Another Large RV Dealer Gone

[JohnB]

I have been working in Richmond IN this year and if any one of you out there know Richmond IN, they know of 2 very large RV dealers there.

Tom Raper RV, A very big dealer….. and Best Buy RV.

Well Best Buy RV is no longer. They had a very large new showroom, 3 acres under one roof, a large parts repair center in Richmond and a very large repair center near Springfield Ohio. They went under about 3 to 4 weeks ago. I thought they just closed up the big show room but the entire place is closed in all locations.

They are now out of business and all TT, MH’s and fiver’s are gone….They where a very large dealership. Where did all those campers go?? Good question.

http://www.bestbuyrvs.com/ They even have a special message on there web site for service to there prior customers.

I stopped into Best Buy this summer, actually to look at trailer A frames on different brands, but you end up talking to a salesmen and soon more talk. They considered Richmond to be the RV sales capital of IN. While Tom Raper is still here and the small guy selling campers and modular homes, I do not know if that once proclaimed title is still valid.

I know the dealer I bought our new Sunline from in 2004 up in MI (Ferris RV in Cold Water MI) is no longer and it seems we are loosing both RV manufactures and dealers at an alarming pace this year.

Sign of the time it seems. How many of you good Sunline folks have had the dealer you bought your coach from go under?

John

[WandaLust]

Originally Posted by JohnB

Sign of the time it seems. How many of you good Sunline folks have had the dealer you bought your coach from go under?

John

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Oh that's a shame. I know they're laying off workers here in middle TN. I have a friend who worked for one who laid off some of their staff. She found another job closer to home.... and they laid her off after a few months. She decided to move to Fla to find work.

Since we bought ours used I have to say N/A. If we find the 1550 too small and decide on a larger TT, we'll buy used again. They're almost giving them away where we live. They're fully half the price people were asking a year ago.

[Indy-Jim]

John - It is surprising that Best Buy closed up since their new facility was just finished. We usually shop at Raper's when we are in Richmond, however, did go to BB a few times when they were still at I70 & SR27. Another announcement was just made a few days ago that the Fleetwood plant in Crawfordsville, Indiana laid off all their workers. I'm not sure if that is temporary or permanent.

It is interesting that you have been working in Richmond. That is our home away from home since we camp at Grandpa's Farm Campground which is 4 miles north of Richmond on SR227. It is a really neat and clean campground on a creek and the owners are really great. We have had a standing reservation for all summer Holiday weekends for about 15 years now. They have really great activities for adults and kids as well and all the campers are the most friendly folks you will find anywhere. Really a great place to camp.

Jim

[JohnB]

Wanda, yes it is hard to see other RV places go out of business and manufacures. About this time of year was when Sunline went out a few years ago. The forum just started that year and when the news came they went out, it really hit home to all of us hard.

Jim, I’ll have to check out that campground. I see the signs all the time just never made it up there yet. Are they year round? Best Buy, the end came quick when it came. The new showroom was up and going and then the gas price/RV slump hit. My work stint here started in the end of March and has not let up. I drive by the new showroom every day on the way to work and then all of a sudden all the RV’s disappeared and they moved them all up to the R27 location. Then a few weeks later, that place closed as well as well as the Springfield OH repair center…… What started as a month or 2 work thing has end up the rest of the year and will be into next. I think I just got 2 hours closer to your area. At work they keep joking me, why don’t I bring the camper over? Well I just might yet. Tom Raper is suppose to have a Hunter wheel alignment machine and I have a axle/tire wear problem I haven’t worked my way of yet. I’ll stop in and see if there machine will handle a TT or it is just MH’s.

If you get over camping this way, let me know.

John

[Indy-Jim]

Hi John - I sent you a PM on Wed (11/26/0 Morning about 10:30AM. If you don't get it, let me know. Subject is about the Richmond campground.
Jim

[Mooney]

Ack. I lost my original post....

Here we go again:

Unfortunately, just before so many of these places took out massive loans to do these renovations just before the economy tanked, that they cannot keep up with their notes, and bad things happen.

I don't know if that was the case in the dealer's downfall, but around here it's rearing its ugly toll too.

One case is the "Natick Collection", a mall who decided to partake in a massive renovation, which ended with the mall being 2.5 times its size. They added a huge addition with a 12-floor housing complex (prices from $380K UP) which they cannot unload the places in (who aside from teenagers would want to live at the mall anyway?).

link to housing:
http://www.nouvelleatnatick.com/

Now the place is facing bankruptcy because they need a BILLION dollars refinanced before December. Huh? A BILLION? That's too much debt, especially when a corner slot in the food court (occupied by a pizza franchise) brings in $22,000 PER month... and it's about 500 square feet.

link to news:
http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO94840/

How many more bad decisions can our country make with other peoples' money?

I know everyone carries debt, some more than others, but wow- that's a LOT of credit outlayed. I hope that the average business can hold its own, for I don't know what everyone else is doing, but we sure aren't spending much....

Good luck to us all....