@@shadowdraxx I don't think that is a bad thing for some brands to go away. Right now there are so many brands that overlap within the Thor and Forest River silos that it dilutes the brand and results in fewer sales as folks look for something different.
Hey there Josh To go along with the campground segment you have I have something to add I never thought i would ever say. Been camping all my life from pop ups now to a class C and at age 50 the one thing that has taken the thrill and the excitement and joy out of camping is the people in general. Other campers. Now this doesn’t apply to all but the rudeness and the lack of manners and courtesy with both adults and children and some of the pets it’s just gotten to the point I would rather stay home. The drive and the set up tear down time dealing with traffic etc is just about not worth it anymore. And this has an issue with my spouse. She loves going and still has the fever and I’m to the point of just throwing in the towel. Not because of the desire of a hotel but because I’ve gotten to the point i just can’t stand people. Now don’t get me wrong I’ve met and made a ton of friends camping but no matter where you go anymore you have folks who just forget their manners let the kids and dogs run buck wild and not to mention the disregard of their neighbors. We have recently invested in a very nice class C and I made the statement that if someone offered me a what we owed I would take it. Which by the way is way less than it’s value. So I guess it doesn’t really matter how nice a unit you have or how many bells and whistles you get or how little money you spend somethings just are not worth the troubles when people can’t act right Thanks for all you do brother.
@@cainmarko1234 you’re so right. Most people go camping with their family to relax and have fun let the kids play but anymore its letting them invade other people’s campsites possibly damaging or destroying equipment and getting hurt then blaming you for their kids getting hurt or what about enjoying a good cold one. Yea something i like but you don’t need to broadcast it to everyone with loud obnoxious conversation or super foul language and all the overly loud music and the complete disregard for quite hours. The last few times we have been out the park rangers or security have had nothing but complaints and call after call. I have never seen so many people evicted from campgrounds as I have in the last few years. People can say what they want but I am beginning to wonder if it was Covid or the shot or maybe the combination of both that had caused people to go absolutely insane. Told my wife if I want that I can set up the fire ring pull out the awning right here in the yard and get the same stuff from our neighbors. So why should i spend good money just to get the same thing i I get at home for free??? So when I made the comment that we have a expense lawn ornament she blew up. 😂 lol
So very true Jay! We opted for an rv resort in Camp Verde Az because it was highly rated by Good Sam as a “10 out of 10”. We get there and we find out that they let in ALL breeds of dogs. The pit bull residing next door to us was left alone outside in a 3’ fenced in area. The dog jumped the fence, went after two small kids playing near by and then turned towards my wife to attack her. I went to my vehicle to grab my gun as did several other neighbors. Fortunately the dog retreated under its home until the owner was called home to capture it. Now I’m thinking, “ I might have resorted to violence and killed an animal in front of several people in order to protect my family at a very pricey rv resort? WTH?.The manager didn’t care one bit and wrote a report. The reason I go camping is to get away from all this nonsense. And this is all too common anymore. Staying home is starting to become the norm for us.
From my 20 year old to my 11 year old all 4 of my kids were always taught common courtesy everyday and have always applied it camping since they could walk. Camping is just crazy on holiday weekends nowadays phew might not do anymore holiday weekends
I get tired of the campgrounds that just wont clamp down on the party till you puke crowd. Stumbling across others campsites, screaming at the top of their lungs deep into the night. Music blaring. Camping, enjoying the time under the stars is great, having to guard your family and equipment isn't. It doesn't happen all the time, but it does seem to be more of an issue in the past few seasons.
Well, my 1988 Airstream($33k new) is still going strong. However, I did replace the torsion axles in 2017 as they are usually only good for 25 years or so. Upgraded the fridge in 2007 and the A/C and rims(to 16") in 2015. Have never lost a day of camping due to any failure in this rig. Probably from both quality and some luck. Good luck and travel safe...
Another excellent video! Thank you for such a thorough and well planned out video that lets us know what is happening in the RV world. It really helps us consumers plan. You are awesome always! #NerdHerd❤
My wife is recently retired and I am recently semi-retired. We just returned from our first road trip with our 2022 Baxter Creek Free Solo DIN. We bought it new in March and only had one short trial trip of 200 miles before this trip. We wanted to have more practice camping, but our schedules got complicated and it was go or no go. So we went. We drove our 2005 Toyota Tundra, which did fine. It only has 240,000 miles and that many more left hopefully. There is little storage in the trailer, so after viewing many youtube videos, I was able to build a good drawer and storage in the bed of the Tundra which has a good shell covering it. We traveled from Bakersfield, CA to New Orleans and back. We stayed off of major freeways as much as possible. We left on May 14 and returned June 8. We visited family in Dallas, Waco and Payson, Az. We spent extra days visiting museums and such in Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans and Santa Fe. We traveled 5195 miles over all. We averaged 9.75 MPG at an average cost of just under $3.51. With the help of the the app FreeRoam, we boonedocked and stayed at State parks and KOA. We seldom reserved more than a day ahead of time and had no problem getting spots where ever we wanted. Some spots were not ideal but most KOA have decent level spots. We only travelled about 300 miles per days when on the road. We had a great time, even though the trailer had some issues which I hope the dealership and manufacturer will remedy. Evidently, the rear lights on the trailer were not sealed adequately and water leaks have affected the back wall and ceiling. The back wall has obvious warping and the ceiling separated and dropped. We had to used duck tape to keep the ceiling from dropping more. The A/C was installed incorrectly and with the guidance of Baxter Creek service department, I was able to move the style from above the A/C to below the A/C, which corrected the condensation from flowing onto the stove to flowing out side the trailer. Some othe minor things need repair. The roads in Lousianna are pretty bad and I missed seeing in time, a bad bump in the road that took out most of the outside sewer pipes. I was able to purchase parts and with the help of a mobile RV repair guy who was originally from Elkhart, we were able to repair and it seems to be working fine. In spite of it all, we enjoyed the trip and my wife who was probably a little skeptical if she would enjoy or survive the trip and the bed, is already planning and looking forward to more local trips and maybe even a trip around the edge of the USA. We did invest in memory foam mattresses that made the trip more than bearable. Just thought this might be helpful information We are both are originally from Elkhart. Thanks for your videos. I watch most of them for good info and to stay connected to our roots. We still love the Michianna area. We have relatives still there. Sorry for being almost as long winded as you are. Blessings
Right! This information is truly helpful. I'm an advid RVer and looking to upgrade my travel trailer and this video is a game changer on how I plan to move.😊
RVing “was” a modestly priced form of leisure and travel, but since manufacturers went Hollywood, we’ve lost interest in buying for our retirement years.
I agree. The RV public needs and demands full size RVs, washer and dryer, dish washer,, 60 in TVs, sometimes an outside model. slide outs. 2 story sleeper etc. These things cost a lot of money. It would be easier and cheaper to stay home and watch tv. During my childhood, my parents rented a tent site at a state park, we cooked our meals on a propane Coleman, propane lantern(no obnoxious generator), we washed our dishes at the table and swam in our clothes when they needed cleaning. The most fun I've ever had. The big RVs allow you to cook fancy meals but many owners go into town to eat the local cuisine. That's not camping in my book. To each his own.
They could start the decontenting by deleting the outside speakers, the WiFi wart on the roof, and the dopey Vegas interior lighting. Bonus would be fewer holes to leak and seal.
There’s alot of free campgrounds out there I don’t know why people pay for them. Sure there’s no water electricity etc but that’s what the rv is for. They’re self sustainable .
Here in Colorado folks can’t give away an rv. Dealers are flooded with inventory. We all knew this would happen after the craziness. All those people upside down in the loans.
@Winston Smith no the rv industry did not do that. People made a choice to purchase a rv at the inflated prices. I know of no dealer that held a weapon to any buyers head and forced them to purchase anything.
Yep - we purchased our 2022 Jayco at what we knew to be the peak of pricing. We had ZERO leverage and paid what the dealer asked. First time I have EVER done anything like that but I did it willingly and just try not to think of the haircut I’m going to take when I sell this thing. But it’s MY haircut, not the mfr and not the dealer.
@@kenbowser5622 looking for a class C with at least a slide, similar experience, stealth camping for me though, it's just me. Much easier to do without a family.
Josh you nailed it on the priced out comment. It’s depressing. We really like Lance and have a 2017.5 Lance 1985 and a 2018 Ram 2500 diesel TV. The prices of both have doubled in six years. Our salaries went up 10%, our investments are down 25% and interest rates have doubled.
I’ve watched your videos for years for this reason. You are a straight shooter. I am picking up my first camper with my wife on Monday. If you were closer, I would have insisted on buying from you. Thank you for putting in the work to give us content, with a friendly and honest outlook. My wife and I appreciate it.
Transparency is how you earn trust. I've been watching your videos for a while now, and I'm most impressed with your content. This video has so much packed in. Thank you for taking the time to explain everything in detail, for educating us with valuable information 🙏 I would like to purchase one soon here in Central Florida to live in. I'm still trying to figure out where to put it, though, since it will be my main residence.
As to your questions about campground availability and fuel cost impact on travels......We have not had a single night changed from no sites available. A lot of our adventures are just that. General direction to go, but the freedom to get distracted and pursue new places or destinations has not been slowed. As to fuel costs. We go where we can. Not rich, not even close, but we keep a card to use on trips and then clean it up for the next trip. I am retired, but the boss has a couple of years to go. After that, we will watch money closer, but, our plans are the same. Spend as much time on the road as we can stand. Oh yeah, we are just west of St. Louis and really enjoy your content and love all the insight you share. Have a great fathers day !
The prices they charge for some foam and aluminum is insane. When you look at the cheapest RV on the lot and its 13k then you look underneath and realize a $900 Harbor Freight Trailor is designed and built better it just makes many of us simply say NO WAY JOSE before we even walk inside.
Josh is absolutely the "professor" of the RV world! Been a fan since the Haylett era. Bought a Keystone Cougar last year on one of your recommendations and absolutely love it. Our favorite place to camp is Lake Jordan near Apex NC. Last weekend got gas for $3.00 with a discount card! Bish's hit gold when they acquired you with the sale! You are a true embassador for the entire industry!
We’ve watched a few RV videos with single beds instead of the queen size. We bought a 2019 coachman with a queen size and was so annoyed with the narrow area to get into the bed and we couldn’t access the cupboards around the bed. So we took out the queen size and the side cupboards and put in two singles and we love it! The mfg need to start putting the single option in more of their models! It’s a game changer. We now can use the bedroom more throughout the day, we have tote storage under the beds and can access the overhead cupboard. We absolutely love it.
Great update Josh! I live in the North East and yes it’s gotten harder and harder to find spots especially at reasonable prices. I still think that the combination of poor assembly and component quality (especially compared to todays cars and trucks), months long waits for maintenance at dealers, high unit prices, and a serious lack of campsites could go through the industry like a wrecking ball.
Buy an airstream. It will last 50+ years with no major issues. Won't catch me in one though I want spacious condo on wheels and will deal with pop out issues, leaks etc.
We are in the north east and we’re having trouble finding available campsites. So we bought our own campsite and rent it to other campers on Hipcamp when we are not using it. We also found Hipcamp has been a great way to find available campsites almost anywhere.
First off… I owe everything RV related to you Josh. Thank you a thousand times. This is my home in a area where a 1200 sqft 1970 shack is $1.2m. No lie. Lake Hodges, Ca. I’m 71, single surfer living in my 2019 22’ Cougar RBS and loving it by a beautiful lake in Southern California. I pay a friend $1,000/month rent with a 20’x8’ deck that I built. The rig was $20k used bought sight unseen with only 250 local miles somewhere near Peoria. I really wanted this model with the iN·Command. I added $8k in the interior, sold the couch, added two leather 1960s swivel chairs, added carpet, a 1.5” thick wood countertop. I put $15k in property improvements including the pad, water, electric and a 16’ tall metal roof pagoda. I redid the interior with blackout cabinets and shiplap rustic wood cowboy walls. I use a $900 box composting toilet that needs mulch cleaning every 10 days. Water goes to a sump pump then into a 6x3’ leech field about 50’ away. Totally appreciate and use daily the iPhone connection to the features on the trailer computer. Heat, lights, etc. I don’t pull it as pad is tough to exit. Plus gas is too high for my 2008 Tahoe LTZ. Life is good. I kinda wish I had a small dishwasher as my big single black sink usually has dishes, alas, not another inch available.
You alright my brother because you use the right words, "it's the truth." That the robbers do not like. Keep up the best you, it might help others to understand what respect is about. Thanks again.
I live out in CA and don't currently have an RV. I bought my first travel trailer in 1981. We went out every month. I bought my last travel trailer in 91. It was stored for many years, changed jobs in 1994. Sold the trailer in about 2006. Most recently I went on trips with my Dad and stepmother in their truck/5th wheel. I was the designated driver from about 2014 through 2019. Dad couldn't drive anymore. Although he thought he could. Dad passed away in 2019 and that was the end of my RV driving responsibilities. I listen to all of your updates. I appreciate your honesty and transparency. I still plan on getting my own RV, travel trailer most likely. Some day. Not in any rush. Just waiting to see how things unfold
Sorry to hear about your father. I watched my grandfather go thru things that slowly caused him to be unable to tow the RV then unable to drive entirely. I feel for you.
I was definitely looking hard at an rv about 3 years ago around the start of covid but by 2021 I had gotten priced out no way I can justify that much money toward something
With the popularity of Ebikes they really need to make 2 inch receivers that are attached to the frame versus bumper. Much easier to do during the build process.
I have a 1998 33ft Winnebago Chieftain. I got it 5yrs ago for under $9000.00 and I've only had to replace the alternator, water heater and brake pads. I put in a "instant hot" water heater for $80.00 and saved over $400.00 vs replacing original. I also installed solar and lifepo batteries. It runs great. Gas mileage as you'd expect. Has higher build quality (than newer). Long term boondock (quietly). The only things that didn't work when I got it was the television and the two fans up front. I haven't replaced either. I live in it full time. It's my first experience with an RV and I love it. Peace
Thanks for your honesty and great insight. Looks like Haylett (sp) sold to Bish just in time. But let’s cut through the crap. If you own a business and sales are down 5-10% you’re in full panic mode. If sales are down 50%+ you’re on suicide watch. Every cost of owning and operating an RV has skyrocketed. So much so that people are throwing in the towel. But with interest rates for recreational vehicles near 10%, it’s this kiss of death. And while we’re comfortably retired, we know of many people losing their jobs. The housing market is collapsing. Recreational vehicles are on deck. People need to wake up and make better choices about who they elect to essentially run their lives. And soon.
Absolutely love your update!! I've started with a pop-up years ago, We started with our 2 kids and the popup, leaving the Chicago suburbs and headed to Glacier National Park, and the best trip of our family during my sabbatical (12 weeks additional vacation on top of my 4 weeks, or 6 weeks at double pay.) We ended up covering lots of the western states, and several major tourist attractions (Wall Drug, Badlands, Custer's last stand, Glacier, Washington State on the Pacific Coast just south of Canada, Columbia River Valley was like a movie set of lots of old westerns we'd seen for years, Later we go to see Painted Desert, some cowboy mining towns up in the mountains like Carson City, then the Grand Canyon, then on to visit our friends in Albuquerque New Mexico. Then we meandered back down Route 66 to home in the Chicago suburbs. We really enjoyed the beauty of Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, the Dakotas and Montana the Big Sky country. Seattle and Oregon were also beautiful, but more developed. Later we upgraded to Travel Towables of different sizes and shapes over the years that followed. The last changes were after the kids were gone. Before the end, we did buy a campsite at Woodhaven Lakes in Amboy, IL where we parked one of our towable trailers. We later upgraded that. Eventually the kids moved out and our traveling days wound down. My first wife later passed and I have been remarried 16.5 years and I'm now trying to get my new wife interested in RV'ng since I have retired. With my wife's retirement approaching, it's possible we may be able to do this again. I've been keeping my eye out for something, and we've been to a dealer so she can see it first hand. We'll see what develops! I'll be watching your channel and keeping my eyes open. Thanks so much for your honest and insightful observations of the market trends! Chris
2020, RV sales off the charts. What did everyone think was gonna happen? I actually sold my middle sized RV used during COVID for 15k, I bought it for 8k!! It was awesome.
Hey Josh, appreciate your videos and love the content. could you perhaps Consider doing a video on the importance of buying local and respecting a salesman's time and effort . Sales people can spend days even weeks working with the client only to get paid Nothing. Someone does all the selling and working, and they go down the street to save a few bucks and someone makes it easy commission From somebody else's labor.
@JoshtheRVNerd I like this idea, I have to say I avoid even going to look at a dealer because I know we're not buying yet and I don't want to waste their time, but I also won't buy unless I keep looking at them lol
Yes Yes Yes to RV training initiatives. These things are so complicated and so much harder to manage than I ever knew, and Winnebago support has proven mostly useless when I've had questions. I ended up paying for the NRVTA home study course and have learned SO much in a very short period of time. Totally worth it.
@@tomhorn2937 As a rebuttal, not all who own an RV, including the solid and simple model to the not so solid and complex, have the ability or strength or knowledge to Fix or modify their camper. There are lots of forums that are helpful of course. Heck, most folks can't fix their free standing house. Thats what professionals are for.
We have been pretty much full time for about 7 years and camp sites have gotten a whole lot harder to find. We are currently in the south east but have been going all over the country and the one thing that we have noticed having exploded is the number of people living in their RV. Not just full time RVers, but buying an RV, having it delivered to a park and that is where they stay. A majority of them don't even own a vehicle that is capable of moving it.
We are also traveling the continent....and yes we have seen this all over the USA they are taking up large amounts of what use to be daily weekly rentals...Parks that were once beautiful are now dumps...
The sad fact is that rv life in a park is the last refuge for those who can no longer earn enough to afford a rent or mortgage. Corporate greed has created this situation. The person in the rv park is just trying to survive.
Yeah, you are right we need to get rid of this Republican party really quickly taking away books taking away the rights of abortions things need to be stopped. We got a criminal running for president again he needs to be shut down. And then that guy from Florida he’s a complete. Authoritarian wanna be I don’t want this country looking like North Korea do you. That’s not what our forefathers fought for. We gotta get this religion out of the schools too. There’s no sense in that. Separation of church and state is in the constitution. Get that church out of our governments is the only way to survive.
My mom owns about 5 acres of accessible land in Northern Arizona right off the 40, think Grand Canyon! She has space for horses and dogs to stretch and run as well. Where should we post showing that she has space available for RVers, semis, tent camping, horse trailers and the such? We’re new to this and building out the property so others have a safe place to call home for the night or week. Thank you!
I left San Diego on 27 Feb, travelled through AZ, NM, TX, OK, AR, MS, AL, TN, KY, OH, IN, Wy, SD and now in MT. I have stayed in one KOA, several COEs, private, state and city parks and I had no problem getting a reservation and none of the campgrounds were full, even on Memorial Day weekend. I have noticed that every RV dealership was overflowing with rigs. I did see one rv with Bish’s dealership sticker. 😊. I should add that I am not trying to stay at highly popular places and I was traveling in the shoulder season. I will be leaving MT for Canada and Alaska in the next few days. I am in a 34’ Arctic Fox fifth wheel. Love your channel. Thanks for the honest reviews.
Even with a 13 month window to reserve a Georgia State Park campsite, it’s still tough to find a spot. If you have a particular site in mind you need to reserve the minute the 13 month window opens. I have to wonder if sites are being reserved “just in case we can camp” and then are cancelled later. When trailers sit on the lot for an extended period of time, isn’t there a chance that things like the roof have aged and can be a real problem for the buyer.
I am currently in the market for a slightly owned or even new travel trailer, and I have been told from multiple people not to buy a 2020-2022 trailer that was built during covid. That might explain the excess amount of 22s still on the lots
Thanks, Josh. As RVer owners for past 15 years (currently full-time), we still care about the RV market, accessibility of travel, and the like. Thanks for keeping us up to date.
Agree! Thanks for posting. I bought my 29 VBUD because of one of your videos. Now, though, I’m questioning whether I should be pulling it with my 2019 Ford F-150 Limited with tow package. 😩 Also, planning trips… most places want a 3-night minimum when you book on a Friday. They may be a half-way point to a destination and I may only need one night, so that doesn’t work very well. Plus, nightly rates of $60/night or more + 3-night minimum are making RV-ing not as much fun and not as do-able. Cost of sites + cost of gas + 3-night minimum…☹️😏😒 I live in NM and travel to northern NM and Colorado the most. Mostly, though, I’m worried about pulling my trailer now. You commented on a Facebook post in a sea of 600-ish comments about a Tundra pulling a 38’ Voltare. Feel like our RV dealer wasn’t honest about towing nor was the truck dealer. And I felt like I did exhaustive research on my own, too. Now afraid I’m going to kill my family and everyone else on the road, too.😢😭😭
We almost didn't build an RV park because when we looked at industry reports on cost per space versus our estimates the projected cost was 2X the reported figures. ( non resort RV park) The cash flow projection based on the real cost to build was Ok so we went ahead and it has performed to the forecast. Materials and especially labor are way up such that the next one we are building barely meets the cash flow requirements and the break even occupancy rate is starting to look more like the hotel industry. Building and operating an RV Park is still a better use of capital than a hotel but not by much. The ROI on existing RV parks can be attractive to private equity since their cost of capital is lower than independents so I think we'll see a tapering of new park construction versus revamping of existing parks in the coming years. New parks will increasingly be built and owned by private equity which likely means an elevation in density and/or higher site rental rates . We also found that wiring the park to enable bulk purchase of electricity by the owner is critical to selection of the pricing model and to achieving an acceptable ROI. Park 2 would not have cleared the independent owner investment hurdle without that key design element .
We are full time RVers - for nearly 2 yrs now! We've been all over but favor Arizona/Utah and up to Idaho/the Dakotas/Minnesota (large area, I know). I love my big rig Grand Design Solitude! I spent a lot of time plotting out trips and getting reservations. Yes, the prices have gone up! I notice that! I try to use Passport America and other discounts. We usually go to low-demand areas, yet still I find areas with limited availability. I end up calling around and staying a little further from my desired location just to get a spot. So far, I've usually been able to skip campgrounds with reviews about tight spots or tight interior roads (not really big rig friendly), but not always. It's expensive and crowded. The US Northeast was very crowded - too many people, sites and campgrounds too small, and VERY expensive.
We have a budget of $70k cash for a 2 person 5th wheel. Two years ago, we couldn't touch the price of a new unit. Today we are seeing similar 2022 RVs selling for $60k. Crazy times. The dealer we visited last week gave the EXACT story Josh did. They are about to start paying interest on their line of credit. Additionally, most credit lines have variable interest rates. With interest rates as high as they are today, this will get expensive fast. They seem VERY motivated.
I sincerely enjoy your channel and all the information you share. I've learned so much! I was (about 5-6 months ago) planning on selling my brick and mortar home (because of the equity in it and the market value of it right now) and buy and live in a 5th wheel for a couple of years. After seeing what's out there, and what we're (wife, myself, 3 small dogs, and a Leopard Gecko) willing to live in, the cost was going to be way more than just staying in our home... So, I'm still interested in a 5th wheel, but we're staying put for now. Thanks again for all your help and information! Keep it coming!
Praying campsite prices go down cause holy cow. We just got our first RV and it’s more to camp now than stay at a hotel in the same area the last two places we went to camp🤯🤯🤯 We started heavily considering just boycotting campgrounds all together and strictly boondock
Thanks for the very informative blog, my wife are from Massachusetts, we use our tag along about 4-5 weeks a year, we camp at private and public campgrounds,private campgrounds average cost is approximately $50-$70 per day, state campground’s are $22 per day.We enjoy both although you don’t get all the amenities with state campground’s but the sites aren’t stacked on top of each other. We bought a used rv(2014) back in 2020, it has served us well but now we are looking to downsize, it has bunks and a couch we don’t need but finding a reasonably priced used rv has been a challenge, you hit the nail on the head when mentioned that with all the new rvs sold in the past few years that prices on used rvs would come down and they haven’t it’s just the opposite .
I am in AZ and we just took a camping trip to Dogtown lake area, we Dry/Dispersed camped in our RV and to be honest there were lots of sites available Monday - Wed, but Thursday was game on and every spot filled up.
Long time full timer, we are making reservations farther and farther out, parks are much fuller than they used to be, lots and lots more young families with small RVs. Winters in Texas fuel is cheaper, summers in the Pacific Northwest, fuel is expensive. But we still love our lifestyle.
I’m not sure people are walking away just yet…campground bookings are still up with little to no availability which tells me people are using their RV’s.
I’ve said this since the Covid RV run started. There will be bank and Walmart parking lots full of RVs that people have walked away from. Think houses in 2008.
Always appreciate the industry update videos, Josh. The leftover 2022 situation is a major issue for dealers and manufacturers. But a great opportunity for customers to capitalize on some blowout pricing. I'm thankful that we decided to lean heavily into the Rockwood line in the mid 2010s. Outside of a couple 2022 Tents, the Rockwoods on our lot are all 2023 models. We are a SMALL dealer in Massachusetts, only stocking about 35 units at full capacity, so this is why we have basically gone all in on Rockwood. Thankfully, at least up to this point, they have stuck with us, even though I know they could jump to another larger dealer in the area and turn more product.
I just love the honesty from ya. The no bull squat message you’re putting out there. I feel…educated. I really like the individual model videos but the “state of the industry” episodes you put out are my absolute favorites. At the beginning of Covid we had pegged the mfr’s and models we wanted to buy and had a 12 month plan on how we were gonna get there. The last year has kicked that plan in the plums. However, with the Go Play line, we’re back in. Now we’re only waiting on the standard feature/option lists to firm up. Thanks man. You always ask if we appreciate the up front honesty…just know we do.
I agree about the difficulty in finding campsites. It is really hard to find full hookups in the northeast from my experience. Hopefully campground owners will focus on upgrading more sites. Even electric and water or electric only would be a huge improvement if they can't expand. You are awesome Josh. Really appreciate you.
We run a 2008 Keystone TT that has been modified to allow my wife, who is totally disabled, to travel. We are starting to run into campgrounds that want only units that are less than 10 years old. This seems very discriminatory and unfair. So we lie when reserving a spot. There are thousands of dollars and many hours of my time invested in modifying our trailer and I am not interested in starting over. These policies are bullshit. It seems to be more of a trend in the west, but we don't go east so don't know about anything east of Indiana.
You mean private places? Wow. Pretty much any private campground out here in the west has full hookups. In fact A TON of state and county RV parks have either full hookups or at least water and electricity.
We are life-long campers who are finding it more and more difficult to find camp sites. We live in southwestern PA, and it seems that we need to sit down in February or March and map out where we want to go camping, and then just get online and book them in advance. With that comes the uncertainty of weather, and even a high cost all at once because we have to pay up front. We have also noticed a major increase in prices. So our 8-trip summers have pretty much been cut in half to 4. 😔
I'm hearing a LOT of people in these comments say they find PLENTY of open sites on short notice. A lot of the booked sites get cancelled apparently or people just dont show
$12k for an old used (smells moldy) slide in for the back of a pickup truck at a big chain rv sales ?? Too many monopolies controlling prices , what happened to supply/ demand? Why do they need 8 salesman? The right price would’ve been $1500 (its a glorified cap that needs rebuilding) . Keep your garbage . Same for car dealerships trying to add cost to the advertised price (add 300 to 12000) “are all of your customers stupid” ? They will be “upside down” until its paid off ( in a bad credit position, so you killed your customers)(cant sell them anything for a very long time, if thy even come back at all) . Paying more than the advertised price for a house ? Because property bros tried to make it look “cool”? Just too stupid to be true , but it is happening,,, like a “manufactured crash”
Thank you for what you do. You provide a great service by explaining the RV industry in ways I think no others do. As an RVer now, I look to your channel for updates on how the market is working. Great channel!!
We opted to just do a major rebuild on a 1970 truck camper because new prices are just stupid!!! A new truck slide in with the same options of our rebuild is about $40,000. I can’t imagine ever buying another new one. We’ve bought several new ones over the years. But prices have more than doubled. Too much to spend for something a full time working (non retiree) even has time to use enough to make it worth it.
Because of your honest upfront videos is why we chose to purchase from Bish’s Davenport! Brought our new 5th wheel home yesterday. Thanks for all the great info!
I'm in the swimming pool construction industry. Since the interest rate increases, the demand has come to a screeching halt. Going to be a tuff couple of years!
Did we not see this coming? Pandemic gave a real bump in RV activity but a short life bump. Looking forward-dealers loose a little AS DOES Elkhart. BUT the positive twist is Elkhart can slow down production and USE THE TIME TO PRODUCE QUALITY UNITS! If that happens sales would suffer for a shorter time and begin picking back up sooner. I thought. Appreciate your episodes.
You made me laugh so hard with the towable tank~ I’m seriously gonna check it out to tow behind my Mojave gladiator ~ the way things a going it may come in handy soon 👍🤣
I love watching your vids. Years ago when the kids were small we went all over the country first with a MH and later a tag along for about 5 years and absolutely loved it. I don’t know if our area is an anomaly but in central Fl the off seasons started going away a few years ago. There are a handful of campgrounds near that are constantly jam packed. Bigger rigs packed in closer together. Sardine camping. While my heart is still out there, what I remember from 20 years ago is not what I see now and it makes me sad.
I’m just re-entering RVing here in Canada (central Ontario) and booking a site at a provincial park was always difficult but has become nearly impossible in the last 3 years. You can only book up to 5 months in advance, and people are gaming the system by staying up until midnight, booking a site five months in the future for two weeks, then cancelling the first week.
My family camps in Michigan. We've noticed quite a few RV resorts in the process of expanding. While that will help with campground congestion, it will not help with campground congestion. You read that correctly. A resort or campground that goes from 250 sites to 450 becomes almost too unappealing. Many RV resorts are essentially golf cart rallies. One of the biggest struggles I have is the chaos and noise at RV resorts and campgrounds. It definitely diminishes the experience.
We also find no need for an RV resort. We have no need or desire for an Olympic sized pool or a water park or who knows what other 'amenity'. Clean grounds, clean water, reliable properly maintained power & clean restrooms are the things we cherish most.
Love the show. Keep the truth coming. As an RV owner for life, I have traded up since my pop-up. I drive a Tiffin 36LA now. Park spots are not hard to find, but everything has increased in cost by %25 to 30%. Gas prices are my "achiles heal" and while the trend is down, $4 gas means I DONT travel as much.
Last summer when gas prices were higher we travelled for 2 months towing a trailer north to Alaska and back to Montana. We decided to minimizing eating out and purchased groceries as needed to prepar our meals. We also provisioned with lots of food, refer and freezer full plus two ice chest full of frozen food. This saved us a ton of money. 2 years prevous on an Alaska trip we boon docked for 3 - 4 nights and then got an RV park with hook ups for a night or three...last year we boon docked for 5-6 days on public lands for free, or state and federal pay campgrounds and then stayed a night or possibly two at an RV park for extended showers and laundry. Theses simple changes in expenditure allowed us to more than offset fuel cost and our total trip cost for 2022 for 8 weeks of travel was less than our 2019 trip of 6 weeks and significantly increased our overall travel and Alaska - Canada trip enjoyment.
A good video, great points. Especially agree that camp sites are over the top expensive and crowded. If i tripped off my steps, i would face plant right into the neighbors RV. AND….being that close, every couple spots have fire rings!!!! That close, I ain’t letting anyone start a fire. I’d say right off the top, aka low hanging fruit, the RV industry buying negatives are: 1) high interest rates 2) cost of the purchase of the RV 3) poor quality and that information spreads fast across social media. I think manufacturers don’t understand social media power. The argument against me about my 2022 RV low quality from a new manufacturer was: 1) it is across the RV industry and implied to me was, to accept the new manufacturer quality issues, because that is the way it is across the industry. mmmmm that’s the way it is? I am to just accept it? Sorry. Why is that an excuse for them? I would also say sales….and their deceptive practices. You even did a video on it. To go farther on sales….their lies, i was told on my RV the European push out windows were replaced with an upgrade to Lippert twist knob windows. No interacting sliding shades and screens, but i got old fashioned flat clip on screens, that leak bugs horribly. They didn’t say this was because of supply shortages, but were upgrades. Yeah. Flat screen. Twist knob windows and cheap white vynal pull down shades are new upgrades. But and Unfortunately , I didn’t do my homework and believed them. Additionally, the RV came with HT tires, not the advertised AT tires. Sales said: all that’s guaranteed are 2 tires. So my view, industry is kinda paying for their sins of money over honesty . I also think RV industry “Influencers “ hurt more than help. Why? It pretty easy as you listen to them a few times that they are overly rosie on greatness. Kinda easy to pick up their half truths. Air conditioning will run on solar, but it is winter so to cold for me to run it now to show you. But I suppose influencers did lure me in. Truthfully I didn’t realize what an industry influencer was, until i bought my RV. Then the negative dots started to align. I 99% try to spend none of my money at the RV dealers. I use the trailer companies around me that support our farm equipment. I don’t consider that a loss of money for me. I think of it as if the sales side is dishonest, then maintenance is also dishonest. Anyway rant over.
Most of the reasons you mentioned are why we went to a seasonal site...gas, price increases, lack of availability, etc. However, even our seasonal site jumped 10% in cost last year...so no way to avoid all of the costs it if you love to RV. I am in the Central Wisconsin area.
Great info and charts as usual !! OMG - I laughed out loud (there should be an anagram for that ! ) when you had the brain freeze, played the AOL dial up sound and added the image with the word "Network". lol I wish you or your twin could do some videos on the Diesel Pusher market.......
Yeah I want to go to some jamb packed campground with a bunch of drunks playing loud music with their screaming kids and barking dogs. Watching them trying to back in their trailers would be pretty funny though. I'm off to search some of those videos LOL!!!
I would be interested to see how regular housing prices have affected the rv campground situation. I just moved into my RV full-time because even though the rv park rates are higher than before, its still a cheaper option than paying rent or paying for a mortgage (especially if the rv is paid off!).
I think overall theres a trend of housing on the rise. There's definitely been a trend of people who have been priced out of housing & gone to RVs as a more full time option out of necessity
Im in california, a months rent in a mobile home park is $ 700-1200. Rv spaces for 1 month is $1800. I was going to get a trailer as a tiny home for full time living. But it's not cost effective. Tent camping is $40 a night and you better plan 6 months in advance or you might not find any available. BLM land is ok if it's not blocked with a gate and if you like getting to know the rangers because they will be all over you.😢 ☹
I haven't gone to public camp sites in several years being that we purchaced land in upstate NY eleven years ago and been developing it (finally done) with full hookups. I had no idea there was a campsite shortage nationwide! I wanted to relive a childhood Western camping trip with my wife but now we may have to wait things out.Thanks for the info!
Thank you for talking about this. It is difficult in California to find multiple day reservations. There are few first come campsites in California. The idea of driving 2 to 4 hours to spend one maybe two nights at a $$$ campground, while spending almost 5 dollars a gallon on gas …… takes the fun out of it. Oh and now it’s the busy summer season. I will be looking forward to fall camping, like many others. 👍
We're in SoCal (Riverside) and don't usually have a hard time securing multi day spots. Two place you may want to try are: Lake Skinner (basically Temecula) and Brown's at Benton Crossing (North of Lake Crowley, Mammoth). Just a couple of suggestions as I don't know where you are in California.
Living out here in the PNW, finding a camping spot has always been a challenge. When we used to live back in the mid-west, back in the early 2000s we could book a site in as little as 2 weeks. Not so out here in the PNW. If you don't have something book within 4 months or greater, you're not going to find a place to camp. So what we've done and what I'd like to know if this is an increasing trend, is dry camping or boon-docking. Since going this route it has vastly opened the camping opportunities, that we would have otherwise overlooked, with solely sticking to camping locations with partial or full hook-ups. This change in our camping behavior has also led to the added necessity, of me getting to learn more about my RV, which has branched into me going into the DIY of things and installing our own solar panels, upgrading the batteries to lithium, and adding a power inverter system. I've really enjoyed it and have wondered how much of this has become an increasing trend and people doing their own repairs and DIY projects to their RV. Finally for us, it's explained why we've hanged on to our 2013 Lance because of all of the time and energy we've put into keeping it maintained and performing upgrades. Why purchase a new RV when we know everything about the one we currently own and all the changes we've made to it, to make it our own? Great channel and great information you provide!
We use to camp in our state parks, now they are just as expensive as private camp grounds. I am from PA. The big thing with us in the quality of the RV's , the constant repair for things that aren't built well gets old. We sold our and now we rent a cabin when we want to go camping.
Hey Josh. Thanks for all your information. I look forward to listening to you each time. I'm hearing that a lot of campgrounds are renting out their campsites to more full time and/or seasonal campers. This is making it difficult for us regular campers who are traveling around week by week to find places to stay! Bummer!
No, we bought a 2022 grand design reflection, we have had it 18 months now and taken 7 long trips, no problem for far. We had a 2017 Sabre, biggest lemon ever. And that was before Covid.
WAS ready to replace my 13 year old travel trailer, dealers wanted thousands for fluff,perks, bs etc, To get the ad price you have to finance, he still has the 2023 rv i wanter 8 months later...my rv park now wants 165 a day, so we go to a state park for 30 but for every space they rent the hold 2 back it's going to be the industry that kills itself, love the bloodbath video we use to camp 6-8 weeks a year. Now only 1wk due to space ,cost, now resort fees extra fees for grandkids...been taking more cruises instead all you can eat food big plus with kids..North Florida resident, camping 40+ years thanks for all the great videos
Manufacturers have to raise the bar on quality and workmanship which sadly, has been circling the bowl for the past 5 or 6 years or so. Just make a better, WELL MADE product. It isn't rocket science.
Quality. Quality. Quality... on current products does not meet price point. Thanks, Nerd. Camping World sucks. They bought all of our legitimate local dealers.
The ELE wasn’t built for bear attack and the pepper spray isn’t for bear. They’re marketing to the SHTF preppier community and that pepper spray is for hordes of unprepared and desperate humans.
RV Park(ing lots) are not camping. People are packed in like sardines. Camping is going to the woods or beach and setting up CAMP. Most RV’s never actually camp. They simply drive to an RV Park(ing lot), hook up to 50 freakin amps, fresh water, sewer, and break out their ice make and adult beverage. Out last big trip was 30 days and we paid for a space 5 nights (and that was only to explore where we needed to drop the trailer)
We just bought a 22 this week, new. It’s a Winnebago and we are really happy with it. The dealer was dealing, it’s time to buy one if you have been waiting.
Thank you for your openness. It is refreshing. To those dealers that message you and suggest that you don't talk about this. . . shame on them. It was this lack of transparency that was a real negative when we bought our first trailer in Idaho (read into that what you like). Dealers need to recognize that most of us can see through the BS because of the. . . INTERNET (it is this new-fangled thing that allows a very free flow of information). You bring something special to the RV industry and it is very much appreciated. Thank you. Keep up the great work and integrity.
Yeah I agree. I was initially _kinda_ raised in a "just say good stuff.. don't say the bad stuff" environment but was also given a license to explore and I found my voice doing this stuff after a while Man for that kind of money people _deserve_ to know what's up
Thanks for once again convincing me that when it's time for us to get an RV it will more than likely be from Bish's. Transparency is the key, and you really bring it! We appreciate your candor and truthfulness. And if you're ever going to be down in Longview, let me know. I'd love to make the trek up there and perhaps even buy you lunch.
Always love your videos. You provide information and entertainment! Saying, ‘Thank you Josh’! never feels like enough appreciation because you are Simply the Best!
Here’s a thought. Stop building storage lot queens for occasional use at a full hookup site within a few hours from the lot…. With outdoor TV’s, 4 and 5 slides, ONLY fold out steps, the inability to use a kitchen or even access the fridge without slides out, even not being able to get to a bathroom. Before we discovered the “toothpicks and glue” construction we had looked at a lot of large 5vers and didn’t find a single one we could see ourselves buying because we require access to everything without spreading out ladder steps and slides.
Higher gas prices, higher interest rates, an economic slowdown, and a reputation for poor quality is a perfect storm.
100 percent, especially on the quality.
Not every brand will survive that’s for sure and honestly its crazy how many are out there fighting for scraps
@@shadowdraxx I don't think that is a bad thing for some brands to go away. Right now there are so many brands that overlap within the Thor and Forest River silos that it dilutes the brand and results in fewer sales as folks look for something different.
So true, well said, the quality is so bad in many brands.
Thanks for the update! Always interesting
Hey there Josh To go along with the campground segment you have I have something to add I never thought i would ever say. Been camping all my life from pop ups now to a class C and at age 50 the one thing that has taken the thrill and the excitement and joy out of camping is the people in general. Other campers. Now this doesn’t apply to all but the rudeness and the lack of manners and courtesy with both adults and children and some of the pets it’s just gotten to the point I would rather stay home. The drive and the set up tear down time dealing with traffic etc is just about not worth it anymore. And this has an issue with my spouse. She loves going and still has the fever and I’m to the point of just throwing in the towel. Not because of the desire of a hotel but because I’ve gotten to the point i just can’t stand people. Now don’t get me wrong I’ve met and made a ton of friends camping but no matter where you go anymore you have folks who just forget their manners let the kids and dogs run buck wild and not to mention the disregard of their neighbors. We have recently invested in a very nice class C and I made the statement that if someone offered me a what we owed I would take it. Which by the way is way less than it’s value.
So I guess it doesn’t really matter how nice a unit you have or how many bells and whistles you get or how little money you spend somethings just are not worth the troubles when people can’t act right Thanks for all you do brother.
People are terrible and inconsiderate
@@cainmarko1234 you’re so right. Most people go camping with their family to relax and have fun let the kids play but anymore its letting them invade other people’s campsites possibly damaging or destroying equipment and getting hurt then blaming you for their kids getting hurt or what about enjoying a good cold one. Yea something i like but you don’t need to broadcast it to everyone with loud obnoxious conversation or super foul language and all the overly loud music and the complete disregard for quite hours. The last few times we have been out the park rangers or security have had nothing but complaints and call after call. I have never seen so many people evicted from campgrounds as I have in the last few years. People can say what they want but I am beginning to wonder if it was Covid or the shot or maybe the combination of both that had caused people to go absolutely insane. Told my wife if I want that I can set up the fire ring pull out the awning right here in the yard and get the same stuff from our neighbors. So why should i spend good money just to get the same thing i I get at home for free??? So when I made the comment that we have a expense lawn ornament she blew up. 😂 lol
So very true Jay! We opted for an rv resort in Camp Verde Az because it was highly rated by Good Sam as a “10 out of 10”. We get there and we find out that they let in ALL breeds of dogs. The pit bull residing next door to us was left alone outside in a 3’ fenced in area. The dog jumped the fence, went after two small kids playing near by and then turned towards my wife to attack her. I went to my vehicle to grab my gun as did several other neighbors. Fortunately the dog retreated under its home until the owner was called home to capture it. Now I’m thinking, “ I might have resorted to violence and killed an animal in front of several people in order to protect my family at a very pricey rv resort? WTH?.The manager didn’t care one bit and wrote a report.
The reason I go camping is to get away from all this nonsense. And this is all too common anymore. Staying home is starting to become the norm for us.
From my 20 year old to my 11 year old all 4 of my kids were always taught common courtesy everyday and have always applied it camping since they could walk. Camping is just crazy on holiday weekends nowadays phew might not do anymore holiday weekends
I get tired of the campgrounds that just wont clamp down on the party till you puke crowd. Stumbling across others campsites, screaming at the top of their lungs deep into the night. Music blaring. Camping, enjoying the time under the stars is great, having to guard your family and equipment isn't. It doesn't happen all the time, but it does seem to be more of an issue in the past few seasons.
The industry could be totally upended by a manufacturer that puts pure quality and durability first.
Phoenix Cruiser
@@lisahertel2415 Thank you, I’ll check on this.
Well, my 1988 Airstream($33k new) is still going strong. However, I did replace the torsion axles in 2017 as they are usually only good for 25 years or so. Upgraded the fridge in 2007 and the A/C and rims(to 16") in 2015. Have never lost a day of camping due to any failure in this rig. Probably from both quality and some luck. Good luck and travel safe...
Another excellent video! Thank you for such a thorough and well planned out video that lets us know what is happening in the RV world. It really helps us consumers plan. You are awesome always! #NerdHerd❤
Exactly!!!!! 2 lemons and I’m soooo out!
My wife is recently retired and I am recently semi-retired. We just returned from our first road trip with our 2022 Baxter Creek Free Solo DIN. We bought it new in March and only had one short trial trip of 200 miles before this trip. We wanted to have more practice camping, but our schedules got complicated and it was go or no go. So we went. We drove our 2005 Toyota Tundra, which did fine. It only has 240,000 miles and that many more left hopefully. There is little storage in the trailer, so after viewing many youtube videos, I was able to build a good drawer and storage in the bed of the Tundra which has a good shell covering it.
We traveled from Bakersfield, CA to New Orleans and back. We stayed off of major freeways as much as possible. We left on May 14 and returned June 8. We visited family in Dallas, Waco and Payson, Az. We spent extra days visiting museums and such in Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans and Santa Fe.
We traveled 5195 miles over all. We averaged 9.75 MPG at an average cost of just under $3.51.
With the help of the the app FreeRoam, we boonedocked and stayed at State parks and KOA. We seldom reserved more than a day ahead of time and had no problem getting spots where ever we wanted. Some spots were not ideal but most KOA have decent level spots.
We only travelled about 300 miles per days when on the road.
We had a great time, even though the trailer had some issues which I hope the dealership and manufacturer will remedy.
Evidently, the rear lights on the trailer were not sealed adequately and water leaks have affected the back wall and ceiling. The back wall has obvious warping and the ceiling separated and dropped. We had to used duck tape to keep the ceiling from dropping more.
The A/C was installed incorrectly and with the guidance of Baxter Creek service department, I was able to move the style from above the A/C to below the A/C, which corrected the condensation from flowing onto the stove to flowing out side the trailer.
Some othe minor things need repair.
The roads in Lousianna are pretty bad and I missed seeing in time, a bad bump in the road that took out most of the outside sewer pipes. I was able to purchase parts and with the help of a mobile RV repair guy who was originally from Elkhart, we were able to repair and it seems to be working fine.
In spite of it all, we enjoyed the trip and my wife who was probably a little skeptical if she would enjoy or survive the trip and the bed, is already planning and looking forward to more local trips and maybe even a trip around the edge of the USA.
We did invest in memory foam mattresses that made the trip more than bearable.
Just thought this might be helpful information
We are both are originally from Elkhart.
Thanks for your videos. I watch most of them for good info and to stay connected to our roots. We still love the Michianna area. We have relatives still there.
Sorry for being almost as long winded as you are.
Blessings
Wow! Sounds like you had quite the adventure
Thanks Bish’s RV, for keeping the “Nerd”! He’s full of honest information and he’s a hoot to watch😁 Thanks!
Right! This information is truly helpful. I'm an advid RVer and looking to upgrade my travel trailer and this video is a game changer on how I plan to move.😊
RVing “was” a modestly priced form of leisure and travel, but since manufacturers went Hollywood, we’ve lost interest in buying for our retirement years.
Went to holly wood lol
I agree. The RV public needs and demands full size RVs, washer and dryer, dish washer,, 60 in TVs, sometimes an outside model. slide outs. 2 story sleeper etc. These things cost a lot of money. It would be easier and cheaper to stay home and watch tv.
During my childhood, my parents rented a tent site at a state park, we cooked our meals on a propane Coleman, propane lantern(no obnoxious generator), we washed our dishes at the table and swam in our clothes when they needed cleaning. The most fun I've ever had.
The big RVs allow you to cook fancy meals but many owners go into town to eat the local cuisine. That's not camping in my book. To each his own.
They could start the decontenting by deleting the outside speakers, the WiFi wart on the roof, and the dopey Vegas interior lighting. Bonus would be fewer holes to leak and seal.
I’m on board with it
It’s not just the manufacturers it’s the camp grounds the satellite prices the Wi-Fi prices the toilet paper prices even etc.etc.
There’s alot of free campgrounds out there I don’t know why people pay for them. Sure there’s no water electricity etc but that’s what the rv is for.
They’re self sustainable .
Joe Biden did that ;D vote democrat
@@thestooges333 You’ll understand when you get old
@floydlarken3148
I am old . 😜
@@thestooges333 Well then you know it’s a lot more hard work and for me I wore my body out doing hard labor so I go where camping is simple🙃
Here in Colorado folks can’t give away an rv. Dealers are flooded with inventory. We all knew this would happen after the craziness. All those people upside down in the loans.
It doesn't have to help, it just has to be the truth!! Take a bow, you are AWESOME!!
I try. Ty
Hopefully this will bring the RV market back in line to where it should be. WAY over inflated last few years.
@Winston Smith no the rv industry did not do that. People made a choice to purchase a rv at the inflated prices. I know of no dealer that held a weapon to any buyers head and forced them to purchase anything.
@Winston Smith they chose it, lose the victim mentality
Yep - we purchased our 2022 Jayco at what we knew to be the peak of pricing. We had ZERO leverage and paid what the dealer asked. First time I have EVER done anything like that but I did it willingly and just try not to think of the haircut I’m going to take when I sell this thing. But it’s MY haircut, not the mfr and not the dealer.
Been looking for a used quality 5th wheel. $35,000 for one 10 years old. That's why I still have a tent.
@@kenbowser5622 looking for a class C with at least a slide, similar experience, stealth camping for me though, it's just me. Much easier to do without a family.
Josh you nailed it on the priced out comment. It’s depressing. We really like Lance and have a 2017.5 Lance 1985 and a 2018 Ram 2500 diesel TV. The prices of both have doubled in six years. Our salaries went up 10%, our investments are down 25% and interest rates have doubled.
Greed.
Trump will give everyone as much money as they need.
@@darrinsteven7002 only if you're a millionaire. Remember those middle class tax cuts trump did? Yea, me neither.
"It doesn't have to help. It just has to be true." Thanks for your honesty, Josh!
Man i try ty
I’ve watched your videos for years for this reason. You are a straight shooter. I am picking up my first camper with my wife on Monday. If you were closer, I would have insisted on buying from you. Thank you for putting in the work to give us content, with a friendly and honest outlook. My wife and I appreciate it.
Transparency is how you earn trust. I've been watching your videos for a while now, and I'm most impressed with your content. This video has so much packed in. Thank you for taking the time to explain everything in detail, for educating us with valuable information 🙏 I would like to purchase one soon here in Central Florida to live in. I'm still trying to figure out where to put it, though, since it will be my main residence.
@@JoshtheRVNerd absolutely love the honesty, it’s why I watch you and recommend you.
Yes thanks Josh!!
As to your questions about campground availability and fuel cost impact on travels......We have not had a single night changed from no sites available. A lot of our adventures are just that. General direction to go, but the freedom to get distracted and pursue new places or destinations has not been slowed. As to fuel costs. We go where we can. Not rich, not even close, but we keep a card to use on trips and then clean it up for the next trip. I am retired, but the boss has a couple of years to go. After that, we will watch money closer, but, our plans are the same. Spend as much time on the road as we can stand.
Oh yeah, we are just west of St. Louis and really enjoy your content and love all the insight you share.
Have a great fathers day !
Lot of people saying they're having no issues finding sites while traveling
The prices they charge for some foam and aluminum is insane. When you look at the cheapest RV on the lot and its 13k then you look underneath and realize a $900 Harbor Freight Trailor is designed and built better it just makes many of us simply say NO WAY JOSE before we even walk inside.
Josh is absolutely the "professor" of the RV world! Been a fan since the Haylett era. Bought a Keystone Cougar last year on one of your recommendations and absolutely love it. Our favorite place to camp is Lake Jordan near Apex NC. Last weekend got gas for $3.00 with a discount card! Bish's hit gold when they acquired you with the sale! You are a true embassador for the entire industry!
TY so much, Dean!
Your gonna give him a big head 😂😂😂
And your sense of humor is awesome. Keep on keeping on.
We’ve watched a few RV videos with single beds instead of the queen size. We bought a 2019 coachman with a queen size and was so annoyed with the narrow area to get into the bed and we couldn’t access the cupboards around the bed. So we took out the queen size and the side cupboards and put in two singles and we love it! The mfg need to start putting the single option in more of their models! It’s a game changer. We now can use the bedroom more throughout the day, we have tote storage under the beds and can access the overhead cupboard. We absolutely love it.
That great. TY For sharing :)
YES.
I’d like to see a picture of that cause it’s close to what I’ve been going through
Pics please
@@bryanalston3974 UA-cam doesn’t have the function to share pics in comments btw
Great update Josh!
I live in the North East and yes it’s gotten harder and harder to find spots especially at reasonable prices.
I still think that the combination of poor assembly and component quality (especially compared to todays cars and trucks), months long waits for maintenance at dealers, high unit prices, and a serious lack of campsites could go through the industry like a wrecking ball.
Buy an airstream. It will last 50+ years with no major issues. Won't catch me in one though I want spacious condo on wheels and will deal with pop out issues, leaks etc.
@@rcbarnson6488 I maintain that you don’t have to go the the Airstream extreme price level to get a quality unit.
We are in the north east and we’re having trouble finding available campsites. So we bought our own campsite and rent it to other campers on Hipcamp when we are not using it. We also found Hipcamp has been a great way to find available campsites almost anywhere.
First off… I owe everything RV related to you Josh. Thank you a thousand times. This is my home in a area where a 1200 sqft 1970 shack is $1.2m. No lie. Lake Hodges, Ca.
I’m 71, single surfer living in my 2019 22’ Cougar RBS and loving it by a beautiful lake in Southern California. I pay a friend $1,000/month rent with a 20’x8’ deck that I built. The rig was $20k used bought sight unseen with only 250 local miles somewhere near Peoria. I really wanted this model with the iN·Command. I added $8k in the interior, sold the couch, added two leather 1960s swivel chairs, added carpet, a 1.5” thick wood countertop. I put $15k in property improvements including the pad, water, electric and a 16’ tall metal roof pagoda. I redid the interior with blackout cabinets and shiplap rustic wood cowboy walls. I use a $900 box composting toilet that needs mulch cleaning every 10 days. Water goes to a sump pump then into a 6x3’ leech field about 50’ away. Totally appreciate and use daily the iPhone connection to the features on the trailer computer. Heat, lights, etc. I don’t pull it as pad is tough to exit. Plus gas is too high for my 2008 Tahoe LTZ. Life is good. I kinda wish I had a small dishwasher as my big single black sink usually has dishes, alas, not another inch available.
Man.. that sounds pretty awesome. I wish UA-cam let you send photos of it to me
You alright my brother because you use the right words, "it's the truth." That the robbers do not like. Keep up the best you, it might help others to understand what respect is about. Thanks again.
I appreciate that
I live out in CA and don't currently have an RV. I bought my first travel trailer in 1981. We went out every month. I bought my last travel trailer in 91. It was stored for many years, changed jobs in 1994. Sold the trailer in about 2006.
Most recently I went on trips with my Dad and stepmother in their truck/5th wheel. I was the designated driver from about 2014 through 2019. Dad couldn't drive anymore. Although he thought he could. Dad passed away in 2019 and that was the end of my RV driving responsibilities.
I listen to all of your updates. I appreciate your honesty and transparency.
I still plan on getting my own RV, travel trailer most likely. Some day. Not in any rush. Just waiting to see how things unfold
Sorry to hear about your father. I watched my grandfather go thru things that slowly caused him to be unable to tow the RV then unable to drive entirely. I feel for you.
I was definitely looking hard at an rv about 3 years ago around the start of covid but by 2021 I had gotten priced out no way I can justify that much money toward something
With the popularity of Ebikes they really need to make 2 inch receivers that are attached to the frame versus bumper. Much easier to do during the build process.
BRAVO!! Well said
Just get a reducer to size down to what you need , it would be a better option
Agreed. It costs thousands to add afterwards but building it in from factory would be much more cost efficient
Always great information!
Thank _YOU_ for all the great work you're doing helping educate owners and buyers alike!
I have a 1998 33ft Winnebago Chieftain. I got it 5yrs ago for under $9000.00 and I've only had to replace the alternator, water heater and brake pads. I put in a "instant hot" water heater for $80.00 and saved over $400.00 vs replacing original.
I also installed solar and lifepo batteries.
It runs great.
Gas mileage as you'd expect.
Has higher build quality (than newer).
Long term boondock (quietly).
The only things that didn't work when I got it was the television and the two fans up front. I haven't replaced either.
I live in it full time. It's my first experience with an RV and I love it.
Peace
That's awesome, Randal! Sounds like she's a solid rig!
Thanks for your honesty and great insight. Looks like Haylett (sp) sold to Bish just in time. But let’s cut through the crap. If you own a business and sales are down 5-10% you’re in full panic mode. If sales are down 50%+ you’re on suicide watch. Every cost of owning and operating an RV has skyrocketed. So much so that people are throwing in the towel. But with interest rates for recreational vehicles near 10%, it’s this kiss of death. And while we’re comfortably retired, we know of many people losing their jobs. The housing market is collapsing. Recreational vehicles are on deck. People need to wake up and make better choices about who they elect to essentially run their lives. And soon.
you know they cheated on the election, right?
Full time RV sites are priced the same as a 1 bedroom apartment would cost per month. Why buy a RV then?
And who is the great savior, Donald Trump? 😂
@@mr.wilson8340 TDS much? How about just about anyone other than olé pee pee pants and his worthless sidekick Giggles.
Absolutely love your update!! I've started with a pop-up years ago, We started with our 2 kids and the popup, leaving the Chicago suburbs and headed to Glacier National Park, and the best trip of our family during my sabbatical (12 weeks additional vacation on top of my 4 weeks, or 6 weeks at double pay.) We ended up covering lots of the western states, and several major tourist attractions (Wall Drug, Badlands, Custer's last stand, Glacier, Washington State on the Pacific Coast just south of Canada, Columbia River Valley was like a movie set of lots of old westerns we'd seen for years, Later we go to see Painted Desert, some cowboy mining towns up in the mountains like Carson City, then the Grand Canyon, then on to visit our friends in Albuquerque New Mexico. Then we meandered back down Route 66 to home in the Chicago suburbs. We really enjoyed the beauty of Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, the Dakotas and Montana the Big Sky country. Seattle and Oregon were also beautiful, but more developed.
Later we upgraded to Travel Towables of different sizes and shapes over the years that followed. The last changes were after the kids were gone. Before the end, we did buy a campsite at Woodhaven Lakes in Amboy, IL where we parked one of our towable trailers. We later upgraded that. Eventually the kids moved out and our traveling days wound down. My first wife later passed and I have been remarried 16.5 years and I'm now trying to get my new wife interested in RV'ng since I have retired. With my wife's retirement approaching, it's possible we may be able to do this again. I've been keeping my eye out for something, and we've been to a dealer so she can see it first hand. We'll see what develops! I'll be watching your channel and keeping my eyes open. Thanks so much for your honest and insightful observations of the market trends!
Chris
TY For sharing! Sounds like a pretty awesome trip :)
2020, RV sales off the charts. What did everyone think was gonna happen? I actually sold my middle sized RV used during COVID for 15k, I bought it for 8k!! It was awesome.
@@jimmy821😂 that’s funny and probably true too!
Heck yeah. I'm waiting for it to come on back around. Folks selling act like its 2020-2021.
They need to go ahead and slash those prices.
Of course you did come on now... Everyone likes to bow saying they made profit get out of here with that
Hey Josh, appreciate your videos and love the content. could you perhaps Consider doing a video on the importance of buying local and respecting a salesman's time and effort . Sales people can spend days even weeks working with the client only to get paid Nothing. Someone does all the selling and working, and they go down the street to save a few bucks and someone makes it easy commission From somebody else's labor.
Great suggestion!
@JoshtheRVNerd I like this idea, I have to say I avoid even going to look at a dealer because I know we're not buying yet and I don't want to waste their time, but I also won't buy unless I keep looking at them lol
Josh - love your page. I run a dealership myself. BRINKLEY!!!!!! Taking over the industry with QUALITY! GENUINE QUALITY!
Hope you have a good season buddy
Yes Yes Yes to RV training initiatives. These things are so complicated and so much harder to manage than I ever knew, and Winnebago support has proven mostly useless when I've had questions. I ended up paying for the NRVTA home study course and have learned SO much in a very short period of time. Totally worth it.
I e heard great things about that course material
@@tomhorn2937 As a rebuttal, not all who own an RV, including the solid and simple model to the not so solid and complex, have the ability or strength or knowledge to Fix or modify their camper. There are lots of forums that are helpful of course.
Heck, most folks can't fix their free standing house. Thats what professionals are for.
We have been pretty much full time for about 7 years and camp sites have gotten a whole lot harder to find. We are currently in the south east but have been going all over the country and the one thing that we have noticed having exploded is the number of people living in their RV. Not just full time RVers, but buying an RV, having it delivered to a park and that is where they stay. A majority of them don't even own a vehicle that is capable of moving it.
That’s super common around here actually
That's what we're doing and love it! We also have a TT that we boondock in. It's a great experience.
We are also traveling the continent....and yes we have seen this all over the USA they are taking up large amounts of what use to be daily weekly rentals...Parks that were once beautiful are now dumps...
The sad fact is that rv life in a park is the last refuge for those who can no longer earn enough to afford a rent or mortgage. Corporate greed has created this situation. The person in the rv park is just trying to survive.
@@gilbertgarcia2418pardon my ignorance, what is a TT?
Heck Josh, we need a “reckoning “ throughout this country on so many levels and not just the RV industry!!
Yeah, you are right we need to get rid of this Republican party really quickly taking away books taking away the rights of abortions things need to be stopped. We got a criminal running for president again he needs to be shut down. And then that guy from Florida he’s a complete. Authoritarian wanna be I don’t want this country looking like North Korea do you. That’s not what our forefathers fought for. We gotta get this religion out of the schools too. There’s no sense in that. Separation of church and state is in the constitution. Get that church out of our governments is the only way to survive.
Welcome to the twilight zone. Paging : rod serling
My mom owns about 5 acres of accessible land in Northern Arizona right off the 40, think Grand Canyon! She has space for horses and dogs to stretch and run as well. Where should we post showing that she has space available for RVers, semis, tent camping, horse trailers and the such? We’re new to this and building out the property so others have a safe place to call home for the night or week. Thank you!
I left San Diego on 27 Feb, travelled through AZ, NM, TX, OK, AR, MS, AL, TN, KY, OH, IN, Wy, SD and now in MT. I have stayed in one KOA, several COEs, private, state and city parks and I had no problem getting a reservation and none of the campgrounds were full, even on Memorial Day weekend. I have noticed that every RV dealership was overflowing with rigs. I did see one rv with Bish’s dealership sticker. 😊. I should add that I am not trying to stay at highly popular places and I was traveling in the shoulder season.
I will be leaving MT for Canada and Alaska in the next few days.
I am in a 34’ Arctic Fox fifth wheel.
Love your channel. Thanks for the honest reviews.
I’ve heard similar stories a few times. Ty. Super helpful
Especially with a big FW Like that
Nice choice btw!
Even with a 13 month window to reserve a Georgia State Park campsite, it’s still tough to find a spot. If you have a particular site in mind you need to reserve the minute the 13 month window opens. I have to wonder if sites are being reserved “just in case we can camp” and then are cancelled later.
When trailers sit on the lot for an extended period of time, isn’t there a chance that things like the roof have aged and can be a real problem for the buyer.
I am currently in the market for a slightly owned or even new travel trailer, and I have been told from multiple people not to buy a 2020-2022 trailer that was built during covid. That might explain the excess amount of 22s still on the lots
Go for a 22 and get a RV inspection and that identify issues.
That's what we've been afraid of, RVs that were slapped together with low or no quality control just to get them on a lot.
We used to go to Florida for a month around Feb or March, but camping spots have been getting harder and harder to find and prices have skyrocketed
Ty for the info Andrea
Absolute honesty is the best policy! I agree, thank you!!
I try. TY :)
I'm impressed with your honesty Josh. I have been waiting for prices to come back to earth.
I appreciate that! I try man
Truly appreciate your customer focused and informative monthly updates! Thank you!
My pleasure!
Thanks, Josh. As RVer owners for past 15 years (currently full-time), we still care about the RV market, accessibility of travel, and the like. Thanks for keeping us up to date.
Thank you for posting these as always Josh.
Wow! Quick on the trigger! Thank you for watching!
Agree! Thanks for posting. I bought my 29 VBUD because of one of your videos. Now, though, I’m questioning whether I should be pulling it with my 2019 Ford F-150 Limited with tow package. 😩
Also, planning trips… most places want a 3-night minimum when you book on a Friday. They may be a half-way point to a destination and I may only need one night, so that doesn’t work very well. Plus, nightly rates of $60/night or more + 3-night minimum are making RV-ing not as much fun and not as do-able. Cost of sites + cost of gas + 3-night minimum…☹️😏😒 I live in NM and travel to northern NM and Colorado the most.
Mostly, though, I’m worried about pulling my trailer now. You commented on a Facebook post in a sea of 600-ish comments about a Tundra pulling a 38’ Voltare. Feel like our RV dealer wasn’t honest about towing nor was the truck dealer. And I felt like I did exhaustive research on my own, too. Now afraid I’m going to kill my family and everyone else on the road, too.😢😭😭
We almost didn't build an RV park because when we looked at industry reports on cost per space versus our estimates the projected cost was 2X the reported figures. ( non resort RV park) The cash flow projection based on the real cost to build was Ok so we went ahead and it has performed to the forecast. Materials and especially labor are way up such that the next one we are building barely meets the cash flow requirements and the break even occupancy rate is starting to look more like the hotel industry. Building and operating an RV Park is still a better use of capital than a hotel but not by much. The ROI on existing RV parks can be attractive to private equity since their cost of capital is lower than independents so I think we'll see a tapering of new park construction versus revamping of existing parks in the coming years. New parks will increasingly be built and owned by private equity which likely means an elevation in density and/or higher site rental rates . We also found that wiring the park to enable bulk purchase of electricity by the owner is critical to selection of the pricing model and to achieving an acceptable ROI. Park 2 would not have cleared the independent owner investment hurdle without that key design element .
Yeah I don't think it's an accident rv park rates have increased the past few years. It's necessity really
Very insightful. Thanks Bish's! Thanks Josh! (Love the cow!)
We are full time RVers - for nearly 2 yrs now! We've been all over but favor Arizona/Utah and up to Idaho/the Dakotas/Minnesota (large area, I know). I love my big rig Grand Design Solitude! I spent a lot of time plotting out trips and getting reservations. Yes, the prices have gone up! I notice that! I try to use Passport America and other discounts. We usually go to low-demand areas, yet still I find areas with limited availability. I end up calling around and staying a little further from my desired location just to get a spot. So far, I've usually been able to skip campgrounds with reviews about tight spots or tight interior roads (not really big rig friendly), but not always. It's expensive and crowded. The US Northeast was very crowded - too many people, sites and campgrounds too small, and VERY expensive.
Glad you enjoyed it!
We have a budget of $70k cash for a 2 person 5th wheel. Two years ago, we couldn't touch the price of a new unit. Today we are seeing similar 2022 RVs selling for $60k. Crazy times. The dealer we visited last week gave the EXACT story Josh did. They are about to start paying interest on their line of credit. Additionally, most credit lines have variable interest rates. With interest rates as high as they are today, this will get expensive fast. They seem VERY motivated.
Aged inventory becomes very painful quickly
I’m seeing 5th wheel toy haulers selling under $50k now like the XLR Microboost
@@SteveFelt67 Those make good stealth tiny homes. But most can't afford them so they use rental trucks or cargo trailers.
I sincerely enjoy your channel and all the information you share. I've learned so much! I was (about 5-6 months ago) planning on selling my brick and mortar home (because of the equity in it and the market value of it right now) and buy and live in a 5th wheel for a couple of years. After seeing what's out there, and what we're (wife, myself, 3 small dogs, and a Leopard Gecko) willing to live in, the cost was going to be way more than just staying in our home... So, I'm still interested in a 5th wheel, but we're staying put for now. Thanks again for all your help and information! Keep it coming!
👍🏻 will do
Praying campsite prices go down cause holy cow. We just got our first RV and it’s more to camp now than stay at a hotel in the same area the last two places we went to camp🤯🤯🤯
We started heavily considering just boycotting campgrounds all together and strictly boondock
For clarification I’m in montana now. And there are places to book for camping it’s just usually 70-90$/night…. Crazy crazy
Thanks for the very informative blog, my wife are from Massachusetts, we use our tag along about 4-5 weeks a year, we camp at private and public campgrounds,private campgrounds average cost is approximately $50-$70 per day, state campground’s are $22 per day.We enjoy both although you don’t get all the amenities with state campground’s but the sites aren’t stacked on top of each other. We bought a used rv(2014) back in 2020, it has served us well but now we are looking to downsize, it has bunks and a couch we don’t need but finding a reasonably priced used rv has been a challenge, you hit the nail on the head when mentioned that with all the new rvs sold in the past few years that prices on used rvs would come down and they haven’t it’s just the opposite .
I am in AZ and we just took a camping trip to Dogtown lake area, we Dry/Dispersed camped in our RV and to be honest there were lots of sites available Monday - Wed, but Thursday was game on and every spot filled up.
Jayco is more and more impressive to me. Extreme preppers will love the zombie-proof camper. Wait and see.
Thank you for sharing this with us ☺️ we're so happy that your honest with us! God bless
I sure try
Thanks Bish's. Thanks for putting this information out there.
Long time full timer, we are making reservations farther and farther out, parks are much fuller than they used to be, lots and lots more young families with small RVs. Winters in Texas fuel is cheaper, summers in the Pacific Northwest, fuel is expensive. But we still love our lifestyle.
"Relentless pursuit of transparency" I LOVE THAT!!! Keep it up, brother!!
Thanks! Will do!
People will be walking away from their Covid RV's. They don't use them anymore and are tired of payments. They are also upside down.
I’m not sure people are walking away just yet…campground bookings are still up with little to no availability which tells me people are using their RV’s.
@@patti3566just a lazy statement. 🤷🏼♂️
@@patti3566 or haven’t cancelled their reservations possibly
In my limit sample of the storage facility I park my RV at, RV usage is way up from 5 years ago.
I’ve said this since the Covid RV run started. There will be bank and Walmart parking lots full of RVs that people have walked away from. Think houses in 2008.
Always appreciate the industry update videos, Josh. The leftover 2022 situation is a major issue for dealers and manufacturers. But a great opportunity for customers to capitalize on some blowout pricing. I'm thankful that we decided to lean heavily into the Rockwood line in the mid 2010s. Outside of a couple 2022 Tents, the Rockwoods on our lot are all 2023 models. We are a SMALL dealer in Massachusetts, only stocking about 35 units at full capacity, so this is why we have basically gone all in on Rockwood. Thankfully, at least up to this point, they have stuck with us, even though I know they could jump to another larger dealer in the area and turn more product.
Yeah Rockwoods don’t celebrate birthdays on lots in my experience. Fantastic brand
I just love the honesty from ya. The no bull squat message you’re putting out there. I feel…educated. I really like the individual model videos but the “state of the industry” episodes you put out are my absolute favorites. At the beginning of Covid we had pegged the mfr’s and models we wanted to buy and had a 12 month plan on how we were gonna get there. The last year has kicked that plan in the plums. However, with the Go Play line, we’re back in. Now we’re only waiting on the standard feature/option lists to firm up. Thanks man. You always ask if we appreciate the up front honesty…just know we do.
Man i try. TY
I am waiting on the GoPlay line to have more small single/couples campers showing up. I don't want a bunkhouse. the 19BH is close to the size I want
We did that to or Coachman class A with the front facing living room. It’s 94 & we love it solid as a rock with that fuel injected 460 Ford.
Thank you for being honest. That’s why I listen to your channel. Lying and tricking is not good so thanks again for your channel 👍👍👍
I appreciate that
I agree about the difficulty in finding campsites. It is really hard to find full hookups in the northeast from my experience. Hopefully campground owners will focus on upgrading more sites. Even electric and water or electric only would be a huge improvement if they can't expand. You are awesome Josh. Really appreciate you.
Ty so much Joe
We run a 2008 Keystone TT that has been modified to allow my wife, who is totally disabled, to travel. We are starting to run into campgrounds that want only units that are less than 10 years old. This seems very discriminatory and unfair. So we lie when reserving a spot. There are thousands of dollars and many hours of my time invested in modifying our trailer and I am not interested in starting over. These policies are bullshit. It seems to be more of a trend in the west, but we don't go east so don't know about anything east of Indiana.
Also they are inflating the price on a camp site. In some cases it is cheaper to stay in a hotel.
Where? Plenty in western and central NY
You mean private places? Wow. Pretty much any private campground out here in the west has full hookups. In fact A TON of state and county RV parks have either full hookups or at least water and electricity.
We are life-long campers who are finding it more and more difficult to find camp sites. We live in southwestern PA, and it seems that we need to sit down in February or March and map out where we want to go camping, and then just get online and book them in advance. With that comes the uncertainty of weather, and even a high cost all at once because we have to pay up front. We have also noticed a major increase in prices. So our 8-trip summers have pretty much been cut in half to 4. 😔
I'm hearing a LOT of people in these comments say they find PLENTY of open sites on short notice. A lot of the booked sites get cancelled apparently or people just dont show
$12k for an old used (smells moldy) slide in for the back of a pickup truck at a big chain rv sales ?? Too many monopolies controlling prices , what happened to supply/ demand? Why do they need 8 salesman? The right price would’ve been $1500 (its a glorified cap that needs rebuilding) . Keep your garbage . Same for car dealerships trying to add cost to the advertised price (add 300 to 12000) “are all of your customers stupid” ? They will be “upside down” until its paid off ( in a bad credit position, so you killed your customers)(cant sell them anything for a very long time, if thy even come back at all) . Paying more than the advertised price for a house ? Because property bros tried to make it look “cool”? Just too stupid to be true , but it is happening,,, like a “manufactured crash”
Thank you for what you do. You provide a great service by explaining the RV industry in ways I think no others do. As an RVer now, I look to your channel for updates on how the market is working. Great channel!!
TY Don! I appreciate it :)
your honesty is appreciated
TY Brian. I try
We opted to just do a major rebuild on a 1970 truck camper because new prices are just stupid!!! A new truck slide in with the same options of our rebuild is about $40,000. I can’t imagine ever buying another new one. We’ve bought several new ones over the years. But prices have more than doubled. Too much to spend for something a full time working (non retiree) even has time to use enough to make it worth it.
Because of your honest upfront videos is why we chose to purchase from Bish’s Davenport! Brought our new 5th wheel home yesterday. Thanks for all the great info!
Wow ty Jan!
I'm in the swimming pool construction industry. Since the interest rate increases, the demand has come to a screeching halt. Going to be a tuff couple of years!
I bet that’s a business that varies heavily with expendable incomes
Hahahaha!! If you ever think interest rates are coming down l again. That will happens when the entire civilization collapses.
@@roguesovereignrogue9124 November of 2024
Did we not see this coming? Pandemic gave a real bump in RV activity but a short life bump. Looking forward-dealers loose a little AS DOES Elkhart. BUT the positive twist is Elkhart can slow down production and USE THE TIME TO PRODUCE QUALITY UNITS! If that happens sales would suffer for a shorter time and begin picking back up sooner. I thought. Appreciate your episodes.
Good seeing you in good weather. 😊
It’s nice for me too 😆
You made me laugh so hard with the towable tank~ I’m seriously gonna check it out to tow behind my Mojave gladiator ~ the way things a going it may come in handy soon 👍🤣
I love watching your vids. Years ago when the kids were small we went all over the country first with a MH and later a tag along for about 5 years and absolutely loved it. I don’t know if our area is an anomaly but in central Fl the off seasons started going away a few years ago. There are a handful of campgrounds near that are constantly jam packed. Bigger rigs packed in closer together. Sardine camping. While my heart is still out there, what I remember from 20 years ago is not what I see now and it makes me sad.
Reminds me of like when I watch old cartoons from my childhood. Best left to memory
I’m just re-entering RVing here in Canada (central Ontario) and booking a site at a provincial park was always difficult but has become nearly impossible in the last 3 years. You can only book up to 5 months in advance, and people are gaming the system by staying up until midnight, booking a site five months in the future for two weeks, then cancelling the first week.
Ty
My family camps in Michigan. We've noticed quite a few RV resorts in the process of expanding. While that will help with campground congestion, it will not help with campground congestion. You read that correctly. A resort or campground that goes from 250 sites to 450 becomes almost too unappealing. Many RV resorts are essentially golf cart rallies. One of the biggest struggles I have is the chaos and noise at RV resorts and campgrounds. It definitely diminishes the experience.
We also find no need for an RV resort. We have no need or desire for an Olympic sized pool or a water park or who knows what other 'amenity'.
Clean grounds, clean water, reliable properly maintained power & clean restrooms are the things we cherish most.
Totally understand what you mean here
It’s like turning a 4 lane highway into a 6 lane highway. You just get more traffic and congestion
Love the show. Keep the truth coming. As an RV owner for life, I have traded up since my pop-up. I drive a Tiffin 36LA now. Park spots are not hard to find, but everything has increased in cost by %25 to 30%. Gas prices are my "achiles heal" and while the trend is down, $4 gas means I DONT travel as much.
TY for watching and sharing some kindness today :)
Last summer when gas prices were higher we travelled for 2 months towing a trailer north to Alaska and back to Montana. We decided to minimizing eating out and purchased groceries as needed to prepar our meals. We also provisioned with lots of food, refer and freezer full plus two ice chest full of frozen food. This saved us a ton of money. 2 years prevous on an Alaska trip we boon docked for 3 - 4 nights and then got an RV park with hook ups for a night or three...last year we boon docked for 5-6 days on public lands for free, or state and federal pay campgrounds and then stayed a night or possibly two at an RV park for extended showers and laundry. Theses simple changes in expenditure allowed us to more than offset fuel cost and our total trip cost for 2022 for 8 weeks of travel was less than our 2019 trip of 6 weeks and significantly increased our overall travel and Alaska - Canada trip enjoyment.
Getting near impossible to get a camp site and paying thru the butt for everything. We need a good purging.
A good video, great points. Especially agree that camp sites are over the top expensive and crowded. If i tripped off my steps, i would face plant right into the neighbors RV. AND….being that close, every couple spots have fire rings!!!! That close, I ain’t letting anyone start a fire.
I’d say right off the top, aka low hanging fruit, the RV industry buying negatives are: 1) high interest rates 2) cost of the purchase of the RV 3) poor quality and that information spreads fast across social media. I think manufacturers don’t understand social media power.
The argument against me about my 2022 RV low quality from a new manufacturer was: 1) it is across the RV industry and implied to me was, to accept the new manufacturer quality issues, because that is the way it is across the industry. mmmmm that’s the way it is? I am to just accept it? Sorry. Why is that an excuse for them?
I would also say sales….and their deceptive practices. You even did a video on it. To go farther on sales….their lies, i was told on my RV the European push out windows were replaced with an upgrade to Lippert twist knob windows. No interacting sliding shades and screens, but i got old fashioned flat clip on screens, that leak bugs horribly. They didn’t say this was because of supply shortages, but were upgrades. Yeah. Flat screen. Twist knob windows and cheap white vynal pull down shades are new upgrades. But and Unfortunately , I didn’t do my homework and believed them. Additionally, the RV came with HT tires, not the advertised AT tires. Sales said: all that’s guaranteed are 2 tires.
So my view, industry is kinda paying for their sins of money over honesty .
I also think RV industry “Influencers “ hurt more than help. Why? It pretty easy as you listen to them a few times that they are overly rosie on greatness. Kinda easy to pick up their half truths. Air conditioning will run on solar, but it is winter so to cold for me to run it now to show you. But I suppose influencers did lure me in. Truthfully I didn’t realize what an industry influencer was, until i bought my RV. Then the negative dots started to align.
I 99% try to spend none of my money at the RV dealers. I use the trailer companies around me that support our farm equipment. I don’t consider that a loss of money for me. I think of it as if the sales side is dishonest, then maintenance is also dishonest.
Anyway rant over.
Thank you for watching!
Most of the reasons you mentioned are why we went to a seasonal site...gas, price increases, lack of availability, etc. However, even our seasonal site jumped 10% in cost last year...so no way to avoid all of the costs it if you love to RV. I am in the Central Wisconsin area.
Great info and charts as usual !! OMG - I laughed out loud (there should be an anagram for that ! ) when you had the brain freeze, played the AOL dial up sound and added the image with the word "Network". lol I wish you or your twin could do some videos on the Diesel Pusher market.......
That sound is exactly what’s in my brains when that happens
Yeah I want to go to some jamb packed campground with a bunch of drunks playing loud music with their screaming kids and barking dogs. Watching them trying to back in their trailers would be pretty funny though. I'm off to search some of those videos LOL!!!
I would be interested to see how regular housing prices have affected the rv campground situation. I just moved into my RV full-time because even though the rv park rates are higher than before, its still a cheaper option than paying rent or paying for a mortgage (especially if the rv is paid off!).
I think overall theres a trend of housing on the rise. There's definitely been a trend of people who have been priced out of housing & gone to RVs as a more full time option out of necessity
Im in california, a months rent in a mobile home park is $ 700-1200. Rv spaces for 1 month is $1800. I was going to get a trailer as a tiny home for full time living. But it's not cost effective. Tent camping is $40 a night and you better plan 6 months in advance or you might not find any available. BLM land is ok if it's not blocked with a gate and if you like getting to know the rangers because they will be all over you.😢 ☹
Well yeah you're in California & it's a huge difference from let's say Tennessee or Georgia or North Carolina 🤔
Same! Just got mine 06 Southwind in May
@micheleobrien64 California is not normal.
I haven't gone to public camp sites in several years being that we purchaced land in upstate NY eleven years ago and been developing it (finally done) with full hookups. I had no idea there was a campsite shortage nationwide! I wanted to relive a childhood Western camping trip with my wife but now we may have to wait things out.Thanks for the info!
My pleasure. Enjoy your little getaway
@JoshtheRVNerd thank you for an informative and entertaining post.
😂💖🙏🏻
Thank you for talking about this. It is difficult in California to find multiple day reservations. There are few first come campsites in California. The idea of driving 2 to 4 hours to spend one maybe two nights at a $$$ campground, while spending almost 5 dollars a gallon on gas …… takes the fun out of it. Oh and now it’s the busy summer season. I will be looking forward to fall camping, like many others. 👍
Fall Camping is my favorite for sure
Need to vote for the Republicans. They are pro freedom there folks. That means much lower gasoline prices.
We're in SoCal (Riverside) and don't usually have a hard time securing multi day spots. Two place you may want to try are: Lake Skinner (basically Temecula) and Brown's at Benton Crossing (North of Lake Crowley, Mammoth). Just a couple of suggestions as I don't know where you are in California.
@@dalepxp8963 If you're looking for Russian oil and Putin's control vote Republican.
Living out here in the PNW, finding a camping spot has always been a challenge. When we used to live back in the mid-west, back in the early 2000s we could book a site in as little as 2 weeks. Not so out here in the PNW. If you don't have something book within 4 months or greater, you're not going to find a place to camp. So what we've done and what I'd like to know if this is an increasing trend, is dry camping or boon-docking. Since going this route it has vastly opened the camping opportunities, that we would have otherwise overlooked, with solely sticking to camping locations with partial or full hook-ups. This change in our camping behavior has also led to the added necessity, of me getting to learn more about my RV, which has branched into me going into the DIY of things and installing our own solar panels, upgrading the batteries to lithium, and adding a power inverter system. I've really enjoyed it and have wondered how much of this has become an increasing trend and people doing their own repairs and DIY projects to their RV. Finally for us, it's explained why we've hanged on to our 2013 Lance because of all of the time and energy we've put into keeping it maintained and performing upgrades. Why purchase a new RV when we know everything about the one we currently own and all the changes we've made to it, to make it our own? Great channel and great information you provide!
Thank you for watching!
We use to camp in our state parks, now they are just as expensive as private camp grounds. I am from PA. The big thing with us in the quality of the RV's , the constant repair for things that aren't built well gets old. We sold our and now we rent a cabin when we want to go camping.
Hey Josh. Thanks for all your information. I look forward to listening to you each time. I'm hearing that a lot of campgrounds are renting out their campsites to more full time and/or seasonal campers. This is making it difficult for us regular campers who are traveling around week by week to find places to stay! Bummer!
I hear both ways. Some folks saying more campgrounds going seasonal and some saying campgrounds no longer doing it
Seems somewhat regional
Once again, Uncle Josh keeps us the Best informed RV community. Thanks Nerd. #nerdherd
Im nervous to look at the 2022 models after hearing about them being poorly built and having issues. Is this true for all 2022s or just some of them.
Ive heard from many rvr's complaining about their new rv falling apart way before covid so, take your pick.
No, we bought a 2022 grand design reflection, we have had it 18 months now and taken 7 long trips, no problem for far. We had a 2017 Sabre, biggest lemon ever. And that was before Covid.
@@j.l.salayao8055 thank you
@@duchess0816 thank you
@@duchess0816 I've been looking at the Image Grand Design for a couples trailer. Really liking the setups they have.
WAS ready to replace my 13 year old travel trailer, dealers wanted thousands for fluff,perks, bs etc, To get the ad price you have to finance, he still has the 2023 rv i wanter 8 months later...my rv park now wants 165 a day, so we go to a state park for 30 but for every space they rent the hold 2 back it's going to be the industry that kills itself, love the bloodbath video we use to camp 6-8 weeks a year. Now only 1wk due to space ,cost, now resort fees extra fees for grandkids...been taking more cruises instead all you can eat food big plus with kids..North Florida resident, camping 40+ years thanks for all the great videos
Structure defects is unforgivable
Thanks Josh I really appreciate the info you give us. I like your squirrel moments. Makes me feel better about my senior ones. 🤪
I feel like mine are getting more frequent lol
Manufacturers have to raise the bar on quality and workmanship which sadly, has been circling the bowl for the past 5 or 6 years or so. Just make a better, WELL MADE product. It isn't rocket science.
Quality. Quality. Quality... on current products does not meet price point. Thanks, Nerd. Camping World sucks. They bought all of our legitimate local dealers.
Yep Camping World (and anything owned by them like Giod Sam) won’t get a dollar from us unless we are desperate.
The ELE wasn’t built for bear attack and the pepper spray isn’t for bear.
They’re marketing to the SHTF preppier community and that pepper spray is for hordes of unprepared and desperate humans.
RV Park(ing lots) are not camping.
People are packed in like sardines. Camping is going to the woods or beach and setting up CAMP.
Most RV’s never actually camp. They simply drive to an RV Park(ing lot), hook up to 50 freakin amps, fresh water, sewer, and break out their ice make and adult beverage.
Out last big trip was 30 days and we paid for a space 5 nights (and that was only to explore where we needed to drop the trailer)
@@OpenCarryUSMC I like options... a parking lot, creekbanks, campgrounds, or a field somewhere.
We just bought a 22 this week, new. It’s a Winnebago and we are really happy with it. The dealer was dealing, it’s time to buy one if you have been waiting.
Good for you!
Thank you for your openness. It is refreshing. To those dealers that message you and suggest that you don't talk about this. . . shame on them. It was this lack of transparency that was a real negative when we bought our first trailer in Idaho (read into that what you like). Dealers need to recognize that most of us can see through the BS because of the. . . INTERNET (it is this new-fangled thing that allows a very free flow of information). You bring something special to the RV industry and it is very much appreciated. Thank you. Keep up the great work and integrity.
Yeah I agree. I was initially _kinda_ raised in a "just say good stuff.. don't say the bad stuff" environment but was also given a license to explore and I found my voice doing this stuff after a while
Man for that kind of money people _deserve_ to know what's up
Thanks Uncle Josh for taking the heat to get us the skinny. 👍
It went from cold to hot here super quickly
Thanks for once again convincing me that when it's time for us to get an RV it will more than likely be from Bish's. Transparency is the key, and you really bring it! We appreciate your candor and truthfulness. And if you're ever going to be down in Longview, let me know. I'd love to make the trek up there and perhaps even buy you lunch.
We sure try Bert. TY
Always love your videos. You provide information and entertainment! Saying, ‘Thank you Josh’! never feels like enough appreciation because you are Simply the Best!
Here’s a thought. Stop building storage lot queens for occasional use at a full hookup site within a few hours from the lot…. With outdoor TV’s, 4 and 5 slides, ONLY fold out steps, the inability to use a kitchen or even access the fridge without slides out, even not being able to get to a bathroom.
Before we discovered the “toothpicks and glue” construction we had looked at a lot of large 5vers and didn’t find a single one we could see ourselves buying because we require access to everything without spreading out ladder steps and slides.
Thanks for the updates! Currently watching this video from the Rv park behind Bish’s Salt Lake City location.
lol I remember standing on the roof of some campers while recording there and looking over at that park!
@@JoshtheRVNerd It’s a nice park, but the sites are packed extremely tight together. Otherwise it’s not a bad place to stay.