Home Page

A Map to Get Here

Pre-Owned RVs

New Inventory

On Line RV Parts and Accessories Shipped Direct to YOU!

Get a Brochure

Comprehensive Chassis Info

Rent an RV!    

Email Our Sales Department

Email Our Service Department

Credit Application

RV Clubs and Links

RV DAMAGE?  NEED REPAIRS? CLICK HERE

Useful General RV Information

RV Industry and Supplier Directory

Do You Need Supplemental Braking?

Articles of RV Interest

Lure of open road beats costs

Dealers say local RV sales strong, countering national trends, fuel hikes, loan woes

By ALAN WECHSLER, Business writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Saturday, May 17, 2008

With gas prices hovering around the $4-a-gallon mark, who wants to be driving those behemoth, gas-guzzling recreational vehicles?

In the Capital Region, it turns out, a lot of people. While sales of trailers and motor vehicles are tanking nationally, most local dealerships say they're having a great season.

Alpin Haus, with showrooms in Amsterdam, Clifton Park and Wilton, reports sales up 15 percent over last year.

"Our April is probably the best April we've had in three or four years," said Andy Heck, Alpin Haus president. "It's really bizarre."

Albany RV says its sales are up about 20 percent. Even many smaller dealerships are happy.

"I've had a phenomenal spring," said Gary Connell, owner of Imperial Trailer Sales and Service, in Brunswick.

How can this be? Nationwide, RV manufacturers report massive losses in the $15 billion industry, with one shutting down and another filing for bankruptcy, according to The Wall Street Journal. U.S. sales that topped 390,000 vehicles in 2006 dropped 9.5 percent in 2007 with a predicted further drop of 14 percent this year, according to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, a trade group in Reston, Va.

The problem isn't just the high cost of gas. As banks become less eager to extend credit, it becomes more difficult to finance the vehicles, according to the RVIA.

But in the Capital Region, neither high gas prices nor lending concerns seem to dissuade new and return customers.

About a month ago, Joe Polsinelli of Schenectady paid just under $30,000 to Alpin Haus for a 29-foot trailer he plans to tow behind his Lincoln Navigator. He's planning to take his family on three or four short vacations around New York and New England this summer.

"You can stay at a state campsite for $16 a night," he said. "If you're willing to rough it a little bit, that's a very inexpensive vacation."

The trailer will surely bring down his gas mileage, already low at around 14 or 15 mpg. But he says it's worth it.

Capital Region RV retailers may be benefiting from the nature of jobs in the area -- the thousands of workers in state government, education and health care ensure the region is largely cushioned from economic ups and downs.

At the same time, many of those buying trailers or motor homes may not be planning the traditional cross-country trip, but are renting trailers and parking them at local campsites for the summer.

Those people include John and Donna Rozon, a Schoharie couple who picked up a gently used $42,000 motor home from Albany RV earlier this week. The couple plan to use it to visit relatives in Wyoming and Oklahoma, despite the concern over rising gas costs.

"It's a little scary," Donna Rozon said about the cost. "But when you love camping ... we'll find a way to do it."

Alan Wechsler can be reached at 454-5469 or by e-mail at awechsler@timesunion.com.