HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Trading in your home for an RV? It’s an option one young couple at the Florida RV SuperShow are now exploring.
They are putting their home on the market and choosing a new home with wheels.
“We’re getting ready to list it next month, then we’re going to buy an RV and full-time it for a while until we can figure out what we want to do with this market right now,” said Paul Snyder.
The Florida RV SuperShow is one of the largest RV shows in the country.
The five-day event is being held at the Florida State Fairgrounds and features 1,300 RVs on display.
“Everything from the small all the way up to the mega million-dollar buses, so there’s an RV for everyone's price point,” said Dave Kelly, Executive Director Florida RV Trade Association.
The RV industry saw record shipments in the past two years as people were cautious of traditional travel options during the pandemic.
“We want to get a smaller one that we can use for traveling. It's easier than the 35 feet we have now,” said full-time RVer Richard Walsh.
According to the RV Industry Association, a slowdown in sales in recent months represents a return to the pre-COVID trend.
However, economists blame interest rate hikes for the drop in sales. Economists say falling RV sales can be an early warning sign that a recession is coming, but not always.
“Like a boat, it’s not something that you have to have, so as sales start to slow, it’s kind of an indication that the market is slowing across the board. They’ve always talked about RV sales leading us into recessions and then out of them as well,” Kelly said.
Kelly said this year’s Florida RV SuperShow shows the desire to hit the open road remains strong.
“Our advance ticket sales for this show was up 17% over last year. So that’s a pretty good indication that the interest is there,” said Kelly.
The Florida RV SuperShow runs through Sunday, Jan. 22.
