As Elkhart, Ind., Goes, So Goes the Nation, and Elkhart Is Nervous

[steve from amherst]

Strange , Polaris rzr 1000 msrp for 2019 model yr is same as 2018.

[ActionfigureJoe]

3 minutes ago, DAVE said:

Imagine how much they hated Hillary....

I dislike Hillary about .000001% less than trump. In the long term the country would’ve done better under Hillary. Growth would’ve been less, but sustained longer. This economic explosion under trump isn’t going to end well. I dread to see what we get next. It’ll be another hate vote. Only this time it’ll be the liberals choice. 

[ActionfigureJoe]

4 minutes ago, steve from amherst said:

Strange , Polaris rzr 1000 msrp for 2019 model yr is same as 2018.

What’s the build dates on the “19’s ?

[steve from amherst]

1 minute ago, ActionfigureJoe said:

What’s the build dates on the “19’s ?

Some are not built yet. 

[ActionfigureJoe]

Just now, steve from amherst said:

Some are not built yet. 

Either they purchased materials prior to tariffs or cheapened up the product. Or perhaps people are catching on that they’re shipping pieces of shit?

[steve from amherst]

Seeing they cost the same as a POS car there is probably room to absorb the tariffs. Or maybe they were already using American steel and the tariffs don't mean shit to them.

[Angry ginger]

12 minutes ago, ActionfigureJoe said:

I dislike Hillary about .000001% less than trump. In the long term the country would’ve done better under Hillary. Growth would’ve been less, but sustained longer. This economic explosion under trump isn’t going to end well. I dread to see what we get next. It’ll be another hate vote. Only this time it’ll be the liberals choice. 

the pendulum keeps swinging and the people in the middle will continue to get fucked until we rise up and put the partisan hacks in both sides in their place  and show the door to politicians who feed off the hate.  

[Legend]

31 minutes ago, Nazipigdog said:

I would think quite a bit.

 

The frames are steel obviously. The outer walls are either Filon, fiberglass, or aluminum. Motorhomes are very very rarely aluminum. The wall studs are either wood or aluminum. Roofs are usually wood with rubber or fiberglass over top.

 

They build as cheap as possible. If you think sleds are built cheap and shitty, check out a RV. Its crazy how shitty they are built. But people still buy them.

[Anler]

8 minutes ago, Legend said:

The frames are steel obviously. The outer walls are either Filon, fiberglass, or aluminum. Motorhomes are very very rarely aluminum. The wall studs are either wood or aluminum. Roofs are usually wood with rubber or fiberglass over top.

 

They build as cheap as possible. If you think sleds are built cheap and shitty, check out a RV. Its crazy how shitty they are built. But people still buy them.

We demo alot of mobile home like trailers so yeah i know how cheaply they are made and why tornados smash them to bits pretty easily. 

[MichiganMarcus]

2 hours ago, Nazipigdog said:

Is anyone going to buy an RV or not? 

I have one sitting out back, has not been used in almost four years. I think the tires are dry rotted but have not even looked. Maybe I should start a collection.

[Woodtick]

Just about every R.V. dealer is sitting on brand new 16 and 17 left overs by me. You see billboards offering special financing on left overs.  I call bull shit on the tariffs causing it. It’s called the market is fucking flooded with them. Remember when Elkhart made 10s of thousands of conversion vans?  The tariffs must have killed those? Elkhart isn’t known for high end anything .  I’m sure nothing but junk materials are used in everything in that hillbilly MFG area.

[f7ben]

27 minutes ago, Woodtick said:

Just about every R.V. dealer is sitting on brand new 16 and 17 left overs by me. You see billboards offering special financing on left overs.  I call bull shit on the tariffs causing it. It’s called the market is fucking flooded with them. Remember when Elkhart made 10s of thousands of conversion vans?  The tariffs must have killed those? Elkhart isn’t known for high end anything .  I’m sure nothing but junk materials are used in everything in that hillbilly MFG area.

Its known for meth and mennonites 

[racinfarmer]

8 hours ago, Nazipigdog said:

Is anyone going to buy an RV or not? 

I'll buy a new Featherlite long before I buy a new RV.

[steep and deep]

I’m in Elkhart every day. I build fiberglass products for a variety of cargo trailer and camp trailer manufacturers. This has been building for a few years starting with Warren Buffet buying and merging the majority of trailer builders along with suppliers. Dealers thought it was a godsend because as GE and other large lenders were getting out of floor plan financing Mr. Buffet stepped in with his own financing. Problem was he also owns the manufacturers and requires dealers to buy two or three of every model they make to receive financing. Then the manufacturers expanded there product line adding new named trailers that were the same as others with a different floor plan and stickers on them. Dealers were then required to take multiples of those to maintain there franchise rights and financing. It stuffed the dealers lots and forced them to discount heavily when floor plans end and interest payments start. In addition the manufacturers have capital available that they didn’t have in the past so they were able to stuff there own lots with unsold units and then pressure dealers to take them. With 20 and even 30 year financing units kept moving but now people who bought and decided after camping a couple of times and realizing it wasn’t for them the market is flooded with cheap little used units. It’s a correction that was inevitable in my eyes. It’s still booming but my guess is it will drop back to a more realistic level. I expect to see dealers that are being kept afloat by financing and digging themselves deeper in the hole will throw in the towel which will benefit remaining dealers. 

[AKIQPilot]

11 hours ago, BOHICA said:

I bought a new one.  Had it for 2 years....  haven’t sat down and figured out where I lost more money on a sale....  real estate crash....  snowmobiling....  or camper buying.  The fucking money wasted on those 3 things moved retirement out at least five years would be my guess.

Ive owned an RV in one form or another for over 35 years. Ive owned sleds of my own for over 40 years. I retired at 54 years old.

You might be doing something wrong. 

 

PS. IMO the RV industry has been setting itself up for a big correction for several years now. Lots of inventory and low interest rates make owning a new RV easy and cheap.  I think Steep and deep nailed it. The RV market has been propped up by guys like WB who is forcing dealers into doing things they wouldnt normally do. Large sales volumes are the only thing keeping these dealers afloat. Once volumes drop off it will kill a lot of them. 

In the last 4 days we have passed at least 100 campgrounds. Obviously I didnt check every one but no doubt we swung in to at least 10 and there is almost no vacancy in any of them. RV parks in the North West are packed to this day. I was very surprised to see how full they all are. 

Edited September 13, 2018 by AKIQPilot

[hwytohell]

Just like the sled / motorcycle / lawn equipment / outboard / atv dealers. The small single brand dealer is fast becoming just  a memory .

[Edmo]

So in summary it’s got nothing to do with tariffs or trump. The left is gut hooked so easily these days. Sad.

[Dave]

14 hours ago, f7ben said:

Its known for meth and mennonites 

And peace work.

[Dave]

10 hours ago, AKIQPilot said:

Ive owned an RV in one form or another for over 35 years. Ive owned sleds of my own for over 40 years. I retired at 54 years old.

You might be doing something wrong. 

 

PS. IMO the RV industry has been setting itself up for a big correction for several years now. Lots of inventory and low interest rates make owning a new RV easy and cheap.  I think Steep and deep nailed it. The RV market has been propped up by guys like WB who is forcing dealers into doing things they wouldnt normally do. Large sales volumes are the only thing keeping these dealers afloat. Once volumes drop off it will kill a lot of them. 

In the last 4 days we have passed at least 100 campgrounds. Obviously I didnt check every one but no doubt we swung in to at least 10 and there is almost no vacancy in any of them. RV parks in the North West are packed to this day. I was very surprised to see how full they all are. 

The one i just left was near full on the weekend...its started to thin out to about a quarter full monday morning....people coming and going each day....mostly coaches.

[Mileage Psycho]

On 9/12/2018 at 10:54 AM, Highmark said:

Every RV dealer from here to Timbuktu has been loaded with inventory for years.  Not hard to see even in a good economy this taking a hit.   I wonder how campground growth has been and if its able to keep up.  

Driving up north last month I was amazed by the overflowing lots of RV's that I saw along I-43, just so much inventory to sit on till next season.

[Mileage Psycho]

On 9/12/2018 at 11:53 AM, jtssrx said:

I find all economic post by you and the other resident libs to be laughable. Obama took over a dead Ecomoney and it took him double the amount time compared any other president to bring it back to level. By contrast, it took Reagan 27 months to turn things around, It took Obama 75 months.  

 

On 9/12/2018 at 12:53 PM, Nazipigdog said:

Oh so its not just the tariffs? 

 

On 9/12/2018 at 8:23 PM, Woodtick said:

Just about every R.V. dealer is sitting on brand new 16 and 17 left overs by me. You see billboards offering special financing on left overs.  I call bull shit on the tariffs causing it. It’s called the market is fucking flooded with them. Remember when Elkhart made 10s of thousands of conversion vans?  The tariffs must have killed those? Elkhart isn’t known for high end anything .  I’m sure nothing but junk materials are used in everything in that hillbilly MFG area.

 

On 9/13/2018 at 5:39 AM, Edmo said:

So in summary it’s got nothing to do with tariffs or trump. The left is gut hooked so easily these days. Sad.

 

Hmmm

Keyword: INDUSTRY

Quote

 

In Elkhart, a field of R.V.s is as common as corn. An RV Hall of Fame lionizes the industry and its progress from small aluminum trailers to luxury vehicles with the amenities of expensive condominiums. “We like to say we build fun in Elkhart County,” said Mike Yoder, a Republican and an Elkhart County commissioner.

But Mr. Yoder is among those who think the fun could be ebbing. “Everybody in the industry is aware of the negative significance of that,” he said of the tariffs. “We are experiencing a bit of a slowdown in R.V. production, and a number of companies are working four days instead of five to clean up inventory.”

 

 

[Highmark]

33 minutes ago, Mileage Psycho said:

Driving up north last month I was amazed by the overflowing lots of RV's that I saw along I-43, just so much inventory to sit on till next season.

Yep.   Its that way all over.   I drove to NC a few weeks ago same thing.   ND a week before that...same thing.  Northern Wi in between....same thing.  

Edited September 14, 2018 by Highmark

[Legend]

3 hours ago, Mileage Psycho said:

Driving up north last month I was amazed by the overflowing lots of RV's that I saw along I-43, just so much inventory to sit on till next season.

And those same dealers have been doing that exact same thing as long as they've been in business.

 

I know you are trying to push your agenda, but its complete bullshit. Find another way to hate on Trump. There's plenty of them.

[Anler]

On 9/13/2018 at 12:03 AM, steep and deep said:

I’m in Elkhart every day. I build fiberglass products for a variety of cargo trailer and camp trailer manufacturers. This has been building for a few years starting with Warren Buffet buying and merging the majority of trailer builders along with suppliers. Dealers thought it was a godsend because as GE and other large lenders were getting out of floor plan financing Mr. Buffet stepped in with his own financing. Problem was he also owns the manufacturers and requires dealers to buy two or three of every model they make to receive financing. Then the manufacturers expanded there product line adding new named trailers that were the same as others with a different floor plan and stickers on them. Dealers were then required to take multiples of those to maintain there franchise rights and financing. It stuffed the dealers lots and forced them to discount heavily when floor plans end and interest payments start. In addition the manufacturers have capital available that they didn’t have in the past so they were able to stuff there own lots with unsold units and then pressure dealers to take them. With 20 and even 30 year financing units kept moving but now people who bought and decided after camping a couple of times and realizing it wasn’t for them the market is flooded with cheap little used units. It’s a correction that was inevitable in my eyes. It’s still booming but my guess is it will drop back to a more realistic level. I expect to see dealers that are being kept afloat by financing and digging themselves deeper in the hole will throw in the towel which will benefit remaining dealers. 

Thanks for the first hand perspective!  

[Anler]

On 9/12/2018 at 8:52 PM, f7ben said:

Its known for meth and mennonites 

yep