RV Industry Leaders Reflect on 2025 & Look Ahead to 2026

Editor’s Note: This is Part 1 of the eight-part “Key RV Industry Trends & Predictions for 2026.” For the main page with links to all eight parts, click here.

What was 2025 like for your company or organization, and how are you feeling looking ahead to 2026?

Trey Miller, vice president of marketing, Jayco: 2025 was a good year for our company. However, there have been macroeconomic and other headwinds that have impacted the industry as a whole this year. Right now, it feels like you would need a crystal ball to truly predict 2026. There are so many factors that can swing things one way or the other.

Jeffrey Hunter, chairman/CEO of STO Holdings and Storyteller Overland: Ha! The real answer to that feels less like a singular monolithic answer for the whole year and more like a weekly recalibration around whatever random whiplash of news was coming out of Washington, D.C., or Wall Street, or the macroeconomy, or the global theater in that moment. Storyteller managed to post significant growth this year even through all of the turbulence … but anyone who tells you that 2025 has been easy on any front in our industry is either completely delusional or downright dishonest. 2025 has presented a steady stream of highly unique challenges and complicated mixed signals in our space, but looking forward to 2026, we’re cautiously optimistic; not because we expect that the economy will be inherently any easier to navigate in the new year, but because our team has done a tremendous amount of work internally to reinforce our strengths and lessen our sensitivities to the capricious whims of the market.

Jason Nierman, chief revenue officer, Rollick: 2025 was an important year for Rollick in the RV industry. Even with softer retail trends, we saw strong growth in digital adoption as RV dealers and OEMs leaned into more efficient lead-generation and engagement strategies. Our digital retailing product, RollickEngage, became a key tool for a growing number of OEMs and dealers, improving lead quality and giving retailers clearer insights into consumer behavior. Looking toward 2026, we’re very optimistic. RV buyers continue to show strong intent to use online tools, and retailers are focused on doing more with less by modernizing their digital experience. Rollick is well positioned to support this shift with better first-party data, personalization and tools that streamline the OEM-dealer-consumer connection. In many ways, 2025 confirmed the industry’s direction, and 2026 will be about scaling the impact.

Susan Carpenter, aftermarket manager, B&B Molders: 2025 was a reset year that rewarded inventory discipline, product differentiation and service excellence. Heading into 2026, [we are] cautiously optimistic for modest growth.

Juan Tejeda, CEO, PPL Motor Homes: 2025 was a year of meaningful progress and resilience for PPL Motor Homes. Despite a challenging marketplace, our team continued to demonstrate the power of investing in people through training, leadership development and an unwavering commitment to excellence. We proudly opened our sixth dealership in Decatur, Texas, expanding our reach across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and reinforcing PPL’s position as the nation’s largest RV consignment dealer. Throughout the year, we strengthened our leadership pipeline, enhanced customer experience and deepened our community impact. These efforts reflect our ongoing commitment to doing business with purpose and keeping people at the center. As we look ahead to 2026, we are optimistic and energized to continue leading with integrity, service and innovation.

Stacey Harris, head of service and retail sales, Truma North America: It is safe to say that the market was down going into 2025. There were many unknowns, and soon after the new year started, talks about tariffs began. Overall, the energy around tariffs proved disruptive both financially and in terms of time and resources, ultimately diverting concentration away from logistics, supply chain and sales. All that said, we are looking forward to 2026. We believe that we have seen the bottom of the market. We saw sparks of life and recovery in all segments as some manufacturers and dealers have made fiscal changes and are adapting well to new market conditions.

Earl Hunter Jr., founder and president, The Unity Folks: 2025 has been an incredible year for The Unity Folks! We launched several new brands and rolled out fresh pilot projects to our Unity Blaze partners, all designed to increase unity in the outdoor community and beyond. Our ROI+ model is spot on (Return On Invitation + Unity = Revenue). Earlier in the year, we faced some adversity tied to our previous brand, Black Folks Camp Too. Unfortunately, the current administration mislabeled us as a “DEI company,” which we are not. That mislabel caused some temporary disruption, but as always, we adjusted, stayed focused and moved forward with strategy and purpose. Today, our message is stronger than ever. Our work is rooted in unity, invitation and real data, not politics or buzzwords. And the industry is responding because unity works. 2025 isn’t over … and the best is still ahead, folks.

Find more answers on this topic on RV PRO’s website at rv-pro.com/tag/state-of-the-industry.