New RV sales trending upward ahead of camping season
Alberta remains strong when it comes to consumers purchasing new recreational vehicles (RVs) and fifth wheels for camping and other activities.
"(In) 2023, we saw a bit of a lull coming through the market. The cost of living went up, interest rates were up, the price of new RVs was up" said Travis Weaver, business manager for Arrkann RV.
"Coming into 2024, we have seen it rebound as interest rates have started to stabilize."
Weaver says Arrkann, Fraserway RV and Traveland RV are duking it out at RV Wars through the weekend, enticing folks to purchase a new RV, trailer or fifth wheel.
"We want to do this sale kind of right at the start of May. Gives people some time to get in, pick their new units up, get them home, loaded, so they can head out camping when their first trip comes around," he said.
The Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association of Canada tracks sales of new units through data gathered by Statistical Surveys Inc.
President Eleonore Hamm says last year saw a significant drop in purchases due to high inflation and a spending crunch many Canadians faced amid the affordability crisis.
In 2019, across Canada, 45,693 new units were sold.
In 2020, 44,972.
In 2021, 53,183.
In 2022, 44,004.
And in 2023, it was 34,610.
"So while we were down in 2023 by about 21 per cent (in sales), Alberta actually has always been very strong. Alberta only saw a drop of about seven per cent in 2023," Hamm said.
"It used to be obviously an older consumer that was really going camping, whereas now, the demographic, the median age of an RV purchaser is in their 40s. It's the young family.
"The focus has shifted a little bit, in terms of just being a vehicle for camping, in terms of now being a real lifestyle vehicle."
Hamm says Alberta has fared well in the RV market, and almost one in five households owns an RV.
"Fourteen per cent of Canadian households own an RV but in Alberta, it's about 20 per cent of the households, so a very strong market," Hamm said.
"And it looks like it's trending in the right direction."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Scottie Scheffler isn't the first pro golfer to be arrested during a tournament
Scottie Scheffler's arrest hours before his second-round tee time at the PGA Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, will go down as one of the most shocking in professional golf history. It certainly wasn't the first, though.
NEW What a wildfire survivor says she regrets not grabbing before leaving home
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
Canadian convicted of attacking Nancy Pelosi's husband with a hammer sentenced to 30 years
The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.
World No. 1 golfer charged with police officer assault before PGA Championship second round
World number one golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested and charged with the assault of a police officer in what he called a 'chaotic situation' before being released in time to start his second round at the PGA Championship on Friday.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
B.C. optometrist warns against trending eye colour change procedure
A medical procedure that can permanently change a person's eye colour may be trending on social media, but a B.C. optometrist is warning about the significant risks associated.
An airplane passenger was spotted in an overhead bin. This was the reaction
Airplane overhead compartments. Home to luggage of all shapes and sizes, the odd coat or two, several duty-free bags, a fair bit of dust and… passengers?