The RV market December 2021

[cptqueeg]

How is the market shaping up for used and new RV's this winter?

Has anyone noticed any increase in availability or willingness to sell for less than top dollar?

I recently started shopping for a Class B and there seem to be some that have sat unsold for months and some have reduced asking prices.

[Veebyes]

If the plan is to be on the road next season the time to buy is now. You might even be a bit late. IMO the best time to buy is right after the season when people are tired of their current unit, don't want to pay/do the winter mothballing, & don't want to pay for winter storage. They just want to be rid of it.

If you have done your research & have narrowed your possible models down, you wait & watch the ads online like a hawk. If the model you are after is common, good for you, make an offer or wait till the next comes along. If the model is abit of a rare one be prepared to jump on it, travelling further to get it if necessary.

Spring is too late. Everyone is out looking then & the price is up.

[way2roll]

Lantley wrote:
Time maybe infinite but our time is not.
The idea waiting for a better time is funny.
There is no time like the present.
Prices in the future are unknown. What we do know is our time on the planet is limited.
Waiting for the right time as though our time has no limits, waste a lot of valuable time. Act now tomorrow is not guaranteed at any price.

Hallmark sentiments but sometimes not practical. Supply and demand can be predictable. In any given year you will pay more for the same RV in the spring than you will in the middle of winter. So, all things equal, it pays to wait a few months. COVID has spiked RV travel and at the same time slowed it's production. A result where demand goes up and supply goes down = RV's that can be sold for more than they were bought. I predict this summer with inventory coming back in a saturated market, prices will drop dramatically. That could mean 10's of thousands of dollars saved. Worth it to wait a few months? You bet.

Now is always a great time to do things if you are independently wealthy. For most folks timing is everything even if it means waiting.

[hondapro]

Lantley wrote:
Time maybe infinite but our time is not.
The idea waiting for a better time is funny.
There is no time like the present.
Prices in the future are unknown. What we do know is our time on the planet is limited.
Waiting for the right time as though our time has no limits, waste a lot of valuable time. Act now tomorrow is not guaranteed at any price.

I agree 100 percent.

[Lantley]

Time maybe infinite but our time is not.
The idea waiting for a better time is funny.
There is no time like the present.
Prices in the future are unknown. What we do know is our time on the planet is limited.
Waiting for the right time as though our time has no limits, waste a lot of valuable time. Act now tomorrow is not guaranteed at any price.

[ajriding]

Prices not coming down. In the last year or so the Dollar has lost 25% of its value. They say 50% of all the Dollars printed were printed in the last year or 18 months. Spend those Dollars now while is has current value, the Dollar will not go up in value, it will buy less tomorrow and less the day after that...

I would suggest selling your old, buying your new now because you need/want it now. The price of the used will go up as the price of the new goes up. The way to beat the system is to buy new now and hold your used until its dollar price goes up, but that is not worth the hassle. However, as your used ages its prices also tends to go down, so there is a balance point somewhere in there.
If all these new covid RV buyers start to sell at some point, then the market will be full of used RVs too. Just sell yours now and be done with it.

Im sitting on an Onan gen just in case there is a generator shortage, a panic and some power outages for whatever reason (snow or closed power plants). RVs may not sell in winter, but generators do, lol.

[wowens79]

We are wanting to upgrade truck and move to a 5th wheel, and we have thought about selling the TT now while prices are high, and being camperless for 6 months to a year until prices come down. I just can't decide if it is worth it to be camperless for that long.

[cptqueeg]

Grit dog wrote:

cptqueeg wrote:
How is the market shaping up for used and new RV's this winter?

Has anyone noticed any increase in availability or willingness to sell for less than top dollar?

I recently started shopping for a Class B and there seem to be some that have sat unsold for months and some have reduced asking prices.

It appears you have found some for less than top dollar, start shootin offers.
I thought you were after a TC though, just recently?

My original plan was a 1T truck w a Hallmark pop-up TC, but I missed the boat at the beginning of the pandemic on both the camper and truck. I was just beginning my research on TC's as the pandemic started. We have "lost out" so the fomo is gone now.

Last summer I stumbled on to a FWC as a temporary fix that I put on my existing Tundra. But the FWC seems to be a barely 3 season camper, which I could never use for ski trips. I also had intentions of towing a fishing boat, but sold the boat already. And I'll likely never draw a late season deer hunt in Idaho so the need for a really capable 4x4 TC is kinda out of the picture now. I'm not fond of the top heavy TCs like a NL or the other heavies that really require a DRW, although I haven't ruled that out completely yet.


Based on our trips w the FWC I learned a lot about what we need and what we don't. So I shifted to the B's which sacrifice the capability of a 4x4 pu for the amenities of the B. We just made a trip to Camping World in Idaho Falls and the lot was packed w new RV's, but no buyers(must be Christmas shopping.)


As everyone knows it's all a compromise and we're talking substantial amounts of money so I'm not wanting to eat the depreciation as well as face a weakening RV market on top of that should we decide that it's not for us. I'm pretty sure we'll see how it goes w the FWC for another season. Maybe folks will tire of #vanlife soon, but there are already some pretty nice used outfits that have been sitting waiting for buyers.

[NamMedevac_70]

All the new RV dealer lots in the Reno area are full of new RVs and have been for years. YEP.

[BB_TX]

Took a 300 mile trip from north of Dallas to the TX hill country two weeks ago. Passed a lot of RV dealers and all their lots were full. Any recent shortages appear to have been more than made up for. I would expect dealers more willing to work with you on pricing. And likely used prices will start falling back to normal levels.

[Lightning55]

I've heard that the market is still strong, but RV lots are filling up with inventory again. I'm not in the market but I'd guess that prices are starting to soften with increased availability. I think the late model used market is still strong. I suspect that it won't be long and the market will be flooded with inventory and the prices will drop a lot.

[Grit_dog]

cptqueeg wrote:
How is the market shaping up for used and new RV's this winter?

Has anyone noticed any increase in availability or willingness to sell for less than top dollar?

I recently started shopping for a Class B and there seem to be some that have sat unsold for months and some have reduced asking prices.

It appears you have found some for less than top dollar, start shootin offers.
I thought you were after a TC though, just recently?

[Grit_dog]

BobsYourUncle wrote:
The Lower Mainland of BC has a serious reduction in available inventory after the massive fire at Fraserway RV destroyed a couple hundred new RVs.
That certainly didn't help.

3/100ths of 1% of the campers produced in 2021 is not a serious reduction in available inventory. But you're correct, it didn't help.
One can only hope the market is stupid high again next year, or I hope at least. If it is I be makin some $ on our truck and camper?

That said, I doubt the market will be as hot next year.
Intuitively, one would think that buying a RV now, in the winter may yield the best deal, though. Lot's of campers sitting covered in snow now, or will be soon!

[TenOC]

ALL the lots in Tennessee are FULL

[bgum]

There is no shortage in this area.