Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 10, 1990 TAG: 9006110215
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It sees this country's aging baby boomers as moving into their prime RV-buying years.
The '80s weren't altogether kind to an industry that never quite recovered from the oil embargoes and double-digit interest rates of the late '70s.
But the '90s hold promise.
That's the message being ballyhooed by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, a trade group in Reston.
Roanoke-area RV dealers hope it's so, but the old-timers who have savored the boom years and suffered through the lulls aren't as optimistic.
"There were a lot of dealers lost from 1980 to 1990, and the dealers who were left have level business," said Vance Cooper, who has been selling RVs from his Williamson Road lot since 1967.
Cooper can remember when there were 14 dealers in the Roanoke Valley. In the late '60s and early '70s they would fill Victory Stadium with their wares during an annual RV show. Now there are three dealers.
"That's when we really were in the heyday," he said. "Smith Mountain was developing and gasoline was cheap. You could buy a trailer with a toilet in it for $1,395. Today's market, you are talking $10,000 to $20,000. People have to have a good income to get into it. It is just a difference of the times."
The local RV market historically has been tough, said Don Breeden, an RV dealer on Williamson Road for 25 years. It doesn't peak as high in the good times, and it dips deeper during the lean times, he said.
"The RV market is flat. I'm not really expecting the business to be better this year," he said.
Actually, it has been down about 10 percent nationally during the opening months of 1990. Last year, shipments of RVs to retailers dipped about 7 1/2 percent. But 1988 was the best of the past ten sales years, 16 percent above the average year in the decade, the RV trade association said.
Just getting consumers to learn where an RV dealership is located can be a tough assignment, said Barbara Ferguson of Parkway Camper-RV Sales on Washington Avenue in Vinton. Ferguson said her dealership had an open house and she was surprised how many people from Vinton told her, "We didn't know you were here."
Even during a soft market, the total number of RVs owned grew to 8.47 million by last year, a gain of 2 million since 1989, the trade association said. That means one in 10 vehicle-owning households had a motor home, van conversion, travel trailer, truck camper or folding camping trailer.
Ownership growth is greatest among those age 55 and older, which makes the industry excited about the swelling number of senior citizens. As the baby boomers enter the prime RV buying years of age 45 to 54 and achieve their peak earning power, sales are certain to swell, said Christine Morrison, director of public relations for the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association.
"With an estimated 74 million baby boomers and 55 million seniors in this country by mid-decade, the demand for RVs will be at its greatest in our industry's history," said David Humphreys, president of the association.
The RV industry also is pinning its hopes on the fact that interest in camping is high and weekend getaways are replacing long vacations as Americans adjust to two-career families and their demands. An RV, with its convenience and flexibility, can break the routine of a work week with a simple twist of an ignition key.
For families who don't want to buy an RV, rentals are on the rise.
"We will rent you an RV and if you like it we will apply the rent to the cost of the unit," said Richard Savage, owner of C&L Camper Sales in Radford. "People can try them out and know exactly what they are getting."
Others know what they want, but don't want year-round payments, so they rent an RV for a week or two each year. "They are gone and come back and they don't have any upkeep," said Savage. "The next year, they do the same thing."
Finally, there is a wide selection of tow vehicles available for travel trailers nowadays, and that wasn't the case in the early 80s, said Cooper. With the boost in gas prices came smaller cars, from 1979 to 1985, which weren't capable of pulling a trailer "and that hurt us," he said. Now there are vehicles with the kind of beefy engines that towers need. What's more, camping trailers are lighter in weight.
"We have three fold-down units that can be towed with a four-cylinder car," he said.
Van conversions were the most popular RV sold nationally last year. Next came travel trailers followed by motor homes. Folding campers were next, then came truck campers.
by CNB