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Friday, October 28, 2022

Are Nomad Days Over?



RV sales took a huge jump during the pandemic. Prices of RVs went through the roof. Not only was demand going up, supply chain issues and lock downs made it tough to build them. A lot of RVs were built with unskilled labor using substandard materials. One would be wise to check when a RV was built when shopping for a used one.


Prices are coming down. It will take a while for the real market values to stabilize. Most new RVs are financed and banks are in no hurry to lose money on them. However, eventually they’ll have no choice. Banks can only hold onto repossessed property for so long. The used market has had some serious drops as people get hard up for funds. Prices will drop more. 


Even if the price is right, should people buy into the lifestyle? While the RVs might be a better deal, the cost of camping in general has gone up. Mom and pop campgrounds have been bought out by large corporations. Even though there are fewer campers, profits for those companies have gone up. That’s mostly due the price of camping sites going up. 


There was a nice little campground in the Keys we really liked. They were bought out. Campsite sizes were cut in half to add more sites and the price of a site tripled. The new owners also added a lot of new restrictive rules and were no longer dog friendly. Let’s just say we’ll never stay there again.


There are also fewer places to camp for free. Fewer Walmarts allow overnight parking. Free Federal dispersed camping has been banned in a number of places. Sadly, that’s the fault of campers who had no respect for the land. Vegetation was destroyed. Trash and even human waste was left behind. Nasty. 


Fuel prices have taken their toll. While gas is a bit more expensive, diesel prices are outrageous. Motor homes and tow vehicles get poor fuel mileage. People are traveling less and staying in one place longer to save fuel. 


Now security is a growing problem. People are more worried about personal safety. As times get tough people are more likely to get violent. Theft, always an issue, is getting worse. 


There are ways to keep costs under control. Instead of big RVs or giant 5th wheels with big tow vehicles people have downsized. Smaller towed trailers and vans are more popular. That last time I went camping we used a tent and an economy car. There are good state and Federal campgrounds that are still reasonably priced. 


If my lovely wife and I hit the road we’ll use the tent and car again. Right now we are thinking of maybe traveling late winter or early spring. By then we should have a better idea of conditions on the ground. With the current conditions we are happy that we never became full time nomads. It’s nice to have a home base. 


-Sixbears

8 comments:

  1. Running into the occasional RVer with two teeth, a banjo, and a camper full of automatic weapons keeps me from purchasing such a luxury. The fact that the dang things cost as much as my house is the other reason. 80)

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    1. They also tend to fall apart. Driving down the road it's like a house in a constant earthquake.

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  2. Yeah. Friends have a big-ass RV (maybe a Class A?). It now sits in an open shelter, they use it as a guest-house and they built a porch for it. When they hit the road, they now drive a sedan and stay in motels.

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    1. High fuel prices and expensive RV parks really hurt any savings one might have otherwise had.

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  3. Been camping for decades. The availability of sites is falling, the prices are skyrocketing and the quality/mentality of those you find at campsites is plummeting. Unless you can dry camp away from the masses it has lost all it's charm. And one of the wildfires we had last year destroyed my favorite BLM hidden gem campground. I don't expect it to be rebuilt any time soon and it will take decades for the forest to recover.

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    1. There are some state and Federal places that are still decent, but it certainly isn't what it used to be a few short years ago.

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  4. We can say that about the boating cruising lifestyle too. Glad we did it when the people onshore welcomed boaters.
    Now days , if you aren't in a newer RV or yacht , then you might just as well camp out with the homeless.
    Soon we will all share in that lifestyle..

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    1. You got that right. I've seen the cheap boats chased out of anchorages using illegal methods. People in the expensive condos didn't want to look at them. The cops know who pays their wages.

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