RV Podcast

Expensive RVs, eRVs and Toads: RV Podcast #380

01.26.2022 - By Mike WendlandPlay

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Those were sure a bunch of expensive RVs! We're just back from the record-setting Florida RV SuperShow in Tampa and in this week's RV Podcast episode we talk about that, give you a sneak peek at the race to build eRVs and answer in-depth a question about what's needed for a toad - a vehicle towed behind an RV.

We walked more than 12 miles covering this show, touring and videoing Class A, B, B+, and C motorhomes, Fifth Wheels, Truck Campers, Towables, Teardrops, and even a tiny RV that can supposedly be towed by a tricycle!

Click below for the Video version of the Podcast.

You can listen to the audio-only version through your favorite podcast app - Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher... all of them - or click the audio player below to hear it right now on whatever device you are now on.

Expensive RVs - The Elephant at the Fairgrounds

But first, let's address the number one thing we hear from those in attendance.

"Wow! Those are sure Expensive RVs!"everyone

Seriously, that is just about all we heard. Over and over again, everywhere we went on the Florida State Fairgrounds where the show was held.

Every type of RV seemed to be priced 25% more this year.

As Nick Schmidt, of Sunshine State RVs in Gainsville, FL (the RV industry veteran we interviewed in this podcast), and numerous other dealers, manufacturer reps, and experts we talked to last week explained, you can blame the price hikes on a lot of five different things working in concert:

* Unprecedented demand. It is a seller's market.* Difficulty in getting chassis. The most popular Class B and C chassis continue to be in very short supply.* Parts shortages. Manufacturers have lots of R$Vs all done and assembled but unable to ship because they are missing a crucial part.* The supply chain crisis. Every industry is affected by this.* COVID shutdowns, restrictions and illnesses.

How much are those expensive RVs?

The average price for well-equipped Class B or C motorhomes was near $200,000. These weren't super luxury models with every bell and whistle, ether.

A couple of years ago, pre COVID, they were about $150,000.

Here's a case in point: Of the long dual rows of Airstream travel trailers on display at the show, all but two units were priced over $100,000. This is for a travel trailer, mind you. Granted, Airstream is a top-of-the-line brand and has always been expensive. But they are even more expensive this year!

I saw several teardrops - tiny little pull-behind trailers with barely enough room for two people to sleep inside - priced at $50,000!

Barefoot Prototype

These are crazy expensive RVs.

Were there any bargains?

A few. Some of the bare ones Dodge Promaster-based Class B can still be bought for under $100,000. The Dodge Promaster chassis have not had the same demand as the Ford Transit and Sprinter models and are thus more available. Thor, for example, exhibited a very robust lineup of vans on the Dodge Chasis.

So did Roadtrek, though their units were more expensive but still affordable, upwards of $115,000.

Travel trailers, and Fifth Wheels, still relatively available compared to a many-month wait for motorized RVs, also showed less of a price hike than the motorhomes.

eRVs are coming

estream

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