1,400 Hoosiers gather for 14th annual RV Power Breakfast in Elkhart
ELKHART, Ind. -- More than a thousand people gathered in Elkhart Thursday morning for the 14th annual RV Power Breakfast.
The Northern Indiana Event Center in Elkhart was full of some of the biggest names in the RV industry Thursday morning. They all came together to talk about the industry and how to continue to grow it. They weren't there just because they enjoy RVs for vacation, but because Elkhart, Indiana is the RV capital of the world, producing more than 80% of all RVs in the country.
According to event coordinator and producer, BJ Thompson, the annual event and the industry as a whole can only go up from here.
"We have a gathering of approximately 14 hundred, 1,400 people. We've grown over the 14 years of doing this," Thompson shared.
As industry leaders look to the future, they're celebrating a new state law allowing more flexibility in how companies transport RV chassis. Senate bill 13 was co-authored by State Senators Blake Doriot of Goshen and Linda Rogers of Granger. It allows mid-size and one-ton pickup trucks to tow RV chassis for manufacturing purposes for distances less than 40 miles.
"The legislators, they heard the industry and said, 'we don't need this. It's not helping anybody. It's not hurting anybody but it's hurting us.' So, they heard that and they got rid of that obstacle, that restriction. This freed us up in the industry to do some business a little bit easier and to relieve us of some costs and some trouble. So, it was very helpful," explained Thompson.
Governor Mike Braun signed the bill at Thursday morning's breakfast. It goes into effect July 1.
"When it comes to something technical like 13 where it was just common sense, I say give me more of that. If our state is doing something that doesn't make sense, we will fix it. Either do it through an executive order or I'll make sure the legislators do," said Braun.
Attendees told ABC57 they're already gearing up for the 15th annual RV Power Breakfast in 2027.