GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - Add up airfare, a rental car and a hotel stay and your family vacation can put you back thousands of dollars. That's why many are hitting the pavement for quality family time.

Humphrey RV and Trailer has seen a 123 percent increase in sales this year and surprisingly, in a down economy, it's their best year yet.

"We just spent the last three days in Gateway," says Doug Miller, RV owner. An 'RV'er' for 10 years now, Miller and his wife love life on the road.

"We like the flexibility of being able to go to different places and have all the convenience of home," says Miller.

The Millers are regulars at Humphrey's, looking for parts to upgrade their RV. "I like to buy them and fix them up," he says.

Brad Humphrey, owner of Humphrey's RV and Trailer says repairs are up and more parts are being sold, but RV sales are bringing in the most money.

"Business this year has been fabulous! We've increased every year and I've kind of expected things to slow down this year, but we've probably tripled what we did last year at this same time," says Humphrey.

And that's saying a lot in a time like this, when you consider a brand new RV can put you back anywhere from $17,000 to $60,000.

"Well I thought it was going to slow down much more than it did. And I thought it was going to stay stagnant through this year," says Humphrey.

But Humphrey says families are discovering that an RV is an investment with a return.

"I think people are adjusting their thinking and doing smaller trips and more family stuff than doing an expensive trip to Europe," says Humphrey.

Humphrey says time on the road steers families closer together and his sales reflect that's what many people are searching for.

"It's about as much as we can handle right now. It's great," says Humphrey.

It's a product that's paying off for both the business and customer. "Oh yeah! Well worth it," says Miller.

Humphrey says they also offer a wide variety of used RVs for those who don't want to spend all that cash on a new one.