Supply, Demand and RV Prices

[2edgesword]

I keep hearing about shortages but continue to pass dealerships in Florida that have fence to fence inventory. The prices for RV's on RV Trader, especially on used travel trailers, are through the roof. My current TT is three years old and I see three year old units on sale for what I paid for mine new.

When Covid hit there seem to be a lack of supply (factories making RVs and RV components shutdown) while the claim was people were looking at camping as an option to taking vacations at resorts and cruising. To some extent that may still hold true especially given many of the components come from Asia where shutdowns still occur and shipping cost have gone through the roof.

That said something doesn't add up. What am I missing?

[CAG]

Nothing to miss. Supply and demand but the supply is now over taking the demand as Covid crazy buying slows. The worm has turned, although slowly and there will be price reductions as as dealers find they cannot sell all of these orders they placed months ago. Gas prices will scare off buyers who now are finding that RVs get very bad mileage and RV park rates have doubled and tripled.

[Midnightmoon]

I drove by the Camping World lot in St. Augustine last Tuesday afternoon and I couldn't believe how many RV's they had in stock. I thing CAG is right, things are going to start to turn around soon if it hasn't already started.

[dxrobertson]

I have seen the same; no shortage of inventory on the lots. Pricing certainly higher. I would guess higher pricing of new units leads to trickle down higher pricing of used units. I think high demand is part of the current pricing. Perhaps also inflation gives a cover to further raise prices beyond market conditions.

[CAG]

Originally Posted by dxrobertson

I have seen the same; no shortage of inventory on the lots. Pricing certainly higher. I would guess higher pricing of new units leads to trickle down higher pricing of used units. I think high demand is part of the current pricing. Perhaps also inflation gives a cover to further raise prices beyond market conditions.

Huh?
Actually demand is dropping as is pricing because the dealers cannot move inventory. You are about to see a crash in RV sales. That is why you see the lots full of RVs. They are not moving.

[CAG]

Drive by car lots. No inventory on the lot. The Bell Road string of dealers in Peoria, Glendale, Phoenix have NO inventory. The premium on ordering is out of sight.



Drive by the RV dealers on Bell Road in Surprise and Sun City. The lot is FULL. What does that tell you? It tells me that you won't be able to give your RV away in six months.

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by CAG

Drive by car lots. No inventory on the lot. The Bell Road string of dealers in Peoria, Glendale, Phoenix have NO inventory. The premium on ordering is out of sight.



Drive by the RV dealers on Bell Road in Surprise and Sun City. The lot is FULL. What does that tell you? It tells me that you won't be able to give your RV away in six months.

Very good point!

The RV Dealers north of you are running out of room... The GM/Chevy/Buick lot has 80% used cars on the lot... and only the front row of the dealership has any inventory, the 75% remaining is empty

[bucko]

While I continue to receive dozens of emails from various dealerships wanting to buy my new car back for more than it's worth, I refuse, as any new car I'd be interested in has a 26% jack up price over MSRP.

Once this so called "chip" shortage expires, I'd like to see these dealerships choke that are doing this. I realize they are in the market to sell, and their operating costs may be high, it still does not seat well with me.

The RV market is now going through what the motorcycle craze went through a few years back. TV shows galore, and motorcycles everywhere. Now, its dried up, the craze is gone, and motorcycle sales and shops are closing up.

[DocBrown]

We're going to be selling our hybrid trailer. I pinged Camping World just to test the waters on what a dealer was willing to pay. Within 2 weeks of the first offer, they raised it $2k last Friday. These places are desperate for more inventory. Used or new.

The only reason I'm not taking it is they want me to drop it off 45 minutes away in another state and leave it for 3 or 4 days to "inspect" it and make a final offer. Nope, they seem to want it bad enough, they can come and pick it up and give me a check. All they really did by increasing the offer is helping me understand what it's really worth in today's market.

[wiscampsin]

Travelling from Wisconsin to Iowa over the weekend I went by 2 RV dealers. One was a Camping World in northern IL right next to the expressway and their lots were packed. The other was a previously independent RV place in Elkhorn WI recently bought out by the Kunes mega dealership. They had so many RV's it looked like they were putting in a new area to park them all. Overflow units were parked on the grass. In all the years going past this dealership I've never seen so many RVs.

[kirkelli]

We have a used car lot in town. The other day i noticed there are more RV's in his lot then Autos.. And they are selling at some pretty darn good deals.. I have a feeling people are dumping their toys to keep up with cost of inflation.

[Randel J]

I'm seeing the same thing here in central California. Went to 'Camping World' last week and their lot was crammed full of both new and used trailers, Class C and Class A units. My buddy is looking for a Class C and before he even opened his mouth to dicker a little, the salesman said he would knock 20% off the sticker price. That wouldn't have happened a year ago.

[kirkelli]

Originally Posted by Randel J

I'm seeing the same thing here in central California. Went to 'Camping World' last week and their lot was crammed full of both new and used trailers, Class C and Class A units. My buddy is looking for a Class C and before he even opened his mouth to dicker a little, the salesman said he would knock 20% off the sticker price. That wouldn't have happened a year ago.

20% off their 'marked up' price may not to be a good deal..Tell your buddy to shop wise and keep their eyes open at the private selling market... Many folks are dumping their RV's so they can afford to buy gas

[2edgesword]

My wife and I have aged our way out of trailering and looking to sell the trailer and buy a class C. We wouldn't be doing any long distance camping so gas prices aren't going to be a major issue. Of course when trading into a dealer they want to lowball the value of your trade and milk you on the value of the unit you're buying.

[bucko]

Originally Posted by kirkelli

20% off their 'marked up' price may not to be a good deal..Tell your buddy to shop wise and keep their eyes open at the private selling market... Many folks are dumping their RV's so they can afford to buy gas

This. I'd look at the private market. Many bought during the RV craze, and found that camping with a family was not their cup of tea. I'm betting there are a lot of clean late model RV's out there that folks would like to unload.

[jetlag]

Originally Posted by CAG

Huh?
Actually demand is dropping as is pricing because the dealers cannot move inventory. You are about to see a crash in RV sales. That is why you see the lots full of RVs. They are not moving.

Originally Posted by Midnightmoon

I drove by the Camping World lot in St. Augustine last Tuesday afternoon and I couldn't believe how many RV's they had in stock. I thing CAG is right, things are going to start to turn around soon if it hasn't already started.

Originally Posted by CAG

Nothing to miss. Supply and demand but the supply is now over taking the demand as Covid crazy buying slows. The worm has turned, although slowly and there will be price reductions as as dealers find they cannot sell all of these orders they placed months ago. Gas prices will scare off buyers who now are finding that RVs get very bad mileage and RV park rates have doubled and tripled.

Driving yesterday and found the RV show USA on you tube. He was very pessimistic, blaming fuel prices and interest rate hikes for the coming slowdown/crash in the RV market. He said, I see pain coming. He was comparing what's coming to 2009 after the financial crash when you couldn't give an RV away. He said there will be a lot of pain with folks having bit more than they can chew, and will now be upside down on those 20 year notes.

[Trapper2020]

I live in Houston. The RV lots have been over full for at least 6 months. The RV dealers think they can scare people into buying RVs at inflated prices because all you hear about is the car shortage. There is no RV shortage. Prices will come back down soon when nothing sells going into the summer. If you want out sell soon because prices will not stay where they are. In 2019 I got 37% off msrp. Today they have jacked up msrp and are trying to sell with 10% discounts. No going to work for much longer. Safe travels

Enjoy the journey

[TWP723]

They have units but man, are they pricey.

[kirkelli]

How many times has the gov given Student Loan Forgiveness?? I think it's high time for an RV Loan Forgiveness program

[bucko]

Originally Posted by kirkelli

how many times has the gov given student loan forgiveness?? I think it's high time for an rv loan forgiveness program :d

lmao