Local RV dealer experiencing big bump in sales

FMB Trailer Sales up 25 percent in May, owner says

HOLMEN, Wis, (WKBT) – Folks are running out of vacation spots this summer.

With public swimming pools are closed and limited travel, many people are turning to RVs as the new getaway.

It’s been a long time since Finn Johnson and his wife have gone camping together.

“We had sold our old camper about 30 years ago,” Johnson said.

But it looks like they’re both getting back into one of their favorite hobbies.

“Now that we’re retired, it’s funny that she came up with the idea of ‘let’s get a camper,'” Johnson said.

They looked at several marketplaces for used campers, but had no luck.

“We called FMB (Trailer Sales) and asked if they had any is the size range that we wanted, and they did,” Johnson said.

It turns out FMB Trailer Sales in Holmen is not just pulling in returning campers.

“Lot of new customers,” owner Dan Howe said. “You know, the nice dates have a lot of nice campgrounds and parks to visit. And now that they’re starting to open up, little by little, customers still want to get out and do stuff.”

Howe says sales in April dropped 49 percent from last year.

“And that’s our peak season for sales,” Howe said.

But the RV dealer is up 25 percent in sales this month alone.

“Hopefully, the way it looks is it will continue into to June from all indications,” Howe said. “We are still getting a lot of people inquiring. We’re still moving a lot of trailers…I do expect a little shortage of a few units.”

Johnson says he’s ready to roll for the summer.

“This’ll be an escape from home, even though we do enjoy our home,” Johnson said. “We would be less inclined during the pandemic to go places where there’s a lot of people. And with a camper, we can pretty much go wherever we want to, as long as there’s a place to park it.”

Howe says bunkhouse RVs are the biggest sellers right now. More than usual have been sold in the past month.

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