Anyone fancy camping? It's a buyer's market for RVs facing pandemic-era sales

Like many Canadians, Alan Hong and his wife bought a trailer in 2020. Air travel was out of the question due to pandemic restrictions, so spending time and money enjoying nature made sense.

But now they want to give up life on the open road and get back into the air.

“We thought we would use the money from the sale to go on international trips,” said Hong, 37, who lives in Calgary.

RVs — along with boats, ATVs and other outdoor vehicles — sold like hotcakes during the pandemic, as people poured vacation funds into goods they could enjoy closer to home.

But I like it Peloton and semiconductorsStatistics Canada economist Eric Desjardins said the sector is currently undergoing a market correction, with household spending on “major outdoor recreation durable goods” down 11 per cent last year.

According to the agency, tourism spending increased, with air transport and accommodation leading the growth in the fourth quarter. However, pre-trip spending — including RV and camping equipment — was the only product category that fell nine percent last year.

Amid inflation and high interest rates, sales of new RVs, especially, fell nearly 20 percent last year and are now below pre-pandemic levels, according to the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association.

“People have a little less discretionary income,” said Eleanor Hamm, president of the association, noting that RV rentals are still fairly strong.

The decline varied by province. In Alberta, the nation's RV hotspot, sales were down about seven per cent, while sales in B.C. were down 30 per cent, he said.

People don't put off buying a new RV. Some get rid of what they have altogether.

“There is quite a bit of pre-owned inventory on dealer lots right now,” Hamm said.

Used RV listings on RVDealers.ca more than doubled this quarter compared to the same period last year, according to website owner Chris Perera.

He attributes the trend to two factors. Some people bought whatever RV they could get their hands on at the height of the pandemic and are now trying to trade up for a better model. Others are getting out of the market, realizing the lifestyle isn't for them.

“What we're seeing now is a buyer's market,” said Perera, who also owns BoatDealers.ca and says a similar trend is developing in the sector.

The seller says that the market is “flooded”.

A buyer's market is bad news for sellers like Jason Huntley.

Huntley has bought and sold many RVs during his decades-long camping career and has been listed online for a year. According to him, it took him the longest to sell.

“It seems to me that the market is flooded,” he said.

The drop in demand is also affecting RV manufacturers such as Winnebago of the U.S., whose net income fell about 19 percent in the latest quarter, and Thor Industries, whose North American motor RV sales fell about 23 percent over the same period. last year.

“(It's) a bit of an industry recovery,” said David Whiston, an analyst who covers the RV and car sector for Morningstar. He said shipments from RV manufacturers hit their lowest level in nearly a decade last year.

“2020 compared to 2021, it was mostly turbocharged demand and that's not sustainable.”

However, Whiston believes the industry has long-term potential. The pandemic has introduced many people to camping and RVing for the first time, and while not everyone who has tried it wants to stick with it, he believes there is still a wider pool of consumers than before the pandemic.

“Someone (who) buys in 2020 won't necessarily buy in 2024, but they may be back in the market in a few years.”

For Hong, an RV salesman, the same can be said for his family. His busy career currently means he doesn't have time to hit the road and maintain an RV, but he says he'll feel differently in the future.

“We might get back to it, down the road.”