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Changes

© Barry Houseknecht

I predict major changes within our RV lifestyle as more and more baby boomers join our flock of RV wanderers. When most of the present Rvers entered the lifestyle there were very few or no "how to" books, there were no on line banks or banks that are on line, (for that matter there was no online), Mail forwarding was unheard of and there were no cell phones or fax machines.

From the trails first eked out by those brave enough to travel highways, such as route 66 or alligator ally to our modern day interstates 10 or 95, all seem to be dedicated on making it easier for those that choose to follow. We now have any number of books that tell how to and how not to RV. We have Virtual banks, maps on your computer driven by GPS, Internet by satellite available to anyone anywhere. Information that makes it easier to travel is more available now than ever and there will be more. Truck stops are now RV friendly much cleaner and growing in numbers. There are many food chains that are beginning to be RV friendly by having an area that Rvs can get in and out of.

Rvs themselves are evolving faster and faster. Most Rvs really should not be called campers, as they are complete homes on wheels. Most Rvs now have 3 and 4 slides, which is causing some frustration in the older campgrounds, as they can't accommodate the larger rigs. Soon the rigs may more resemble the "Transformers " that the kids play with, that is push a button and the thing unfolds, slides and contorts into the livable RV of the future. There will be changes in the Rvs, as we know them big changes.

Another area of dramatic changes is working on the road. How we find jobs and how we are paid is changing as we speak. I was not so long ago that most of the jobs listed in the employment journals included the site as part of the payment. Now it seems that as the number of fulltime RVers increases the number of jobs that offer sites decreases. More and more employers are asking for pay or hours for the sites. Some employer's require that you work as much as 20 to 25 hours as pay for a site. We need to account for that pay or hours to see what our take home pay really is. If you multiply the number of hours you are giving for the site by your hourly rate it might just surprise you to find that you are paying as much as the overnighter just off the street. There are times that us workers don't get the best sites but if we are paying for it as guests would then I want that waterfront lot, if not then I ain't payin'. In one instance we were paying nearly $300 for the site and just down the street was a RV park with clubhouse and pool for $200.

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