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RV sales spike during the pandemic

Traveling nurses are buying while working across the country
Renting an RV for the first time during the pandemic? Follow these tips
Posted at 5:05 PM, Aug 09, 2020
and last updated 2022-05-22 15:33:41-04

TUCSON, Ariz. — As more states start to reopen some Americans are trying to get out and RV's are becoming a big part of the plan.

Jerry Vandenakker withCamping World at 4700 South Palo Verde says it’s been an interesting year, interest rates are low, gas has been cheap and drivers are taking the RV route.

The sales manager also says both his old and new RV's are free of COVID-19.

"People have been feeling the urge to get out they don’t want to go to hotel rooms or get on airplanes. The nice thing about it is even on pre-owned RV’s we have a chemical process that completely disinfects it,"Vandenakker said.

Since the start of the pandemic, sales have actually gone up and most of them are first time buyers.

Vandenakker is constantly trying to fill orders with a tight inventory and the story is the same for other RV dealers across the country.

"Sales have doubled in the last 3 months,” Vandenakker said.

Traveling nurses are also showing up on the lot to drop some cash as they make their way across the country.

Meanwhile, the Camping World sales team is switching gears and going virtual.

“I never heard of that, but there’s been a lot of them, in the last month I've seen about 5 or 6. Our sales people go out and walk around and video themselves checking out the features and stuff and send that directly to the customer,”Vandnakker said.

KGUN 9 spoke to managers at Tucson RV Storage and they say business is up by 20 percent at their location compared to the last six years.

As for the cost, it can range from $50 to $112 dollars per month to store your RV.

If you’re looking to buy an RV, payments start at $100 per month and go up to $1,000 depending on your budget.

“If they’re not comfortable coming in we can do a home delivery,”Vandenakker said.