Shanholtzer said this year is shaping up to be his dealership's best ever. He expects to sell about 1,000 RVs, an increase of 15 to 20 percent from last year.
RVs also have grown in appeal since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, among people who are reluctant to fly but eager to tour their homeland, industry analysts say.
"People have wanted to avoid airports, and buying an RV and going camping with the family is an option," said Joe Chumbler, recreational vehicle analyst for Stephens Inc., a Little Rock investment bank.
Sales of full-size motor homes are increasing faster than sales of towables, industry experts say, although the numbers sold have not yet returned to the record levels of 1999, before the recession undercut demand for the behemoths that retail for $63,000 to $144,000.
Those willing to pay that much do not seem daunted by the thought of spending about $140 at current prices to fill a gas tank that typically holds 75 gallons. That's roughly $22 more than a fill-up a year ago.
"Even though gas prices are a little bit higher, there's plenty of fuel available," said Lindsey Reines, owner of the dealership where the Bowlers bought their new motor home. "I think the key is that the economy is very strong in the Washington metropolitan area. And I think that if it's going to cost you $500 more a year to take your family [camping] for the summer . . . you're going to do it. You're not just going to sit home." Reines said his dealership had a record month in June, with more than $4.2 million in revenue from the sale of 85 used and new RVs.
Campground owner Ron Vitkun said he worried in early spring that rising gas prices would deter visitors to his Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park in Williamsport, a franchise of a national camping chain. Instead, he said, total occupancy increased about 20 percent from January through mid-July compared with the same period last year. The campground, near Antietam National Battlefield, charges $30 to $50 a night for a hookup at one of its 189 campsites.
Vitkun said in recent years he has noticed a change in camp visitors, with more young families and first-timers. "The mix has definitely been falling to a younger group of people," he said.
Many buyers, facing high gasoline prices, have turned to diesel-powered vehicles instead.
A spokeswoman for Fleetwood Enterprises Inc., an RV manufacturer in Riverside, Calif., said from January to May its sales for diesel motor homes were 1,746, up 18.8 percent from the same period last year. Sales of gasoline-powered motor homes rose 1.4 percent to 4,924 in the same period.
Last month, Winnebago Industries Inc. of Forest City, Iowa, the industry's leading manufacturer, reported a 90 percent increase in third-quarter net income, attributing the jump to strong sales of diesel-powered models.
The national average diesel price has climbed to record highs (not adjusted for inflation) in recent days, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Report, and Friday was nearly even with the national average for regular gasoline
But Joyce Bowler is still comfortable with the family's choice of a diesel-powered motor home. "Honestly, it doesn't bother me," Bowler said. "It's still, in my opinion, the cheapest way to go. . . . It's a lot less than an airline ticket. For the form of entertainment that we are getting -- family togetherness -- it's worth every penny to me."
