by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Stadium parking lots will be filled with RVs this weekend during the Jacksonville RV Supershow.
Billed as Northeast Florida’s “Largest RV Show,” the event will showcase hundreds of new and used recreational vehicles from dealers located throughout Florida starting today and running through Monday. Eight dealers and 20 vendors will be on hand from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
“We’ve seen bigger crowds and more enthusiasm at shows recently,” said Lesa Colvin, show director for Florida RV Trade Association.
Motor homes, travel trailers, folding tent campers and fifth wheels will be on display for customers that have a tight hold on the purse strings when it comes to discretionary spending, lately. Despite the economy, dealers don’t feel that they have to give their product away.
“People think we are desperate right now, but we planned for this and we are in a good position right now,” said David Drake of Dick Gore’s RV World. “We had some skinny sales halfway through 2007 when we saw the market taking a downturn and we reduced inventory, so we are in a good position right now.”
The economy and cautious consumers aren’t the biggest problem Drake sees with the RV market.
“It’s the banks that received the bail out money from the stimulus package,” said Drake. “They received the money, but they aren’t making it available for loans.”
The effects of a “soft” market for RVs is being felt throughout the industry. Monaco Coach Corp., a former supplier for local dealers Dick Gore and Suncoast RV, is down to 150 workers from 2,000 a year ago and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., cut back its workforce at Forest River Inc., which considered itself the “largest producer of towable RVs and cargo trailers.”
Despite the bad signs within the industry, Drake is optimistic about the future because of the traffic he sees.
“People are still coming in,” said Drake. “The desire is still out there. People are still buying.”
And it’s just not one demographic or type of RV that is driving sales, according to Scott Manson, of Camping World RV Sales.
“We are seeing all kinds of people looking at everything from pop-ups to motor coaches,” said Manson.
One item both dealers haven’t been hearing too much about is the tax incentive available for RV purchases through the recent federal economic stimulus bill.
“It really hasn’t affected sales,” said Manson. “People are looking more at prices than the tax break they’d get.”
Individuals who earn less than $125,000 and families that earn less than $250,000 per year can deduct the sales tax paid on the first $49,500 of the purchase price.
Dave Kelly, marketing director for Florida RV Trade Association, hopes that the incentives and weather are enough to bring a big crowd out to the RV show this weekend.
“The deals are just incredible right now. It’s a buyers market,” said Kelly. “We also moved the date back into March this year with the hope of catching some nice weather and it looks like that just might happen.”
With six shows under his belt during the current show season, which runs from about Thanksgiving to Easter, Kelly has been impressed by the attendance numbers.
“We have seen a steady increase in attendance at each show,” said Kelly. “Now whether or not that turns in to sales, I don’t know. But at least there is a lot of interest.”
That interest can be peaked by some of the advances being made in the industry, such as increased fuel efficiency and lighter weight RVs. Some of the Class B RVs, which look like inflated vans, can reach 20 mpg and the lighter towables also help increase mileage for everyday vehicles.
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