By Mike Gast
I recently had the pleasure of sitting in on a conference call with about 20 large RV dealers and a few other “movers and shakers” in the RVing industry. Boy, it was an eye-opener.
You’d think that everyone on the call would have been doing celebratory cartwheels over the RV manufacturing shipment numbers for the past four quarters, not to mention the fact that dealers literally can’t keep any of those new RVs on their lots.
But the call was filled with cloudy, dark undertones of doom. While I can’t name names at this point, the primary topics on the call were the severely broken supply chain for RV parts, the resulting inventory problems for RV dealers, and the price increases dealers are already seeing on the very few rigs that are trickling in from the manufacturers.
As you read this, there are dozens (some say as many as 40) huge container ships floating around the ocean just off the U.S. West Coast near the ports of Long Beach and Seattle. They are full of just what American manufacturing needs to get going again. But the ports are understaffed and there aren’t enough truckers to haul it all away. Thus, links in the supply chain remain broken, and the boats continue to aimlessly float.
Most RV dealers are completely sold out due to broken supply chain
Many of the big RV manufacturing plants can only fully operate for 3-4 days a week before they are forced to shut down and wait for more parts hung up in the supply chain. Unlike dealers’ lots, the manufacturers’ plant acreage is overflowing with nearly done RVs. They’re just waiting for that one missing faucet or silicon chip from China.
The really bad news is that it’s probably going to take a year or more to untangle the supply chain and get things back to any semblance of normal. That likely isn’t going to lessen your time on the RV repair waitlist.
All of this comes, of course, at a time when demand for RVs is at an all-time high. Lack of supply added to increases in demand always lead to higher prices. Dealers say they already had price increases from many manufacturers this spring. They have been told to expect more of the same this summer. Some dealers are doing the right thing and calling buyers who put down deposits and offering to return the funds or at least apply it to a purchase next year. Amazingly, many buyers are telling them to “let it ride” until 2022.
Prices of RVs going up
These factors are also driving up the prices of used RVs, which are the new unicorns of the transportation industry. Industry insiders say typically 40% of new RV sales included a trade-in RV. Now, that figure has dropped to about 13% at some dealerships.
Don’t feel too bad for either the manufacturers or the dealers. They all did pretty well in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021. But it has to be frustrating to have to turn away frantic buyers who are willing to purchase anything that would roll off the lot.
This summer, a job in RV sales could be a precarious position … and very, very lonely … all due to the broken supply chain.
Related:
Values of used RVs doing something hard to believe!
RV Industry Update, March 2021, video from Josh Winters at Haylett RV
##RVT1000
We just got back from a 3 week loop thru NY,PA, VA, NC, KY and TN. By my count, we passed at least a dozen RV dealer lots, big and small. Every one of them was packed to the gills with new RVs!! So what’s going on here? Are all these new RVs waiting for parts so they can be sold? Is the market reaching a saturation point and the pundits haven’t recognized it yet? Is the East Coast just an anomaly?
Just saying.
Agreed, we drive past a new Camping World (formerly Diamond RV) in MA when we head to our seasonal site in Vermont. This is just off I 91 and can be seen from the highway. This place is jammed with inventory! And of all types. No shortage there………………..
Same thing here we just got back from our trip to Arizona RV lots were full. Camping World and Blue Dog RV lots in Spokane, Wa. were also full. So what’s up?? Old salesman line hurry up and buy now before they’re all gone. I think my financial Professor had it right Americans are just Sheeple being lead by what they’re told, and not checking the facts.
10% fact / 90% hype … and the American People fall for it ALL the time … Madison Avenue has the best in the World if you just give them a nugget of truth…🤣
Just traveled from Quartzsite on my way to FL. Currently in LA. Every single lot looks like it couldn’t hold another rv. My friend said he saw the same thing on the way home to UT. I think this shortage is something the rv industy wants people to believe.
That’s been our observation as well. We wintered throughout TX and AR moving weekly or sooner for 4.5 months. We got there and back through IA, NE, KS, OK, & MO. RV dealer lots are jammed full everywhere we went. There MAY be a parts shortage, but those parts went into a LOT of new units.
Seen plenty of inventory on rv sales lots across Florida and into Georgia. Industry crying Wolf for all the sheep.
Sorry, but “While I can’t name names at this point” says it all about this article.
Best news for existing rvers there could be. Enough new rv’s. Bottom line – you need a repair? Parts don’t go to you – parts go to Thor or Winnebago or other new RV builders. Existing rv owners be damned.
Should any of us cry about these builders inability to send more new coaches into crowded parks whjile we sit waiting months for parts ourselves.
Further – ever read one line about the RV Industry Assoc jamming congress and Biden about fuel prices and “Green New Deal?”
Greed dominates and buildrers could care less – just get as many out the door as possible.
As everyone else mentions, where is this huge shortage of RV’s in dealer’s lots? There might well be hundreds (if not thousands) of manufacturer lots jammed with unfinished units due to part shortages, but I don’t see that reflected in dealer lots. Everywhere we go, dealer lots are brimming and overflowing with new units for sale.
“Unnamed sources” sounds like today’s ‘news’ stories.
Camping World, Camper Country and some smaller here in NH and ME are packed like sardine cans with new inventory. Yet they want to have you believe there are not enough to go around. The pandemic is slowing and cruises, resorts and world travel is opening and people are backing off buying an RV so what to do with thousands of RVs like the auto companies with lots filled with cars. And what about those that bought because they thought RVing was staying at an upscale resort that you don’t have to dump on your on crap down the whole. Time and energy setting up and taking down. The swing back to closer to normal at RV parks and boobdocking will return like the pandemic coming and going out.
I keep hearing about rv shortage. Here in Texas I see all the dealer I pass loaded to capacity with rv’s
Where are these sold out dealers? I have 3 within an hour of me that are packed with new and used inventory. Maybe these sold out dealers need to talk to their fellow dealers that are flush with inventory.
Every time you hear “there aren’t enough truck drivers” or fast food workers or buggy-whip makers — just change that to “we don’t pay a wage that would be acceptable”. Basic economics says that if people aren’t showing up to do the job, the amount paid is too low. (Now of course, it may also mean that realistic wages may price you out of the market. But that’s a different thing entirely.)
People are not taking jobs because of the inflated unemployment benefits. Return benefits to their normal amounts, and people will go back to work.
Amen
And as long as those stimulus checks continue, the longer people wait for handouts instead of working for a living.
The RV dealerships in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana are also bulging at the seams with RVs, so I’m not believing the hype either.
Made up hype by dealers and good old Chuck!
However lets say its true, from what I am seeing on facebook groups of many mfg’s the quality sucks on what they are turning out. Maybe they should then concentrate on building better units and shaving off a little of the profit margin and pay their teams better.
I wouldn’t buy a unit built right now based on what I am seeing.
Same with cars. For high end models, like Porsche 911s, very hard to find.
I call BS. The dealers in FL are loaded with rigs.
I’ve been to three RV dealers in the last three weeks in North East Pa and the all have lots of RV’s.
If the manufactures have partially finished RVs waiting for parts, maybe this is a good time to slow down and do better quality work. Go out into the lot and go through them looking for things that need fixed now instead of leaving it up to the dealers.
My neighbors has one that when put together the PVC pipes were not ‘glued’ together – just shoved together so they leak under pressure.
All,
Comments here clearly illustrate more than a little disbelief of what RV dealers and others were reporting on the call I attended last week. That’s fair. There are likely many other factors in play that didn’t come up during the call. For instance, the RV inventory you are currently seeing on lots are likely RVs that were ordered and manufactured at some point last summer, and delivered either late last year or this spring to dealers. Dealers’ current concerns about the supply chain and order delays likely involves their fear or being unable to restock the stock they currently have. If that’s so, you’ll likely notice supplies dwindling rapidly as the summer goes on. Regardless, I promise I’ll dig deeper into this subject and get some “quotable” facts to you as soon as I can. – Mike Gast
Hahaha.. looks like you got some ‘splainin’ to do!
Yesterday, I went to CW as well as three other RV shops and dealers in the Ft Myers, FL area. I also spoke with an owner of a reputable RV consignment dealer who is in on the FL state RV association. He said that they can’t get RVs to sell and the ones that they do have are flying off the lot.His lot looked bare at both locations. As far as CW, two years ago, the Units for sale were spaced about one foot apart. Now their side lot had room for two to three units between each one for sale. They too had a lot of repair units in this one lot. The other three dealers also had large spaces that were empty in the rear and side yards, but a large amount of units in for repair. After speaking with the sales manager at one location, he told me one of the main reasons that there are no RV shows this season or scheduled for the fall, is that they have nothing to little to sell. What is being reported is observable. Don’t drink the koolaide.
At this point, the big Hershey show is still scheduled.
Starting to wonder if this shortage is regional? Lots is SC, and PA, but looks like few in FL.
My fifth wheel has been for sale for over a year. I could sell it if I wanted to take a big loss but I don’t. My price is reasonable.
My Aliner is for sale. Listed in Escapees magazine. However, for big RV’s, come to Dallas Fort Worth. RV’s fill the lots.
Recently in SC, near Myrtle Beach. There are a bunch of RV dealers there, and very little room for more RVs. I think this is a made up story to drive sales. I have yet, since late 2020 to see a PNC RV dealer with an empty lot. Just ain’t real, folks.
The RV dealers in SW Florida from Sarasota to Naples off I 75 have lots filled with RVs. There maybe others in Florida but these are the ones I have seen. If you want a new RV SW Florida has them.
It would be helpful to distinguish exactly where said shortages are . . . Travel trailers, Class A or C Motorhomes, etc? In recent travels, I am seeing plenty of travel trailers, but limited motorhomes available.
Just got back from a trip thru Ky, Tenn, Ark, Tx, Ls, and Miss. Every RV dealer I passed was loaded with inventory.
Maybe the problem is relying on parts from China to save a couple of bucks instead of manufacturing them in the USA.
In our dealer (and maybe yours too) they have 100’s of RV’s of all shapes sizes and ages and when you go in to buy one they have a board of 10 (mostly new cheap campers) that has 7 of them sold or pending. When I asked about all the other used ones…they said they were the ones waiting to be repaired.
Just a small bit of info: integrated circuits (chips) are made using silicon; breast implants are made from silicone.
Thanks, Charles! One little letter sure can make a huge difference! 😆 It’s been fixed. Have a great day! 😀 —Diane