Who is Buying?
To understand the sea change in RVing I think we have to consider recent statistics about who is buying. I have an opinion and I attribute this uptick since 2010 for some of the issues I read on Social Media where RVers complain they can't get a campsite in popular areas, particularly in the winter.
Recent statistics indicate that approximately 8.9 million households own an RV (RVIA). The RVIA also states that "A leading force behind RV ownership’s upswing is the enormous baby boomer generation."
According to the 2017 Camping Report by KOA: "An estimated 13 million U.S. households plan to camp more in 2017 than they did in 2016, and more than 1 million new households have started camping each year since 2014. Millennials are driving this growth as they take to the outdoors in greater numbers, and they have no intention of letting up. This is according to the results of the 2017 North American Camping Report, an annual independent study supported by Kampgrounds of America, Inc. (KOA). Millennials now account for 38 percent of the 75 million active camper households in the U.S., up from 34 percent in 2016, and 51 percent say they plan to increase their camping this year." (The emphasis above is mine).
So there are two major groups driving RVing. These are Millennials and Boomers.
Baby boomers are defined as people born between 1946 and 1964 in the post-World War II era. About 77 million Americans were born in this time period, making it significantly larger than the generations immediately before and after. While the millennial generation is even larger, this is still a massive group of people. AARP states that 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 every single day, and this is expected to continue into the 2030s.
Furthermore, a recent survey indicated that baby boomers are projected to have 70% of all U.S. disposable income over the next five years. Not only that, but baby boomers will inherit about $15 trillion in the next 20 years. (WWW.Fool.com, emphasis is mine).
I suspect that many more boomers will be trekking in RVs over the next 12 years, as approximately 40 million of them retire between 2017 and 2029.
What about spontaneity?
50% of Americans find road trips to be more appealing than other forms of travel because roadtrips provide the opportunity to be more spontaneous about stops and activities. - 2018 Ford Travel Trends Survey.
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