For RVs, Gas Prices A Mixed Bag

Recreational Vehicles Sales Strong, But Filling Up Can Exceed $250

(CBS)  You think you've got a little pain at the pump? Try filling up a 100-gallon tank in an RV at $2.50, $2.60, $2.70 a gallon. You need a second mortgage just to take a summer vacation.

So trouble for the RV business? Depends on who you talk to, CBS News Correspondent Jim Axelrod says from Elkhart, Ind.

They couldn't be happier in the recreational vehicle business.

They being the people who make RVs. Sales last year were the best in more than a quarter-century. Record-high gas prices? What record-high gas prices?

"We see almost no effect of gas prices on the sales of RVs as amazing as that is," David Humphreys of the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association says.

Well, that depends on the definition of "no effect." Yes, sales are still strong this year, but down 8 percent from a year ago.

"That's not making me too happy," RV owner Gary May says upon seeing the price for filling his vehicle.

Which would make sense to May. He sold his house in Michigan four years ago to drive the country in an RV.

"We got it for 99 cents," May tells Axelrod of the cost of gas when he first bought his RV.

He and his wife, Janice, love the freedom, the convenience and believe it or not, they even love sharing the space with five kids. But, they hate the 100-gallon tank.

"I don't need to see that bad news," May quips as he declines to take the receipt for his gas purchase.

So it could easily cost more than $250 to fill up one of those monsters. As for this "mom in a mini-van," Axelrod says, I just paid $45. $2.77 a gallon here in Indiana brings our grand total on this trip to $145. Still, a fraction of what it would cost an RV to do the same thing.

"You take a heart pill every time you fill up your tank with gas because it's such a shock to you," RV owner Sue Lantzer says.

Ask around this RV park in Elkhart and you'll hear real concern that the leisurely hands of cards and relaxed afternoons of knitting are threatened by high-priced gas.

"I think it's going to come to an end for a lot of people. Too expensive," says camper Gene Johnson.

Maybe. Or perhaps it hasn't reached the point of "either/or." And there will still be plenty of people buying what RV-makers are selling.

"You can cut back. You can use coupons at the grocery store. You can cut back on other things, but sometimes it's important to get away," explains RV owner Linda Klusendorf.

At this point, though, no one can dispute the growing popularity of this $14 billion business. Last year, e-Bay says its most popular search term was RV.