New RV Owners Prefer Shorter Trips and Visits to State Parks
The survey conducted by the RV Industry Association also looked at RV purchase trends since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Less than one-third of new RV owners took trips of more than 300 miles. This is according to a survey conducted by the RV Industry Association. The survey targeted individuals who purchased RVs since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The majority (54 percent) of those surveyed planned trips under 200 miles. The survey also showed that the most popular destinations for these new RV owners are state parks and local campgrounds.
Fishing, hiking, mountain biking, and water recreation activities topped the list of actives new RV owners participated in. Additionally, the desire to explore and use an RV as a basecamp for other forms of outdoor recreation was a primary reason for purchasing an RV for 33 percent and 27 percent of respondents, respectively.
“When we looked at the motivations for purchasing an RV over the past year, we found the reasons were the same as they had always been for buying an RV: the love of road trips, a desire to travel in comfort, wanting to explore the great outdoors, and the ability to use an RV as a basecamp for other outdoor recreation activities,” said RVIA President & CEO Craig Kirby.
“While many new buyers reported the pandemic did have some impact on their decision to purchase, the survey results showed ‘restriction on other travel due to COVID’ came in fourth from the bottom of the list. This really shows that people didn’t buy RVs over the past year because there weren’t any other options, they bought RVs because of the endless opportunities RVing provides to travel and get outdoors.”
