Dealers at RVDA Convention/Expo See ‘Trump Bump’ in 2025 – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – After two years of tepid economic returns, people can probably forgive RV dealers for looking for something brighter on the horizon.
But in talking with dealers gathering at Paris Las Vegas for the RV Dealers Convention/Expo, many of them are not only looking for a positive change, they’re downright expecting it.
“I think this thing is about to break loose and really get going by the end of the year,” Scott Krenek, president of Krenek RV Supercenter in Coloma, Mich., told RVBusiness between sessions of the Brown & Brown F&I School on Saturday.
With the term “Trump Bump” floating around the RVDA check-in desk and the board of delegates meeting Monday, some dealers already are talking about seeing a boost in consumer interest at their dealerships across the country just a week after the former president recaptured the office.
Debbie Brunoforte, regional vice president of Campers Inn RV and president of Little Dealer Little Prices, expressed some caution about the type of turnaround she expects, but she also couldn’t hide her enthusiasm about the RV industry making a comeback.
“We’re very excited about 2025 and I’m not the only one. Most of the people I talk to feel that way,” she said. “With the election, whatever way it was going to go, about half of the people weren’t going to be happy with the results. The other half have clarity – they know what’s coming in the next four years. Therefore they can feel confident to go ahead and make their purchase decisions.”
Brunoforte said consumers have been stuck on the sidelines with high inflation, high interest rates and high gas prices in addition to the uncertainty about the future that comes with any presidential election.
Now they are freed up to make those decisions they have been putting off.
“We felt that as soon as we got through with the election and the holidays that follow, we’ll get a better idea. But our feeling is we’ve already seen the bottom,” she said. “We are not expecting a V-curve. We’re not expecting 2025 to be a record year by any means. But we are so ready for that to happen. The RV business is cyclical. We have our ups and downs. But this down has been deeper and longer than most.”
Count Larry Troutt III of Topper’s RVs in Waller, Texas, among those who are ready for a rebound.
The incoming RVDA chairman of the board said he believes the market is already reacting to the election in a positive way.
And he said dealers are ready to react to meet a stronger economy.
“It went the way everybody wanted it to, but we were going to make do regardless,” he said of the election. “We’re going to get to do it a little quicker now because of the way it turned out. People say politics doesn’t affect anything very much, but it has a huge effect on the way we run our businesses. For Houston, they’re going to drill more and things should pick up.”
Mark Rispens, GM/Partner of D&D RV Center in Clancy, Mont., said staff at his store reported extremely heavy traffic on Monday. Rispens told RVBusiness there was little doubt in his mind that the people who came to the store were serious buyers and that the “Trump Bump” was real.
And as Brunoforte added, that boost can’t come soon enough.
“With so many people at a dealership paid on commission, this has been a long painful 2-1/2 years,” she said. “We’re ready for the turn. Instead of every month being a little bit down, having every month being a little bit up would be so encouraging. We have high expectations for that in 2025.”
The Convention/Expo fully opens today with a full slate of education workshops and Partners of Progress meetings and Vendor Training +Plus workshops.
The keynote speech begins at 2:30 p.m. followed by the opening of the vendor Expo at 3:30 p.m.
