b'Park Model Builders Continue to See High DemandWhile Meeting Challenges Brought on by COVID CrisisPark model manufactures are seeing demand increase for units that offer luxury amenities and unique looks, such as these PMRVs from Cavco Industries Inc.s hospitality series.BY BEN QUIGGLE to John Soard, general manager of the Middlebury, Ind.-based company.Park model RV (PMRV) manufacturers saw a slight dip in production during the onset of the There are some part supplier issues, but its one of those things thatCOVID crisis in March and early April, but since that pointas many told Woodalls Campground we all look at and go, its a good problem to have, he explained. Management(WCM)they have been busy building units.Down for three weeks, Goshen, Ind.-based Kropf Industries Inc.cameDick Grymonprez, director of park model RV sales for Elkhart, Ind.- back online in mid-April and has been operating at full bore since then,based Skyline Champion Inc., noted that plenty of orders are coming in, according to Curt Yoder, vice president and co-owner of the company. but that they are having issues keeping up with production.We continue to write business at a record paceWe have 11 park model plants around the country and some plants over the last few months and obviously the backlogare doing better than others, but I would say that were trying to get pro- continues to grow, he explained.John Soardduction back to where it was, he explained. Its really hard when you Brilliant, Ala.-based Stone Canyon Homeshas no-dont have consistency in your employees showing up for work. Most of ticed traffic picking back up on the retail side, as the company sells a lotour plants are down people because either No. 1, of units to resort communities or new developments, according to co-they are afraid to catch something, or No. 2, they Dick Grymonprez owner David Pulliam. could actually make more money not working due to the government pro- We havent seen typical campground purchases, he noted. How-grams that are out there.ever, we have some campgrounds that have park model RV communitiesTim Gage, vice president of park models, cabins and specialty products Curt Yoder within the campground and that business has been pretty steady. Thosefor Phoenix, Ariz.-based Cavco Industries Inc., noted that the company are areas where they lease units. The business from parks that rent units just didnt come to-has stayed busy throughout the current crisis.gether this year.Wereinvolvedwithsomanyprojectsand Based out of Ochlocknee, Ga., Pinnacle Park Homes told WCM that business has beenglamping resorts, and of course the fall is coming so booming since they came back online. Tim Gage our street retailer business is going to be ramping We did take a month of production off just because we just werent sure where things wereup, he noted. We dont expect it to slow down much. heading, said Terri Stewart, owner of the company. Sales did slow down, almost coming toGary Duncan, general manager of Elkhart, Ind.-based Forest Rivers a halt in March. Then we came back in May and it just blew up. May and June have been bigPark Models Division, said the company has seen strong sales on both months and we are booked out again. Our numbers are up over last year at this time.the retail and campground side of things.Lancaster Log Cabins, a Lancaster County, Pa.-based manufacturer of PMRVs, took a salesWe really only lost maybe one or two campground units because of hit at the beginning of the crisis, but business has rebounded in a big way. all this, but that was about it, he said. Other than that, we really didnt Gary Duncan Productions up, sales are up probably more than ever before, which is awesome, Dansee much of an impact on that side of our business. Smucker, owner of the company, explained. Weve been super blessed.Woodland Park Homeshas a backlog of orders that is as strong as it has ever been, according Here is a look at some of the PMRV manufacturers that WCMspoke with.Amish Cabin CompanyDue to its remote location and the use of an all-Amish staff, the Munfordville, Ky.-based Amish CabinCompanywas not forced to shut down during the COVID crisis, according to Linton Wells, the companysowner.So far, PMRV sales are flat for the year versus the year before.Things were quite slow from January through April for us in terms of prospect inquiries, he ex-plained. Weve seen good ongoing upticks in prospect inquiries since then and were positioned wherewe want to be a high quality, relatively low volume RVIA-certified manufacturer in the park model RVmarket, at competitive price points and design flexibility, with models that range from about $39,000 to$65,000, plus delivery charges.The company added a second production facility to help boost production. We will be launching a new PMRV cottage and cabin style, which has a larger bedroom and higher sidewalls with high transom windows in the next few months, he noted. Amish Cabin Company offers three models, the Goldenrod, Senna and Clover, and all come with either a rustic cabin look or in a country cottage style. The rustic cabin look features eitherhandscraped or smoothed log siding, while the exterior of the country cottage PMRVs feature Louisiana Pacific(LP) siding. (606) 922-8401www.amishcabincompany.comCavco Industries Inc.Sixty percent of the companys business is still in the campground sector, according to TimGage, who noted Cavco is implementing new features into the companys PMRVs focused onthat segment of the business. Cavco products include park model RVs, cabins, lofts, ECO-Cottagesand specialty products,such as tiny houses. The product lines are sold under the Chariot, Cavco, Fleetwoodand Fair-montbrands.The company is focused on not only coming out with new models and floorplans, but alsoon integrating technology into its units. PMRV Manufacturerscontinued on page 1816 -September 2020 Woodalls Campground Management'