Baby Boomers Panic Hoard "Covid Campers" To Escape Big Cities As Second Wave Threats Emerge

Baby Boomers Panic Hoard "Covid Campers" To Escape Big Cities As Second Wave Threats Emerge Tyler Durden Fri, 05/29/2020 - 20:10

Americans are packing their bags, purchasing motor homes, and fleeing large cities as fears of a second coronavirus wave emerge. 

Bloomberg reports floor traffic at Mike Regan's two RV dealerships near Austin, Texas, jumped 30% compared with last May. 

"Cooped-up Americans desperate to get out after months of lockdowns are dreaming of doing something—anything—that resembles a vacation. But a majority of them worry a second wave of the coronavirus is coming, and think politicians have pushed too fast to reopen. Unsurprisingly, when it comes to getting out of Dodge, the close-quarters of an airline cabin are a no-go," said Bloomberg. 

Regan said, "the minute the campgrounds opened on May 1, and the governor turned everyone loose, our business went through the roof." He said sales at his Crestview dealerships slumped 50% in April, though expected to be significantly higher this month.

RV sales have been widely used as a recession marker (which is something we noted in August 2019): collapsing sales is the start of the downturn, and improving sales could suggest a trough and or upturn. However, as the economy dives into depression, not seen since the 1930s, RV sales are set to rise as the pandemic has frightened people away from crowded cities.

Not mentioned in the report, another reason for increased RV sales could be due to 38 million people have lost their jobs in the last several months, some may not be able to make rent payments or afford their homes, have started to explore other options for cheaper living accommodations. 

Richard Curtin, a researcher at the University of Michigan who follows the RV industry, said the latest surge in RV buying shows consumers are still intact despite a "coronavirus recession." However, he did not breakdown the sales in terms of demographics, which is likely to show baby boomers are the largest buyers - as the downturn has crushed millennials.

Regan said many of the buyers in May were considered the first time, and their motives for purchasing were due to the ongoing pandemic.  

Mike Rhoades, 73, of Kyle, Texas, is one of those first time RV buyers who would typically be on a cruise ship, but the pandemic has severely altered his way of life. He purchased a $30,000 trailer and is planning a several week trip along the Texas Gulf Coast.  

Camping World Holdings Inc., think of it as a giant toy shop for baby boomers, said RV sales in the first-quarter beat analyst projections. The company shifted much of its sales online during lockdowns.  

Thor Motor Coach CEO Bob Martin said first-time buyers are buying entry-level and mid-range RVs. 

"Every dealer that I talk to is just blown away by the reaction of people that have never even thought about an RV," Martin said. "A lot of people are really going to look more at this lifestyle."

While depression has unfolded and not everyone can afford a new RV, Jen Young, co-founder of Outdoorsy, which pairs RV owners with people who want to rent one, said bookings erupted during the pandemic. 

Shown below, Google search term "rent an RV" surged to a 16-year during the lockdowns. 

Young said: "'I won't visit any place where a lot of people will go,' so that pretty much [cancels] out all the big city centers and air travel," she said. "There's just so much more flexibility in recreation vehicle travel."

As the pandemic shuttered most of the country, canceled flights, and crashed the tourism and travel industry as a whole, it appears RV-ing was thriving as people escaped large cities to rural areas and campgrounds. 

Read: ""Overnight, The World Became The Twilight Zone" - Exodus From Cities Sparks Mountain-Dweller Greatest Fear"

Mike Pearo, who operates several Hilltop Camper and RV stores in Minnesota, said demand surged during the pandemic ahead of the camping season, which starts after Memorial Day. 

Pam Sandberg, a customer of Hilltop, who bought a $70,000 motor home, is calling her new RV the "Covid Camper." The baby boomer said her ability to travel on planes and cruise ships has become more limited since the outbreak. She hasn't camped in decades and said this would be the best means of traveling until the crisis is over. 

"The next few years are going to be kind of shaky," Sandberg said, adding that an RV is the ideal compromise. "We can all get together and go somewhere, drive to Florida, do some of the things we've talked about without having to risk everybody."

America's wealthiest generation, being the boomers, are ditching metro areas, panic hoarding RVs, and escaping to the countryside ahead of the possibility a second virus wave could materialize later this year, there is just no way in hell that a V-shaped economic recovery will be seen this year. Think about it, these folks are going in hibernation. 

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Baby Boomers Panic Hoard "Covid Campers" To Escape Big Cities As Second Wave Threats Emerge