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WENATCHEE — Stretched out in a sunny camping chair, his travel trailer looming behind him, Roy Campbell of Bremerton could have been a poster boy for the recreational-vehicle industry last week at Wenatchee Confluence State Park.

Ray Campbell, 63, of Bremerton, soaks up the sun Tuesday at Wenatchee Confluence State Park. He and his wife, Pam Campbell, braved $4.50 per gallon diesel prices to haul their travel trailer across the mountains for a few weeks of vacation. The couple will cut back in other ways, he said, to take their annual trip east. Local RV dealers say sales are still strong but are slightly behind last year, despite high prices at the pumps. (World photo/Christine Pratt)

The warming sun. The cool expanses of green lawn. The lazy Columbia River. The osprey soaring.

Worries about fuel prices didn't seem to fit the idyllic picture.

The notion of $4 per gallon for gasoline and more than $4.50 for diesel didn't keep Campbell and his wife, Pam Cambpell, from hauling their 21-foot trailer over the mountains for some Eastern-Washington-style R&R.

Dale Launer

Before returning home later this month, the couple will hit Lake Chelan and Steamboat Rock at Banks Lake, south of Grand Coulee.

"We cut corners in other places," the retired 63-year-old Bremerton shipyard worker said. "It's something we really like to do, as long as we can afford it."

That attitude, and the short driving distance of scores of area campsites, seems to be keeping the local RV market afloat, despite the pain at the pumps.

Jayson Launer

"People here are still going to go camping," said Dale Launer, owner of D&L R.V. Center and Discount Trailer, both on Highway 97A in Wenatchee. "If you want to have fun with your family, you're still going to spend $5 to $10 more."

The proximity of campsites to all North Central Washington metro areas keeps driving costs down, Launer said.

Gene Halverson Jr., co-owner of All Seasons RV, agrees.

Gene Halverson Jr.

"We're fortunate to have a lot of recreational areas nearby," he said. "I counted them one day and got 128 of them within a 75-mile radius. You can virtually go to a different area every weekend."

 Halverson said sales through March were up over last year, but the year's second quarter is off to a slow start. That could be because of an unseasonably cold spring — the third-coldest April on record. 

"The repair end of our business is up, which means people are still going to use them (their RVs)," he said.

 Launer said this year's sales are about even with last year, but that represents a slowdown from his typical 10 percent annual sales growth.

 He sells a few used motorhomes — self-propelled houses on wheels — but travel trailers in all sizes and for all budgets make up the bulk of his business and all of the Halversons' business. Travel trailers need to be towed by car or truck.

 Launer's son, Jayson, runs the Discount Trailer dealership, also on Highway 97A. Jayson Launer says sales are down by some four units over last year, but remain strong.

 "Gas prices keep going up, but so do sales," he said.

 That's not true of RV sales nationwide.

 Phil Ingrassia, spokesman for the Virginia-based National RV Dealers Association, said sales for travel trailers fell 8 percent nationwide through the end of February — the most recent numbers available.

 Sales for the largest motorhomes are down 20 percent. Dealers nationwide sold 25 percent fewer smaller motorhomes through February.

 Ingrassia admits the association's figures are preliminary.

 "I'd be surprised to see that trend continue," he said. "We're getting reports that sales of the smaller motorhomes are picking up."

 He added, "It's not just the gas prices. It's the all-over economy. RVs are discretionary purchases. When people are not feeling as comfortable with the stock market or with their housing values ... we see a dip. We're still going to sell over 300,000 units. It's still going to be a good year. Not as good as last year."

 Local dealers say late winter through fall are their peak selling months.

 Customers are often age 30 to 50, with young families in the market for trailers in the 32-foot range — the most popular sizes, because they're easier to maneuver into NCW campsites, Jayson Launer said. 

Retirees often look for larger RVs to hit the road for months at a time — or winter in warmer climates, the local dealers say.

 Local customers account for most of the local sales. Dale Launer says some west-siders prefer to buy in Eastern Washington, where they most-often camp. They store their trailers locally over the winter to avoid the cross-mountain haul every year.

"I don't worry about gas prices at all," Dale Launer said. "You could buy a pizza, and it would cost you more than what you'd pay extra to go camping."

 But for how long?

 Camper Campbell at Confluence said he doesn't think fuel prices will get any cheaper — and he just bought a bigger, thirstier Dodge Ram diesel pickup last year.

 "You keep thinking that it can't get worse, and then it does," Campbell said. "What we're paying now, they've been paying in Europe. We're been pretty fortunate compared to other parts of the world." 

He wore a T-shirt — "World's best grandparent, hands' down" — that displayed the two painted handprints of one of his grandkids. His wife napped inside the trailer and their bicycles — mountain for him, recumbent for her — stood ready for the next ride on the loop trail.

 It'll be a tough luxury to give up. "We really like it," he said of the trailer. "It's not real big inside, but it has a swivel chair, a nice couch. For two people, it's perfect."

pratt@wenworld.com