POULSBO — Poulsbo RV may return to its namesake city.

That RV show it is presenting on Sept. 11-27 on its vacant Viking Avenue lot is a test, Poulsbo RV Auburn manager Randy Edwards told the Herald on Sept. 4. If it looks like there’s enough consumer support for an RV dealership in Poulsbo, the ultimate vacation vehicle could once again be a daily presence on the thoroughfare.

Mayor Becky Erickson is excited by the prospect of Poulsbo RV’s return.

“I think it’s a big deal for everyone involved,” she said Sept. 8, as she visited the lot. “People see the advertisements and they come to Poulsbo and [Poulsbo RV] is not here. So, it’s a big deal for Poulsbo RV, a big deal to Viking Avenue and Poulsbo, and we’re ready to help them anyway we can.”

Poulsbo RV was part of Viking Avenue’s Auto Row glory days, occupying sites on both sides of the thoroughfare until the economy tanked. Poulsbo RV closed here in 2008 (it has locations in Auburn, Everett, Fife, Kent, and Mount Vernon), and within three years Courtesy Ford and its associated dealerships also closed.

In 2010, the city received $296,860 as its share of sales tax revenue generated by Viking Avenue businesses — down from $633,091 in 2007, a reflection of the departure of Poulsbo RV and all dealerships save Courtesy Ford, which closed in 2011. Traffic on Viking Avenue declined from as many as 22,000 cars a day during the Auto Row heyday, to 12,724 a day, Poulsbo City Councilman Ed Stern said in 2011.

Large swaths of empty buildings and asphalt remained, sad reminders of the Auto Row’s reign of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.

Then, as the economy turned around, things started to happen. Poulsbo RV sold its larger site at Viking Avenue and Liberty Road to North Kitsap Fishline in 2013, and Fishline has plans to build a new, larger food bank and warehouse on the property; the existing building will house expanded public services.

In April 2014, Hudson Auto Center moved into the former Courtesy Ford building, which had been purchased earlier that year by the owners of American Building and Roofing. ABRA Auto Body and Glass moved into a former car dealership next door.

At 1:55 p.m. Sept. 8, Erickson was walking the old Poulsbo RV lot, looking for an employee amid the dozen or so RVs already on display, when the driver of a  Saturn station wagon pulled over and asked if Poulsbo RV was returning.

“This happens a lot,” she said of inquiries about Poulsbo RV. “It’s mostly newer arrivals who see the advertisements. So, that’s why I’m really glad [Poulsbo RV is] here. They’re going to be very surprised at the response.”

At Clear Creek RV in Silverdale, sales have climbed along with post-recessionary consumer confidence, lower interest rates and the relative affordability of RVing.

“Dealers are doing a better job of educating people [about the costs of RVing],” Clear Creek manager Jim Fisher said. “You’re not going to drive it to and from work. You’re going to drive it from Silverdale to Ocean Shores, and it doesn’t cost you a whole bunch to do that.”

Fisher said his business set company records in June, July and August, and by Sept. 8 had tied the sales number for all of September 2014. Of RV dealers in the state, Clear Creek RV ranked fifth in sales in June and 12th year-to-date.

“We’re seeing more and more people who have never had a trailer before, Fisher said. “A lot of it is, they like the lifestyle.”

For the first time since 2008, RVs are lined up Sept. 8 on a Viking Avenue lot owned by Poulsbo RV. The company is considering reopening a dealership on the former Auto Row. Sara N. Miller / Herald