Highlights from the 2008 RVIA Show
Highlights from the 2008 RVIA Show
In walking the show and speaking with both attendees and exhibitors during the past several days a single question reverberated throughout the show – “What are you hearing about attendance?”
According to RVIA, attendance was down 37 percent. There is no doubt that this is a dismal number, but writing off the show as a flop would be mistake. Manufacturers and other exhibitors report that they did indeed write orders at the show. In speaking with dealers, many of them report that despite what many might think, dealers often place their orders long before the show. In speaking with Kelli Harms of Winnebago, she told me that the company doesn’t really attend the show with the intention of it being the crucial sales event of the year for the company. Based on what other dealers tell me this is probably true for many of the manufacturers.
Speaking of Winnebago, I was very impressed with their new 2010 Class A, the Via and its Itasca counterpart the Reyo, built on a Dodge Sprinter chassis with a Mercedes Benz diesel engine. With the 15-plus miles per gallon the Via offers, it officially gets better gas mileage than my 2001 Jeep Cherokee.
Both Winnebago and Fleetwood introduced Class A hybrids at Louisville that are a very exciting advancement for the industry. The hybrids are built on a new Freightliner ecoFRED chassis and offer fuel saving of more than 40 percent. This is an important advancement as our industry begins to focus on providing greener products.
A number of suppliers and aftermarket manufacturers introduced new products that also go along the green theme. This shows that the industry is diligently working to produce the kinds of products that are customers will soon be demanding.
Overall the show was a great opportunity to identify where other members of our RV business community are heading. New business opportunities exist and the general consensus is we are not out of the woods yet, 2009 will be a very challenging year but many companies are positioning themselves to weather the storm.
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December 9th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
R V’s ARE green. R V’s were green, kinda like that song says , before green was cool. There are very few fuel burning machines in existance that get better fuel economy per hour of use than an R V. We need to tell the public just how green our products are. I have started doing that in radio ads and have had a very positive response. I’ve had numerous responses to the ads with comments in the vein of ” you know, I hadn’t thought of it that way”
I’d be happy to e-mail the ad to anyone who wants to use the material.
Right now, green is popular and rings the bell. We, as a group, can’t change that , so we need to join in or shut up about it completely. Seeing as how I believe we are in fact selling a green product, I’m for joining.
December 9th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I believe the RV industry should focus on value and conservation because it saves people money, not because it is “green.” People are getting tired of “green” being pushed by the popular culture as a movement. People want a good product at a reasonable price, and if they can save money on fuel, that’s a bonus. Nobody wants to be a wasteful polluter littering the environment. But they also don’t want cardboard trailers (hyperbole to make a point) pushed on them as a “green” product. Take the word “green” out of all RV literature.
December 7th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
All of these comments are great to learn about.
Rob, I agree that if we try too much to transform the “culture” of our products to the point that they no longer do what we want them to do we will do serious harm to our industry.
“Go Green” My thinking for going “green” is to make our engines more fuel efficient while at the same time, increasing their power and driveability. This is something that the light truck accessory industry has been attempting to do for some time.
I do believe that the best “green” factor for the RV industry across the board can be achieved by developing better products and accessories for our RV’s that utilize new energy innovations and discovery.
December 7th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I agree. The “Go Green” effort is symbolism over substance. The cost to build and purchase a more fuel efficient RV far outways the savings in fuel cost. Especially now that fuel has come back to a more reasonable level. Hybrids are a joke! Have you seen the Tahoe with it’s 10″ letters reading “HYBRID”? It’s like they’re wearing a badge saying “I care more than you do!” The Global Warming Religion will be the demise of this country if we don’t get these Lear Jet Liberals under control.
December 6th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
We have screwed ourselves. I just came from Outdoor World/Bass Pro Shops. I was looking for a polycarbonate water bottle. Everything in the isle where they were was made in China, everything, including the Nalgene bottle. Thermos bottles, vacuum food sealers, steering wheel covers, seat covers, smokers, grills, etc. We can’t outsource our country and expect to survive. There should be no bail outs for companies that made bad decisions and got rich and now need to be saved. If I make a bad decision at my small business I toasted. Also this week 2 banks lowered my credit card limits to $500 more than the balance and one closed one that had no balance. I have been trying to get a lease for a new machine for 1 year with no luck. As much asa I didn’t like Newt Gingrich he said something great, “You can’t have capitalism on the way up and socialism on the way down”
December 6th, 2008 at 7:39 am
The press/media ect. has shot down almost any prospect of a decent outlook for the next several months. if I was working at any job, I doubt if I would buy any RV or
new truck/car either. The major news stories is how many
people are laid off, or overloaded with credit card debt.
We need some good news now with a postive outlook or they
will be wondering where the RV Dealers went.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
Personally, I think this whole “go green” idea regarding RV’s is a waste of time. I’ve been selling RV’s for 18 years and have never lost or made a sale because of fuel efficiency. The percentage of time, and number of miles most RV users put on, makes it nearly irrelevant.
Gasoline cost less than half of what it did 2-3 months ago. Now what manufacturers? Build more products that our customers don’t want?
This is symbolism over substance and could prove fatal for those unable to retool in the future to give RV buyers what they want. Comfort, convenience and a good time.
This is America, not Europe or Japan, and I hope it never will be.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
A big reason for the drop in RV shipments is that Bank of America, GE and others have been beating up the RV dealers. They cut floorplan availability and raised floorplan rates. I am at 50% of my floorplan limit and have not been able to buy anything for 90 days. My hot models are sold out and I can’t order replacements.
Most major nationwide banks got bail out money and used it to buy failing wall street brokers and other banks. Just try to get a better floorplan rate or easy retail financing. The bailout was a bad idea, handled poorly and has screwed us all.
December 5th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
(1) Has GoRving or any good market evaluation expert/firm suggested that there is a feeling of: “I would probably buy and take delivery (often two distinct goals)of a motorhome or towable product if these smaller and “more fuel efficient” products were available.”?
I worry that we may be retooling and spending development money on what might be the equivilent of a 1 bedroom house! The adage that “perception is reality” may very well be the reason and, in the short run, may work and be worth the price.
(2)Then who will make the loans?? If the government takes over the money lending,and since the uninformed and radical protection groups (the media and you know the names) are in high places, we will, or do have a real problem!
I keep thinking we are 10 months to a year late in press release and marketing campaigns that discuss gallons per day and a good description of the “work(in the scientific sense)produced by what the media likes to call “gas guzzling” or “fuel swilling RVs”! Can we now support these efforts? It has been financially and resource draining for quite awhile now. WE MUST SELL OUR INDUSTRY and who can do it better that our customers (if we take care of them)