RV Weekly

Do you remember when you first learned about Fleetwood opening up the first RV manufacturing plant in Mexico? I remember when that news first came over the wire, I had mixed feelings. From a business perspective, it seemed to be a pretty smart move but, like many Americans, I hate to see jobs leave the U.S. Like many of you, I wondered if this was the beginning of a slow, steady migration of RV manufacturers to Mexico.

It seems our concerns were unfounded because no other manufacturers followed suit. Fleetwood didn’t whole-heartedly close up shop in the U.S., either.

Interestingly enough, a southbound migration is occurring. I just read a story http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25175249/ about how consumers are crossing the border to fill up their gas tanks. The story says that in Tijuana diesel is only $2.20, but just a few miles north in San Diego, diesel is $5.04 a gallon. That is a pretty big difference.

Mexican government subsidies are keeping the price down, which raises the question, “Is it cheaper to manufacture raw goods like steel, aluminum and fiberglass down south?” My guess would be, “Yes, for right now.” Will the trend continue?

I am told from various suppliers that the cost of building materials for RVs and aftermarket products has risen substantially with the rising cost of oil. If labor is less expensive in Mexico, and the cost to build and buy raw materials is less expensive in Mexico, and the fuel price of shipping the RV to the dealer is 50 percent cheaper from Mexico, the questions I ponder are, “Are other RV manufacturers taking a harder look at Fleetwood’s decision and potentially considering a move?” and “How much of a margin does this really build into a unit?”

Many believe some of the economic conditions we see today are effects of how the world is changing to a global economy. Will the factors that make Mexican RVs, hitches, furnaces, sinks and other products so attractive continue to impact our industry or is this merely something short-lived that we must weather?

If there was ever a time when America needed to get away from it all, forget the TV news, leave the newspaper unread, get outdoors and just relax, it is now. I continue to see stories about how the national economy is crushing our industry – housing and oil are the epicenter and forecasts predict that those two will continue to spiral for some time to come. On the other side of the coin, we see stories about how consumers are using their RVs and going camping. If fact, camping has never been more popular.

National RV rentals are booming, campgrounds are full and yet RV sales are sluggish. Since the people who own RVs are using them, the key is convincing people to take the plunge and buy an RV. Once they do, we all know they won’t regret it. So how do we convince them? I see time and again how companies are focusing on directly advertising to the consumer. While we have seen unbelievable success with this in the past, it doesn’t seem to be working so well of late. The fact is you can’t out-advertise the media. The people who decide what “news” is and what the “facts” are have the upper hand when it comes to reaching the consumer.

I think our entire industry should make a concentrated grass roots effort to change the type of coverage we are seeing in the national press. Call it a “Sponsor a Reporter Day.” What would be the impact if every dealership in the nation made an effort to send a local reporter (with his/her spouse) out camping? Send them to a nearby campsite with a refrigerator full of food and a full tank of gas. When they return, give them an itemized list of what it cost to get them there. Groceries and necessities $75, travel distance 90 miles round trip (equating to $48 in gas), camp site fee $36. Let them write about the real cost of camping coupled with the awesome time they had. Heck, getting them away from the doom and gloom of a newsroom would probably do loads for their overall disposition, the type of news stories we see about RVing and ultimately our national economy. Target the news “decision maker” is what I say.

When you consider the price to reach the consumer through advertising, the cost of implementing this would be fairly small. Heck, dealers could do this for weeks on end until the entire local newsroom had gone RVing and it would still equate to less than a couple of consumer-targeted ads. The free coverage would undoubtedly be positive and could be priceless. While national advertising campaigns are great (and who can dispute the impact of GO RVing?), let’s take it to a new level and target a whole different demographic.