I had to chuckle this morning when one of our more astute readers commenting on an article we had posted attempted to tie together two vastly different stories.

He suggested the 2007 Sunseeker RV stopped in Memphis Wednesday with 357 pounds of marijuana stuffed into the motorhome's cabinets was actually destined for RVIA headquarters in Reston, Va., where the staff there issued a report yesterday suggesting that RV financing really was available for creditworthy customers.

We have all come to expect a certain amount of spin from the staff of the RV Industry Association. After all, it is their job to paint the industry in a positive light and the industry pays them handsomely every year through Go RVing assessments to do just that.

But, there also comes a time when spin sounds silly. Remember Mohammad Saeed al-Sahhaf, Iraq's former information minister? Here's how USA Today described "Bagdad Bob" in an article appearing April 7, 2003:

The Iraqi information minister stands in front of the cameras, a grim smile on his face, a military beret on his head, and declares forcefully, "There are no American troops in Baghdad!" Meanwhile, black smoke rises in the distance behind him, weapons fire can be heard all around, and American tanks rumble down streets only yards away.

Pay no attention to those tanks, Mohammad Saeed al-Sahhaf may as well be saying. There are no invaders, no troops — only "liars."

"The infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gates of Baghdad," he said at one news conference. "We slaughtered them."

Who is this guy, and does he think he is fooling anybody?

Very possibly, he is, both in Iraq and in the wider Arab world, where he is seen as a media star and a heroic defender of Iraqi honor. To many in the Middle East, it doesn't matter that he is so wildly off the mark about the state of the conflict; the emotional power of his TV appearances counts far more than their accuracy.

"He makes everyone feel good even if we know it's all lies," says Dina Lahlou Ammouri, a Moroccan freelance journalist in Amman, Jordan. "He has this real charisma in the Arab world."

Elsewhere, Western military and diplomatic officials are shaking their heads and laughing contemptuously. In the Iraqi capital, the foreign news media, routinely incredulous at Sahhaf's bravado, have started calling him "Baghdad Bob." And not fondly.

The reality of our situation in the RV industry is that most RV dealers would prefer to take delivery of 357 pounds of marijuana than another new travel trailer or motorhome.

The reality is that financing is not available -- not at the retail level and not at the wholesale level. RV manufacturer Bigfoot shutdown yesterday because it could not get bank financing.  Yesterday, Dale Broome’s RV Center in Colorado announced it will shut its doors this month because owner Leeds Foyil said would-be customers can’t secure financing for purchases. In fact, he said only one in 25 customers interested in buying an RV can actually secure financing.

If financing was so readily available, why did Thor Industries, the largest RV manufacturer in the world, announce last week that it was re-launching Thor Credit to provide retail financing for customers of Thor dealers? If banks were doing their jobs, then manufacturers wouldn't need to step up to the plate to help consumers buy the products they make. 

Yet, here's how RVIA is spinning the situation:

"For the great majority of people who pay their bills on time and honor their loan commitments, there is money in the market to finance an RV according to our finance company members," said RVIA President Richard Coon. "The misconception that creditworthy customers can't finance an RV is simply not true."

Lyle Schaap of Schaap's RV Traveland, an RV dealership in Sioux Falls, S.D. echoed Coon's comments. "We do not have any difficulty securing financing for our customers as long as they have an adequate down payment and a good credit score," he said.

Therein lies the dillemma. What is a "good credit score" and what is an "adequate down payment." Surely someone with a 50 percent down payment and an 800 to 850 credit score should be able to secure financing. But, we reported last month in our October/November issue that 700 is now considered to be the upper limit for the SUBPRIME borrower.

So, there appears to be an impasse regarding the availability of financing. It is either available for creditworthy customers or it is not. I'll take the question to the front lines -- to the dealers themselves who are trying to finance RV purchases. I have posted a poll question on the homepage of our website, which can be accessed by clicking here. The poll is on the left side of the homepage. And the answers will be readily available to anyone.

But, I'd also appreciate some feedback on this blog. Can creditworthy customers get financing?  If so, what does it take?  If not, why not?

Someone has it wrong.  Is it the media reporting what dealers and manufacturers are offering as excuses for poor sales? Or is it the trade association which is also reporting what dealers are telling them?

As the black smoke of bankrupt companies rises in the distance and tanks of a recessionary market rumble down Main Street, there can only be one reality. The rest is spin.  Which way is the industry spinning?