Shipments from RV factories to dealers and consumers were down dramatically again in May. Results for the RV Industry Association’s May 2023 survey of manufacturers revealed that total RV shipments ended the month with 30,919 units, a decrease of 38.8% from the record 50,529 units shipped in May 2022. To date, RV shipments are down just about half from last year (-49.7%) with 140,735 units.
“Summer is officially here and people across the country are using their RVs to create lasting memories with family and friends,” said RV Industry Association President and CEO Craig Kirby, putting a positive spin on the bad, but expected, news. “RVing continues to be one of the most economical ways to travel and for those looking to take an incredible vacation while also controlling their travel costs, RV dealerships nationwide have many affordable options to meet the demand.”
Towable RVs, led by conventional travel trailers, ended the month down 41.7% from last May with 26,559 shipments. Motorhomes fared better, finishing the month down only 12.2% with 4,320 units shipped compared to 4,921 the same month last year.
Park model RVs, which are essentially small, stationary mobile homes, finished May up 16.8% compared to the same month last year, with 480 wholesale shipments.
##RVT1111b
I firmly believe that the RV industry has shot itself in the foot no wait LOINS. The quality of the builds that came out post pandemic were so bad that horror stories still abound they are just not covered much these days. A close friend of mine loved my Super C so he traded in his Class A in April for one. He drove down to Ft Worth to pick it up and ended up staying over a week to try to get the long punch list attended to. It’s now July and they are still not 100%. We recently returned from a 4700 mile trip and where ever we stopped I heard story after story of very crappy builds and makeshift repairs. The problems ran the gamut from electrical to plumbing leaks bad roofs unexplained leaks and squeaks to the wheels falling off.
I was thinking about upgrading my 2016 Super C but no way now. Mine is very dependable and built at a time when quality was very important. I imagine there are a lot of folks out there that would never put up with these defects in a car or truck.
Our motorhome was one of those shipped in June 2022. I expect June will show even more of a decline. Thank you!
I’m guessing the huge numbers of leftover 2022 models slowed down shipments to dealers even more than otherwise.
Again last year was not a normal year we should be checking against 2019 numbers (before covid). 2022 was a catch up year.