Rollin' down the road

By Patrick S. Pemberton

ROLLIN’ DOWN THE ROAD

Rising fuel costs have put a dent in demand for RV sales and also caused many owners to scale back travel plans, but some families say RVing remains affordable and still others balance the costs with

their American dream of lightin’ out for the territory

When Joe and Iree Borges sold their house and brought a 40-foot RV in 2001, it made perfect sense.

The Santa Maria couple had retired, after all, and they wanted to see the country.

“I didn’t want to retire to mow a lawn,” Joe Borges said.

Initially the couple traveled to places like Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. But with the price of diesel fuel soaring to $5 a gallon, their home on wheels is parked a lot more these days.

“If fuel prices stay the way they are right now — or even go up a little higher, as they say they may in a couple more years—I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Joe Borges said. “Because our income is fixed—that doesn’t change.”

While rising gas prices and a shaky economy have caused a panic in the recreational vehicle industry, Americans are still driving RVs. But their habits have changed.

“Instead of traveling long distances,” Joe Borges said, “we just stay in one spot longer and travel a heck of a lot less.”

2001: A surge in interest

Fueled by a booming housing market and a fear of traveling abroad, RV sales jumped in 2001, said Mike Howard, a salesman for Trailer Hitch RV Center in Pismo Beach.

“After 9/11, the RV industry went through the roof,” he said.

After five years of record growth, RV shipments declined in 2007. And according to various reports, purchases fell about 30 percent in the first four months of this year.

Brandon Meidam, general manager and partner of Frederick’s Unlimited in Paso Robles, said he thinks the market has dipped even more than that—around 40 percent to 50 percent.

“The sales of the big stuff has pretty much dropped off completely,” he said.

A buyers’ market

Ironically, it’s a good time to buy an RV. Because RV owners are selling their vehicles so cheaply, retail outlets can’t compete.

“There’s a lot of dealers that have dropped out of business,” Meidam said.

Recently, two large RV dealers, the San Diego-based La Mesa RV Center and the Fresno-based Dan Gamel RV, announced liquidation sales. Meanwhile, RV manufacturer Winnebago Industries, citing poor sales, laid off nearly 300 workers just last week.

Why RVing makes sense

Still, as a visit to any local campground will show, RVs are still out there.

“This is the way to travel,” said Joe Manary, a retired Air Force veteran from San Diego.

Manary actually rented his neighbor’s RV so he could take his family — four kids and his wife — on a California jaunt through the Sequoias, up to San Francisco and back down the coast. Their travels recently included a stop in Pismo Beach.

“This is like traveling in the Taj Mahal,” he said. “It has electric levelers, hot water heaters, cooking facilities, a shower ...”

Even though the RV only gets seven miles per gallon, it’s still cheaper than flying somewhere, he said.

The cost of flying a family of six to Chicago or New York would start at $2,500 and go up considerably. Then there’s hotel costs, which would likely exceed $100 a night.

In two weeks, Manary paid $1,000 for gas and paid an average of $50 a night for campsites.

“We stopped at Costco before we left and loaded up all these bins with cold drinks and sandwich meat and stuff like that,” Manary said, pointing to the RV’s storage. “So we really have not spent much on food for the trip.”

Staying closer to home

It’s a marked contrast from the family’s last big trip—to Italy. But this is a new era, when the term “staycation” spells tough times for the travel industry.

This spring, Zarca Interactive, a leading provider of online surveys and research technology, found that 58 percent of RV owners planned to travel closer to home.

Like the Manary family, Borges and his wife have spent more time in California as of late. In fact, last week they sat overlooking anchored boats in Avila Beach, with their Chihuahua, JD, sitting at their feet as they drank coffee and ate chocolate chip cookies.

They had planned on visiting Joe’s son in Florida, but high gasoline costs have altered their plans. In general, they’re spending much less time on the road.

“You factor what it’s going to cost to travel,” Borges said. “And if it’s more than it’s worth, you just don’t go.”

While it costs $450 to fill up Shirley Hawkins’ 31-foot camper, she and her husband can make it from their home in Bakersfield to Pismo and back for $180. And their RV offers all the amenities, including two TVs, a shower and a queen-sized bed.

“I used to do that tent thing years ago,” she said. “But no more — I’m too old for that.”

While fuel prices have gone up since they purchased the RV 2-1/2 years ago—they actually upgraded from a smaller one—they have no regrets.

“I’d rather be here than a hotel room,” Hawkins said, sitting outside her RV at the Oceano Campground.

Besides, they don’t travel that far. So far this year they’ve taken two trips — both to the South County.

Of course, it helps to be in California, a large state with much variety in topography and the character of its communities.

“We’re fortunate enough to live in such a nice place, where we can drive on a tank of fuel and be in pretty incredible places,” Meidam said.

A shift in demand

At Fredericks Unlimited, he said, customers are buying smaller trailers and truck campers, which get better gas mileage. At Trailer Hitch RV, Howard said, sales haven’t taken a huge hit since they offer trailers and fifth wheels, which are better on fuel than large RVs.

Not only is gas a concern, Meidam said, but also the overall economy, which has banks more skittish about loaning large amounts of money for RV purchases.

“Financing has become a lot more challenging,” he said.

Fortunately, Borges and his wife bought their RV when times were good. After selling their four-bedroom house in Santa Maria, they bought an RV that’s big enough for a rock band. Inside it features a washer and dryer, a full entertainment center with satellite television and a spacious bedroom.

“We have all the amenities you need,” Borges said, opening an outside cabinet that stores another television, plus a wine and beer fridge.

While they’re traveling closer to home these days, they find that it has allowed them to appreciate the Central Coast more. And as they stared out at the blue waters that border Avila Beach, they realized that life on wheels isn’t so bad—even with high gas prices. After all, an RV gives them freedom and flexibility.

“I don’t want to think about settling down again,” Borges said.