Gearing up for his business's annual 10-day Spring RV Show at Memorial Park, D&D RV Center general manager Mark Rispens is practically defiant in the face of a slow economy.

"In January our sales were up, and February sales were off the chart. It was by far our best February ever," Rispens said.

Even as the country struggles with a brutal recession, Montanans apparently still like their recreational toys.

"What we're seeing right now is that it's really normal," Rispens said. "When the sun shines and it's warm, we're busy. When it's cold, we're slow."

Rispens said the business weathered last summer's high gas prices by reminding buyers how many places there are to camp within 30 or 40 miles of Helena. Now that gas is down to $2, shoppers aren't as concerned, he said.

That's not to say Rispens hasn't paid special attention to detail in a soft economy.

"We're doing some things differently. Like everybody else, we examined our business to make sure our costs were in line," he said.

At Elk Mountain Motorsports, owner Bob McWilliams said sales of all-terrain vehicles haven't suffered too much.

"The outlook for ATVs is still very strong for us," he said. "People that live in Montana live in Montana because they enjoy the outdoors. A lot of us are not willing to sacrifice these hobbies."

The economic downturn did cause McWilliams to evaluate every aspect of the business, analyzing his approach to advertising and taking a more active approach to sales.

"We're doing more one-on-one selling, calling people who have done business with us, asking if they have friends who might be interested, things like that," he said. "We're doing what we should be doing every day, but sometimes when sales are great, you forget about those things."

McWilliams said buyers are more cautious today -- whereas they may have once owned an ATV, a snowmobile and a boat, today's buyer might choose just one or two of those, "to make sure they're spending money on the hobbies they really enjoy."

After working at Townsend Marine for 15 years, Brian Rooney became owner last January -- "Just in time for $4 gas!" he laughed.

But despite the challenging times, Rooney said he expects boat sales to hold up fairly well in 2009. He's busiest from the first of March through the summer, and Rooney said this year, while slightly slow so far, won't be substantially worse than last year or the year before.

"I'd say we're going to be off pace a little, but not that far off, given the state of everything," Rooney said. While sales of introductory models are slowing, Rooney said that "bigger-ticket items are still moving along."

Townsend Marine sells boats to buyers from across Montana and across the Northwest -- Rooney estimates that 30 percent of his business comes from out-of-state. With buyers being more knowledgeable than ever and able to research their purchases before ever setting foot in a showroom thanks to the Internet, Rooney said service has become the difference-maker.

"We're starting to see a feel for service being more important than it used to be," he said. That means taking better care of customers when they walk in the door, but also once they've made a purchase.

"Fortunately, we've grown our business from the service side of it," Rooney said.

John Harrington: 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com.