DES MOINES, Iowa — Many in the RV industry will tell you it’s a microcosm of the American economy.

“When it’s doing well,” says Scott Edwards, owner of Plaza RV in Bondurant, “people are buying stuff like RVs. They’re making plans to have fun.”

But the last five years took that comparison to another level.

As the coronavirus swept across the globe in spring of 2020, it not only killed millions of people, it cut Americans off from their traditional travel and recreational routines. Many took the money they weren’t spending elsewhere and headed to the RV dealer.

“Sales went crazy,” says Zach Thomas of Imperial RV Center in Ankeny. “I mean, we sold out of pretty much everything on our lot.”

“We were down to five units on our lot,” Edwards adds. “Typically at that time we would carry 70-80 units.”

Buyers called from out of state. Less popular models that had been languishing on lots sold immediately.

“It didn’t matter,” Edwards says. “People were just taking it because they could buy it.”

Just as the dealer lots drained, supply-chain issues began to bog down the RV factories. Dealers hustled to find something to sell.

“It was daily phone calls to the manufacturer begging for inventory,” Thomas remembers.

“I couldn’t get inventory, so we were trying to buy used units!” Edwards says.

But as demand and supply-chain issues fueled inflation, the Feds raised interest rates in response. The factors combined to cut the legs out from under RV sales.

From their record peak of more than 600,000 units sold in 2021, they fell 18% in 2022. In 2023, sales fell another 36%.

A 6% rise stopped the bleeding last year, but election years are typically tough for an industry which suffers under political uncertainty and 2024 was no exception.

“Whether you’re right or left,” says Edwards, “you’re probably thinking about waiting until after the election to buy,” Edwards says.

At the Iowa RV Show in Des Moines this weekend, the hope is to get 2025 off to a strong start and then let it settle into a more traditional, predictable rhythm.

“Consistent is what I’d like to see,” says Thomas. “A little more … normal? That would be nice, if there is still a normal.”

”I just need to have steady sales,” Edwards says. “It’s hard to have a business when things go way up and way down.”

Edwards and Thomas will be among the five central Iowa dealers at the Iowa RV Show this weekend. It’s open from noon to 8 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

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