RV industry hopes for more Canadian road trippers amid tariff uncertainty

Canadian RV dealers say they are concerned about the threat of tariffs on their industry, but are cautiously optimistic that travellers may have a renewed interest in exploring Canada in a recreational vehicle.

The vast majority of RVs in Canada are produced in the U.S., mostly in and around Elkhart, Ind.

So far, the vehicles have been spared from the United States's 25 per cent auto tariffs and Canada's equivalent retaliatory ones, says Shane Devenish, the president of the Canadian Recreational Vehicle Association. But, he says, dealers have been stockpiling units just in case.

"[We've] certainly got our fingers crossed that we won't be hit.… It would tremendously affect our industry with these tariffs, if they come on," Devenish told Shelley Joyce, host of CBC's Daybreak Kamloops.

Devenish says he wishes more RVs were manufactured in Canada, but the answer is not that simple. 

"It's a competitive advantage that the U.S. has," he said. "Elkhart is what's called the RV capital of the world. They have a workforce, they have a supply chain. They have the manufacturers right within about a 150-mile radius."

Allison Blouin of Fraserway RV in Kamloops, B.C., agrees that the future is unclear. She notes that RVs in the U.S. and Canada use Canadian lumber and some Canadian steel, meaning U.S. manufacturers could be impacted too. 

"I don't know exactly where the price points will end up," she said.

Blouin adds that there is optimism in the industry as they've seen a rise in interest from Canadians looking to travel within their own country amid a trade war.

"The RV industry, I think, is going to be a beneficiary of that," she said.

"Our backyard is massive. We are anticipating people wanting to spend their money at home and wanting to support local communities, local businesses."

Blouin says her company, which also rents RVs, is doing a lot of business with travellers from Europe and the U.S. 

Devenish says he's hearing from Canadian RV owners who are looking to travel further afield in Canada.

"I was at a Moncton [N.B.] RV show a couple weeks ago and more people were talking to me about taking those longer trips that they haven't taken in the past," he said. "People want to enjoy Canada and take the RVs right across the country."