Young RV'er; Am I the Only One?

Every time I pull into a campground or walk into Camping World, I seem to get the same looks from people that are old enough to be my parents or grandparents.  At times, it seems as though many of them want to ask me where my parents are. 

It's the look of disbelief that someone my age is enjoying the RV lifestyle.  I'm not a full timer by any means but my wife and I enjoy heading out for a few days and seeing the country around us.  In fact, as I'm typing this, I am also putting the finishing touches on our first big trip of the summer.

I keep bothering my buddies to get some type of RV or trailer just so that we have some people our age to keep us company around the campfire.  Unfortunately, my friends are still interested in chasing women and living the bachelor lifestyle and don't seem to keen on doing something "boring" like going RV'ing.  My question to the seasoned vets of the road out there is just how many "twenty somethings" have you seen at the campgrounds with their own rigs and not just hanging out with mom and dad for the weekend?

I can't figure out if I'm just years ahead of my age or if I'm just a rare breed.

Don't worry...Your on a path many wished they could have started, "back-then", and it's what you make-out of it..listen to your personal drum.

Well, how young are you?  I'm 51 and consider myself young compared to many I see at campgrounds and such.  I think the younger crowd is certainly the minority, as we're still working for a living.  Like you, I'm what I like to call a "weekender".  I get out for as many 3 day weekends as I can, and an occassional week or two longer trip at least once or twice a year.

We started 15 years ago when I was about 52. We were already retired, so we were traveling all the time, not just weekends. A few people commented, mostly that we were lucky (we were!), but everybody was nice. As we traveled more, we began to encounter others our age and it seems to me that now we encounter many more younger people traveling or living in RVs that we did 10 years ago. The lifestyle has become more & more popular.

We started RVing when we were in our 30's. At that time, we used the motorhome as a tow vehicle for a boat, so we were able to combine RVing, boating, waterskiing and fishing. We both worked at the same company, so we'd drive the rig to work on Friday morning, and get a jump on the weekend by leaving from there. Some weekends we'd schedule with RVing/boating friends with their own families, and other times we'd be on our own.

We'd see a wide range of ages in campgrounds, including young families and retired folks. I don't recall getting 'looks of disbelief' from older RVers, although we may have been blind to them. Since we're now retired great grandparents, maybe younger folks think we give them strange looks  ???

We see young people in tents more often than RVs , more often in public campgrounds ,more often on the weekends and more often in the summer. There are a lot of young people camping so maybe it's just the area that you're in. I've been camping in one form or another since I was a kid , Tony since his twenties -tent ,van , camper shell and RV.

We started RVing when we first got married and that was 42 years ago...We are now in our 60's.  I think it depends where you go.  We still go to some cgs where we feel like we are the minority and everyone else is young!  Just be happy you're doing something that you can continue throughout your entire life!  Mikie

We've been fulltiming for almost 2 years and we see 20 something RVers all the time. A lot of them have families, so unless they homeschool their kids, it's mostly summers, weekends and holiday breaks.

We especially see them in Ocean areas like Myrtle Beach and Destin. But you know, a lot of young families struggle to keep their mortgages paid, their children clothed, and food on the table, so luxuries like an RV (and a place to park it while not is use) are a little out of their reach.

So glad you are able to do it while your young. You're gonna have a blast!

-Roni

I see lots of young folks out there, many in tents or pop-ups. For a lot of young folks, it's the priority of what they can afford, and what they have time to do -- family, work, etc.

Don't worry about seeming odd -- I suspect most of us old fogies are envious that you are able to RV while very young.

I got my first RV when I was 18 years old - a VW camper - and have been RVing continuously for the last 40 years.  I was often the youngest person at RV gatherings, so I know what you're talking about.  But you know what, people are people and I don't think I can recall any time I was made to feel not welcome because of my age.

We started RVing when we were in our 20s. Back then it was mostly weekends with an occasional 1 or 2-week trip. Before we got our current Class A MH we had a 24-foot Class C that we used for 15 years. I think I've seen more "young" folks in small Class Cs and in toy haulers. There are a lot of them in the state parks and desert areas we visit in the winter.

Don't worry about "old folks" giving you weird looks, they're just jealous of all the years you have left for RVing.

Wendy
San Onofre State Beach

Lone Star, my wife to be and I are 39 and have just bought our first RV.

I'm interested to know if we are the four youngest RV'ers on this forum. It will make me feel better about turning 40!

;D ;D

Stealthbusa said:

Lone Star, my wife to be and I are 39 and have just bought our first RV.
I'm interested to know if we are the four youngest RV'ers on this forum.
;D ;D

Click to expand...

....and just what possible difference could this make? ??? 
Except that you may have the most left to learn.

I'm only 21 years and 630 months of age, myself...
so I'm still learnin'.

We got our first 18-ft. Class C when we were in our mid-30s and we're now in our 70s so we've been RVing for a long time.  I grew up camping with tents and Jerry's family had a trailer.  It was just a natural progression for us to move into motorhomes and we were lucky to be able to afford it, both in terms of time and financially.  Today we see a lot of young families in campgrounds and they're generally tenting in one form or another, including foldout tent trailers.  The point is, they're making wonderful memories for the children.  As others said, young families have financial priorities and are still working so their time is limited.  We're retired and can go RVing when the mood strikes.

This discussion reminds me of the time we took our first cruise which happened to be about the same time we got that first Class C.  On the ship we encountered an older woman who was traveing with her niece.  She told us we were smart to do this cruise while we were young and could enjoy it.  She and her husband had saved for years to go on a cruise when he retired.  He retired and dropped dead several months later so she brought her niece on the cruise they had planned together.  We felt sorry for her of course, but have always kept her comments in mind.  You never know what tomorrow will bring, so enjoy life while you can.  If you can afford an RV at a young age, enjoy it and forget about what other people think.  They don't count, but the life you two have together does and you want to make the most of it.

ArdraF

I'm only 21 years and 630 months of age, myself... so I'm still learnin'.

Click to expand...

Lou, I like your method of thinking about your age, so now I can just say I am 21 years old, and under my breath say +650 months. ;D

Edit: Fixed quote.

Stealthbusa said:

Lone Star, my wife to be and I are 39 and have just bought our first RV.

I'm interested to know if we are the four youngest RV'ers on this forum. It will make me feel better about turning 40!

;D ;D

Click to expand...

Turning 40?  I have a ways to go on that one.  I'm 28 and am currently on my second trailer.  When the RV bug bites, it bites hard.  I thought I had it all with my TT but I saw a nice fiver and picked it up.  By no means the biggest or fanciest but it has a slide...something we didn't have before.  I made the mistake of looking at a fifth wheel that has a front living room (over the kingpin) and am now saving $80,000 for that one.  I'm sure something like that will be the "retirement" home though.

I am fortunate to have a successful small business that allows me to have the funds to support my chosen lifestyle at such a young age.  Not many of my friends can just head out on a two week vacation like I am able to... with some minor planning and saving of course.

Lone Star, you sure have your act together! I am sure a lot of poeple envy you.

Mariekie

I love this forum because you meet the best people of all ages however we all have one thing in common............a sense of humour!

I remember talking to a friend of mine from LA and telling him about our plan to travel Europe for 6 mths in an RV. He asked me if we were turning 70!!!!????? My view.......everyone wants to do it but not many people have the balls to do it. Every last one of our friends here in the UK have said "we are so jealous" but not one of them has said that we are nuts or getting old.

The final part of packing the house will be done this weekend, we will then be official "no fixed abode",  In May we cross the English Channel and that's me done with consulting for 6 mths. The cat is packed and coming for the ride!

So I guess when I reflect on my last post I really don't care what age of people I meet as long as they are friendly, drink beer, can do shots and enjoy an intelligent/non intelligent (drunken) conversation then all will be good with the world.

By the way I love the age rating in a few years + months, genius  ;D ;D ;D

My daughter and son-in-law have had a 5th wheel since their twenties and they have a group of friends their same age that also have TT's and 5th wheels.  None of them have MH's, but then that's not really their style of camping.  They go down to Pismo every year for New Year's and stay for a week on the beach, they go up to Fort Bragg and dive for abalone and camp along the beach.  My Son-in-law is a hunter, so they also go up to the Sierras and camp there too.  My point is...(I really do have one) that their type of camping is different than ours.  We do go with them sometimes, but mostly, I like to have full hook-ups and grass/clean sites!  Maybe the type of camping the OP is doing is more like what we do than what my kids do and that's why he's thinks he's of a minority?  Here in CA, even in this economy...there are so many young people that can afford so much more than I could at their age, it's unbelievable.  Just a thought!

My wife and my first 'big ' purchase was a tent-trailer when we were got married.  That was 40 years ago.  I was 22, she couldn't even get served a drink yet.  We experienced what you are then too.  Especially in having a trailer etc, our friends that camped were mostly tenters. 

We then move up to a travel trailer when our daughter was born. 

So, keep on RVing, eventually you will find a couple your age, and then another.  Before long you will have a camping group to do trips with.