How About Some Good News For Boomers
Annual RV Show in mountain town of payson, arizona
There is a big RV sale every year about this time in my hometown of Payson, Arizona which, if you don't know the area, is about 90 miles northeast of Phoenix and in the cool pines at 5000 ft elevation. RV fans from all over the country come here to camp and play in the largest stand of Ponderosa Pines in the world, natures lung we call it. The show is being put on by my friends at Star Valley RV and from all reports is doing quite well. It started last Thursday and will run for two weeks and is located at the junction of Hwy 87 and Hwy 260. If you are in the market for a motorhome, 5th wheel, pop-up camper, travel trailer or toy hauler - new or used, I urge you to go check them out - they have a huge selection of RV's to choose from.
Great deals with a small town approach
As reported previously in this blog Star Valley RV is where I purchased my KZ Durango, 28ft fifth wheel. Ray Vela, the manager there gave me one heck of a deal and I encourage you to visit his website or call him before you purchase any RV. His low-overhead, small town dealership allows him to make some great deals and his no pressure approach to sales will have you telling all your RV'ing friends.
Rumors of the RV industry's demise are greatly exaggerated
But let's get back to the good news for baby boomers. In conversations with Ray and his staff not only is the sale a huge success so far with still another week to go but the general attitude out there is positive. With all the negative press we are getting about gas prices and RV manufacturers cutting jobs and even closing down facilities completely it's refreshing to hear some good news about the industry for a change. Boomers are buying RV's here, everything from class A motorhomes the size of a semi to toy haulers. 5th wheels and travel trailers. There doesn't seem to be any one particular type of RV that is selling better than others and most of those that are buying are experienced RVers. Gas prices don't seem to be a factor. As I have said before in this forum, baby boomers are not going to let gas prices get in the way of their RV dreams. As a boomer RVer I can attest to that myself.
RV'ing beats airline security hands down
Let's face it, if you think about it, traveling in an RV for a vacation makes perfect sense. Sure - gas prices are high and likely to go higher but what would you rather do, roll the dice in an airport and hope your flight goes as planned and on time, luggage gets there as promised, no security alerts pop up and dang, I can be halfway to my destination in my RV in the time it takes before the plane even leaves the ground. Air travel is getting to be the pits and that's domestic travel, let's not even talk about international flights. A family of four, flying to a vacation destination is going to pay an average of $200. per person for just the plane ticket. Then you have hotels, meals, rental cars and a whole lot of other expenses. You have to burn a lot of gas to equal that and it's a heck of a lot more fun traveling in an RV.
Film at 11 folks - Stay tuned for the consumer's perspective as BoomerRver.com's roving reporter goes on scene to the sale and talks to the folks that are doing the actual buying. We will be asking questions like: how will fuel prices affect your decision to buy an RV? Where will you travel to? What will you do if gas prices go even higher? How will you compromise your plans, if at all, to compensate for the high cost of fuel. And a whole lot more.
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