This Is The Summer Of The RV

Some folks, well, some folks just like taking matters into their own hands.

And putting them on the steering wheel.

As the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the industry, the demand for travel is slowly—slowly—creeping back up again. But many remain wary of getting on a plane, a train or a cruise ship and being packed tightly in with strangers, never knowing if everybody is going to be wearing a mask, never knowing if somebody is unknowingly carrying the virus, never knowing if a flight is going to be empty enough for social distancing—or perhaps not.

Welcome to what could be the year of the Recreational Vehicle, more commonly known as the beloved RV.

With experts predicting that any return to travel will likely start with short, domestic trips, the RV could, literally, become the go-to vehicle for travel this summer. Though the outlook for RV sales entering the year was grim—504,000 RVs were sold in 2017 and that number slipped to 364,000 last year—many dealers across the country are reporting an unexpected uptick in sales.

Shannon Nills, owner of Guaranty RV in Eugene, Oregon, told KMTR-TV that he sold 52 units the first weekend in May and “that’s almost double what we sell in a given weekend.” Sutton RV in Eugene is also seeing this soar in customers. General manager Lisa Bottorff says traffic on their website has more than tripled.

“Interest has increased tremendously; some people are making appointments, some people are coming in physically,” Bottorff said.

It’s a trend that’s playing out nationwide, says LCI Industries' CEO Jason Lippert. His company supplies highly engineered components for the leading original equipment manufacturers in the recreation and transportation product markets.

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“After an indeterminate period of isolation, we believe families will be more enthusiastic than ever to get outside and see new places, even within their own states,” said RV Industry Association President Craig Kirby. “RV travel allows people to sleep in their own bed, cook gourmet meals, and control where they go. Once federal and state restrictions are lifted, they’ll be able to experience the endless range of outdoor wonders throughout the country and the freedom of independent travel that RVs offer. This includes the option to forego a campground since RVs have everything a family needs to camp remotely.”

Check out the full article from Travel Pulse here.