Dale Bowman of the Chicago Sun-Times is the latest journalist to take note of how much has changed in the world of RVing in 2020.
There’s a campground, rather peculiarly, in downtown Gibson City in Ford County along Route 9. We pass it several times a year on our way to the whimsical Harvest Moon Twin Drive-In.
The campground has been busy. One night my wife and our daughter thought it was packed to capacity.
This year, this 2020, is different.
Something is happening with people, camping and RVs during the pandemic. Part is related to schooling and working remotely, part to staycations and part to safety.
The Point Grove Campground, at the confluence of the Iroquois and Kankakee rivers in Aroma Park, is far busier than usual.
“We usually have a couple of electric sites open here or there but this year every electric site was taken from as soon as we opened through the Labor Day holiday,” emailed Vicki Winn, one of the hosts. “Our primitive sites were also pretty full. Lots of campers elected to use those sites and run generators for their campers. Lots more tent campers, too.”
To read Bowman’s full report, click here.
Whether the impacts are lasting or short-term will not be known until after the pandemic.
“A dealer survey released this month suggests retail growth in the mid-thirties percent range in August – similar to July 2020,” emailed Phil Ingrassia, president of National RV Dealers Association. “Dealer inventories are down to 20 to 30 percent of where they usually are at this time.”
