CUTLERVILLE, Mich. — More Americans are choosing to hit the road to reach their vacation destinations during the pandemic, and many are choosing recreational vehicles (RVs).
Local RV dealers like TerryTown RV Superstore say that sales are booming.
"I think it was kind of a sigh of relief for people to get out and get RVing again," explained Evan Shepard, a sales professional at TerryTown. "Statistically, COVID's been very good for the RV industry."
TerryTown broke a company and state record in June, selling more than 500 RV's.
The appeal of being able to vacation safely with the whole family is also drawing in a lot of first-time buyers.
"We've been seeing a lot of people that are eager to get out and camping, state parks, and get around the country, see some different sites and find a way to travel that is less," explained Matt Kortman, inventory manager at TerryTown. "It's more distant and less crowded and more of a chance to control your own environment and have your own kind of fun on your own terms."
And it's interesting to note what is selling. "It almost felt like the old days when we used to sell tons of pop-up campers, Kortman said. "We actually sold our season's supply of them by the end of June ... single axle travel trailers that are easy to pull behind smaller SUVs and some people's normal vehicles/ A lot of those flew off the shelves."
With many families facing financial challenges from COVID-19, staff at TerryTown add that traveling by RV is an affordable way to still enjoy a luxury vacation. "It's always been an economical way to vacation, because you can cook your own meals and you don't have to pay for hotels and things like that," Kortman told FOX 17. "There's just so many different cool places that you can go and things that you can do with an RV. Yeah, it's just more than ever, a great choice."
Renting RVs is also growing in popularity. According to RV rental site Outdoorsy, in May and June, 93% of their bookings were first-timers.