General RV Offers Comfy Look At Recreation

Camping isn’t just about pitching a tent for Chris Johnson.

“It’s not camping, we have all the amenities,” the Morton Grove resident said as she strolled around General RV in Huntley this week.

The Johnson family uses their trailer to go on vacation or just for a weekend getaway. Chris Johnson has been camping since she was 3 years old, and her daughters love it just as much as she does.

She and her family represent a growing market for RV dealerships. While baby boomers continue to be a strong segment of the market, young families are taking a different look at the RV lifestyle, said Dennis Anderson, General RV marketing manager.

“I really try to stress this isn’t camping, this is a different type of recreation,” Anderson said.

People tell Anderson that RV sales must be down, but he said it is the opposite. The market is opening up more to young families who are fueling the industry, he said.

“People who have kids are looking at an affordable way to take the family on vacation,” Anderson said.

Affordability

Salesman Mike LeJeune sat in his cubicle during General RV’s opening day, just before showing a woman and her three children a hybrid trailer.

“General RV has the broadest price range of any dealership in the country. We have pop-up (trailers for) under $5,000 and our price range goes up to $400,000,” LeJeune said.

“First-timers come out here and they’ve camped a little bit but want to get into a pop-up. A pop-up is a great transition from a tent,” he said.

The dealership, at Route 47 and Interstate 90, has more than 20 manufacturers to choose from, LeJeune said.

Even LeJeune is “blown away” at what General RV offers.

The products range from beginner pop-ups to luxury motor homes.

A pop-up is a trailer with hard sides and a cover that pops up to create the effect of a tent, only it is much more comfortable.

Anderson walked through the General RV sales floor this week, stopping at a pop-up on sale. It sleeps six with a small stove, table and two sleeping areas. For a down payment of $1,200, a buyer would pay $200 a month for the vehicle, he said.

A hybrid trailer is a little bigger and has a kitchenette, along with a toilet and air conditioning, he said. It is one of the most popular type of RVs that the dealership sells, he said. General RV has one for $12,999.

Anderson said it’s a whole new way for families to vacation.

His own family has gone on vacation and always finds a place to park their trailer. Most major amusement parks have some type of facility or a facility close by for RVs, Anderson said. There are also some RV resorts, he said.

Even Las Vegas has places to park an RV, and most hotels there allow you to use the parking lot overnight, he said.

The Products

There are different types of RVs, from hybrid pop-up to hard surface trailers to a “fifth wheel” trailer to motor homes.

The fifth wheel comes complete with a television set, kitchen and screened porch. It sleeps 10, has its own bathroom and can carry 100 gallons of water. This trailer, on sale for $59,999, can haul a motorcycle or small vehicle, Anderson said.

“The idea with this is you can park it in a desert and stay a week and be completely self-sufficient,” he said.

Most trailers can be pulled by a sport utility vehicle or minivan, but the fifth-wheel trailer requires a pickup truck, he said. Driving with the trailer is not that hard, he said.

“You are aware it’s there and you drive accordingly,” Anderson said.

Even a motor home is easier to drive than you’d think, he said, adding “they are much easier than driving a school bus.” Many models have rear view cameras, extra mirrors and other features that help drivers navigate the roads.

General RV also provides training to learn how to drive with a trailer or how to drive a motor home, he said.

And the ultimate in RV luxury: a Fleetwood. There are lots of models but one General RV has is a diesel with its own master suite, a walk-in closet, washer/dryer, bathroom, dishwasher, wood finishes and ceramic floors.

“You can use this as a second home,” Anderson said.

A Fleetwood costs as much as a house at $300,000 and it can be financed like one with interest rates at about 6 percent, he said.

General RV also has other amentias to add to an RV that will make it family-friendly, like a satellite for Internet access.

“You are not leaving any of your comforts of home,” he said.

Chris Johnson has a satellite for the TV in her RV trailer along with satellite radio. She loved the extras General RV sells. And she was planning to take a look at the motor homes. Someday she plans to transition into one.

“My next thing when my kids go to college is a big RV,” she said. “I want to travel across the county with it.”