Bloomberg Businessweek May 10, 2021 46-53 “Pandemic Vacation” “The RV business is booming and shows no sign of slowing down. To find out why, our correspondent dragged his reluctant family to the RV capital of the world-the cutest city in north central Indiana!-and hit the road” by Patrick Clark
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Read the Bloomberg Businessweek article for all detail and pictures.
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Today’s RV, or at least the one the author Patrick rented, had engineering that “was pretty satisfying at the campsite” but “on the road was noisy” and somewhat challenging to maneuver “over winding mountain roads and through crowded interchanges.” Patrick, his wife, 7-year old daughter and 5-year old son journeyed in a Sunseeker (31ft with a Ford 450 Powertrain) from Road Bear RV that was a good compromise for drivability and creature comforts. The accommodations “compared well to the types of hotel rooms” one might book but of course “a lot more complicated” to operate. The author “had been warned that a new RV takes a little while to get used to, and moreover that RVing was a lifestyle for people with a certain capacity for self-reliance. RVers had to be "comfortable driving a big rig and making minor repairs." Enough room for a family of four, husband and wife had privacy as they slept in the back master area, the son up front on a pull-out sofa and the daughter in the bedding over the cab. Along the way they discovered too that while the idea might be "get-away", RVers typically sleepover and do some recreating in spaces closely set together in RV parks. There’s lots of socialization when you are staying within 20 feet of other trekkers. Patrick reports that RVing “was easier than I expected” while his wife commented “it had been a worthwhile adventure, and she would never do it again. “After insurance, campsite fees, and gas, [the author’s trip] worked out to $170/day.
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New RVers and some of the typical legions were driven to more RVing in 2020 in part by the urge to safely get-away during COVID. Typical RVers have been exclusively the “domain of snowbirds, motor-sports enthusiasts, mountain climbers, pro golfers, touring rock bands, and all matter of germophobes.” Adding the newbies and concerned devotees has led to more RV sales in 2020 versus the pre-COVID 2019. Thor Industries Inc accounts for 40% of RV sales last year and have seen their stock move from a low of slightly more than $30/share at the commercial depths of COVID in March 2020 to nearly $150 as of May 3, 2021.
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