Greg Gerber's RV Industry Blog

So close, yet so far

ggerber@milomediapub.com (Greg Gerber) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 20:07:00 GMT

Have you ever been so close to your dream that you can touch it with your fingertips, but can’t grasp it in your hand? That’s how I feel today after being forced into a situation where I must take this website offline for a while.

I can’t think of a more frustrating position than to be in a situation where you have a fabulous idea, a solid business plan for getting the job done, but limited technical expertise and funding to see the dream become a reality.

In the past 15 months, this website developed a life of its own. The positive comments I received every week was humbling in one way, but heartwarming in another. Each happy reader spurred me on to invest more time and effort into providing a genuine news site unencumbered by corporations seeking to expand their empires or milk an operation for every penny of profit.

Fifteen months after starting RV Industry News, do I still have the dream to develop a group of RV-related websites? Absolutely. Despite the fact that competitive sites have sprung up all over the Internet in the past three years, it has only confirmed what I knew in my heart that the industry needed. I am more motivated than ever to pursue my dream, and intend to begin that journey anew as quickly as I can.

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Federal government offers Elkhart $33.34 per citizen in economic stimulus money

ggerber@milomediapub.com (Greg Gerber) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:38:00 GMT

Sunny days are certainly in store for the folks of Elkhart County, Ind., after U.S. Congressman Joe Donnelly proudly announced the federal government would spend $6.6 million in the county that currently has the nation's third highest unemployment rate.

Spread out over the county's 197,942 residents, that will average about $33.34 per resident.

That's the kind of attention and help cities get when a U.S. president flies into town to feel the pain of local residents.

The audacity of the announcement is that the federal government doesn't even trust Elkhart city and county officials to spend the stimulus money in a way that will do the most good for the community.

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Good news, bad news

ggerber@milomediapub.com (Greg Gerber) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:14:00 GMT

There is so much going on today, it's hard to know what to blog about first.

I guess hearty congratulations are in order for Country Coach, which announced this afternoon they will resume operations soon. Apparently, the firm was able to work a deal with Wells Fargo and their lead investor to breathe new life into the company. I understand founder Bob Lee also had his hand in the deal. Either way it is great news for the RV industry and thousands of people in Oregon are likely doing cartwheels this afternoon.

The dealer anger in this country is the worst I have ever seen. They are caught in the middle of an economic storm that threatens to destroy everything they have built due to no fault of their own. They can't acquire new inventory because they can't get floorplan financing. They can't sell existing inventory because they can't get retail loans for buyers. They have to fix the units they sell, but can't pass on those costs to bankrupt manufacturers.

I did see that union thugs in Pennsylvania were able to intimidate management at FTCA long enough to extract annual wage increases, incentive pay, a new pension plan, 10 paid holidays, shift differential pay and better health insurance in a down economy. Let's hope they sell enough Coleman trailers to pay for all the goodies the workers receive as units trickle down the assembly line.

Finally, can someone in Flori-duh tell me whose business it is how much water Lazydays founder Don Wallace and his family use every year? A Tampa paper published the names and addresses of the public water utility's top residential users.

Where has this country gone in demanding the public release of the names of water users, people who receive corporate bonus money, companies that buy private jets or firms that plan elaborate rewards for the people who bring in most of the company's money? We used to celebrate achievement and honor achievers.

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Predicting the unpredictable

ggerber@milomediapub.com (Greg Gerber) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:44:00 GMT

have a challenge for those of you willing to accept it.

I would like you to guarantee that you will be in business -- or employed -- on May 17, 2009. Once you make that guarantee, if you can't pay a bill or you bounce a check before that date, I'll take you to court and seek everything you own.

Such is the folly American businesses have to deal with in complying with yet another silly federal law -- the WARN Act. WARN stands for the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. It's a federal law designed to "do something" to help employees when their companies close or when the firms must make mass layoffs.

In reality, I know of no business owner or manager who can guarantee today that their company will be in business 60 days from now. And, once they are faced with absolute defeat to the point they must announce a closure or mass layoff, chances are very good the owners and managers have done everything within their power to keep the firm open and the staff employed as long as it can.

Very few employers wake up one morning and announce they are shutting down the company for the helluva it -- just to watch the pained expressions on the faces of dumbfounded employees. But, we have a federal law that requires employers to look into their crystal balls and ENSURE, under penalty of law, that employees will remain on the job 60 days from now.

I am 48 years old and since I lost my very first job at age 16 I have known that there is no such thing as a secure job. It's a lesson some people apparently will never learn.

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The RV industry today shows parallels to It's A Wonderful Life

ggerber@milomediapub.com (Greg Gerber) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:04:00 GMT

One thing is for certain, our industry is on its own. We can't expect help from banks or government to pull us out of this mess.

A meeting in South Bend earlier this week among RV manufacturers and people in the lending industry left many folks disappointed. As the federal government grows to gargantuan size, I fear we will see even more examples of the right hand of government not knowing, or even caring, what the left hand is doing.

The current situation reminds me of a scene in It's A Wonderful Life where George Baily confronts Mr. Potter in the office of the Bailey Building and Loan shortly after Peter Bailey's death.

What the RV industry needs is a Bailey Building and Loan -- where RV manufacturers, dealers and consumers can come to finance their dreams or businesses without crawling to Mr. Potter or the federal government.

Like George Bailey asked, what are families supposed to do? Wait until their children are grown up and out of the house until they can save enough money to buy -- or rent -- an RV? Wait until they are so old and broken down that they can't drive the things?

America's working class, which includes RV dealers and their employees, "do most of the working and paying and living and dying" in this country. Is it too much to allow them to work so that others can use the products they sell to enjoy time with their own families? Is it too much to have RV owners work and pay for an RV while they are young enough to enjoy it? Or are only the elite able to enjoy that freedom today?

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Keeping track of turmoil

ggerber@milomediapub.com (Greg Gerber) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:38:00 GMT

Nearly every day someone sends me a message asking if one manufacturer or another is still in business. So, to keep everyone abreast of changes within the industry, here is the big list of companies that have either gone out of business or are in some type of trouble.

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Banks seek to legitimize the RV industry

ggerber@milomediapub.com (Greg Gerber) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:40:00 GMT

There has been lots of discussion in recent days regarding changes in lending terms banks are imposing on RV dealers, especially when it comes to floorplan financing.

I've been following the discussion on our website since we broke the story about Bank of America's changing terms with Forest River dealers. Perhaps one of the more interesting arguments I have heard pertains to the legitimization of the RV industry.

It is being argued, by an RV dealer in fact, that requiring dealers to put money down to acquire inventory will actually strengthen the industry. It's an argument worthy of discussion.

It has always been a hallmark of capitalism that business owners have some skin in the game. Yes, they'll build their dreams through the investment of thousands of hours of sweat equity. But, most business owners have had to mortgage their homes and nearly everything they own to generate money to launch and sustain their dream. Those who do, are often rewarded in the end.

The rationale is that people who are serious about being in business will go out on a limb and risk it all for a chance of being successful. They won't stick their toe in and "see if we can't make money doing this thing." Rather they will dive in head first with a passion and enthusiasm that defines their entire life.

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Why taxing the rich won't work

ggerber@milomediapub.com (Greg Gerber) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:38:00 GMT

The Wall Street Journal today published an amazing piece of research that proves, once and for all, the folly around the notion that America can have anything it wants, as long as it taxes the rich.

The current administration has formed its platform around the idea that rich people should pay their "fair share," and new tax proposals are aimed directly at the pocketbooks of "the rich."

But, according to the Wall Street Journal, if the government confiscated EVERY DIME above $75,000 earned by American citizens, it would generate just over $4 trillion -- slightly more than the total federal budget proposed for 2010.

The other dirty little secret is that, thanks to this economy, there are fewer rich people today than there were in 2006. The tax burden of our current spending spree will choke the very life out of the econony for many years to come.

With the unbelievable level of fiscal irresponsibility coming out of Washington this year, it will be much harder to isolate "the rich." We will all need to be rich if we have any hope of pulling ourselves out of this hole.

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New model introductions may be crushing blow to some dealers

ggerber@milomediapub.com (Greg Gerber) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 21:19:00 GMT

As manufacturers begin to introduce their 2010 models in February, some dealers are already barking up my tree suggesting that this could be the nail in their coffins this year.

You'd think a new product might just generate more interest in what dealers are trying to sell. But, apparently, in this market, it actually works to their disadvantage.

Starting March 1, some banks will only finance 2008 models at wholesale prices. So, if a dealer hopes to make a profit on the sale of a 2008 model, the consumer will need a larger downpayment. That means he will likely have to spend more out of pocket to buy a 2008 model than he would to buy a 2009 or 2010 model, especially with other manufacturer discounts factored in.

One dealer is concerned that such a move will force dealers to lie to banks about equipment that is installed on 2008 units.

The issue of new model introductions has generated conflict within the industry for years. But manufacturers seem reluctant to agree to a specific window for new model releases, and once the first cat is out of the bag, a chain reaction of events goes into place to reduce the value of inventory on the lot -- whether or not an RV dealer has a new model on its lot.

Before advocating that RVIA and RVDA take action to address this concern, I'd like to know how big a problem new model introductions will be this year. Any ideas?

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Who are we going to believe -- banks or the federal government?

ggerber@milomediapub.com (Greg Gerber) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:03:00 GMT

I hope US Bank CEO Richard Davis has a team of bodyguards, or sleeps with a very big dog.

Davis went on the offensive this week against the federal government for their portrayal of how TARP money was supposed to be spent, and for how the feds are trying to micromanage companies that received federal bailout money.

After describing the Troubled Asset Relief Program as being "lousy," Davis told business leaders at a forum Tuesday that US Bank was told, not asked, to accept the federal money.

When the banks received the "bailout" money in October, we were lead to believe that the money was destined to loan offices around the country. But, when banks began buying other banks, they were portrayed as the evil profiteers standing in the way of greater good. The whole thing became a campaign issue.

But, if Davis is to be believed, the federal government approached US Bank and Wells Fargo specifically because they were healthy organizations. Rather than allow smaller banks to fail, which would have cost the FDIC billions in guarantees, the feds wanted the good banks to acquire smaller unhealthy institutions.

This whole situation puts us in the unusual position of having to believe bankers or government officials. All we need now is a lawyer and we have the foundation for a bad joke.

You want to know why consumers can't get loans to buy RVs this spring? It's because consumers are the big pawns in a massive game of chess taking place in Washington, D.C. for domination of the country. And banks are the rooks.

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