An RV dealer that has been in Santa Rosa for more than 30 years is closing — another victim of a slowing economy, high gas prices and deflated housing market.

Santa Rosa RV Center is liquidating its remaining inventory and expects to close in 30 to 60 days, said longtime general manager Bill Moffet.

“It’s a very tough economic time,” Moffet said.

RV dealers are mired in their worst slump in more than three decades, Moffet said, and the toll is rising. In late February, Dan Gamel RV Center closed its Santa Rosa dealership, part of a plan to shutter half of its eight locations in California and Arizona.

The Santa Rosa RV closure will result in the layoffs of all 15 employees, and at Dan Gamel RV, as many as 40 jobs will be eliminated. Some Gamel employees will be offered positions at the company’s other dealerships.

Both dealers were losing money following a slowdown in sales that began about two years ago.

Like many businesses that once prospered with rising home prices, RV dealers are now struggling. Falling home prices and a credit crunch make it increasingly difficult to take out a second mortgage or home loan. Many customers used these loans to buy RVs and make other large purchases.

Gas and diesel prices, which have about doubled in five years, also are impacting sales, according to many dealers.

“With fuel costs what they are, people are looking at gas mileage,” said Ken Custer, sales manager for Hansel RV.

Sales of high-end and low-end models have been less impacted than mid-priced products, which have dried up, Custer said. People now are looking for deals in the lower-end or used market, and people wealthy enough to afford a $200,000 motorhome are often less impacted by an economic slowdown, he said.

Also, people are now looking at more fuel-efficient motorhomes such as the Winnebago View, which gets 20 miles per gallon.

Reed’s Trailer in Petaluma is still profitably selling towable RVs, which often cost less than motorhomes.

“The people who are buying RVs right now are the people who can afford it,” said owner Dan Reed. “The people who shouldn’t have been buying toys, who were relying on home equity, they aren’t buying toys anymore.”

The final blow for Santa Rosa RV came when the 32-year-old dealership lost its lease on Santa Rosa Avenue. Its owner, the Bonessa Brothers RV dealership in Gilroy, decided to shut down the business rather than reopen in a new location.

“In a different economic situation, we would make a move. We did it once before,” said Moffet, who has been general manager for 30 years. “But it would have been very expensive to move. And no one knows how long this downturn will last.”

The dealership, which sells towable trailers and campers, hopes to sell the bulk of its inventory. The rest will be sent to the Gilroy dealership.

“It’s a real sad situation for all of us,” Moffet said.

Tim Myers wants to keep the peace and quiet in his neighborhood…and keep recreational vehicles out.

“They’re not safe, traffic will increase, the noise, the road just isn’t wide enough and safe enough,” says Myers.

Myers and more than 300 of his neighbors are upset about a local developer’s plan to build a six-acre RV park on Wilde Lake Boulevard in the Pine Forest community. Escambia County officials have approved the proposal, but Myers and his friends says they’ll fight the issue for as long as it takes.

“We want the developer to not just band-aid the situation as far as the roads go,” says Myers. “It needs to be widened and we also hope the park won’t bring down our property values. There’s a chance that could happen later down the road, especially if the RV park becomes a homestead park.”

Developer Wyndell Williams did not return our phone calls. Meanwhile, the Escambia County Board of Adjustments will listen to Myers and his neighbors as they appeal the decision to approve the Recreational Vehicle park. The meeting will be held Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. at the old Escambia County Courthouse in downtown Pensacola.

The 28th annual Spring RV Show, featuring hundreds of recreational vehicles, will be March 27-30 at Cal Expo in Sacramento.

The show, produced by Sacramento-based Recreation Enterprises, will feature 25 Northern California dealers showing off the latest in their RV lineups on more than 1 million square feet of space at 1600 Exposition Blvd.

More than 600 used RVs will be on-site.

The event also will include live entertainment and numerous RV-related seminars, booths and accessories.

For more information, call Recreation Enterprises at (800) 782-7469 or visit the show’s Web site at www.rvshow.com.

Free shop service for some

A Sacramento body shop is launching a program to provide free quarterly service to needy motorists in the Sacramento metropolitan area.

Franklin Auto Body Inc., 6448 Franklin Blvd., said it will do body repairs and painting and provide a warranty to persons who have “a true need to get their vehicle repaired and (who) may not have the means to do so.”

The business said there will be no charge for services performed on the car of a person chosen every three months. Shop workers will make arrangements to transport selected vehicles to Franklin Auto Body and then back to their owners.

Shop spokesman Brian McKinney said the business is seeking requests for service from the public. He said requests should “include a brief explanation as to why a person feels they should be chosen, their story … and pictures of their vehicle.”

Requests can be mailed to the shop with a 95823 ZIP code. They also can be sent online at www.franklinautobodyinc.com via a link.

For more details, call Franklin Auto Body at (916) 395-2500.

Goodguys get set to gather

The Goodguys Rod & Custom Association’s 26th annual All American Get-Together, featuring more than 3,000 American-made motor vehicles on display and a swap meet, will be March 29-30 at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.

Vehicles scheduled to be on the grounds include rods, customs, classics, muscle cars, street machines, trucks and specialty cars. Autos will be displayed indoors and outdoors.

This year’s event also includes a cars-for-sale corral, commercial exhibits, vendors, an arts-and-crafts show, a model-car exhibit, a pedal-car show and various activities for children.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 29 and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 30. General admission is $15 and $6 for ages 7 to 12. There is no charge for children ages 6 and under. There is an $8 fee to park.

For more details, visit www.good-guys.com or call (925) 838-9876. Registration forms can be downloaded from the Web site. Online registration is available through March 14.

Cheryl Hines (left to right), Josh Hutcherson, Joanna “JoJo” Levesque and Robin Williams appear in a scene from “RV.”

Movies and Moonbeams returns to Riverview Park on Friday for the outdoor screening of “RV,” a 2006 film featuring Robin Williams.

Williams plays a stressed-out executive, Bob Munro, who has promised his family a luxurious vacation in Hawaii. But when Bob’s boss pushes him to work instead, Bob tricks his family into renting an RV and taking a road trip through the Rocky Mountains.

His wife, Jamie, and two children, Cassie and Carl, are hesitant about the plans, but are hardly prepared for the adventures in store. After many accidents, the rookie campers are befriended by the Gornicke family. Although they seem a bit strange, the Gornickes help the Munro family realize their forgotten family bond.

Movies and Moonbeams is presented by the Robinson Film Center, Shreveport Parks and Recreation and Shreveport Green. People are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets to make their viewing more comfortable.

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