NY Post: RV Industry Producing Record Number of RVs

The RV industry is producing a record number of homes on wheels as pandemic-weary Americans answer the call of the open road.

Work-from-home policies, international travel restrictions and social distancing rules limiting crowds all have conspired to push up demand for the RV lifestyle.

In October, more recreational vehicles rolled off the factory floor and into dealerships than any other month in the history of the industry, according to a trade group.

“We were scared to death in March and April last year, but since the summer of 2020, the RV industry realized we’d be one of the winners of Covid-19,” said Mike Regan, president and general Manager of Crestview RV, which operates several dealerships in the Austin, Tex. metro area.

A record 57,971 RVs were produced in October, or 5 percent more than the previous record hit just the previous month in September. The October production figure is a 22 percent jump from RVs that rolled off the line the same month a year ago.

What’s more, the industry estimates that this year will see a 40 percent spike in the number of RVs produced — or 602,200 — compared to 2020 and 19 percent more than the last record in 2017, when the industry produced 504,600 RVs.

Continued worries about virus transmission on planes — where masks are required and scenes of unruly passengers have become the norm — also have boosted the appeal of RVs.

“People see RVs as a safer way to travel and have said they want to spend more time outside,” Monika Geraci, a spokesperson for the RV Industry Association, told The Post.

Read the full article from The New York Times Post here