RV News Podcast: Tampa Debrief and Sale Rumors

Hey everybody, welcome to the RV Podcast News Edition for Monday, January 19, 2026. I’m Mike Wendland.

This is where we cut through the noise and bring you what’s really happening right now in the RV lifestyle and the RV industry. Five stories this week, and taken together they paint a clear picture.

The RV world is not just changing. It is restructuring.

Let’s get started.

STORY 1. TAMPA SUPERSHOW AND THE MEGA-DEALERS GET EVEN BIGGER

The Florida RV SuperShow wrapped up this weekend in Tampa, and once again it was the Super Bowl of RVing. Huge crowds, massive inventory, and a lot of signals about where the industry thinks things are headed.

One number really stood out.

Lazydays RV, now operating as Lazydays RV powered by Campers Inn, announced it brought more than 450 RVs to the show. Four hundred and fifty units on the grounds. There were over 1,300 new models here. That means Lazydays, if it really bought that many uits - I didnt count them - accounted for a third of the total new units on display.

That is more than confidence. That is making a statement and claiming market power.

It highlights how the biggest RV chains keep getting bigger. Camping World, General RV, Blue Compass, and Campers Inn have all been aggressively buying up smaller dealerships across the country.

In many markets, those big names now sit next to each other, or even across the street from one another.

That kind of saturation creates brutal competition and raises a serious question. How many stores can a market really support?

What we kept hearing in Tampa is that 2026 may be the year underperforming locations start quietly closing.

We already saw a preview late in 2025 when Camping World abruptly shut down its store in Escanaba, Michigan.

For shoppers, this environment cuts both ways. There is more inventory and more choice, but dealers are under pressure to move aging stock. That pressure can work in your favor, if you negotiate wisely.

STORY 2. INFLUENCER FATIGUE. THE MARKETING MODEL IS BREAKING DOWN

Another major theme at the Tampa show had nothing to do with floorplans.

Influencer fatigue.

By our count, there are now at least 500 so-called RV influencers. Probably more. Anyone with a cellphone camera can claim the title, and many have.

For years, manufacturers poured money, free gear, and perks into this system.

But saturation has changed everything.

Behind the scenes, RV manufacturers and marketing teams are saying the influencer model no longer delivers like it once did. They report being flooded with demands for free RVs, guaranteed commissions, and paid travel just to show up.

There are clear signs of a pullback.

Winnebago has ended relationships with some influencers. Keystone RV has done the same.

The issue is trust. When every product is “the best ever,” audiences stop believing any of it.

I overheard it firsthand in Tampa. Outside the influencer building, one man said, “I’d be an influencer too if they gave me free stuff. But since that hasn’t happened, I don’t trust what any of them say. Free stuff and money can buy anything.”

That comment captures the problem perfectly.

STORY 3. TARIFFS ARE HAMMERING MANUFACTURERS, AND ROADTREK MAY BE THE HARDEST HIT

Another major topic of quiet but intense conversation at the SuperShow was tariffs and the damage they are doing to certain RV manufacturers.

Start with Europe.

The Italian manufacturer Wingamm has been trying to bring compact Class B style motorhomes into the U.S. market for at least the last four years. At one point, the tariff hit on a Wingamm imported from Italy was estimated at roughly $70,000.

That nearly killed the effort.

The tariff has since been restructured into a fixed import fee announced in mid-2025, about $9,500 on the Oasi 540.1 and roughly $11,100 on other models. Even so, Wingamm has now turned to crowdfunding to help finance its U.S. market entry.

Canada is being hit even harder.

Many popular Class B vans sold in the U.S. are built in Canada. Tariffs stack up at every step.

A prime example is Leisure Travel Vans.

Their Unity models use Mercedes Sprinter chassis and major components built in Germany, shipped to Canada, assembled there, and then exported to the United States. Tariffs apply to the chassis, the imported parts, and the finished vehicle.

Industry sources say tariffs alone are adding at least $20,000 to the price of a Leisure Travel Vans motorhome. The new Mercedes Benz model that introduced at the show last week was sticker shock on steroids. It’s show price was $272,000. For a B + van. Over a quarter of a million dollars! Yikes. 

And then there’s Class B campervan maker Roadtrek, made in Ontario.

Roadtrek’s situation may be the most severe.

The company has struggled since 2019, following a massive financial scandal involving its previous owners that ended in bankruptcy. Roadtrek is currently owned by a French RV company that took control as part of that restructuring.

Since then, Roadtrek has faced repeated Mercedes Sprinter chassis shortages, production disruptions, a weak market, and the loss of key personnel.

Most recently, Roadtrek lost its longtime National Sales Manager, Mike Williams, widely known across the industry and to customers as “Canada Mike.” He has now joined Sunshine State RVs in Gainesville, Florida, where some are already calling him “Florida Mike.”

That is a significant loss of leadership and visibility for the brand.

At Tampa, the buzz was everywhere. Roadtrek is struggling badly, and many insiders believe the company may be for sale again. Nothing official, but the talk was constant and came from dealers, current employees,  and industry veterans.

Tariffs are a huge reason for all of this pressure.

STORY 4. MORE CONSOLIDATION, MIDWEST AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN LIKELY TO BE SOLD

And speaking of major brands being in play, we’re hearing strong indications of another significant acquisition.

Multiple sources tell us that Midwest Automotive Design, a high-end builder of luxury Class B motorhomes on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter platform, is about to be sold.

The buyer, according to what we’re hearing, is Alliance RV.

Alliance RV was founded in 2019 by industry veterans Ryan and Coley Brady and is best known for its Paradigm line of luxury fifth wheels. The company has built a reputation for high-quality construction and strong customer loyalty.

Midwest Automotive Design is a powerhouse in the luxury van segment. It is known for models like the Passage and Luxe Cruiser and has also built private-label vans for Ultimate Toys, Chinook, Holiday Rambler, Fleetwood, and American Coach under the REV Group umbrella.

This is not a small boutique operation.

If confirmed, this move would signal Alliance’s expansion beyond towables into the premium motorized market.

It reinforces the larger pattern. The RV industry is entering a major consolidation phase, with strong operators positioning themselves to acquire respected niche brands as costs rise and margins tighten.

STORY 5. ZION NATIONAL PARK WILL RESTRICT LARGE RVS ON A KEY ROUTE

Now an important heads-up for anyone planning a Southwest RV trip.

Zion National Park has announced a major change taking effect June 7, 2026.

Large vehicles will no longer be allowed to travel through the Zion–Mount Carmel Highway, including the famous tunnel.

Vehicles longer than about thirty-five feet, wider than seven feet ten inches, taller than eleven feet four inches, or weighing more than fifty thousand pounds will be prohibited. The long-standing escort system for oversized vehicles is being eliminated.

The Park Service says the road was never designed for modern RVs and that safety concerns drove the decision.

You can still visit Zion, but many large motorhomes and fifth wheels will need alternate routes or off-site parking.

This is a major planning issue for RVers heading west.

BONUS STORY. HONDA OFFICIALLY ENTERS THE RV SPACE WITH A LIGHTWEIGHT TRAILER

And here’s one of those moments when we get to say, we told you so. This is a BONUS STORY THIS WEEK.

Two episodes ago, we reported that Honda was quietly working on something big in the RV space. Now it’s official.

Honda has unveiled the Base Station Prototype, an all-new lightweight travel trailer designed by Honda engineers at the company’s U.S. research and development centers in Los Angeles and Ohio.

This is not a rebadged camper. Honda says the Base Station Prototype brings segment-first innovations that only Honda can deliver.

The stated goal is to “democratize outdoor adventures.” In plain English, make RVing accessible to more people.

Honda designed the Base Station to be towed by many of the most popular vehicles in America, including crossovers like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, as well as electric vehicles such as the Honda Prologue and Honda’s upcoming 0-Series SUV.

That is a major shift.

Most lightweight trailers still require full-size trucks or large SUVs. Honda is aiming directly at the millions of households that already own smaller vehicles and have been priced out of RV ownership.

Honda also says the Base Station will remain competitively priced in the lightweight travel trailer segment, signaling this is not just a concept vehicle but a serious market entry.

If Honda follows through, this could reshape the entry-level RV market in a very big way.

And as soon as we can see one in person, you know we’ll bring you a full report.

CLOSING

Alright. That’s this week’s RV News Edition of the RV Podcast. 

For links, documents, and deeper background on every story we covered today, be sure to ch...