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.

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