Another victim of the high cost of gas: the dwindling market for RVs

Ever since my father-in-law unexpectedly passed away, my mother-in-law has been the frustrated owner of a motor home -- a giant, beautiful house on wheels -- in the parking lot of a used car dealer.

My mother-in-law never drove it, hardly was a passenger in it since my father-in-law purchased it about a year before he died, and she didn't see a lot of wisdom in paying monthly payments on an RV she would never use. So naturally, after the shock of her husband's death started to recede, she placed an ad for her motor home. A few months later, she worked out this thing with some friends of hers who own this car lot. The dealership didn't buy the recreational vehicle from her, but they will sell it for her. If there's ever an interested buyer.

That arrangement was made about three years ago, and it's still in the parking lot. Something tells me that it will still be in the parking lot come this Labor Day. Something tells me, in fact, that she'll have it paid off, long before she ever sells it.

This article that ran in Newsday earlier this week just cemented my viewpoint even further. According to Newsday, and this is no shock, the price of gas has been affecting sales of motor homes. Last year, 353,400 motor homes were manufactured, a 9.5 percent decrease from 2006.