RV Industry Grinds To A Halt

[Jrb06]

Correct, no drivers to deliver sold units and dealers are full so not ordering new units which causes factory to reduce production.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by RedRoverComeOver

The current economic disaster will get worse as inflation continues to rise leaving people to ride out the recession through next year. Don't think people will be willing to borrow with increasing interest rates either.

Guess those of you complaining about crowded sites may get your wish after all."

I fear this recession will last a lot longer than a year. A lot of world events in play that weren't part of most recent recessions. We may be faced with a more severe form of recession called depression.

Look back in history, the period from 1929 to the late 30's and one can see some similarities. Workers will demand higher wages to offset their increased cost of living and employers will either close their doors or downsize.

Not sure I believe all the "good news" coming out from government sources on all the new jobs added in the last few months. Remember, this is an Election Year and during those every effort is made to make sure only 'good news' is emphasized.

Individual Debt is going to be a big factor in the recovery too. Recent numbers show that Americans have over $16 trillion in debt from mortgages to cars, personal loans, credit cards, etc. that's over half what the country has in National Debt at over $30 trillion.

The road ahead is going to be rough.

[poppytoymaker]

I see more RV's stacking up at dealers lots and very few new cars at the new car dealers lots. The old saying " It's the ecomomy stupid".

[D W]

Been through this before in the late 70's, early 80's. The industry will not grind to a halt. What will grind to a halt is "employment". Industry will will go lean to satisfy shareholders.

[Luke Moseley]

Originally Posted by herbike

It is inflation at it's best!

Those of us that have lived long enough to have experienced the inflation of the 70's and 80's, we know what it is like. Buckle down and ride it out.



There was a time then that you couldn't get a price on a John Deere tractor until it arrived at the dealer, if that wasn't fun.



This time we are seeing high insurance costs here in Washington state, thanks to our insurance commissioner. He decided it was a covid emergency so he changed the way they calculate your premiums. That's only worsened by the great fuel prices which our dictator plans to raise by the end of the year.



I'm getting off subject, sorry. Just got our ins bill

Some insurance companies let you suspend coverage when you're not using the RV, for example over the winter. What's destroyed our RV travels is high gas prices and summer heat.

[PenJoe]

Originally Posted by TitanMike

I fear this recession will last a lot longer than a year. A lot of world events in play that weren't part of most recent recessions. We may be faced with a more severe form of recession called depression.

Look back in history, the period from 1929 to the late 30's and one can see some similarities. Workers will demand higher wages to offset their increased cost of living and employers will either close their doors or downsize.

Not sure I believe all the "good news" coming out from government sources on all the new jobs added in the last few months. Remember, this is an Election Year and during those every effort is made to make sure only 'good news' is emphasized.

Individual Debt is going to be a big factor in the recovery too. Recent numbers show that Americans have over $16 trillion in debt from mortgages to cars, personal loans, credit cards, etc. that's over half what the country has in National Debt at over $30 trillion.

The road ahead is going to be rough.

The new jobs good news is hype. Jobs have been added, but the employment stats are still below pre-pandemic numbers. We had the stimulus and pay benefits making it more beneficial to stay home. Then came the job switching for better pay. Much of this has ground to a halt.

Inflation has eaten into those raises and more. People, even at retirement age, are being forced back to work in order to survive. A fixed income is just that-fixed. Every $1K in your savings a year ago is roughly $900 today. To boot, the .05% earnings on a CD is taxed, go figure. Economist say that a segment of the population is using credit cards to buy food and necessities-debt they can not pay back at the end of the month. With increased interest rates, that debt becomes a vicious spiral down.

As you state, our government has astronomical debt. Yet they keep spending billions more that they don't have. All while trying to force energy providers and people to go green. The technology and infrastructure are not in place and the cost is high for what is available. The inflation ripple effect is just beginning. There may not be any gale warnings.

[PenJoe]

Originally Posted by Ballistic

Along with the above points, there is also the fact of many people are required to return to the office. Those that have returned are taking on multiple responsibilities/positions due to the economic downturn, so there isn't any more time travel while working from an RV.

If any RV manufacturer is aware enough to gain a "take-away" from this situation it would be to differentiate themselves by increasing outgoing quality and/or warranty claims.

The reality is that when these companies close down for any time period, they will be laying off the qualified employees and the lesser employees. Unless closing for a couple of weeks, the good employees are going to be seeking other employment, possibly outside the RV industry. What happens when the company wants to start producing again? They have lost part of the trained workforce and have to start training (?) again. Most of the complaints are in shoddy workmanship and quality control. That is not a good recipe for improving the product.

[Oaklevel]

We should have been expecting this. A production of RVs grinding to a hault ... Doubtful........ a correction yes....... a possible recession is another story and issue.

[Bob2019]

I don't feel sorry for any of the RV mfg shutting down with their crappy builds and removing features from their RVs in prior years. I always feel sorry for employees laid off. Been there a few times myself over the years.

Gas prices are brutal, but the greedy oil companies will not open up their wells that they closed during the pandemic as they love the profits they are making. The Ukraine war has a lot to do with boycotting oil from Russia. If I have to pay $5+ a gallon for what Russia is doing to Ukraine, I won't complain and cut my RV use.

If a RV payment is killing a person, you should have budgeted better that cost and not paid so much for the crappy builds coming out of the RV manufactures. Of course, this comment doesn't apply when you loose your job.

We have experienced these "corrections" in the '70s, '80s and '90s. It is all about greed in prices of homes, food, gas, and medical. It is pay me or die. It is a "I got mine". What a wonderful attitude to have toward our fellow humans.

[PenJoe]

Originally Posted by herbike

It is inflation at it's best!
Those of us that have lived long enough to have experienced the inflation of the 70's and 80's, we know what it is like. Buckle down and ride it out.

There was a time then that you couldn't get a price on a John Deere tractor until it arrived at the dealer, if that wasn't fun.

This time we are seeing high insurance costs here in Washington state, thanks to our insurance commissioner. He decided it was a covid emergency so he changed the way they calculate your premiums. That's only worsened by the great fuel prices which our dictator plans to raise by the end of the year.

I'm getting off subject, sorry. Just got our ins bill

We remember 1982 very well. We sold the first home we built to build our second. Doing pretty well on the first, we were pretty confident we could afford a larger home. With our equity from the first, and a construction loan, we started to build. The excavating, foundation, rough-in, brickwork and roofing were contracted. We would be doing all of the stonework, tile, siding, cabinets, plumbing, electrical, drywall, decks, walkways and landscape terracing using 320 RR ties to finish. With a full time job and young family, the construction loan had to be renewed to the tune of 22%. What's more, we were told we would lose the house. That will take your breath away.

Well, we were at 5 years (of 7) paying for our motor home and decided to live in it while finishing the home. The $1,100 we were paying for rent at the start went into the house. We cut corners buying at auction without cutting quality. Contrary to the bankers assumption, we finished the house and did not lose anything. We got an ARM loan at another bank for 12% and that was a bargain at the time. With persistence and determination, we lived in the home for 6 years before retiring and moving south. Before moving, we sold the MH for nearly what we paid for it 13 years prior.

A lot was learned from that experience and in following recessions. Today, everything is paid for. Looks like it will be a challenge to keep it that way.

[BigH]

Originally Posted by Bob2019

I don't feel sorry for any of the RV mfg shutting down with their crappy builds and removing features from their RVs in prior years. I always feel sorry for employees laid off. Been there a few times myself over the years.

Gas prices are brutal, but the greedy oil companies will not open up their wells that they closed during the pandemic as they love the profits they are making. The Ukraine war has a lot to do with boycotting oil from Russia. If I have to pay $5+ a gallon for what Russia is doing to Ukraine, I won't complain and cut my RV use.

If a RV payment is killing a person, you should have budgeted better that cost and not paid so much for the crappy builds coming out of the RV manufactures. Of course, this comment doesn't apply when you loose your job.

We have experienced these "corrections" in the '70s, '80s and '90s. It is all about greed in prices of homes, food, gas, and medical. It is pay me or die. It is a "I got mine". What a wonderful attitude to have toward our fellow humans.

Greed: An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth.



-I mean it can't apply to anyone on this forum...

Perspective, right?

[marc bazin]

Originally Posted by Reverse_snowbird

One thing missing from those reports is the class of rv manufactured in those plants. Are people not buying large vs small trailers or class A or B's? Also, lack of parts makes manufacturing difficult. Dealers may not be ordering because of the lack of and cost of shipping.
They also don't mention lack of affordable campgrounds.

Too many variables and this may be a more 'return to normal' situation. That doesn't make a good headline though.

You did hit the nail on the head " Reverse " the price some of them charge is redicupous !!

[NMWildcat]

It will be interesting to see if all these forecasters are more related to Cassandra, Pollyanna, or Chicken Little

[Slow Moon]

We ALL knew it was over or about to be.

A glut of used RVs for sale was forecast last year here: https://rvlifestyle.com/used-rvs-for-sale/

For many months, every RV lot I’ve seen from I-4, 10, 20, 75, 85, 95, et al has WAY TOO MANY standing RVs.

It's curious why an RV story appears in ZeroHedge.

Anyone relying on ZeroHedge might want to investigate whether it is a Bulgarian-based, pro-Putin conspiracy/pseudoscience site founded by two wealthy financial analysts, Daniel Ivandjiiski (banned from Wall Street for insider trading) and Tim Backshall, pushing populist material. Is it a place where the “news” becomes whatever material engages reader attention (outrage?) and is fabricated by a mechanism that doesn’t care about true/false or facts/propaganda, so long as it revenue is maximized?

An example of ZeroHedge fake news is It's Now Against The Law In California To Shower And Do Laundry On The Same Day https://archive.ph/AvQJc#selection-673.0-673.79 ------Many choose not to consume such material, but it is what you find on ZeroHedge.

[jkoenig24]

"Could it be that the "crap" the industry has been producing over the last couple of years be actually catching up with the manufacturers?"

I'd be surprised if THIS was NOT a large part of plummeting sales. Why spend a LOT of good money expecting / knowing that there will be more than a few problems (some of which will take MONTHS to rectify)?

[Ken-m]

Originally Posted by Bob2019

I don't feel sorry for any of the RV mfg shutting down with their crappy builds and removing features from their RVs in prior years. I always feel sorry for employees laid off. Been there a few times myself over the years.

Gas prices are brutal, but the greedy oil companies will not open up their wells that they closed during the pandemic as they love the profits they are making. The Ukraine war has a lot to do with boycotting oil from Russia. If I have to pay $5+ a gallon for what Russia is doing to Ukraine, I won't complain and cut my RV use.

If a RV payment is killing a person, you should have budgeted better that cost and not paid so much for the crappy builds coming out of the RV manufactures. Of course, this comment doesn't apply when you loose your job.

We have experienced these "corrections" in the '70s, '80s and '90s. It is all about greed in prices of homes, food, gas, and medical. It is pay me or die. It is a "I got mine". What a wonderful attitude to have toward our fellow humans.

You really don't know or understand how the commodity/oil markets work do you . Open your eyes .

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by Ken-m

You really don't know or understand how the commodity/oil markets work do you . Open your eyes .

I'm convinced nobody has any clue on the global market. Not one soul.

[Ken-m]

Lol , well oil companies don't set the oil price that's a fact . This country is getting what 40 % voted for . Utter confusion and lack of basic economic understanding.

[Bob2019]

Well, we know when we are getting screwed. Just look at who is making obscene profits. We also know and read about who is holding back product so we all pay more. Many times all you have to declare a shortage and then there is a shortage - greed raises the prices. Remember the "meat shortage in the '70s? Natural Gas shortage where we couldn't heat our homes over 62 degrees? Seen it too many times in my three quarters of a century of life. That is a fact!

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by Ken-m

Lol , well oil companies don't set the oil price that's a fact . This country is getting what 40 % voted for . Utter confusion and lack of basic economic understanding.

That's one, one sided interpretation....