Local RV manufacturer tells dealers nationwide not to worry

BY CHRIS CASQUEJO, WSBT-TV

Tools

RV dealerships meet at Forest River in Elkhart

More than 700 people representing 350 RV dealerships across the country and even Australia met at Forest River RV in Elkhart on October 22-23 to discuss the state of the industry. (WSBT photo)

By WSBT News1

Story Created: Oct 22, 2008 at 4:37 PM EST

Story Updated: Oct 28, 2008 at 10:55 PM EST

ELKHART COUNTY — Despite thousands of layoffs in the RV industry and struggling sales, a local company is telling its dealers not to worry.

Multimedia

Watch The Video

Forest River RV has 4,500 workers in Elkhart County alone. More than 700 people representing 350 dealerships from all over the U.S. and as far away as Australia are meeting Wednesday and Thursday.

Coula Ringgold and her grandson came all the way from California. She's sold RVs for more than 20 years. The banking crisis has hit her dealership hard. She believes people still want to buy RVs, but just can't right now.

“People need that getaway. They need to be able to go and camp with their families. And do some activities that aren’t just at computers,” she said.

But as the RV industry goes, so goes Elkhart County. Thousands of people have been laid off. But Forest River leaders are confident they can weather the economic downturn.

“It’s always going to be the RV capital, because of the suppliers, the skilled laborers we have here and the ingenuity that’s here. I don‘t think that will ever change,” said Forest River’s Don Gunden.

Vicky Rokas owns an RV dealership outside Detroit. For her, selling someone a $25,000 RV is a challenge, but only because loans are tight right now.

“It is the stuff that people want. Some campers, they want that Mercedes Benz in an RV. And I would consider Rockwood that and that’s how we’ve pitched the Rockwood brand,” Rokas said.

Those hundreds of people from out of town all need places to stay. Forest River has booked 7 Mishawaka hotels completely for Wednesday and Thursday nights.

More Good Stuff

WSBT Weather

Current Temp 45.9

More Weather

WSBT Weather

More Weather

On Demand

iPhone
Get the WSBT News and Irish Sports Report apps for your iPhone! Read more »
On DVD
Order a DVD of a WSBT news story! Read more »
Twitter
Follow us on Twitter! Read more »
Facebook
Connect with us on Facebook! Read more »
WSBT E-News
Daily StormTracker e-mails right to your Inbox! Read more »
Video On Demand
Miss a story on WSBT News? Watch it here! Read more »
CBS Shows
Watch CBS shows and news online, free! Read more »
WSBT Alert
Breaking News & Weather right to your cell phone! Read more »
Mobile
WSBT News on the go for your cell phone or PDA. Read more »
RSS Feeds
Get news and updates as soon as they're published. Read more »

Stock Quotes

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.