying within new budget constraints."
Companies such as Winnebago are enjoying the surge in RV sales. Revenue rose to $272.08 million, slightly above views for $270.46 million, as Winnebago exited aluminum extrusion sales to outside customers. Nevertheless, the company saw a 12.4 percent increase in unit sales of motorized vehicles and a 62.4 percent in pop-up towables.
"We're really seeing an upswing in RV sales, including our Winnebago's," said Chico Martin of Mike Thompson RV Super Store in Fountain Valley, Calif. " There was a time when the sales were really flat, but younger people are buying their first RV's and baby boomers are trading in their Class C RV's for coach's and the older retired people are getting even bigger coaches. I would have to say that this is one of the best years in regards to RV sales for us. It would be nice if it lasted for a long time."
Candice Reed
A graduate of Kelsey-Jenny College in Communications as well as a certified grant writer, Candice has written for The Los Angeles Times & The New York Times. She loves entertaining and all things French.
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