b'Park Model RV Producers ReportRecord Sales as CampgroundsExpand Lodging OfferingsBY RON BARGER can hardly keep up with the demand they areBusiness is like nothing Ive seen in 34 seeing right now. years, noted Curt Yoder, president ofKropf There is a tremendous amount of retailIndustriesInc.,to specialty orders, he continued. Obviously,Woodalls Campground dealers are low on stock, but the retail marketManagement(WCM). is just bonkers right now. Normally this is theThecompanyisa time of year we experience a slowdown upGoshen,Ind.-based north, but orders are still coming in at a verymanufacturerofpark good pace. modelRVs(PMRVs). Dick Grymonprez, director of park modelOurbusinessisjust RVsalesforSkylineoutstanding. The back- Champion,aPMRV As more park owners look to expand, park model RV buildersCurt Yoder log for our products just manufacturerwith are noticing an uptick in sales as they continue to innovate andkeeps growing, quite honestly, and obviously plantsspreadacross offer new features. Photo credit: Lancaster Log Cabinsit is challenging right now with the COVID theU.S.,echoedthevirus, getting everybody here to work and sentiment that the state duction up by early 2021 it will be a record to help them enjoy their camping time whilekeeping them here, while also keeping them of the market is strong, year for PMRV shipments. decompressingwiththefamily,statedhealthy.but noted there are still Dan Smucker, owner and business man- Soard.The supply chain has made it difficult challenges.ager of the Gap, Pa.-based, Lancaster Log Terri Stewart, of Pinnacle Park Homestoo, he continued. It has been hard to stay Dick Grymonprez Wehadthebest Cabins, noted that he is also seeing camp- Inc., a producer of PMRVs sold direct from itsefficient from a production standpoint but year ever in 2019 and 2020 was starting off ground owners order more units per order.Ochlocknee, Ga. facility, stated that turnkey,order-wise it is great because we have as big even better before COVID hit, he said. Our They are most definitely ordering more rental-ready cabins and PMRVs are trendinga backlog as we have ever experienced.numbers this year are a little behind 2019, but cabins. Weve been selling so much to camp- hot. The North American need for social dis- we still have the same percentage of overall grounds its crazy actually. Were booked out Our Rental Ready line of cabins contin-tancing, while still having the ability to travel shipments as we had last year. It is of note for a long time right now, he explained. We ues to be popular and profitable with manyandenjoyvacationsduringtheseunique that the PMRV business is off 12.9% through actually moved into a new facility in Novem- campground owners ordering more eachtimes, has pointed to camping as the perfect September, but with that being said, our 12 ber and weve doubled our production from year as they realize the more they have thefamily/recreational experience. Just as con- plants around the country that build PMRVs prior years due to that move. better they rent, she said. ventional RVs continue to break all consumer have the largest backlogs they have had in On the product trend side of the equation, Yoder said luxury models, fully furnishedsales records, campground lodging manufac- years. Our issue is getting them built because JohnSoard,national with all the conveniences of home, are sellingturers are also flourishing as record occu- of COVID-related issues, lack of workers and salesmanagerfor briskly. pancy has given campground owners the material shortages. Woodland Park Inc., a I think what this epidemic has done iscapitol they need to expand cabin and park I am not seeing any new trends, he con- Middlebury, Ind.-based create a demand for people to get the heckmodel RV options on their properties.tinued, just that the hospitality business con- producer,seesade- out of the house on the weekends and haveMostofourbusinessmodelandour tinuestogrow,somorerentalunitsare mand for more residen- a place to go, he said. People are not trav-focus is on our street dealers, so we do very needed all over the country. Customers that tial conveniences. eling but they still are not going to give uplittlebusiness,ifany,directlytocamp- used to buy two units at a time are wanting Our customers are their leisure time, so this is a perfect optiongrounds, Yoder explained. But our dealers five and our big customers are buying large demanding more prac- for them to get out and enjoy themselves withwho sell to the campground market say they bulk purchases. I believe if we can get pro- John Soard tical convenience items all the comforts of home.Amish Made Cabins the U.S. and Canada, building manufactured homes, modular homes, PMRVs and vacation cab-For owners looking for a ins. Owners interested in building community buildings and clubhouses can also count on Cavcomorepermanentcabinor to fulfill those needs with its commercial division, according to Tim Gage,larger lodge solution, or those vice president of the companys park model RV, cabins and specialty prod-bound by conventional state ucts group. orcountybuildingcodes, Cavco brands manufactured across North America include CavcoAmish Made Cabins of Shep- Homes, Fleetwood Homes, Palm Harbor Homes, Nationwide Homes, Fair-erdsville, Ky., builds modular mont Homes, Friendship Homes, Chariot Eagleand Destiny Homes. cabinsforcampgrounds. Business is good, said Gage. Backlogs are steady, and I dont an-These modulars are not built ticipate any changes through 2021. We see campground owners gettingon a metal frame but rather more into the hospitality business. It has been our core business over thedesigned to slide off a flatbed Tim Gage past 15 years. We stay updated on what the hotel industry is doing thatsemi-trailer onto a founda- could be transferred into vaca-tion.tion rentals throughout RV parksFamily owned and oper- and campgrounds. ated by the White family for When it comes to new prod-over 30 years, WCMspoke to one of the general managers of the firm, Jenny White, about the ucts for 2021, Gage stated thatvariety of units Amish Made Cabins builds. thecompanyisintroducingWeve sold to Kampground of America Inc. (KOA) parks over the years with pretty simple some new tech in the PMRVs itkitchenettes and accommodations, she said. But right now, we are preparing a project for builds.Hoosier Hills Marinain Indiana, which has full, two-bedroom, two-bath, full-out quality cabins WeareintroducingBlue-14-feet by 48-feet. Then we build some 10-by-20-foot RV-style cabins for other campgrounds. tooth-enabled park models andThe cabins are available in rustic half-log, hand-hewn poly coated log siding or LP siding in cabins, he said. Also includeda variety of colors. Pre-engineered knotty pine interior walls feature a light, smooth finish that will be 43- to 55-inch Samsunghelps cut down on maintenance and cleaning issues that comes with other log homes, accord- smart TVs with a SONOS beaming to White. sound bar in 2021. Our hottest selling unit to campgrounds is our Lincoln cabins, said White. It has a little Our hottest sellers right nowinset porch and two dormers on the roof. Most people order the steel roof system. Most of the are the Cavco Wedge Series,Lincoln series goes to campgrounds in the mid to upper $40,000 range because we have a multi- as well as the Eco Cottage Se-cabin discount when they purchase more than one. ries, he concluded. Those two502-921-0002800-289-0988www.amishmadecabins.com more contemporary-styled PMRVs models are fashioned with various roof pitches to provide aunique profile on the outside and high ceilings in the interior. MSRPs are in the mid-$80,000Cavco Industries Inc. range and up. Its of note that Cavco Industries has been named MHI Home Builder of the Yearfor seven 800-622-8260www.parkmodels.comyears in a row. The company prides itself on providing systems-built housing solutions across Park Model RVs continued on page 22WOODALLSCM.com February 2021-19'