ELKHART -- Although no one describes the situation as great, RV dealers and manufacturers are speaking with relief in their voices and saying the industry is considerably better than it was during the nightmare of 2009.
Wholesale shipment numbers reflect increased production and hiring among recreational vehicle makers. Retail sales figures are anticipated to underscore what dealers see as pent-up demand being unleashed.
Moreover, there is optimism the improvement recorded in the spring and summer seasons will continue into the fall.
"We're selling something everyday," said Rob Reid, owner of Great Lakes RV Center on Old U.S. 33. "There's a little giddy-up in my step. Customers sense that because it is a more pleasurable experience to buy."
Back to work
Established just about one year ago, Prime Time, a Forest River company in Wakarusa, is a young company in growth mode, said president Jeff Rank. For April, the company's travel trailer ranked 13th in RV retail sales and production has begun of its new fifth wheel, the Crusader.
"Fortunately for us, I feel pretty good about where we're at," Rank said. "I feel dealers are willing to buy and stock products that will sell."
In the last 60 days, Prime Time has hired 55 people for the Crusader line. Rank continues to be amazed at the "really high quality people" who were available to join his company.
Keystone RV in Goshen has also been hiring. The towable maker has added 1,000 workers to bring the total payroll to more than 3,100, said president Bob Martin. New plants will be opening and current schedules have the employees working full time. The July Fourth shutdown was only one week and one day compared to two weeks in 2009.
"We feel that the industry for Keystone is definitely recovering," Martin said. "It's been a much more enjoyable year than last year."
Rank and Martin noted some discomfort among dealers. In particular, they said, customer sales, at least early in the season, were not been as strong as hoped for and inventory levels on the retail lots are a little higher than wanted.
Boding well for the long-term viability of the industry, Rank said dealers have seen a "healthy amount of first-time buyers," many of whom have young families.
Positive outcome
An RV dealer survey by market analysts at Robert W. Baird & Co. found a softening in sales during the second quarter. Retail traffic slowed after surging in March and dealers are cautious about replenishing inventory.
Baird reported that dealers have 94 days of motorhome inventory, down from 165 days in 2009, and 100 days of towables, also under last year's level of 133 days. In addition, as dealers begin replenishing their stock more quickly, changes in retail sales can induce a greater impact.
At International RV World on Nappanee Street, about five customers are walking onto the lot each day -- down from five years ago when 50 arrived daily -- and they are all buying, said general manager Dave Titus. New units priced at $150,000 are selling just as easily as used ones at $5,000.
The RVs coming out of the plants are the best ever built, with companies spending more on research and development, Titus said. Also, the entire industry is better because the weaker manufacturers and dealers are gone.
"I think it's a lot stronger, a lot more viable," he said. "I think when it's all said and done this (recession) was a good thing."
Reid's fear that his dealership would close was greater in 2007 and 2008 than when he first opened nine years ago, he said. But as the economy has slowly turned upward, his business in the black for the first time in 18 months and his sales representatives are constantly working five to 10 deals apiece.
Like Titus, Reid pointed to some positive changes the economic upheaval wrought. Namely, the tightening of floorplan lending by the banks taught him to pay more attention to what is sitting outside his office window.
"It pushed me to be a better manager of my own inventory," he said. "It took the fat off the inventory. You sell the meat and potatoes and somebody else can sell the fat."
He admits the curtailing of loans to buy stock hurt, but he credits the stricter lending practices with helping him avoid having to lock his doors for good.
Not only have sales at Great Lakes RV increased, so have the tales of unique customers and interesting deals.
In January, a resident of Anchorage, Alaska, traveled all the way to the dealership to buy a motorhome. Once the buyer drove his new RV thousands of miles back to the frozen tundra, the customer sent Reid a crate of frozen fish and smoked moose meat.
"That's the fun part of our business," the dealer said.