RV Full Timers: News & Information
The RVIA – Recreational Vehicle Industry Association – is, among other things, the leading source of research, data, and analysis about the $114 billion dollar RV industry.
Now that we’re a part of this Full Time RV living, working & traveling thing, I’m always interested to read the latest RVIA news bulletins and information. Especially with the much-publicized SURGE in RV enthusiasm and ownership over the last 18 months in our new world of pandemic-induced lifestyle changes.
According to a recent RVIA 2021 Demographic Profile Study:
11.2 Million Households Own An RV
78% of Owners Are Over 34 Years Old
7 Owner Types Identified in the Survey
We fit the profile/category of Full Timers — which makes sense:
Full Timers have adopted their RV as their home, living within the RV all year and embracing the lifestyle to its fullest. Traveling year round, these nomad owners are set to see the world and appreciate the joys and freedom this lifestyle provides them.
Source: RVIA | www.rvia.org/go-rving-rv-owner-demographic-profile/full-timers
We fit that demographic profile, more or less.
Note: We are NOT retired (or independently wealthy). We’re still Working From Home full time — living, working and traveling in the RV, wherever good mobile internets will take us!
Delving down a bit deeper, what I find even more interesting is this:
Of the 11.2 Million Households that own an RV
Full Timers = only 1.5% of Total RVers
1.5% = 168,000 Full Timers
And:
Of the 1.5%
Only 9% drive/live in a Class A Motorhome (like us!)
9% = 15,120 – Class A Full Timers Like Us
Source: RVIA | www.rvia.org/go-rving-rv-owner-demographic-profile/full-timers[Umm… in a final edit, I just noticed the images of a “Fifth-Wheel Travel Trailer” and the “Conventional Travel Trailer” in the RVIA graphic are switched. I’m sorry for the confusion. The Class A Motorhome — where you drive in the thing — is right!]
Instead of 1 in 11.2 Million out here on the road, living, working & traveling full-time in our RV…
We’re actually only 1 in 15K.
Surprised, but maybe we shouldn’t be?
–> Surprised, because it feels like everybody’s out here on the road and in the busy campgrounds, just like us — but they’re not.
We had noticed differences in types of RV Full Timers, in the beginning, from Full-Time RV Beginners: Part 2 of 3:
There are thousands of people hitting the road this summer, traveling in their homes on wheels, like we are.
There’s also a big wave of people, at all different economic levels, who are full-time RV living, but staying in one place, for different reasons: local employment, retirement, or economic hardship. Sometimes people live stationary in an RV while they are relocating or building a house.
There can be a mix of people in any RV campground. Generally, more permanent, stationary residents stay in residential parks where monthly rates are considerably less expensive.
Membership campgrounds sometimes have an interesting mix of travelers and longer-term residents…
In total, RVIA identified seven distinct types of RV owners, with all the relevant details and statistics you might find interesting:
Which type of RVer are you — or would you be?
Casual Campers (less than 30 days per year/avg 16 days) – 39%
Family Campers (30 days per year/avg 13 days) – 33%
Escapists (31 – 90 days per year/avg 55 days) – 16%
Avid RVers (61 – 150 days per year/avg 111 days) – 6%
Happy Campers (avg 180 days per year) – 3%
Adventure Seekers (avg 200 days per year) – 1%
Full Timers – 365 days per year (like us!) – 1.5%
You can read more about each category on the RVIA Summary Report:
Go RVing RV Owner Demographic Profile | RVIA
This article was a brief summary of a recent news item about RV Full Timers from RVIA. We hope you enjoyed the article and are inspired and reassured, if you are a new or soon-to-be-new RV traveler. Join us on our current & future Full Time RV adventures by subscribing at https://BooksAndTravelUSA.com
