Wow, the RV industry continues to best previous records. In February the RV shipments were 30.1% higher than February of 2020. This represents the best February Shipments on record. Should the buyer beware? More on that in a minute.

As I mentioned in January, the increase in shipments this year is fueled by a few different factors; mainly a record increase of new folks entering the RV market. This is due to the realization that the RV lifestyle is a safe way to travel (post covid). In addition more folks are working and attending school remotely which opens up more opportunities to work or attend school on the road.

Although you will hear the RV industry complaining about a shortage of parts due to covid or the “Texas Freeze”, the numbers just don’t bear that out. It is more likely that the increased sales numbers are causing the overall shortage of parts. Let’s face it though, how much of a shortage exists if shipments are up over 30%.

Let’s take a quick look at Februarys Towable Shipments:

Travel Trailers a 38.1% Increase

February of 2020 – 25,161

February of 2121 – 34,741

Fifth Wheels a 11.1% Increase

February of 2020 – 7,076

February of 2021 – 7,858

Folding Camping Trailers a 2.9% Increase

February of 2020 – 613

February of 2021 – 631

Truck Campers -21% (the only Category that showed a loss).

February of 2020 – 319

February of 2021 – 252

The net increase across all towables is an increase of 31.1% over February of 2020. This is the best February on record. Of course as I have said before, it’s great for the RV manufacturers but that doesn’t mean its great for the consumer. Someone shopping for an RV right now should at the very least consider and independent inspection on any rig they are interested in purchasing. If you look on-line right now (and we are only in April) there are numerous horror stories around brand new rigs being delivered with leaks, electrical issues, and more. One RV manufacturers Rep allegedly told a new buyer that they were turning new units out so fast that they were relying on the dealers to find and fix their mistakes. That is totally unacceptable – if true.

My current travel trailer was manufactured during 2017, which was another banner year. It had a number of recalls and there were things that should never have passed the Pre-delivery Inspection. It also had a roof that was not correctly applied, which has now become part of a larger story that is ongoing.

Tammy and I love our Imagine and we have made many upgrades to it; so it is not going anywhere. It took us about two years to shake out all the problems. It has been trouble free since 2019 with the exception of the roof saga.

The moral of the story is that a high volume year MIGHT signify lower quality to the consumer. As of this writing on one job site alone , there are 613 open RV jobs in Indiana. That is a sign that the RV industry is struggling to fill open jobs yet putting out a record number of RVs. Should the buyer beware? In my opinion they should be.