Motor home business gears up for boomers

The motor home industry is trying to appeal to younger consumers

By Frank Buckley
CNN National Correspondent

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- When the Fletcher family of Orange, California, rolls into a campground with its 28-foot Safari Serengeti, they set up camp with a military precision.

Out comes the screened-in porch. In goes the hook-up that provides electricity to the motor home. On goes the mayonnaise to the sandwiches for the four kids.

Former military man Ray Fletcher says it's the only way to camp.

"I spent 20 years in the Marine Corps," Fletcher said. "All the time I spent out in the desert and overseas, Saudi Arabia, living off the dirt -- I swore that if I ever went camping when I got back, it'd be in a motor home. I've got all the comforts now and this is the way I believe in going camping."

The Fletchers are not alone: According to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, there are now 9.3 million RVs -- motor homes, travel trailers, fifth-wheel travel trailers, truck campers, folding camping trailers and van conversions -- on U.S. roads.

Prices range from $3,600 for a folding camping trailer to $14,700 for a travel trailer and $76,390 for a motor home, according to the association. A bus-like Country Coach can cost more than $700,000.

Industry statistics suggest the average RV owner is a 48-year-old married person who owns a home and has a household income of $47,000. In fact, the industry now claims baby boomers who own RVs outnumber those over 55. Owners in the 35-to-54 age group own more than 45 percent of RVs, compared to 40 percent owned by the 55 and older crowd.

"A lot of people still use them for retirement, but that is not the bulk of the owners anymore," said David Humphreys, president of the RV Industry Association, which represents manufacturers and component suppliers in the United States.

The industry is also attempting to sell its products to a younger audience. The second phase of a national advertising campaign geared to potential purchasers in the 30-50-year-old age group launched in January with the theme: "Go RVing. Life's A Trip."

The ads are meant to appeal to all adults with children, not just baby boomers on the verge of retiredment.

For the Fletchers -- Ray, 44, and Lynn, 36--the ad campaign isn't necessary. They're already sold.

"The kids, especially during the summer, they would just sit in the house," Lynn Fletcher said. "This gets them out in the air, out in the open. They get to meet other people."

And the former Marine who slept on the sand for too many years now camps in the most comfortable possible way.

"You've got the beds, you've got the refrigerators, the microwaves, the generators, the air conditioning," Fletcher said. "Everything that you've got at home, you can bring with you to the outdoors."