RV sales increase during coronavirus pandemic, NC dealership employees say

CRAVEN COUNTY, N.C. — Some dealership employees in North Carolina said recreational vehicle sales have increased during the coronavirus pandemic, WCTI reported.

Employees at Riverside Camping Center in Craven County said RV sales are up more than 50%. They also said they have seen people coming from all across the country to buy one.

“We’ve had people contact us from Florida. We’ve had them contact us from Chicago, Ohio,” salesman and manager Luis Ortiz said.

One customer told WCTI that it has been difficult finding dealerships that have RVs in stock.

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“Being from Southern Maryland, we are close to the DC area. So we’ve checked like the Baltimore area. Then I actually checked the big RV dealership on the way here in Ashland, Virginia,” Tricia Haynes said. “And they are just constantly having a hard time, even the big ones, keeping campers on the lot.”

According to Ortiz, the supply is going fast and that getting more RVs may be an issue but said the center will continue to order RVs.

“They shut down the factories because of COVID. So when they restaffed them, they aren’t putting too many employees in there, so they are limited as far as what they can build,” he said, “So they aren’t building fast enough.”

Ortiz said that people are buying more RVs because it is a safer way to travel during the pandemic.

“We usually try to go to Disney, and we actually had reservations, and it got canceled. So we just wanted something fun to do with our family and that we could be safe while doing it,” Haynes said.