texasbaskets
Frisco, TX
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Joined: 10/06/2003
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There are still millions of baby boomers out there waiting and wanting to retire. According to AARP, a lot of "us" are going to work during our retirement, that's not news. In my case, my profession allows me to work "remotely", so I plan to be working on the road from my MH, although probably part time. In 2005, I became part of the boomer RV statistic.
We see all these dismal reports but by and large, 20 million plus people are still going to retire, and some industries are going to thrive off the boomer's activities over the next 20 years whether you believe it or not. Rv'ing was projected to be one of those industries. The numbers we see reflect percentage changes from previous years which were boom years for the RV industry as they bored full steam ahead in competition for those boomer dollars. In most of the last 10 years, if you look at numbers of units, the industry made tremendous gains which makes a downturn seem worse than it might otherwise be. In other words, when things are really good for a period of time, they can appear equally bad in the opposite direction.
That said, my question is this...
Are boomers going to buy an RV, or are they going to do something else? If an RV, what has to change to trigger the average boomer into buying that RV that the industry had grown into thinking they would do?
 
Michael, Kay, Hans (our Mini-Schnauzer co-pilot) and Prissy (Hans' Malti-Poo co-pilot)
'05 Coachmen SportsCoach SE 372DS a.k.a. "Mana's Cabana"
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camping man
Central Fla.
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Joined: 09/01/2001
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Probably be working retirement for me, and still a weekend RVer. My wife and I would probably hang each other if we both retired together, she's mean as a snake, really!
05 Dodge 2500 Quadcab CTD NV5600/3.73rears
97 27ft.Sprinter 5er
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coolbreeze01
Redding, Ca
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Joined: 08/24/2006
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Kind of a wide age spread seems to me. (44-62) Most of the Boomers I know are retired, some full-time, and most have owned multiple RV's. Many are buying new units right now.
2008 Dodge 3500 CTD LB SRW 4X4 6-Speed Auto
P3 Blue Ox Sway Pro
2007 Komfort 212
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cpmath
New York
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Joined: 07/17/2007
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I retired a month ago and do not plan on working again. If you had played your cards right and planned for retirement you would be okay and not have to work. I'll be netting approximately $20,000. more now that I'm retired over when I was working. That's called good planning. Baby Boomers won't necessarily buy an RV just because they're retired, they may buy a condo, boat or something else.
* This post was
edited 07/31/08 12:11am by an administrator/moderator *
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VintageRacer
Dundas, Ontario
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Joined: 04/02/2005
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I'll predict that 18 to 24 months from now, this "issue" will have resolved itself and there will be a new "normal" that will feel a lot like the old "normal". The issue right now is transitional - no one knows if the problems are all known, so they have to be cautious - and many people have seen large chunks of wealth erode. House values are what many people use to fund their retirement activities, either with mortgages, reverse mortgages or simply selling and going. If your house has lost 15% to 30% of it's value, you can't make a decision that locks in that loss, you have to wait and see...
Brian
2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad Cab, Hemi, 5 speed manual, 3.73 gears, Tow Beast hitch with 24" extension.
28 ft race car hauler, Lola T440 Formula Ford, NTM MK4 Sports Racer
2004 Travel Hawk 8' Truck Camper - Roll at 16K combined weight
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itsalleasy
USA
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Joined: 07/20/2007
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texasbaskets wrote:
Are boomers going to buy an RV, or are they going to do something else? If an RV, what has to change to trigger the average boomer into buying that RV that the industry had grown into thinking they would do?
It appears from rv sales they are going to do something else. As the sales died about the time the oil price went thru the roof it would probably be a benefit to the rv industry for the oil price to return to that of a year ago.
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JimInMA
Littleton, MA
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I'd have to agree with both VintageRacer and itsalleasy. Between the drop in real estate values and the rising cost of fuel, an RV moves down people's list of options pretty quickly. The power boat people have the same issue. The price on used sailboats is going up in this area though!
Nothing is going to get any better until the real estate market settles out.
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trop-a-cal
Palm Coast Fl
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Enjoying life is different for everyone. Some see the travel in an RV as a way to enjoy. Others would rather fly and stay in a resort. The few that want to try RVing have second thaughts, as their retirement savings and primary home have droped in value. The uncertain times cause most to become conservative and not make investments that are bad. Some see paying high fuel prices for RV travel and the depreciation as a real bad investment. Some are helping their children with home purchases rater than buying an RV. Many see keeping their home and just traveling a few times a year as the best idea. Those that had RV's and couldn't take the high cost of fuel have sold. Some have their RV's just sitting in storage rotting, as they can't afford the fuel and can't sell, as they are upside down on their loans or the RV is so old it isn't worth anything. Only those that have the thaught of traveling by RV is the best, are doing it. They don't mind spending the money or have sold their homes and have no choice. The boomers are not booming with money right now and see an RV as an expense they don't want. THESE ARE NOT GOOD TIMES FOR MANY.
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texasbaskets
Frisco, TX
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Joined: 10/06/2003
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JimInMA wrote:I'd have to agree with both VintageRacer and itsalleasy. Between the drop in real estate values and the rising cost of fuel, an RV moves down people's list of options pretty quickly. The power boat people have the same issue. The price on used sailboats is going up in this area though!
Nothing is going to get any better until the real estate market settles out.
Yeah, I'm with you there. The #1 issue in these discussions always seems to be fuel, but I don't think with boomers that would be the deciding factor. I think some could suck up that $1,000 extra per year to get out there like they planned, but with their assets in the tank, why not wait?
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texasbaskets
Frisco, TX
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Joined: 10/06/2003
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camping man wrote:Probably be working retirement for me, and still a weekend RVer. My wife and I would probably hang each other if we both retired together, she's mean as a snake, really!
ROFL..
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