RV industry in Las Vegas booms as prospective buyers look to get away

A Mission Overland The Summit trailer at XGrid Campers Tuesday, July 13, 2021.

Las Vegas’ Findlay RV usually has about 120 recreational vehicles on its lot at any given time during the summer. These days, that same lot houses fewer than 40, according to Findlay RV general manager Reuben Figueroa. It’s a similar story at other RVs dealers across the nation.

“Business has really been heightened during the pandemic, and now as we’re heading out of the pandemic, it hasn’t changed,” Figueroa said. “A huge percentage of the public now want to own their own traveling home.”

RVs have provided nice alternatives to sitting around the house to wait out the COVID-19 pandemic. The vehicles offer a controlled temporary living environment for a small number of people, and they can be taken to places away from large crowds, such as locations in or near national parks.

The National RV Dealers Association trade group expects between 570,000 and 580,000 units to be delivered to dealerships in the U.S. in 2021. That would shatter the all-time record and best last year’s total by close to 150,000 RVs.

XGrid Campers

The Purpose Trailer by RKS Offroad at XGrid Campers Tuesday, July 13, 2021. Launch slideshow »

“Everybody wanted to get outdoors and spend time with their family during the pandemic,” said Ronnie Corwin, general manager at Johnnie Walker RV, a short drive from Findlay RV along Boulder Highway. “People couldn’t go to hotels or go on cruises, so they wanted to figure out a way to still vacation and have fun. A lot of people were driven to our industry. There’s still a buzz around outdoor adventures now.”

There’s so much demand for RVs—of all shapes, sizes and costs—that it has been hard for consumers to find what they’re looking for this year. The RV Industry Association figures that close to 11 million households now own an RV of some sort.

The price of a vehicle, which depends on RV class, size and amenities, can be as low as $30,000 or as high as $300,000, according to Camper Report. RVs can usually also be rented for around $200 a day.

“People are buying stuff on order before they even seen it in person,” Figueroa said. “We’ve been challenged to get inventory in. I’m sure that’s the same thing my competitors would say, too. I don’t see the market changing much for 18 months, at least.”

Part of the backlog stems from supply-chain disruptions caused by last year’s pandemic-born shutdowns. But consumer demand is also playing a big role. While RVs have traditionally been associated with retirees and families who like to camp, new customer segments have popped up recently, Figueroa said.

“We’ve noticed more young people,” he said. “We’re seeing people in their 30s and even younger. We’re seeing young couples without kids buying units. We’re seeing people who, before last year, probably never thought about buying an RV.”

Figueroa, who has been in the car business since 1986, said he began selling RVs in 2002. The last RV industry boom he can remember that rivaled today’s market came in the years preceding the Great Recession.

“People were buying RVs left and right during those years, but there was a dramatic drop-off when the recession hit,” Figueroa said. “What we’re seeing now, I think, will be long-lasting, though you never know what tomorrow could bring. I don’t think the RV industry is ever going to go away, even if the economy takes a dive again.”

As with traditional motorhomes and pull-behind RV units, the market for more rugged off-road RVs is hot right now. Loren Walker, founder of XGRID Campers in Las Vegas, opened his business last summer after he lost his corporate software job due to the pandemic.

In the first week the business was open, he said, he sold four units starting at $20,000. Today, new customers are waiting six to eight months for delivery.

XGRID also rents off-road pull-behind campers, which are designed to go nearly anywhere and feature many of the creature comforts one might find in their home.

Some of Walker’s customers have a desire to go off-grid for extended periods of time, while others, he said, like the off-road units because they can get to places more remote than staked-out campgrounds and RV parks, which have been packed since the onset of the pandemic.

“Often, if you get a spot at a campground or traditional RV park, it’s very crowded, so that defeats the purpose of wanting to get away,” Walker said. “Our trailers can go over rocks and washboard roads, just about anywhere. With what we sell, people can find a trail, not know where it leads, but they know they can get there.”

On a recent morning at XGRID’s headquarters in the shadow of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Californian Michael Kochis arrived to pick up his Taxa Outdoors Tiger Moth model. He often travels to Colorado or to Sequoia National Park with his Labrador. In the past, he has mostly slept on the ground in a tent. Not anymore.

“I’m getting older, and I wanted to be more comfortable,” Kochis said. “California is crowded, so you have to go where nobody is. I have a Jeep Gladiator that’s lifted, so I’ll be able to go anywhere with this. Even just going somewhere for a weekend will be easy now.”

Business

This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.

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