RV Industry Deemed Essential Amid Pandemic
The RV industry, at least in Indiana, has been deemed essential according to the RV Industry Association even as manufacturing plants are temporarily closing.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb issued a stay-at-home order that requires all non-essential businesses to send employees home for at least two weeks starting March 25, but the RVIA says RV manufacturing was considered an exception.
“Based on the information RV Industry Association has received from Indiana state officials, RV manufacturing qualifies as an essential business in the state of Indiana under Governor Eric Holcomb’s March 23 Executive Order,” the RVIA said in a statement.
The RV industry was deemed essential because it is important to medical and government workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Recreational vehicles can serve a litany of functions; they can be used, for example, as mobile testing facilities, command centers, staging units, sleeping units, and laundry facilities, among other things.
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Indiana’s RV industry is one step ahead of Canada’s, which has been advocating to the Canadian government that RV manufacturers, suppliers, dealers, service centers, and private parks and campgrounds should all be deemed essential services.
The Canadian RV Association, Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association of Canada, and the Canadian and RV Council argue that RVs are uniquely able to meet “critical needs in an expedited timeframe for emergency crisis management…provided that a steady stream of production remains.”
Additionally, in a pandemic wherein people are being advised to stay isolated and practice social distancing, living in an RV has extra appeal — but less so if parks and campgrounds are closed down.
“Many RV parks and campgrounds also provide critical propane gas, electrical and essential business services for their community,” added Robert Trask, chairman of the CCRVC. “For these reasons, RV parks and campgrounds must be allowed to stay open to meet these serious needs as long as they are following all appropriate guidelines and there’s no threat to the health and safety of visitors, employees, and natural resources.”
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Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.