For the better part of a year, we have been hearing about how the RV industry is booming in the wake of the COVID pandemic. One look at RV prices confirms it. More people are buying RVs and hitting the road than ever before. But alas, the current boom will eventually die down.
Will things ever get back to the way they were pre-pandemic? Probably not. There will be some sort of new normal when all the dust settles. But many of the things that make RVing unpleasant right now should be less of a problem down the road.
If you are an RV owner lamenting the current state of the RV lifestyle, take heart. Here are five reasons to believe the boom will eventually die down:
1. 1. Campground Overcrowding
The RV Lifestyle website recently published a post discussing the top seven reasons people are leaving the RV lifestyle altogether. The item at the top of their list is campground overcrowding. That hardly seems like a reason to get out if you are a weekend warrior, but it is a big thing for full timers and seasonal campers.
Overcrowding is the result of so many people getting into RVs for the first time. But that is to be expected. The novelty of the RV lifestyle is such that new owners want to go camping as often as possible. Once the novelty wears off, most will camp less frequently.
2. 2. Costs Keep Rising
The sudden popularity of RVing has seen prices shoot up quite a bit. Not only have motor homes and trailers themselves gone up, but so has every RV accessory. Even campsite prices have skyrocketed. Here is the thing: there is a point of diminishing returns, a point at which RV owners will decide it is no longer worth it.
RV owners expect certain things to require significant investment. They expect to spend on things like AirSkirts inflatable RV skirting and new lithium-ion battery packs. Big ticket items come with big price tags. But there will come a point when a certain percentage of RV owners will no longer be willing to pay higher prices for the basics.
3. 3. Fatigue Sets in
Rare is the couple or family that can make the decision to go full-time and stick with it for the rest of their lives. Eventually, all RV owners suffer from travel fatigue. Long-term RVers work through that fatigue until things get back to normal. But for everyone else, fatigue is an open invitation to quit. Many will do so in the coming months and years.
4. 4. Normal Life Calls
One of the biggest contributors to the current boom is the opportunity to work remotely. Remote workers have decided that hitting the road and taking their work with them is the dream they have always wanted to pursue. But for many of them, normal life will come calling before too long. The stability and familiarity of the same house in the same neighborhood is attractive. It will be too attractive for some RVers to resist.
5. 5. All Trends Died down
The fifth and final reason to believe the current RV boom will die down is that history suggests it will. By nature, all trends have limited shelf life. People get involved because they want to try what everyone else is trying, but most don’t stick around.
If you are a full-time or seasonal RV camper disillusioned with the current state of things, take heart. The boom will die down and things will get back to some semblance of normalcy. Just be patient and let it happen.