RV campgrounds reap benefits of high gas prices

Recreational vehicles aren’t exactly known for their fuel efficiency. In light of high fuel prices, conventional wisdom would suggest RV and camper trailer sales — and usage, for that matter — would be taking a hit right now.

However, as camping enthusiasts decide to remain in the area rather than travel abroad, local RV campgrounds are thriving. Camper and RV dealerships, meanwhile, are finding ways to make ends meet, said officials.

“I think we’ll probably just ride it out,” said Becky Shockley, an official at Cross County RV Center in Mattoon. The fuel situation “hasn’t put the business at a standstill by any means. We’re still selling on a regular basis.”

More than half of Cross County’s sales are to out-of-state customers — especially “snowbirds”: people who travel in RVs to warmer climates in the fall and winter months, said Shockley.

“Motor homes and larger luxury fifth-wheel (trailers), those are not affected” by the gasoline prices, she said.

Cross County also continues to sell larger units to traveling workers — such as those installing oil pipelines or cell towers — who invest reimbursements from their employers in mobile homes rather than spend the money on hotels, said Shockley.

But sales of smaller “weekender” RVs and campers have declined, she added. “We can see a little slowdown there” because of the fuel crunch, Shockley said.

The situation is almost the reverse at Owen Motor Sports near Charleston, where smaller units are selling better than larger RVs and fifth-wheel trailers. The gasoline hike “has slowed down everything, but it seems like the used units and small units are moving (because) people are staying closer to home,” said Jarrod Moran, general manager. Read more...