As predicted in my previous post last month, the RV shipments continue their decline. RV shipments for September fell to 28,333 units. That is a decrease of (-48.5%) compared to the 55,014 units shipped in September 2021. If you are thinking that the quality will go up with fewer shipments, based on what I am seeing online – that would be wrong. And while the RV association refers to this as “normalization”, you can be sure it has an impact on production lines and upstream vendors.

FT Worth RV Show
Shipments and sales are dropping.

So what was the impact to towables? Well towables are down 54.4% when compared to September numbers for 2021. Year to date towable number are down 9.9% when compared to 2021. That is a drop of 40,443 units so far. That is quite a drop.

Breakdown:

Travel Trailer Shipments:

September 2021 = 40,254 vs. September 2022 = 17,599. That is a drop of 56.3%. For the year Travel Trailer Shipments are down 10.3%

Fifth Wheel Shipments;

September 2021 = 9,405 vs. September 2022 = 4528. That is a drop of 51.9%. For the year Fifth Wheel Shipments are down 10.7%

Pop-Up/Folding Campers

September 2021 = 642 vs. September 2022 = 514. That is a drop of 19.9%. For the year Pop-Up/Folding Camper Shipments are up 7.8%

Truck Campers

September 2021 = 395 vs. September 2022 = 462. That is an increase of 17.0%. For the year Truck Camper Shipments are up 23.9%

In conclusion, the only real bright spot right now seems to be that Pop-Up, and Truck Camper shipments seem to be up for the year. Given the fuel prices, I think that makes sense as people are probably looking for RV options that won’t be as costly to move from campsite to campsite – just my opinion.

The RV Industry Association President & CEO Craig Kirby stated. “Campgrounds continue to report strong reservations as the many people who bought RVs in the past few years are using the RVs to spend quality time with friends and family this fall while enjoying the many physical and mental health benefits of getting outdoors.”

I certainly don’t disagree with Mr. Kirbys’ statement. However it seems that campground spots seem to be getting a bit easier to find. In addition, more 2020 and 2021 used RV’s are now being sold. This might signify that folks who purchased during the pandemic have decided to leave the life style OR perhaps have decided the quality just wasn’t what they expected. So given that used RV’s are available, that certainly has an impact on new RV sales and of course shipments.

Let me conclude this post with a suggestion. If you are looking at a new or used Travel Trailer, PLEASE spend the extra money for an independent inspection. There is just to much at risk by not taking that important step. In the meantime if you have a travel trailer, get out there and enjoy yourselves!