Will RV sales pick up this year?

Snow flurries fall on those wishing for warmer camping weather.  Others step inside an RV to see how it handles the cold temperatures.  No matter how you like your camping weather, we’re told the deals for RVs in Colorado are hot.

“Everybody’s looking for deals right now, and there are deals to be found,” says The Car Show General Manager Jerry VanBrunt.

“Just trying to find the right thing at the right time,” says Doug Miller, who came to the RV show to look at buying a toy trailer, but ended up touring several recreational vehicles.

“They’re willing to deal with you right now, and the prices are phenomenal,” says Kathleen Miller.

Motor home sales were down 42 percent nationally in 2008, compared with 2007, according to the National RV Dealers Association. Travel trailer sales were down 23 percent.

Last year, gas prices climbed to more than three dollars a gallon.  This year, gas prices are hovering around two dollars per gallon nationally, which translates to a positive RV sales forecast.

Also, people seem to be making travel plans closer to home, and not going abroad.

“The local Coloradans are realizing you know, they got a lot to see here, so they’re spending money on RVs and doing some camping here in Colorado,” says VanBrunt.

Another factor the RV industry is watching, the credit market.  A tight credit market hurts big purchases like RVs, but if lending loosens up, more people will go home with their travel dream in their driveway.