RV News : RV Sales predicted to grow in 2011

A friend sent me this article on the optimism in the RV industry for the year 2011.

I have to agree. I see the bias in the article around the idea that "RV's are just for vacation", which isn't true and I think is selling a mini trend short. It would also have some effect statistically on towables being preferred as those types make more sense for RV's that are not travelling a great deal [ why? it doesn't make sense to purchase an asset like a diesel motor and drive train systems and then not use it that often ].

What do you think?

RV Lifestyle : Full Timing it in La Hacienda Austin Texas

I've been full timing with Sheri for over a week now at the La Hacienda RV Park. I've noticed a few things about full timing and living in an RV park that  I believe need mention or are just interesting to note.

• I'm a midwestern boy. I have the midwestern work ethic, although I would say that I'm not a workaholic. Why is this interesting? It ISN'T. What IS though, is that every day in the RV at the RV park feels like I'm on vacation. Yes, even after working a whole day, coming home to the RV feels like I'm on vacation. Combine that with the midwestern part and you get : GUILT. I can't explain why, but guilt is this odd sensation I'm getting lately. Oh, it will pass, but isn't that odd?
• RV TIP : Park the RV in the shade. It makes a huge difference. I was monitoring the temperature between outside and inside the RV, and when it is in the shade, the RV (so far @ 85 degrees F) will only be about 2-3 degrees warmer than outside. The RV is always warmer inside regardless of the outside which is another temperature observation I have made. 
• People like to say, "Oh we're full timers." It is almost like a badge of honor.
• No matter what, when they say they are full-timers, they almost always have a place to return to, like a house. A handful don't, but a fixed, on the ground structure, (no cemetery joke intended) seems to be the terminal destination of most humans.
• Last week of April 2010 in La Hacienda - a club of 55 (fifty five) Prevost RV's called diamonds arrived at La Hacienda. I had never heard of a Prevost and even after the discussion I'm not 100% clear. They are the makers of busses and then someone buys them and refinishes them as near as I can tell. The starting price for a Prevost is $1,000,000. It is up from there. I never really spoke with anyone from the club though. 
• We did meet two Prevost owners who are from Austin Texas. They were really nice folks. I never got one person's story, but he parks his Prevost at the La Hacienda. I think it might be his 'Man Zone'. The other fellow had some stock in the go-go days of high tech in and around the year 2000 and made his money. I really liked him and he seemed really honest, real, and self-effacing. I have many more stories about the people we've met. We're finding that the RV community is a very people-oriented bunch.

All for now. M

RV Basics : Quick Tip on Buying a NEW RV

This is an RV buying tip which is HOT HOT HOT off of the presses. This is a first hand account and involves me and a good friend personally so I am not passing on hearsay.

My friend and his father were going to buy a Class A RV (I think this advice is for any RV even towables as long as their value is probably above 10-15K or so) and they mentioned it to me.

I had told them that I had heard that for new RV's that you should EXPECT to START the negotiations at 25% off of the dealers price.

My friend then went back to his dad and they totaled all the options and took off a cool 25% and also asked the deal for the 'out the door' pricing including tax title and licensing.

His father was a bit uncomfortable with doing this, but followed my friends guidance.

Here are the results as best as I can recall from the conversation. Three dealers were approached. One dealer said 'flat no'. Dealer 2 was something like $1000 above the number and the third dealer was $100 below the number. So they took the deal and ordered the unit from the factory.

So you are probably wondering how much was this worth.... The Class A motorhome listed with options was somewhere around $120K and they got it for around $91K.

Say what you want, but this advice was GOLDEN! Cheers.

RV Innovation AND News : Unbelievable RV spotted on Lake Travis

Date : April 1, 2010

In an unbelievable stroke of timing and luck, Sheri and I were driving near Lake Travis and saw what appeared to be a Class A RV driving out of the water from Lake Travis.

Of course, being the authors of the world famous RV Information and Travel blog called RV52.com we wheeled the car around to take a look.

As we approached the machine we were rapidly approached by several people in business suits and dark glasses who were trying to stop us from getting near the big rig.

We explained to them who we were and after some convincing we were allowed much closer to the Class A big rig and were allowed some questions and answers after agreeing to several very difficult non disclosure provisions.

Here is what we learned. This big rig is truly Class A, but it does not run on a traditional internal combustion engine. It was fitted with a DC motor, a large variable frequency drive all powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. This in and of itself was completely amazing.

When we asked about what we witnessed, the company spokesperson stated that research has shown that water and RV's go together. However, for most, a boat would have to be towed with the RV OR a boat would have to be a cabin cruiser (essentially a RV in the water) but it is difficult to move the boat from water to water. So their approach was to ask the tough question "Why can't an RV be a boat AND a class A big rig?" So what their engineers figured out was that with the unique propulsion system, better sealing and with the addition of a retractable pontoon setup you could have a houseboat or an RV. We were absolutely flabbergasted. The company spokesperson said that this new RV didn't cost more than about $40,000 more than a similar standard RV.

The list of amazing features didn't stop there. It turns out that the plumbing system was split into a potable water system and a 'clean but not potable' system. The advantages to this is that some of the water is routed through the fuel cell for purification and so drinking water can be obtained very efficiently. Also, not having to have purified water of drinking water quality for showers and toilet use saves on the environment as well. Because the unit is fuel cell driven, there is no need for generators and when power is needed there absolutely no noise.

In fact, since the unit is both LARGE and quiet, it was decided that a large speaker system should be installed to simulate the sound of  a diesel engine. But I can ensure you that it is just a speaker system. With just the press of a simple button we also made the big rig sound exactly like a Honda 100cc dirt bike which made everyone break into a chorus of laughter.

There are other amazing features to numerous to list here, like the specialized fabric which can be hoisted above the RV to  break the sunlight and lower the cooling energy requirements by 30% or automatic misting system which is installed with the retractable awnings which can lower the temperature under the mister by over 20 degrees Fahrenheit. But I'll just leave it at this : Sheri and I are on the list for this bad boy.

RV News : Heartland RV Expands

Sheri and I have been very impressed with Heartland and we think that the Cyclone 3950 Toy Haulers are an amazing fifth wheel. Of all the fifth wheels we've examined, we keep coming back to the Heartland Cyclone Toy Hauler.

When I read this article, I couldn't help but wonder if Heartland can expand because they have been making a comparatively better product. If you read the article you'll see that this relative newbie (since 2003) has jumped to 3rd place in fifth wheels.

Article on Heartland Expansion.

RV Innovation : Outdoor Kitchen's for Travel Trailers

When Sheri and I visited the Austin RV Expo we were struck at how many RV's had outdoor kitchens. There were other innovations, such as the V front end for travel trailers and it is great to see the continued innovations.

Most of the outdoor kitchens had a sink, microwave, refrigerator, range and some sort of  slide out surface. At least one or two had big screens along with the kitchen.

We took some short video of a couple of representative travel trailers and here it is. Make sure you click on the bottom of the video and let us know what you thought of the post.

Do many Americans own an RV?

As I drive around the Texas countryside, I can't but wonder "how many people own RV's?" On one hand it seems that I can't go even a mile or two without seeing a travel trailer or a fifth wheel parked in a yard somewhere. Many have hookups I can see even as I zoom past which I believe means that they are being used as a spare room or a guest house.

But then when I know how much they cost and that the IRS considers them a luxury item it amazes me that you would see so many. I have had discussions with RV salespeople, who might actually bend the truth, where they are telling me that more and more people are buying RV's as alternatives to apartments or homes.

Here is a snippet from the RVIA.org website that discusses how many people in America own an RV. It only talks about the USA, so you would have to AT LEAST double the number for worldwide.

"RV ownership has reached record levels.  Approximately 8.2 million American households now own an RV — a 16 percent increase since 2001 and a 64 percent gain since 1980."

Are RV owners good with their money?

I think there is a perception that RV owners are poor with their money. The thinking goes something like this : Hey these guys are buying boats, cars, RV, and all sorts of fancy items so they must be up to their eyeballs in debt.

But if you read a tidbit of the RVIA business outlook web page, you'll find that just isn't true. Here is a snippet from the RVIA web page :

"The credit worthiness of RV consumers remains at the top of all credit seekers.  The delinquency rate on RV loans was 0.95% from 1999-2007 vs. 2.0% for other consumer loans, according to the American Bankers Association Quarterly Delinquency Bulletin.  Current limitations on RV credit are expected to gradually diminish over time since RV owners are, on average, excellent credit risks."

RV Innovation : Travel Trailer

One neat thing about having many, many manufacturers of RV's is that through competition, all of them are working to improve everything they do. Maybe that is arguable, but without competition, which is no more than a friendly nudge, no one will really do anything.

When Sheri and I visited the Austin RV Expo the last weekend in February, we noticed a new type of travel trailer design. At least it was new to us.

I'll describe it textually, but then you can just look at the pictures I've attached.

On Puma, our 29 foot FKSS travel trailer, the design is basically a rectangle. In many ways that makes a great deal on sense.

But at the RV Expo, some of the travel trailer designs were NOT a rectangle. Instead, at the FRONT of the travel trailer, the travel trailer was built over the hitch in a triangle.

This NOTICABLY did two things. It made the Travel trailer more aerodynamic, by virtue of not having a flat surface heading into the wind, but instead a triangle, or the tip of a triangle. The other thing was, depending upon what  was in the floor plan, that it gave you a bathroom or a kitchen almost for free in the same amount of floor space. By free, I don't mean free of charge, but I mean that you could tuck a kitchen up into the triangle and where the kitchen WAS in the non-triangle layout is now free space.

It is a very clever idea and you wonder why no one thought of it earlier.

RV Industry Tidbits : How many RV's will ship in 2009/2010?

People often wonder "How big in an industry?" That is a very tricky question. In the RV world, you can look at NEW RV's sold, used RV's sold, aftermarket parts sold, service provided. Then do you count things like the parks? Do you count the economic activity related to an industry? Its a FUN question and there are societal trends that go far beyond 'just business facts' in that data.

You can find many interesting statistics on the RVIA website. I'm spending a little bit of time there and they have a Feb 2010 post that has some industry stats and predictions.

I thought I would pick out the simple one : How many units are expected to be sold in 2009 (results still coming in) and how many do people think will be sold in 2010.

How many do you think are sold in a year? What is the scale? Thousands? Ten Thousands? Millions?

Here you go and this is quoted from RVIA.org :

2009 shipments.  RV shipments in November, 2009 were more than double the total shipped in the same month the previous year.  On a seasonally-adjusted annual rate, November shipments reached 225,000 units, topping 200,000 units for the fourth consecutive month.  Shipments reached their lowest point in the first quarter of 2009, but have improved steadily since then.  Lower shipments in 2009 were caused by the longest and deepest U.S. recession since the 1930s, the tightest credit conditions in several decades, job losses, falling household wealth, slower growth in real incomes, and historically low consumer confidence. Shipments are projected to total 159,500 in 2009.

·         2010 projection.  RV shipments are projected to total 203,500 units in 2010, a 27.6% increase from the projected 2009 total, according to RV industry analyst and director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan Dr. Richard Curtin. Gains are expected as negative financial factors give way to improved market conditions.