Are "local" RV shows a dying breed?

[akf15e]

Went to a local RV show yesterday, first since we went to the same show back in 2009 where we bought our 3400RL. This is an annual event, attended by about 12 dealers, down from a few years ago.

Last month while shopping for our SOB, a number of dealers told us that they have cut back or eliminated attending shows due to high cost and low return. Yesterday was interesting because there was a noted difference in the inventory on the floor. In 2009 (interestingly in the throes of a recession) we were able to go through multiple brands of 5ers that fit our wish list and we could do almost literal side-by-side comparisons. There were several Montanas, Mountaineers and Cougars, a couple of Cedar Creeks and Cardinals, Jayco, some Heartland rigs and others I can't recall. This year there were no Montanas, no Cedar Creeks, no Big Horn, Big Contry, and just one Jayco Pinnacle (where I heard the salesman tell at least a dozen people it could be towed fine by a 250/2500 - dry pin weight 2490 lbs). The only Keystone presence we saw was an Alpine and a Cougar. There were no Montanas, no Big Sky, nothing. We did see GD with two 5ers, as well as a Mobile Suites. The MS seemed really out of place as the vast majority of rigs this year were TTs and budget 5ers.

I was also disappointed in the lack of vendors selling RV related goods. We saw food vendors, Sears selling S & B home improvement products, lots of places hawking time share RV lots, but not much else. We always love looking at RV specific gadgets and such.

Anyway, just an observation and thought that maybe the RV show, as a forum to sell rigs, is waning, which would be a shame. Also, the fact that there were more mid-high end 5ers at a show at the height of the recession kind of confused me. Maybe the business model has just evolved in the past 6 years and the aim is at the lower end of the market? There were also far less motorhomes this time around and they were the more "affordable" ones too - no 600K Newmars to be seen.

Anyone else see similar things happening in your neck of the woods?

[DarMar]

I can well imagine the sheer cost of these shows is causing the model to change a bit as well as the sheer number of internet dealers and internet sales where most all that matters is price.

The store front model, no matter what you are selling is in a bit of trouble these days.

We have basically 2 separate dealer shows in our area each year and the trend does seem to be to show more middle of the road product as well as the sheer number of bunk models geared toward families. As Montana owners of course we are looking for something different. Last year our dealer even considered not stocking the Montana line but after we ordered ours brought in a few more and now stocks 4 models at the current time. When so much of this product is financed to the hilt the price tag always limits what to buy.

Even though we don't buy at the shows we certainly enjoy going to see all that is new and would hate to see them go but who knows?

[akf15e]

DarMar - interesting point about the dealer potentially not stocking the line any more. While we all know how important a good dealer is, I wonder what their commitment is to the product is if/when they drop it? The dealer we got our 3400 from doesn't carry Montana any more and the line has shifted through 3 other dealers in the area since. My SOB dealer is 3 hours away, so I am kind of on my own there since he is the closest.

One other point - I didn't see any reps at the show either, at least not while we were there. I really found it valuable to talk to the Keystone rep in 2009 when we were shopping.

[DarMar]

Our dealer is very committed to Keystone in general as they are a HUGE Cougar dealer and their after sale service is nothing short of excellent. Having said that I think when times are a little tough it's of course the upper end models that suffer sales wise. So after a year or two of softer high end sales they were a bit shy. Even when it came to Montanas traded in they found that if a consumer was to look at a used Montana at say $40 to $45,000 they usually ended up buying a new Cougar for the same price. You and I know the difference but....

I kept stressing to my salesman that you need to stock the new Montanas for comparison sake in order to sell the less expensive used Montana trades.

Having been in retail for too many years we always had to stock high end product for sure. Maybe didn't sell like it should, inventory turns were never always right but you needed the high end product around to move the consumer up to the next level of dollars from what they had expected to spend. JMHO I used to say.

[DQDick]

Interesting. With little or no manufacturer advertising and little or no show participation how are they expecting to attract folks to come to a dealer in the first place?

[DarMar]

quote:Originally posted by DQDick

Interesting. With little or no manufacturer advertising and little or no show participation how are they expecting to attract folks to come to a dealer in the first place?

Internet!

Like a lot of products now people will go to the store front only if they need to touch and feel a product but then turn to the internet to purchase. Shopping from home is the next trend.

[akf15e]

DarMar - that's exactly what the first SOB dealer I went to told me when he low-balled my 3400RL trade in value - and I mean LOW! He said he'd have a hard time re-selling a 6 year old Monty in the $30s when a family can buy a nice new long TT or a new base model Cougar for about the same. This was a dealer by the beach where people store them and have them towed out to a site once or twice a year, so it kind of makes sense.

DQ - good question. We are on our 5th RV (2 TTs and 3 5ers). Our methodology has always started with seeing something in a campground that looked appealing (or maybe a friend got a new rig we liked). We then would go to a show so we could look at it and similar products. This prevented driving all over creation to different dealers, since we know it's not like it is in every town in America where 5 car dealers are lined up in a row somewhere. Plus, at a show we could talk to multiple different salespeople as well as a mfr rep or two.

Maybe it was just an off year for this show? But a show without Montana, Big Sky, Cedar Creek, Landmark/Big Horn?? We'd have been severely disappointed if we were shopping for a mid to upper level 5er.

[kiltedpig]

I see too many used 5th wheels with price tags higher than what you can buy a brand new one if you are willing to buy out of state. I think a lot of people need to get real. They buy a new one for 30-35% off retail and then try to trade it in 6 years later for what they bought it for or at least with only a 10% loss and then want the dealer to re-sell it at a profit.

[akf15e]

kilted - great point, though I really don't think MSRP is really anything more than an illusion created by the mfrs. Does anyone actually ever pay sticker? btw, I saw a 2009 3400RL on rvtrader - asking 42K!!! That is only 5K less than I bought mine new! Must have had some serious upgrades done to it.

[kiltedpig]

I was at the local dealer yesterday and they had 2010 3400 for $55,000 discounted to $49,000

[jcurtis934]

I don't feel that the tampa rv show was down this year...keystone had more presence than last year. Came close to buying last year, but couldn't quite get the numbers to work for us. But I can see how it would be tough for the rv dealers to attend small local shows, especially when they hold them during times of "less than ideal" weather. John

[FordMan1966]

Attended the RV Show in Sevierville, Tennessee back in January and there were a great selection of all kinds of RV's and the crowd was great. You had to wait on folks to come out of RV's before you could go in them. Lots of RV's had Sold on them as well. I know the Dealer where I bought my 3611RL Legacy at this Show sold 28 campers just from the Show. That is a great show for him.

[DQDick]

Internet!

Like a lot of products now people will go to the store front only if they need to touch and feel a product but then turn to the internet to purchase. Shopping from home is the next trend.
[/quote]

Probably showing my age, but for us we have to see and feel what would be our new home. Once the new home is selected then the dealer has to worry about us shopping for that model on the internet. Since we full time we are seldom if ever near the selling dealer the bottom line of the deal would be what caused the sale.

[akf15e]

Decent crowd at the Raleigh show, but only saw one sold sign! That was Saturday at 4 PM. Maybe more got sold today.

[BB_TX]

We went to the fall Dallas RV show. It had been several years since we had been, but the number of units on display seemed to be about what it was the last time. The very large exhibition hall was edge to edge, front to back full, and the outside lot had more. There did seem to be more high dollar motor homes than I remembered. But Montana was not well represented. There were only 2 regular Montanas and a Big Sky as I remember. But the large Montana dealer we bought from is no longer in business. One Montana dealer in Dallas and next closest is in OK and far east TX.

[1retired06]

My take on the Tampa show was different. Less units then previous years although keystone was represented. Individual dealership decision on participation.

[dieselguy]

I'm an RV Show "groupie" ... go every year just to see what's out there. The Wichita RV show is just a shadow of itself ... about 1/3 the dealers of 10 years ago. They were down to having used units on display to cover floor area. The Kansas City RV show still has pretty good selection, but the Montana presence has noticably declined in the past few years. In Tulsa, OK ... the dealer has pruned way back on available Montanas on site to browse thru in the last couple of years. Down in Poteau, OK ... the large dealer down there had a Grand Opening of her new facility a few weeks back. The handfull of Montanas on site to walk thru was way disappointing. Maybe it's a midwest trend ...

Forgot to mention
The internet thing has changed the way people shop. I've heard small dealerships say again and again that they can't compete with volume dealers and their factory incentives. Granted a buyer shows up on the lot to touch, look, and dicker ... when it gets down to the final numbers he just whips out his tablet and shows a volume dealers web price and says "can you do better?"

[DarMar]

Quote:

"Forgot to mention
The internet thing has changed the way people shop. I've heard small dealerships say again and again that they can't compete with volume dealers and their factory incentives. Granted a buyer shows up on the lot to touch, look, and dicker ... when it gets down to the final numbers he just whips out his tablet and shows a volume dealers web price and says "can you do better?"

That is exactly the process as it plays out many, many times. When we talk trailers during and after the shows numerous people will say "well I saw x trailer at their show but I can get it online from x dealer located here x". So the local dealer supplied the showroom and expense to shop but in many cases won't get the sale as a reward for his efforts and that doesn't pay the bills.

With our last purchase we did the reverse and used the internet to shop for what we wanted and then took that to our local dealer to order. Yes, his price was about $2500. higher but they give us on site service with their road service for as long as we keep buying from them and we WANT to keep them in business.

When I say we did it in reverse I mean our local dealer didn't have a 3610 in stock. We used the internet and other dealer's websites to view the interior and features online and relied on two thorough hands on reviews provided by members right here on the forum. When the unit finally arrived and we got to look at it that was the first time we had a chance to actually feel and touch that model. Of course it was our 4th Montana, we new what we were getting!

[Emmel]

In the Dayton Ohio area they always have a huge show at the Expo Center at the airport. The dealer I work for has his own show the same weekend at the dealership. They say there is not enough sales at the big show to compensate for the damage done to the units by some nasty people. By the way, our dealer puts on a great hamburger and hot dog for free just for stopping by.

[akf15e]

Well, I guess it all depends on location, location, location! We picked up our SOB from the dealer today and asked the salesman how their show in Richmond went two weekends ago. The dealership sold 86 units in one weekend!! So obviously the show paid off for them. He did say that no other dealer sold more than 10. Even so, that's a lot of units in one weekend in a medium sized town much smaller than Raleigh.