Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Downturn in RV Industry
Old 05-19-2008, 01:04 PM   #1
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
haha's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
Downturn in RV Industry

The RV industry is the newest casualty of the economic slump. - By Daniel Gross - Slate Magazine

Maybe some bargains around for those who want an RV but haven't acted yet.

Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
haha is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 05-19-2008, 01:11 PM   #2
Full time employment: Posting here.
Delawaredave5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 699
Was talking with a guy at a marina - he said "a lot of folks" are not putting their boat in the water because of the gas.

I do seem to think I'm seeing more boats / RV on side of road for sale.
Delawaredave5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2008, 01:23 PM   #3
Moderator Emeritus
Rich_by_the_Bay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 8,827
That article is, as you can imagine, all over the RV boards. As a potential (but by no means definite) RV upgrader in a year or two, we had all but abandoned the idea because of the cost of gas. However, at current levels the price savings upon purchase of a new or new-ish class A gasoline RV is thousands lower than it was, as in $10K lower or even more. For diesels, the savings are in the 10s of thousands.

That's 2500 gallons of $4/g gas which at 7 mpg means 17,500 miles. Most RVs are driven under 10k per year. So arithmetically, the savings probably more than offset the newly expensive gas cost for the average buyer.

Obviously there's more to the decision than fuel, but there are the numbers.
__________________
Rich
San Francisco Area
ESR'd March 2010. FIRE'd January 2011.

As if you didn't know..If the above message contains medical content, it's NOT intended as advice, and may not be accurate, applicable or sufficient. Don't rely on it for any purpose. Consult your own doctor for all medical advice.
Rich_by_the_Bay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2008, 01:41 PM   #4
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 97
There were still a lot of motorhomes on the road last weekend. We paid $4.49 per gallon for diesel, only needed 105 gallons.

Dave
__________________
Born with nothing, still have most of it left!
Need to be on the road more!
ex_CFO_now_RVer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2008, 01:47 PM   #5
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
REWahoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,000
This obviously doesn't work for the folks who are on a tight budget, but the current mindset of a lot of folks with high-dollar RV's goes something like this: "I paid $XXX,XXX to enjoy this thing, no way will I stop using it just because I'm going to be paying another $XXX per month for fuel."

Right Dave?
__________________
Numbers is hard
REWahoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2008, 02:13 PM   #6
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 97
The price of fuel can be hedged by purchasing energy stocks/mutual funds. Most commodities can be hedged to offset increases in consumer prices. You need to adjust your investments.

Dave
__________________
Born with nothing, still have most of it left!
Need to be on the road more!
ex_CFO_now_RVer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2008, 03:41 PM   #7
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Midpack's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NC
Posts: 21,150
I have a boat, but it will be the last one...
__________________
No one agrees with other people's opinions; they merely agree with their own opinions -- expressed by somebody else. Sydney Tremayne
Retired Jun 2011 at age 57

Target AA: 50% equity funds / 45% bonds / 5% cash
Target WR: Approx 1.5% Approx 20% SI (secure income, SS only)
Midpack is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2008, 04:00 PM   #8
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
TromboneAl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
This is a definite plus for us, with less of a summer traffic influx.
__________________
Al
TromboneAl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2008, 04:35 PM   #9
Moderator Emeritus
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 12,890
I saw on CNBC today that boat repos have increased sharply in the past year(something like +200% if I remember well).
FIREd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2008, 04:38 PM   #10
Administrator
Gumby's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 22,923
My brother owns an RV campground down in the Ozarks. He has seen a severe drop off in business over the past year.
__________________
Living an analog life in the Digital Age.
Gumby is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2008, 05:43 PM   #11
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Rambler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 2,487
I'm going to check out the selection when I'm back in the states in a few weeks. I've been daydreaming an RV for some time now, and was thinking about buying in a year or so...maybe it makes sense to jump in now before the economy recovers...I like RiT's math, wonder if it will work on DW??

R
Rambler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2008, 06:28 PM   #12
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
REWahoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,000
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rambler View Post
I'm going to check out the selection when I'm back in the states in a few weeks. I've been daydreaming an RV for some time now, and was thinking about buying in a year or so...maybe it makes sense to jump in now before the economy recovers...
I don't think you need to be in any rush. I expect prices will continue to drop for several months to come should gas and diesel prices continue to remain in the $4-5 level, something very likely to happen. You could save thousands more if you are patient.
__________________
Numbers is hard
REWahoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2008, 07:01 PM   #13
Moderator Emeritus
Rich_by_the_Bay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 8,827
Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
I don't think you need to be in any rush. I expect prices will continue to drop for several months to come should gas and diesel prices continue to remain in the $4-5 level, something very likely to happen. You could save thousands more if you are patient.
I agree with that guesstimate.

The one exception might be if you can pick up a new 2007 - there are occasional models still around. I've seen a few Damons, Monarchs, Winnebagos and Forest River gassers. They were very aggressively priced.
__________________
Rich
San Francisco Area
ESR'd March 2010. FIRE'd January 2011.

As if you didn't know..If the above message contains medical content, it's NOT intended as advice, and may not be accurate, applicable or sufficient. Don't rely on it for any purpose. Consult your own doctor for all medical advice.
Rich_by_the_Bay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-19-2008, 07:42 PM   #14
Moderator Emeritus
Nords's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,855
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa View Post
However, at current levels the price savings upon purchase of a new or new-ish class A gasoline RV is thousands lower than it was, as in $10K lower or even more. For diesels, the savings are in the 10s of thousands.
Obviously there's more to the decision than fuel, but there are the numbers.
It's always better to upgrade your real estate at the pit of the recession downturn. Your sale may lose 20-30% but your purchase is also reduced by at least that much, and it's probably a bigger purchase to begin with.

Of course RVs depreciate a bit faster than homes, but I'm not sure if that's significant when gas prices are rising about 10x faster than the cost of electricity...
__________________
*

Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."

I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.
Nords is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2008, 04:05 AM   #15
Full time employment: Posting here.
jambo101's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Montreal
Posts: 940
Bet the sail boat crowd are having a bit of a chuckle down at the marina.
__________________
"Second star to the right and straight on till morning"
jambo101 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2008, 04:36 AM   #16
Moderator Emeritus
Ronstar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northern Illinois
Posts: 16,543
I have the "prius" of boats. I should be able to get by with less than $20 in gas for the summer.

Ronstar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2008, 06:40 AM   #17
Moderator
Walt34's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Eastern WV Panhandle
Posts: 25,290
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rambler View Post
...I like RiT's math, wonder if it will work on DW??

R
Didn't work on mine.

Just rolled her eyes and said "Nice try".
__________________
When I was a kid I wanted to be older. This is not what I expected.
Walt34 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2008, 08:30 AM   #18
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
youbet's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Chicago
Posts: 13,149
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronstar View Post
I have the "prius" of boats. I should be able to get by with less than $20 in gas for the summer.

Because you just stay at the dock and use it as a patio? Or do you have something magic to give you many cruising hours per gallon
__________________
"I wasn't born blue blood. I was born blue-collar." John Wort Hannam
youbet is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2008, 09:41 AM   #19
Moderator Emeritus
Ronstar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northern Illinois
Posts: 16,543
The motor is so small you cant see it in the photo - its a 9.9 hp - and yes sometimes I cruise out to a fishing hole and use it as a patio for a few hours.
Ronstar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-20-2008, 11:27 AM   #20
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
ls99's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 6,496
The fuel cost of transporting my kayak to the local lake has gone up. However since I always stop at the local greasy spoon for coffee and BS, after paddling, some of the cost already figured in.

Attendance at the "truth and veracity league" aka liars club is fun. Though kayaking has been rough what with it raining nearly every day for the past two weeks.

The trailer, oh yes getting it ready, putting on new brakes etc. State forest lands not far way for boondocking. Saves fuel by staying within a hundred miles or so.
__________________
There must be moderation in everything, including moderation.
ls99 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Has the downturn stopped anyone from ER nun FIRE and Money 44 01-23-2008 05:47 AM
Cash is king in the real estate downturn Orchidflower FIRE and Money 19 01-17-2008 09:07 PM
Frontline on the credit card industry donheff FIRE and Money 16 12-03-2006 07:43 AM
American Industry has a competitive disadvantage. Maximillion FIRE and Money 1 03-20-2006 10:38 AM
Japan - Their 20 year Downturn and their Investors............. Cut-Throat FIRE and Money 30 10-31-2005 03:13 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:37 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.