MONROE — After perusing a long line of RVs at the Evergreen State RV Show, Scott Johnston knows it’s a good time to buy.

“These prices are great, they’re fantastic,” the Everett man said Thursday.

He won’t be buying — at least not right now.

And that’s the problem.

The crummy economy is throwing one gigantic nail under the tire of local recreational vehicle dealers.

Forget profit: Organizers of the show in Monroe are happy just to keep the doors open during a time when many are thinking about jobs, not vacations.

“It’s been a pretty doggone tough year,” said Jim Ashe, a spokesman for organizer Westlake Promotions.

Organizers considered canceling the show much like organizers of the annual boat show in Snohomish County did last month. But Ashe said they kept it going for the sake of local dealers. They’ll be pleased to get half the foot traffic they did last year.

RV shows in Canton, Ohio, and Boston were canceled, and President Barack Obama campaigned for the stimulus package this week using as a backdrop Elkhart, Ind., where most of the nation’s RVs are manufactured. Seattle’s RV and Outdoor Recreation Show, held last week, had about a third less attendance, Ashe said.

The four-day event at the fair grounds runs through Sunday and features every major dealer in the county. The show includes acres of gleaming fifth wheels, campers and trailers.

All that’s missing is the buyers.

The first day of the show isn’t usually heavy on foot traffic, but Thursday’s opening was downright dismal. About a dozen cars were parked in the massive fairgrounds parking lot. In the first few hours, the salesmen outnumbered the customers.

Several dealers closed in Snohomish County last year. Nationwide, shipments of RVs through November were down about 30 percent from 2007, according to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. An analyst for the association blamed tighter credit and a crisis in consumer confidence, among other factors.

The silver lining for buyers is deep discounts, low interest rates and salespeople ready to negotiate.

At the show in Monroe, many of the rigs on display had their prices slashed — sometimes as much as 40 percent off the original sticker prices. Dealers brought more used and lower-priced rigs, as well as pop-up campers. Promotional materials emphasized the ease and cost savings of traveling by RV.

Dealers at the show were buzzing about improved financing for buyers. In the last six months, credit was hard to come by for buyers. Banks only seemed willing to lend money to people who didn’t need it, said Garry Morris, a representative of Roy Robinson, a Marysville auto and RV dealership.

“In the last week (financing) has cracked open a little bit,” Morris said.

Last week at the Seattle RV show, banks financed three deals Morris thought were on the edge of qualifying. He wants buyers to know it’s their market and financing is available for those with decent credit.

The shows are an important moneymaker for dealers, who garner sales at the show and sometimes months later from customers who see something they like. Roy Robinson gets about 20 percent of its sales from shows, Morris said.

A segment of buyers that can afford to buy regardless, and dealers brought some rigs fit for a rock star.

Take a peek in the Escalade, a fifth-wheel trailer loaded with an electric fireplace, king-size bed and even a garage for two motorcycles. This was one was priced at $85,500 — $31,000 less than the original price. Brothers Pat and Kevin Keppel, owners of 5th Wheel Place RV Center in Everett, sold four of these rigs at the Seattle RV show last week. That’s a good showing in this economy.

“People are buying, they’re just being more cautious,” Kevin Keppel said.

He’s noticed their buyers tend to be people who do their homework before making a purchase. The people who are buying know to take advantage of aggressive pricing by dealers.

“These people know these prices are more than an RV show deal,” he said.

Morris has been selling RVs for 30 years. He’s weathered the oil embargoes in the ’70s, the exorbitant interest rates of the ’80s and a cruddy economy in the early ’90s.

The industry survived that turmoil and it will survive this.

“This is a lifestyle,” he said. “People aren’t going to give that up.”

Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.