RVers Roll Into Quartzsite As the RV Show Begins

RVers from Canada, enjoying a favorable exchange rate due to the falling value of the US Dolar, have flocked to Arazona. Bob Billing from Beiseker Alberta, Canada spent a month in Yuma before coming to Quartzsite and reports fewer Americans there this year and the same for Quartzsite. Norm Rieger the campground host at Hi Jolly, the free 14 day BLM boondocking campground on the outskirts of Quartzsite, reports that the RV population in all the BLM areas from Yuma to Quartzsite is down quite a bit this year. He told me that prior to the Quartzsite RV show his campground (normally packed like sardines) was down to only 50 units. On Friday afternoon, the day before the RV show began, I noticed that the campground began filling up. I interviewed many vendors at Rice Ranch (located just across the highway from the big tent where the large shows are held) and they reported that this is the slowest year in memory. Many vendors are going broke and may not be back next year. Gordon Ickerman, manager of the Rice Ranch vendors and campground for the past 21 years, told me that RV attendance at Quartzsite is down over 50% this year. His RV park was not even close to being full on Friday afternoon. I spoke with a Beaudry RV salesman and he said sales were soft and very few people were shopping for RVs this year. Here I am with Mary Lindsey an ice-cream vendor at Rice Ranch. Her and her husband Jake report that sales have been way down. Overnight, it seems, RVers began rolling into the area and the opening day of the RV show was packed.Traffic jams near the big tent parking area were just as bad as years past. The big tent seemed to be crowded with people. I’ll need to check back with some of the vendors at the end of the week to see if attendance was good or whether this was just a first day spike. I have a notebook full of new products and ideas from the Quartzsite RV show, so stay tuned as I cover these stories in the days ahead. On the road somewhere in Arizona - Jim Twamley, Professor of RVing