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Fulltimer statistics


BrianT

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Thanks, trailertraveler!!

 

That's way closer to actually talking about the subject than trying to decide what a "fulltimer" is. Thanks for that!

 

And yes, there are some interesting numbers in the summary.

 

I suspect there are a LOT of travel trailers out there that are sitting beside garages or in driveways that are not really intended for much more than weekends at the lake / park to get away from the house and enjoy life away (not far, but away, nonetheless) and the rv fills that need very well. Just driving through the countryside often sees a dotting of rvs sprinkled liberally among the homes. I have noticed that in some of what seems like fairly rural areas of Kentucky and Tennessee. Maybe it's like that in lots of places. Those people would not be likely to be part of any rving forums and discussion groups and many would not likely have any desire to even think about fulltiming seriously let along trying to define the word "fulltime". But I'll bet they enjoy those rving weekends quite a lot. :)

 

Thanks for sharing!

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A couple of differences jump out between the Escapees and Good Sam Data and the industry data. The Good Sam survey found that 15% of respondants travel with children. The RVIA survey found that 39% of RVers had children under 18 in the home. Seems like a big difference or do Good Sam members just travel without the kids?

Interesting data and I'll plan to look in more depth later.I would expect that there would be differences, just as there are between what Good Sam finds as compared with Escapees. Since the RVIA data comes from the manufacturers and possible some from dealers they then reflect mostly new sales and it is sales to everyone. Good Sam & Escapees both survey only their own members so their results reflect the membership. If you have ever attended a Good Sam or Escapees event you would know that the vast majority of members are past the age of child rearing. Good Sam probably has more younger members but Escapees is currently in the midst of making efforts to attract more younger members. Both groups have had the average age of their membership slowly creep upward of the years.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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The RVIA data states that the typical (average age?) RVer is 39. 82% of Good Sam survey respondants were over 55. The Escapees survey reports the median age of respondants at 68 for members and 67 for spouses.

 

 

 

Those numbers are consistent with my perception of the ages of Facebook RV group participants compared to those on this forum, IRV2, etc.

Sandie & Joel

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One of the questions that is raised in my mind from the manufacturer's data is that towable (5er and travel trailer) deliveries and presumably sales are consistantly 10 times or more that of Class A Motor Homes but 48.5% of Escapees survey respondants and 43% of Good Sam survey respondants own Class A Motor Homes, so where are all the towables and who owns them?

 

 

I'm not sure where you've been staying, but at the upscale park where we spend the winter the percentage of towables is far, far greater than the percentage of MH's and is roughly consistent with the RVIA data you cite. This has been true of virtually every place we have ever stayed except for one "resort" that had "Class A only" sites. I'm not sure why you would speculate that they are being used as permanent housing. Some probably are, but the majority, I think, are being used as designed.

 

Towables very clearly constitute the vast majority of RVs in the US. Current shipments of towables to dealers as reported by RVIA have been nearly 15 times greater than the shipments of Class A's during 2014. Even when other classes of MH's are considered, 7-8x as many towables are being produced and shipped than are motorized RVs.

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
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...I'm not sure where you've been staying, but at the upscale park where we spend the winter the percentage of towables is far, far greater than the percentage of MH's and is roughly consistent with the RVIA data you cite...

If you read post #49 you will get a sense of where we have been and where we stay and Yes, I have seen lots of towables in far greater numbers than would be indicated by the ownership data of Escapees RV Club, Good Sam or members of this forum which was the point I was trying to make. So if they are not owned by Escapees, Good Sam members or members of this forum in the same ratios as produced/sold, the second part of the question was who owns them that is not being counted or joining these groups? How many of these are traveling workers or others that may not consider themselves Rvers but live fulltime in what was designed and marketed as a Recreational Vehicle? The OP's question was about fulltimer statistics/demographics and as I said the existing easily found data begs more questions than it provides answers.

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I would think that in a winter park you would have lots of snowbirds, and a lot of them only go south in the winter, then stay put. Since they don't RV in the summer, a towable (usually 5th wheel) makes more sense than a motorhome. And we have seen more travel trailers than we did a few years ago - I believe there are better hitches out now that make them easier to tow.

 

Escapees has a higher number of retirees amongst its members, and a higher percentage that fulltime. That will naturally push them into having more motorhome owners among their members, than would a general cross section of the population that buys an RV. Remember, popup trailers are included as RVs and think about the huge number of families with small chldren that have popups because they are within their budget and allow them to get out with their kids. Heck, we still were tent camping when I was 45 - - but 3 days in the rain in a tent with a 15 yr old brought that to and end! :D

 

Barb

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
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So if they are not owned by Escapees, Good Sam members or members of this forum in the same ratios as produced/sold, the second part of the question was who owns them that is not being counted or joining these groups? How many of these are traveling workers or others that may not consider themselves Rvers but live fulltime in what was designed and marketed as a Recreational Vehicle? The OP's question was about fulltimer statistics/demographics and as I said the existing easily found data begs more questions than it provides answers.

 

I guess I thought you answered your own question in one of your previous posts. This "missing group" consists of the same people who make the average age of RVers ~39 rather than >55 and they're also the ones with children. The chances are they do work and may or may not move their RVs very often. It's easy to see why they don't feel they have very much in common with RV groups that primarily cater to retirees and vacationers. If you read the threads on the RVer Facebook groups, you will quickly see that many of these folks do consider themselves full-timers but their definition of the word is rather different than the way many of us here define and use it.

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
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Barbaraok, on 31 Dec 2014 - 11:59 AM, said:

... Heck, we still were tent camping when I was 45 - - but 3 days in the rain in a tent with a 15 yr old brought that to and end! :D

 

Barb

 

That would certainly be enough for me to consider ditching the tent. :) I haven't slept in a tent for many years... but I decided a while back that I would relish the memories rather than trying to relive them. LOL!!

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Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

 

I'm also interested in answers to some of Brian's questions.

 

If we ignore labels and say people who went out on the road to see the country and move around "regularly" (whatever that means) in a RV or tent as being the base population discussed, how long do most people stay on the road? Kirk was on the road for about 14 years before he changed his lifestyle. I believe that is more time on the road than most. It is my feeling ( no scientific basis other than reading forums) that within 5 years of hitting the road that a sizeable percentage (60% to 70%) are no longer living the lifestyle they had when first hitting the road. I also believe that those who stay on the road over five years will probably stay for a significant amount of time. I also believe that of the long-termers that most get off the road due to health reasons. But again these are just my thoughts; so take it with a grain of salt.

 

Dave

Dave

2008 Airstream 34’ Classic Trailer

Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins CTD

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Guest Pensauncola

There are so many variables involved I don't see how anyone can come to any meaningful conclusion about this rv'ing thing. For example, I have lived in my RV for over seven years. I don't have any other home and don't own any real estate. I guess most would consider me full timing.

However, I'm seldom "on the road". I put less than 10,000 miles per year total on my vehicle. I just live in two different places, and travel between them twice a year (sometimes I take the long way).

 

When it's cold, I go South. When it's hot, I go to the mountains. I guess someday I may buy a house in Florida and RV to the mountains every Spring, or vice versa. For now, living in an RV works just fine.

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We sold our last house in Oct. of 1999 and have lived in a 5th wheel since then. We are now on our 3rd but have been in it since 2002. Therefore we are now into our 16th year of full timing. We have no idea when we will come off the road, nor do we have any idea where we will decide to live when we do. With 2 kids who live in parts of the country we don't want to spend any more time than necessary in, we continue to think about it but have not been able to come up with a plan. In the meantime we will continue doing what we are doing as we both still enjoy the lifestyle. Most likely some health issue will finally force our hand and we will deal with it when it happens.

2000 Volvo 770, 500HP/1650FP Cummins N14 and 10 Speed Autoshift 3.58 Rear 202" WB, 2002 Teton Aspen Royal 43 Foot, Burgman 650 Scooter

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I guess most would consider me full timing.

However, I'm seldom "on the road". I put less than 10,000 miles per year total on my vehicle. I just live in two different places, and travel between them twice a year (sometimes I take the long way).

We put fewer miles per year than you on our motorhome but like you it was our only home. We very seldom spent more than a few days to a week in any location that we had visited previously though. We lived the "volunteer for RV site" lifestyle and typically sat in one spot for one to three months and then traveled slowly to the our next stop. Most years we were in some sort of volunteer position for at least six months and sometimes as much as eight months. Even though we rarely volunteered twice in the same place or even in the same area of the country (we've volunteered in 29 different states) we still only averaged about 7,000 miles/year because we took so long to move between areas. We once took two weeks to travel under 500 miles.

 

As you say, there are many different ways to live in an RV, just as is true for living in a house. :)

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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Based on pensacola's post 60 I would call him a fulltimer but then then there are different versions of fultimers. I would consider my self somewhere in the middle from pensacola's style and a hard core died in the wool boondocker. I guess I see it as a fair number of subsets in the basic fulltimer definition.

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My experience in general with those who own towables are that they do not belong to clubs. Sure, some do, but most are just "enjoying things". A quick look in the park we are in now would be consistent with that. Most have never even heard of Escapees. Or even Good Sam. My neighbors are a good example. People in their 60's. In a toyhauler out enjoying the holiday with their grandchildren in another toy hauler next to them. The guy has never heard of Escapees. Knows about Good Sam, but not sure what it is. Does not do any clubs. They vacation in the rig. They are not really RV knowledgeable. They don't know or care about better tires, better brakes, better brake controllers. They USE their rig....they don't make the rig a "hobby" in itself. They have canoes in the toy part, and a row boat. They fish and paddle, then go home. The majority of people in towables are likely like them.

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail
2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it)
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2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 
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My experience in general with those who own towables are that they do not belong to clubs. Sure, some do, but most are just "enjoying things"

The only thing that I might question is if it is really any different for those with motorized RVs? We have been campground hosts in several different public parks and I very much agree that the majority of users are not members of any RV club. And some of those who do join a club belong to something like the National Campers & Hikers Association or the Family Campers & RVers or one of the many state associations. Then there are those who travel in groups that have some completely different interest, such as the square dance club that we were involved with when we changed to a motorhome to travel in. We did a lot of dry camping in parking lots at convention centers and such where big dance weekends were taking place.

 

It might be interesting to know what percentage of RV folks are pure recreation related. We bought our first RV in 1972 and then joined Good Sam about 1990 when we got the first motorhome, but dropped out once we found their camping events were not for us. We didn't even know that Escapees existed until the mid 90's when we learned of the group as we were doing serious research about going full-time. So of some 42 years of RV ownership, I was a member of Good Sam for two or three years and have been an Escapee since 1998. I suspect that may well be typical of many others in the forums or Escapee's RV Club.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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So of some 42 years of RV ownership, I was a member of Good Sam for two or three years and have been an Escapee since 1998. I suspect that may well be typical of many others in the forums or Escapee's RV Club.

I think you are right Kirk. Most do not pursue RVing as a "hobby" or do clubs or focus on RV technology as much as this forum would indicate. Most - in my personal experience - know "not so much" about the technology behind RVing, or the "right" way to do things. They simply enjoy their RVing experience THEIR way. And in some cases pay the penalty for doing so. MOST Rvers I run into have no idea what "Escapees" is. And could care less - the typical reaction I get is "Why would I want to pay to join that club". And for most people the answer -frankly - is the "you wouldn't".

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail
2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it)
2022 New Horizons 43' 5er
2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 
2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU
No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units
2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar power
www.jackdanmayer.com
Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com

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"Why would I want to pay to join that club". And for most people the answer -frankly - is the "you wouldn't".

I think that you have hit upon exactly what the Escapee management is currently attempting to do with many of the new things that they are bringing to the organization. No club will ever be attractive to everyone or probably even a majority of buyers, but if you could find ways to increase the value to current members you will usually also attract new/more people to the club.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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I think you are right Kirk. Most do not pursue RVing as a "hobby" or do clubs or focus on RV technology as much as this forum would indicate. Most - in my personal experience - know "not so much" about the technology behind RVing, or the "right" way to do things. They simply enjoy their RVing experience THEIR way. And in some cases pay the penalty for doing so. MOST Rvers I run into have no idea what "Escapees" is. And could care less - the typical reaction I get is "Why would I want to pay to join that club". And for most people the answer -frankly - is the "you wouldn't".

 

Jack:

 

Are most of those type people vacationers or fulltimers?

 

There is much more value joining Escapees being a fulltimer than if you are only a vacationer. We are planning on fulltiming so we became liftetime members and obviously see the benefit in being Escapees.

 

Dave

Dave

2008 Airstream 34’ Classic Trailer

Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins CTD

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...

It might be interesting to know what percentage of RV folks are pure recreation related.

...

Oh oh, now we'll have to define what is recreation.

 

My memberships are based solely on economics. I first got a PA membership and a TT one zone complimentary with the mh purchase. I picked up GS lifetime using their membership push, the discount offered with a PA membership and the veteran discount. So, about a year of full on camping and some CW purchases will pay for the GS lifetime. We expanded the TT to 2 zones and it has already paid for itself so its a keeper that we'll renew. Renewing the PA is also a no brainer since its a break even point after only 3 nights. Lastly, I snagged the Escapee membership for 2 reasons: the info in this forum and in the magazine make it well worth it. The campgrounds and ancillary activities (BOF, HOP, Escapades) are the bonus and the discounts are icing on the cake. Of course the ultra cheap cost didn't hurt either.

Berkshire XL 40QL

Camphosting and touring


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I think we've all been in parks where we notice that dramatic change on Sunday afternoons - the weekenders/vacationers are gone on their way home to get ready for work/school the next day and those left are either permanents/extended vacationers/fulltimers. That is when you start to see the stickers (Escapees, FMCA, GS) on vehicles and the quieter, slower pace of those who are still there. You can almost hear the collective sigh as everyone remembers when they had to cram everything in a very few days instead of enjoying what each day brings as it happens. And with a slower pace comes the time to learn more about our rigs, and find others who are enjoying the same lifestyle as we are. To expect to get a lot of people who are still working, cramming in everything they can into each day may be overly optimistic.

 

Barb

 

 

 

 

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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Jack:

 

Are most of those type people vacationers or fulltimers?

 

There is much more value joining Escapees being a fulltimer than if you are only a vacationer. We are planning on fulltiming so we became liftetime members and obviously see the benefit in being Escapees.

 

Dave

Most RVers are vacationers. Despite the numbers bandied around about a million or more fulltimers, I seriously doubt there are that many. But even if there are - there are far more casual or vacation RVers. As to the value of the Club - that remains for each person to determine. We find value in it, and a lifetime members. But the value we see may not be there for others.

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail
2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it)
2022 New Horizons 43' 5er
2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 
2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU
No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units
2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar power
www.jackdanmayer.com
Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com

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Kirk, on 02 Jan 2015 - 7:32 PM, said:snapback.png

...

It might be interesting to know what percentage of RV folks are pure recreation related.

...

Oh oh, now we'll have to define what is recreation.

And then there are those that live/travel in an RV as an alternative to motels, hotels, B&Bs, etc. whether they are still working or retired. We rarely do what I would consider recreational camping, i.e. camping for campings sake. Even when we boondock/dry camp, we do not camp. We use all the gadgets and facilities the RV provides.

 

Once a year we do meet family and friends at a kid friendly campground or a state park and do the campfire/smores routine, but would not do it by ourselves. The RV is our mobile efficiency apartment. I hunt and fish in many of the locations we visit, but the RV is not needed to engage in those recreational activities. We have friends that travel in their RV's to golf, but an RV is not necessary to golf so are they recreational RVers?

The one that dies with the most toys is still dead!

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And then there are those that live/travel in an RV as an alternative to motels, hotels, B&Bs, etc. whether they are still working or retired. We rarely do what I would consider recreational camping, i.e. camping for campings sake. Even when we boondock/dry camp, we do not camp. We use all the gadgets and facilities the RV provides.

 

Once a year we do meet family and friends at a kid friendly campground or a state park and do the campfire/smores routine, but would not do it by ourselves. The RV is our mobile efficiency apartment. I hunt and fish in many of the locations we visit, but the RV is not needed to engage in those recreational activities. We have friends that travel in their RV's to golf, but an RV is not necessary to golf so are they recreational RVers?

 

 

I never really thought about it this way, but we, too, would fit into this description. We always tell people "we don't camp, we RV" and the RV is primarily an alternative to a hotel or other accommodation. We never boondock and don't attend RV rallies. We use the RV as a way of having a nice place to stay so we can see things in different parts of the continent.

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels

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