The Post-Pandemic State of the RV Industry

The pandemic may be on the wane but the state of the RV industry as the second quarter of 2022 starts rolling is one of catch up, a slightly easing supply chain situation, and continued record demand for the products they build.

Those are some of the things we're learning this week as we visit the Elkhart, Indiana region, the RV Capital of the world. We're here to observe the production and get our first hands-on look at the brand new 2022 Keystone Arcadia 3250 RL Fifth Wheel that we're buying later this week.

But as we toured the production facilities and learned about the latest innovations in towables and RV manufacturing, we were able to spend some time with Jeff Runels, the President and CEO of Keystone, who took us through a tour of the factory, showed us how these award-winning and innovative 5th wheels are built.

But we also got him to sit down for an interview and talk about the post-pandemic state of the RV industry, new technologies, and a growing emphasis on customer service that can directly on a factory to customer level handle many repair or maintenance issues without sending the owner to an RV dealer's service shop.

To watch the entire podcast (Episode 393), click the player below.

If you prefer an audio version, you can listen to it on your favorite podcast app - Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, Sticher, etc - or click the player below to hear it right now on the device you are reading this post.

But first, a recap of our new RV!

Our first hands-on look at the brand new 2022 Keystone Arcadia 3250 RL Fifth Wheel.

Jennifer and I got a look at our finished Arcadia. It is beautiful and we will hopefully take possession of it and be camping with it this weekend.

We still have to install the hitch on our 2021 Ford F-250 Lariat 4x4 diesel truck, scheduled for mid-week. And then we'll officially purchase it through Camping World.

But since we will be doing lots of videos with it and want to learn as much as we can about 5th wheels (we've never owned one before), we came down to the Keystone headquarters in Gishen, IN for an inspection and to shoot a couple of stories.

We loaded this unit with a maximum 600 watts of solar panels on the roof, a 3,000-watt inverter, and three 100 amp Dragonfly lithium batteries. Dragonfly is the parent company of Battleborn Batteries. We'll have a full review on our unit when we've camped in it in a few days.

While in Goshen, we will also be attending a driving school, both Jennifer and me. We both want some expert help in hooking up, backing up, and driving with a fifth wheel in tow behind our truck.

The State of the RV Industry Today - Interview with Jeff Runels

Interview with Jeff Runels, President of Keystone RV.

All right, welcome now to our interview of the week segment and our guest is Jeff Runels. He's the president of Keystone RV, and that's where we are coming to... Look at all those beautiful Arcadias back there. Jeff, it's great to have you on the podcast.

Jeff Runels: I appreciate it.

Mike Wendland: It's really great to be here, but it's particularly great to be here, because we're getting one of those. We're buying one of those this week.

Jeff Runels: Yes, you are.

Mike Wendland: we are really excited. So we wanted to talk to you about this unique time that we're in for the RV industry. Post pandemic,