Another recreational vehicle dealership has announced that it is going out of business.
Nu Star RV Center at 2500 Mine Shaft Lane – along Folsom Boulevard, just north of the Rancho Cordova boundary and west of the Hazel Avenue exit off Highway 50 – said an inventory-liquidation sale starting today will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily through Sept. 1.
Discounted recreational vehicles include motor homes and travel trailers. Nu Star has specialized in RVs produced by Gulf Stream Coach of Nappanee, Ind.
Nu Star officials did not return calls seeking comment.
Nu Star's announcement of imminent closure is the third made by an area RV dealership in the past few weeks.
Last month, San Diego-based La Mesa RV Center began liquidating its inventory at its Davis outlet. The store is set to close later this year.
In late June, Dan Gamel, a Fresno-based RV dealer, began selling his $40 million inventory in advance of closing all six of his California stores, including his site in Rocklin.
La Mesa officials blamed "the continued economic downturn that has been prompted by the ongoing mortgage and financial crisis as well as the increase in gasoline and diesel prices."
Many of the same economic factors plaguing RV dealerships have prompted a half-dozen area car dealerships to close this year.
Bill Lawrence, owner of RV Travel World of Sacramento and a 30-year veteran of the recreational vehicle business, said he believes the RV industry is sorting itself out – and not for the first time.
"I remember when there was no fuel available (in the late 1970s), and that was beyond the pale," Lawrence said. "We were losing dealers in droves and a lot of manufacturers. But the overwhelming demand for the RV lifestyle and camping prevailed again.
"I think what's going on now is like anything else. It's a setback in the natural order of things. We've had too many manufacturers and too many dealers, more than the market could bear."
Call The Bee's Mark Glover, (916) 321-1184.
