Nationally, RV sales have slowed to a crawl. That's why Elkhart, Ind., the nation's heart of RV manufacturing, has a jobless rate of 15 percent. President Barack Obama recently visited that area and spoke of its woes in a prime-time news conference.
Lawmakers from Indiana subsequently managed to add pro-RV language to the $787 billion stimulus bill. People who purchase RVs will be eligible for a tax credit originally meant only for car and truck buyers.
Here in Maryland, registrations of new RVs were down 26.2 percent the first 11 months of last year compared with the same period in 2007, according to Michigan-based Statistical Surveys Inc. That was worse than the 25.5 percent dip nationwide.
Sales by dealers here were down 30 percent, said the firm's Scott Stropkai. That poor showing surprises him, he said, since Maryland's economy has more air in its tires than most.
Ah, but this is a brand-new year, says Rich Kohles, promoter of the annual RV show that wraps up today at the State Fairgrounds in Timonium.
Last weekend's three-day opening drew higher attendance than a year ago, he said, and people weren't just browsing. One dealer took home 11 sales contracts in one day, he said. Yet the banks approved just two. Who knows if the would-be buyers lacked credit? Kohles chalked it up to lender stinginess.
Ever the promoter, he finds an upside to the recession. "It's a whole genre of family togetherness when we talk about the RV lifestyle," he says. "I don't know it has to do with the economy, but it seems people are hugging their families more nowadays."
By that logic, an RV is a movable nest. Nicely feathered, too.
Stepping outside his office, Merkel, 53, gives a tour of a top-line model, the 40-foot Essence by Damon. The first thing you notice is its roominess. When parked, the walls in the living room and bedroom can yawn 14 feet wide.
It's pretty tricked out: It has a flat-screen TV, plush sofas, full kitchen with microwave and gas stove, central air conditioning, dimming lights, side-by-side fridge with ice maker, full bathroom and king-size bed in the bedroom. (On the other hand, it gets just 8 mpg, though Merkel asserts that if you factor in hotel laundry and such, "RVs have a smaller carbon footprint than any other way to travel.")
List price: $254,000. At the other extreme, Merkel will gladly sell you a pop-up trailer for around $5,000.
