Like a lot of Canadians, Alan Hong and his wife bought a trailer in 2020. Air travel was out of the question because of pandemic restrictions, and it made sense to spend time and money exploring the great outdoors.
But now, they’re looking to get off life on the open road and get back in the air.
“We thought we would use the proceeds of the sale to do more international travelling,” said Hong, 37, who lives in Calgary.
RVs — along with boats, ATVs and other outdoor vehicles — sold like hotcakes during the pandemic, as people poured their vacation funds into goods that could be enjoyed closer to home.
But like Pelotons and semiconductors, the sector is now going through a market correction, with household spending on “major durable goods for outdoor recreation” down 11 per cent last year, according to Eric Desjardins, an economist at Statistics Canada.
Tourism spending is up, the agency reported, with air transport and accommodations leading the growth in the fourth quarter. However, pre-trip expenses — which includes RVs and camping equipment — was the only product category to decrease last year, falling nine per cent.
Amid inflation and high interest rates, sales of new RVs in particular dipped by around 20 per cent last year, and are now below pre-pandemic levels, according to the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association of Canada.
“People have a little bit less discretionary income,” said Eleonore Hamm, the association’s president, who noted that RV rentals are still fairly strong.
The dip varied by province. In Alberta, the country’s RV hotspot, sales only fell about seven per cent, while sales in B.C. declined closer to 30 per cent, she said.
People aren’t just putting off buying a new RV. Some are getting rid of the one they have altogether.
“There’s quite a bit of pre-owned inventory on dealership lots at the moment,” said Hamm.
Chris Perera owns BoatDealers.ca and RVDealers.ca. He says used listings of both are on the rise. (Jean-Francois Benoit/CBC)
Listings of used RVs on RVDealers.ca more than doubled this quarter compared to the same period last year, said the website’s owner, Chris Perera.
He attributes the trend to two factors. Some people bought whatever RV they could get their hands on during the peak of the pandemic, and are now trying to trade in for a better model. Others have realized the lifestyle isn’t for them and are getting out of the market.
“Right now what we’re seeing is a buyer’s market,” said Perera, who also owns BoatDealers.ca and says a similar trend is unfolding in that sector.
Market ‘flooded,’ says seller
Jason Huntley is an RV owner who’s been trying to sell his current model for about a year. (Paula Duhatschek/CBC)
The buyer’s market is tough news for sellers like Jason Huntley.
Huntley has bought and sold many RVs in his decades-long camping career, and has had one listed online for about a year. He said this is the longest it’s ever taken him to make a sale.
“It feels to me like the market is pretty flooded,” he said.
The decline in demand is also hitting RV manufacturers like U.S.-based Winnebago, which saw its net revenue tumble roughly 19 per cent in its latest quarter, and Thor Industries, whose North American motorized RV sales declined about 23 per cent compared to the same period last year.
“[It’s a] bit of an industry reset,” said David Whiston, an analyst who covers the RV and auto sector for Morningstar. He said shipments from RV manufacturers hit their lowest level in about a decade last year.
“2021 versus 2020, it was basically turbocharged demand, and that’s not sustainable permanently.”
Trailers and motorhomes sit on the lot at Calgary’s Bucars RV Centre. (Colin Hall/CBC)
Still, Whiston believes the industry has long-term potential. The pandemic introduced a lot of people to camping and RVing for the first time, and while not everyone who tried it is going to stick with it, he believes there is still a wider pool of customers now than there was before the pandemic.
“Somebody [who] bought in 2020 isn’t necessarily buying in 2024, but in a few years’ time, they probably will be back in the market.”
For Hong, the RV seller, that might be the case for his family, too. At the moment, his busy career means he doesn’t have the time to spend on road-tripping and maintaining an RV, but he says he might feel differently in the future.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
