September Sales - Class A's Continue Slide

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KandT

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https://www.rvia.org/news-insights/rv-shipments-september-2019

Surprisingly, towable climbed and class A sales continue to take a beating.  I am surprised more class A's aren't sold!
 
KandT said:
https://www.rvia.org/news-insights/rv-shipments-september-2019

Surprisingly, towable climbed and class A sales continue to take a beating.  I am surprised more class A's aren't sold!

Maybe it is that little differential in cost of ownership?

A luxury dually and high end 5th wheel is still lots less than the cost of a good sized class A & toad.

Also, people are seeing the effects of economic policies on every day costs.
 
Lynx0849 said:
Also, people are seeing the effects of economic policies on every day costs.

I suppose that is a regional thing, here in the Midwest, absolutely no effects of clamping down on the Communists.  Unemployment is at record lows, major industry can't find help.  The real reason for the decline is the wealthy that can afford the Class A's already have them, and the booming economy is allowing the entry level Trailer sales to skyrocket.
 
I have to say that after having a class C and a DP A, our next one will likely be a bumper pull towable.  But I go into this purchase knowing that they are built for light weight whereas the DP A was built on a very heavy chassis.  Nonetheless, if you are going to have a truck either way then the depreciation doesn't cost nearly as much as an A.  And if you aren't full timing then who cares?  They look like they are made to last 10 or so years which if they are $30,000 then you are looking at $3,000 a year in depreciation and a set of tires.  you cant touch that with an A
 
It may also be that the younger crowd, in this case I am talking about people who are under 65-70 are generally not interested in a large class A motorhome, instead they are more interested in an RV which can be used to get back to nature, fit in smaller campgrounds, or go places a diesel pusher just should not go. 

I am part of this younger group, being just barely in my 50's, and I own a small 28 ft now 18 year old class A motorhome (currently mid way through a 3,200 mile month long loop of the southwestern US).  When I speak with friends, family, and just people I know who also own RV's I find the above to be true.  They either own a 5th wheel which they "take to the lake" seasonally, where it sits for much of the year, accumulating only a couple of hundred road miles per year, but many weekends of use per year.  Or they have usually a small travel trailer, that they use for "camping", which often may mean dry camping, traveling to state parks, etc. mostly within a day or two driving distance from home.
 
But Class C sales went up 7.1% almost as much as 5th wheels at 7.7%. And have done better YOY at -14.6 vs -18%. So it isn't towable vs motorhome. The question is why have Class A and B sales dropped more than any other RV.
 
TheBar said:
But Class C sales went up 7.1% almost as much as 5th wheels at 7.7%. And have done better YOY at -14.6 vs -18%. So it isn't towable vs motorhome. The question is why have Class A and B sales dropped more than any other RV.

For a long time I was watching used "A's" as well and they just were not selling.  People seem unwilling to drop their price which tells me either they couldn't bear to take the depreciation in this market and were just going to hold onto it.  Another option was they owed too much to sell it.

I couldn't bear to buy one because I didn't want to be holding it when I needed or wanted out of it.  If I could have gotten one I could have resold, I would have bought it.  But I wasn't going to spend 10 months of my life trying to sell something I overpaid for. 
 

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