More than 110 people representing many facets of the RV industry gathered this weekend at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort in Cedar Creek, Texas, for the Texas RV Association (TRVA) annual convention.
Themed “The Next Big Thing,” the event marked TRVA’s 47th anniversary of representing the interests of RV dealers, suppliers, manufacturers, campgrounds and service providers in Texas.
The event kicked off with a welcome reception Friday night, followed by a day of fun on Saturday where participants could take advantage of the on-site golf course or engage in a renegade adventure competition in archery, trap shooting and tomahawk throwing.
An informal sponsor appreciation gathering took place Saturday night, which included several fundraisers to support TRVA’s legislative agenda.
“Sponsors are our partners in business. Without them, we could not do what we do as dealers,” said Kevin White with United RV, who also serves as president of TRVA. “It is nice to be in the room with so many different business partners.”
This year’s platinum sponsors included Bank of the West, Diversified Insurance Management and NTP-STAG. Gold sponsors included M&T Bank and Protective Asset Protection. Silver sponsors included APPOne, BB&T Bank, Huntington Bank, Lippert, Medallion Bank and US Bank.
Bronze sponsors included American Guaranty Warranty Service, Bank of America, Branding Plus Marketing Group, EasyCare, National RV Training Academy, National RV Inspectors Association, South Texas RV Supersale, TCF Inventory Finance, Valterra and Wells Fargo Bank. Copper sponsors include Dometic and Land-n-Sea.
The business portion of the convention began in earnest Sunday morning with a presentation by Scott Stropkai, president of Statistical Surveys, who reported that Texas led the states in RV sales for the 10th consecutive year by selling more than twice as many new RVs in 2020 as it did before the Great Recession impacted the industry in 2007.
Texas leads in every RV category except fifth wheels, he said, adding that sales are up 38 percent in Texas compared to 36.6 percent nationwide.
“2020 was the greatest year ever for the RV industry and 2021 should close with similar results,” he said. “The RV industry is absolutely booming. From June 2020 until May 2021, each month was the most successful month the industry had ever experienced.”
He noted that motorhomes only account for about 10 percent of RV sales, which is down considerably from the 20 percent figure that defined the industry for many years.
“A lot of hard work has been put in by dealers, manufacturers and suppliers in Texas and it shows in the statistics,” Stropkai explained. “Towable numbers are through the roof and there are more motorized sales in Texas than statistics show because a lot of those dealers sell units to customers who register them in other states.”
New RV sales are dwarfed by the sale of used RVs, Stropkai noted.
“There were 780,000 used RVs sold last year and we’re creeping up on 800,000 for 2021. In fact, there were 470,000 used RVs sold from January to June,” he said.