According to a report, gas pump prices may not be the determining factor for Alberta (Canada) RV owners this summer despite soaring gas costs.
Emma LaRoy, store supervisor at Dickson RV Resort near Innisfail, said she is more interested in knowing what’s to come now that the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down.
“We’re trying to figure out when it’s going to get busier or slower because people aren’t working from their trailers or doing school from their trailers,” LaRoy said.
LaRoy said that Dickson RV Resort only has seasonal lease campsites meaning there isn’t any need to move their RVs or motor homes, so the gas price likely will not affect the guests, mostly from Calgary, Edmonton, and central Alberta.
LaRoy added that, so far, weekends have been relatively steady, and visits to the resort usually pick up once school is finished and families stay longer.
Kelly Christensen, one of the owners of Summerland RV Park near Gull Lake, agreed that people were keen to utilize their RVs and motor homes. The park’s seasonal and temporary campsites during the pandemic were busy.
“It was one of the few things that people could actually do. We were turning away people,” Christensen said.
Christensen said that the park has also been busy so far this season since opening in early May.
“We’re fairly booked for the next couple of months.”
Mitch Vellner, operations manager at Vellner Leisure Products, said most people who come through the doors do not talk about the cost of gas; however, they are currently looking for smaller motor homes.
“Small motor homes are a very popular ask. I wish I could 3D print those things because people ask for them every day,” Vellner said.
Many people would like an affordable, pre-owned motorhome that is only about six years old, but there’s only so many around.
Everybody has an assortment of smaller, ultra-light motor homes, but the manufacturers are building according to the latest trends in the U.S., which is for larger products, he explained.
“Early in the year, lots of people wanted to buy just something big to plop on a lake lot. But that traffic has pretty much died off now.”
In the most recent episode of MC Fireside Chats, Jonny Feld, President of Field Van, a custom builder of vans and class B motorhomes, confirmed that there is a growing demand in the market for smaller vans and tiny homes.
This story originally appeared on Red Deer Advocate.