RECREATIONAL PARK TRAILER DEALERS IN MICHIGAN ARE SETTING SALES RECORDS

Bob Swift loves to unwind at the Petoskey KOA RV and Cabin Resort in northern Michigan.
But when health reasons forced the 46-year-old central Michigan merchandiser to give up his motorhome, he was relieved to discover that he and his family could still visit the resort as often as they liked by investing in a recreational park trailer, which sits on a leased site in a gated section of the campground.

Swift was also pleasantly surprised to discover that recreational park trailers are typically more spacious and have more amenities than traditional towable or motorized RVs, including a full-size refrigerator and a full bathroom and shower.
“I have no maintenance!” he said. No holding tanks. No hoses or electrical cords to hook up or disconnect during weekend visits.
“You pay your rent for the lot,” he said, and that includes access to the campground pool and hot tub.

And, best of all, Swift said he doesn’t’ have to adhere to an 11 a.m. check out time. He can stay at the campground as long as he wants and leave at night, when traffic back to his home in central Michigan is minimal.

But, alas, Swift isn’t the only one who has discovered the secrets of recreational park trailers. Michigan residents are buying them in record numbers.
Dealers across the Great Lakes State reported sales of 325 recreational park trailer units in 2002, and dealers believe new sales records could be set this year.
“Sales overall have been excellent,” said Dave Carlson, owner of Woodland Travel Center in Grand Rapids. While Carlson’s dealership primarily sells towable travel trailers, his park trailer sales are up about 10 percent this year, he said.

Strong sales are also taking place at Vacationland Sales in Hopkins and by Holiday Shores Campground, which has a sales division in Durand.
Not a bad showing for a product most people have never heard of, particularly in a lackluster economy. Recreational park trailers comprise the smallest – and least known – segment of the RV industry, with some 30 manufacturers producing about 8,000 units per year. But as real estate prices continue to climb in resort areas across Michigan, more and more city dwellers are discovering the merits of recreational park trailers, which they use as weekend retreats or summer vacation cottages.

“It seems that when people find a place they like to go, park models are a great option for them,” said Craig Rose, manager and owner of Petoskey KOA, adding that the people buying the units range from families with children to retirees who own multiple park trailers in different parts of the country.
“We have a lot of Snowbird type folks. We have people that live down South and come to stay with us in the summer. And we have people who simply travel north in the summer to cool off,” Rose said.

And then there’s people like Swift, who regularly comes to Petoskey KOA to unwind.
Swift’s family, in fact, has made friends with two other couples who also recently purchased park trailers and placed them at Petoskey KOA. “We all have kids that are 10 to 16 and all of us determined that it wasn’t worth hauling our RVs units back (to Petoskey KOA) each time we wanted to come here,” he said.

While recreational park trailers provide significant benefits to consumers, they also help campground operators diversify their income base. Unlike RVers, who may change their travel plans if the weather doesn’t cooperate, seasonal campers pay for an entire season, providing the campground operator with a steady stream of income.

“It’s very steady, reliable income,” said John Atkinson, a partner and co-owner of Holiday Shores RV Resort in Durand. “We have a constant, steady clientele. We don’t have the big ups and downs.”
For more information about recreational park trailers, please contact William Garpow, executive director of the Recreational Park Trailer Industry Association, visit the association’s website at www.rptia.com or contact the Michigan campground and dealer sources listed below:

Michigan Contacts:

- Craig Rose, Petoskey KOA RV & Cabin Resort, (231) 347-0005
- John Atkinson, Holiday Shores RV Resort, Durand, (989) 288-4444

January 7, 2004   Posted in: United States North