Jim Holmes of Fairhaven, Mass., bought his first recreational vehicle in 1981. Since then, he’s had nine different RVs, ranging from a truck camper to a fifth-wheel towed unit. He now has a $300,000 luxury motor home he recently bought at Marty’s US RV dealership in Berkley, Mass.
Holmes and his wife take their RV camping almost every weekend, he said. He’s planning a trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., later this summer and has gone to New Hampshire, Nova Scotia and many southern states over the years.
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Holmes is not alone. His story mirrors a national trend: More people are jumping onboard an RV craze that has sales and rentals of the vehicles rising sharply in recent years.
The popular travel trend has helped build the RV business into a $14-billion-a-year industry.
The RV rental business, totaling more than $350 million, grew by 34 percent last year (the number of rentals) over 2003, according to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA).
And a 36 percent increase in RV rentals is expected this year over 2004, RVIA said.
National RV wholesale shipments for the year are projected to top 357,100 units, the second-best year since 1978, according to Richard Curtin, director of surveys of consumers at the University of Michigan. Last year, RV wholesale shipments surged more than 15 percent, marking a 26-year high, according to RVIA.
General Electric, a major player in the manufacturing and financing of RVs, is projecting 7.9 million households will own RVs by the end of 2005, an increase of 1 million owners since 2001.
This trend continues the steady growth in ownership over the past 25 years.
The reason for the increase is a change in the way Americans take vacations, said Ken Sommer, director of media relations for RVIA.
“Road trips are all the rage,” he said. “RV travel has the freedom, flexibility and control while taking the comforts of home with you.”
An RV is a motorized or towed vehicle combining transportation and temporary living accommodations for travel, recreation and camping. There are six basic units that range in size from 15 feet to 40 feet in length. Newer units are equipped with all the bells and whistles including flat-screen TVs, GPS and side-vision mirrors that allow greater visibility and protection for the driver.
There are no permits necessary to drive an RV, just a valid driver’s license.
‘Hotel on wheels’
Locally, Toni Pones of Providence is one person who’s caught on to the RV fad. At the end of July, she rented an RV from Cruise America/Ezee Car Rental and Leasing Company in East Providence for a long weekend of camping in New York with friends.
Pones has gone camping many times before, but this time she said she “wanted to do it in style.” The trip was the second time she rented an RV.
“It’s a hotel room on wheels,” she said.
Ezee Car Rental and Leasing, a local dealer for the national RV renter Cruise America, has seen RV rentals jump 24 percent this year over 2004, said Bob Caldarone, Cruise America’s assistant vice president of marketing. This surge is higher than the 16 percent increase in RV rentals nationwide, he said.
And Ezee Car is booked through September, said Manny Almeida, rental manager. There have been about 110 rentals since May, he added.
RVs from Cruise America can rent for between $125 and $200 a day with a 29-cent charge per mile during the summer; the vehicles rent for as low as $65 a day in the winter.
Marty Hanoud, president of Marty’s US RV, has more than 34 years’ experience in the RV business. He opened his dealership in 1991 and recently expanded to more than 40 acres of space. His lot is stocked with more than 100 RVs from 11 big-name dealers including Beaver, Monaco and Travel Supreme – with prices ranging from $40,000 to more than $600,000.
RVs offer a different way to take a vacation, which saw a surge following the 9-11 terrorist attacks, said Hanoud.
“(The) American people decided there are wonderful things to see in America,” he said. “It’s a great way for the whole family to get together.”
Affordability is also a good reason to buy an RV, he said. A family of four that owns an RV can use it multiple times a year for nearly the same price as it would cost to go to Disney World for a week, Hanoud said.
PKF Consulting in San Francisco, considered an expert in the hospitality and tourism industry, said a family of four can spend up to 74 percent less on RV trips, compared to cars, planes and hotels.
Mark Donilon, a sales manager for Arlington RV Supercenter in East Greenwich, said he sells between 700 and 800 RVs each year ranging from $50,000 to $350,000. Customers can also rent motor homes for between $159 and $219 a day during the spring and summer.
Increasing gas prices have had little effect on the industry, according to RVIA. “Regardless of gas price fluctuation, RV ownership is a good value,” said RVIA President David Humphreys.
Most RV buyers are also eligible for a second home mortgage IRS tax deduction, according to RVIA.
