The last time Paul Braccini went camping, it was in a tent when he was a teen. His wife, Alyson, had never slept at a campground.
But in June, the Tannersville couple bought a travel trailer — a 2020 Coachman Catalina Expedition — and have gone on three camping trips so far, with another planned in a few weeks.
Braccini, a 39-year-old oil burner mechanic, wanted the hard-shell, towable camper because he’s tired of paying for hotel rooms and wanted to try something new. Alyson, 37, a bookkeeper, worried about staying in hotels, like they typically do, during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We love it,” Braccini said Friday before heading out to the Timothy Lake RV campground near East Stroudsburg. “A lot of our friends are talking about doing it too.”
Couples like the Braccinis are among the reason why the recreational vehicle industry in Pennsylvania and across the U.S. appears to be doing well in the midst of a pandemic that has left other businesses trying to survive.
The RV industry usually pumps $2.8 billion into Pennsylvania’s economy, including $1.4 billion from RV manufacturers and suppliers, $647 million from RV sales and services; and $741 million from RV campgrounds and travel, according to the Pennsylvania Recreation Vehicle & Camping Association.
When stay-at-home orders went into effect in Pennsylvania and elsewhere in the spring, RV sales were limited to online orders with future pickup dates, pretty much grinding the busiest time of year for dealers to a halt.
Sales nationally were down 30% in May. But in June, RV sales hit the highest monthly total since October 2018, according to data released July 27 by the RV Industry Association.
The 40,462 units shipped in June represented an 11% increase over June 2019 and a 45% jump over May 2020.
Sales of Type B motor homes — camper vans — rose 90% in June over June 2019 and were up 40% for the year, according to the trade group based in Elkhart, Indiana, the home of many RV manufacturers.
Dave Pierson, general manager of RV Value Mart on Route 512 in East Allen Township, didn’t need to see the national June sales report to know how brisk sales have been.
“I’ve pretty much seen the ups and downs since the gas shortages in the ’70s,” he said. “This is something I’ve never seen before.”
Pierson said many customers are first-time buyers like the Braccinis, who bought their vehicle from RV Value Mart. And most want the hard-shelled travel trailers.
“People are afraid to go on cruise ships. They are afraid to fly, they are afraid to stay in hotels,” Pierson said. “With RVs, they got their own beds to sleep in, their own kitchens. They got their own bathrooms.”
Pierson said it’s a lot easier for people to buy travel trailers these days. Many are so light they can be pulled by a small SUV. Bump-outs allow the smaller trailers to expand into roomier abodes at campsites.
It’s not just sales that are up. Brandon Ziegler, manager of Ziegler’s RVs in Allentown, said rentals are booked through the summer to the point where he can’t really sell any of his RVs.
Some customers have come from Connecticut and Maryland to rent because they can’t find RVs near their homes.
“I thought we would be slow,” he said. “It’s the exact opposite.”
Ziegler said he is seeing first-timers rent motor homes and head out west to places like Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore. Many customers had to abandon overseas trips.
“They figure they can’t go anywhere, so they are going to see the country,” he said.
Despite the learning curve associated with RV travel, Ziegler said newbies seem to be happy with their camping experience.
“When they come back, they said they had a good trip,” he said.
With June sales above normal and July looking good too, RV industry experts are hoping the trend continues.
Monika Geraci, spokesperson for the RV Industry Association, said many dealers are projecting to end the fiscal year on a high note.
But she said it’s doubtful the industry will surpass 2017 and ’18 ? the two highest sale years on record.
“It is very difficult to erase the six to eight weeks the industry lost in late March to early May when RV plants and many RV dealerships were closed,” Geraci said.
One issue getting in the way is lack of inventory. Demand is so high that Pierson said it’s hard getting new RVs in.
“Nothing was being produced for a while. Now those shortages are starting to catch up with the industry,” he said.
Braccini is glad he got his RV in June. He said the three campgrounds he has gone to so far have been great.
The couple, who have two teenage children, plan to head to an RV campground in Sea Isle City, New Jersey, in a few weeks, and to take their travel trailer to Arizona in April.
“We’re going to this beautiful Sedona campground,” he said. “It’s got Jacuzzis.”
Katherine Reinhard is a freelance writer for The Morning Call.
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