Are We Really That Many (Class B's)?

[Davydd]

This is not a very good report on the extent of Class B’s. We may have selective eyes on the percentage of Class B’s in relation to all RV’s.

Examples, besides the sales reports.

I was recently in South Padre Island, TX. There are 800 RV campsites on the south end of the island between a county CG (600) and a KOA (200). I made it a point one day to walk the campgrounds to survey the Class B’s. I found a total of nine camper vans or about 1% of the total RV’s.

That is a mecca of 13 miles of sandy beaches, many restaurants, and free bus rides. So, you say camper vans eschew those kind of places?

Ok, state parks then. Seminole Canyon and Historic Site State Park has 46 campsites. There were 3 camper vans including us. That’s 7%.

San Angelo State Park of 81 RV campsites and 3 camper vans. That is 4% rounded up. In my roll of campsites I could see there were nothing but 7 trailers and 2 fifth wheelers.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park. This may be the best Texas SP and surely every type of RV would want to be there. So driving through four campgrounds I found 3 camper vans out of 115 campsites. Including us that was 3%.

That was a one time survey at those places mid winter survey. but it seemed pretty consistent. Do Class B’s venture out more in the summer months and bigger RV’s tend to stay in one place in the winter? Not in state parks with a 14 day maximum stay.

The only other source I could think of was an online RV message board site that I hadn’t been to in years and now know why. Class B discussion is almost nil in number of messages. In relation to Class A, 5%; Class C, 3.3%; Trailers, 5%; and 5th wheelers, 1.5%. For all RV’s it was essentially 0% or insignificant. Illustration below.

Hey, we are a merry band of people. We may be the Don Quixote’s in the RV world or the gnats buzzing here and there because we can. We are not many from what I can see. If there is a trend we have a long way to go. The FitRV (Steph and James) and RV Lifestyle (the Wendlands) Youtube RV influencers have given up on Class B’s.

[KurtFranz]

Originally Posted by Davydd

This is not a very good report on the extent of Class B’s. We may have selective eyes on the percentage of Class B’s in relation to all RV’s.

Examples, besides the sales reports.

I was recently in South Padre Island, TX. There are 800 RV campsites on the south end of the island between a county CG (600) and a KOA (200). I made it a point one day to walk the campgrounds to survey the Class B’s. I found a total of nine camper vans or about 1% of the total RV’s.

That is a mecca of 13 miles of sandy beaches, many restaurants, and free bus rides. So, you say camper vans eschew those kind of places?

Ok, state parks then. Seminole Canyon and Historic Site State Park has 46 campsites. There were 3 camper vans including us. That’s 7%.

San Angelo State Park of 81 RV campsites and 3 camper vans. That is 4% rounded up. In my roll of campsites I could see there were nothing but 7 trailers and 2 fifth wheelers.

Palo Duro Canyon State Park. This may be the best Texas SP and surely every type of RV would want to be there. So driving through four campgrounds I found 3 camper vans out of 115 campsites. Including us that was 3%.

That was a one time survey at those places mid winter survey. but it seemed pretty consistent. Do Class B’s venture out more in the summer months and bigger RV’s tend to stay in one place in the winter? Not in state parks with a 14 day maximum stay.

The only other source I could think of was an online RV message board site that I hadn’t been to in years and now know why. Class B discussion is almost nil in number of messages. In relation to Class A, 5%; Class C, 3.3%; Trailers, 5%; and 5th wheelers, 1.5%. For all RV’s it was essentially 0% or insignificant. Illustration below.

Hey, we are a merry band of people. We may be the Don Quixote’s in the RV world or the gnats buzzing here and there because we can. We are not many from what I can see. If there is a trend we have a long way to go. The FitRV (Steph and James) and RV Lifestyle (the Wendlands) Youtube RV influencers have given up on Class B’s.

Thanks for the information, it is interesting. I am in Florida and my dad stays at the Okeechobee KOA which as I understand it, is one of the largest of its kind in the US. When I paid him a visit last month, I did the same thing that you did, looked for camper vans. I was not being as meticulous as you were, but I saw maybe four or five of them there. That being said, the campground is basically a place where snowbirds go to plant their butts from January to April, which we all know is not the best scenario for a Class B. So not really a good representative sample.......

[mumkin]

That is only looking at Texas which doesn't seem to hold much interest for B owners. In the last year or two, I belonged to a number of Facebook pages which is where the owners hang out by brand. It is rare that anyone asks about Texas and that is invariably those just passing through.

There has been a significant jump in class B ownership, which used to be a tiny sliver of the RV market. That has been proven by the sales figures that are posted here. But it is still a relatively small percentage.

Most of these new owners are younger (lots of young families going for the pop-top vans) and on Facebook. People asking how/where to attach child seats are not uncommon. They are still working and mostly taking short trips out... camping. Most tend to keep on the move and do a lot of boondocking. It is different from the previous demographic of us retired types.

Here is where I see a difference. I winter in AZ and now I am over right at the edge of the Superstition Mountains/desert east of Phoenix. When I started coming out here in 2004, if I saw one other Class B during the whole winter, it was worthy of a post on RV Net. LOL Now, I went over to the nearest grocery store the other day and there were 6 Class B's scattered over a large parking lot... and this has happened more than once. ...all different brands... varying from an up high 4WD adventure van to my little basic conversion... with the usual commercial mix in between mostly new, but a few classic RT, PW, & LTV too. I am close to an AZ state park and am surrounded by prime hiking paths, so that explains why they are here.

[jrobe]

The last total RV sales data I saw was this:

Towable RV's - 90% (trailers, 5th wheels, truck campers)
Class A - 2.5%
Class B - 2%
Class C - 5%

[Davydd]

We planted ourselves at the KOA for two weeks in South Padre Island but got there in 6 days driveway mooch docking without hooking up and a Harvest Host winery stay. The KOA in SPI had more amenities and convenience than the County CG and wasn't that much more. After that we finished up at those state parks.

We've been to SPI now six times since 2013 when we had a B rally at the KOA. Our favorite site was isolated next to their dog park and a marsh on the back side, with a wood frame cabana which we could park parallel to the road with the sliding door away from the road. Great privacy. First they eliminated their RV dump station last year so we had to wait for an empty site to go to when it opened up and temporarily use it to dump. Then this year they eliminated the 30 amp service and shortened the width so we would have to back in like normal. It had always been labeled a tent site which we took advantage of with our Class B. With those changes we switched campsites. We lost our incentive to go back next year. Probably Arizona and Southern California next winter if we go. Many opportunities to mooch dock, Slab City, Quartszite, BLM and all the traditional Class B traveling. Maybe we will see more Class Bs there.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by mumkin

……………………
Most of these new owners are younger (lots of young families going for the pop-top vans) and on Facebook. People asking how/where to attach child seats are not uncommon. They are still working and mostly taking short trips out... camping. Most tend to keep on the move and do a lot of boondocking. It is different from the previous demographic of us retired types.
…………….

We had 2 pop-top Westfalias in mid seventies to late eighties. Both were use for weekends camping and for commuting. Certainly, a different usage patterns by then young family than today’s retirees.

“Nearly 100,000 water-cooled Vanagons were sold in the United States between 1983 and 1991, and a large portion of them were Westfalias.” In extrapolation perhaps 10K units per year. https://www.insidehook.com/article/v...agon-westfalia Sportsmobile also had some market share. I didn’t find sales data for older models but Vanagon’s market wasn’t small.

Since, name changed from camper van to B-class, prices went up and market shifted to retirees. With trend for pop-tops perhaps this market will return.

[mumkin]

Originally Posted by GeorgeRa

Since, name changed from camper van to B-class, prices went up and market shifted to retirees. With trend for pop-tops perhaps this market will return.

I have found it interesting that since I purchased my first Roadtrek in 2015, the trend has been towards younger buyers from us retirees. On the Roadtrek Facebook page for the Promasters, the members have trended towards younger couples (most without kids) and single women since 2018.

I can't prove it, but I suspect that it was the introduction of the lithium battery systems and the idea of heading for the hills and avoiding all campgrounds (except where required in State and Federal Parks) and especially no RV parks. Many are full time RVing and full time remote working over the internet. Covid had a huge effect on the increase, of course. One wonders how many will continue... for how long.

The group that one is involved with online is completely different from those of us from the old RVNet and this board's demographic.

[@Michael]

Originally Posted by mumkin

...the trend has been towards younger buyers from us retirees.

[...]

The group that one is involved with online is completely different from those of us from the old RVNet and this board's demographic.

I suspect this is correct. I see more B's in remote areas & small primitive campgrounds than in large, modern campgrounds.

[booster]

Originally Posted by @Michael

I suspect this is correct. I see more B's in remote areas & small primitive campgrounds than in large, modern campgrounds.

I do also think that is correct. We see more and more of them at the Custer State Park hiking areas every year. Lots more tiny trailers also. Most with younger folks who seem to be big on the "vanlife" craze.


All of that is good, but I think as they age a bit and have families a lot of those vans will probably be on the market as they go for bigger motorhomes or trailers.

[Dee Jsaan]

I live in the heart of Appalachia and some time ago I sold RV's at a dealership.
(not good economic times then) The dealer didn't want B's on the lot due to what she considered their "automotive nature". Meaning that dealing with the customers on them was more an issue of mileage, like with any other car instead of it being like a "Class C". There weren't many of the regional Dealers pushing B's then. I think to them they were just "Van's".

In that time I learned from other older experienced sales personalities that B's were considered something for Dad & the Boys. Something to go hunting or fishing in on a weekend. Otherwise it was the "Lone Outdoorsmen" types who would rough camp and roam about. Of those many were widowers, divorced, or just loner's. Appalachia seems to hold a calling for those like them as I'm sure other similar areas of the country does as well.

Today, there has been a cult of those building out their own "B" and going on the road in them. A man named Bob Wells has championed this "cult" and hosted a message board titled, "Cheap RV Living forum" which covered RV's in general but B's seemed to be his specialty.(as he lived in one)

Today I see them parked on the Walmart, Sam's Club, Lowe's, Target, Cracker Barrel Restaurant's parking lots not to mention the National Syndicated Gym's such as Planet Fitness parking lots as well. Many are in State & Federal parks here thru the week if they are seniors and on the weekends if young couples or fathers & younger sons.

I spot these home builds on the road all the time and ironically around the Colleges & Universities I've seen many of them where students get away for the week ends to have peaceful surroundings to study. Or be with a companion.

2021 Movie Award went to "Nomad Land" which depicted a down and out woman living in a home built B. Today older women are a growing number of B owner operators. This movie surprised a lot of people that there was that much or many people into this. It has continued to be influential with younger people and older retirement aged alike. Now many graduating students are setting out in B's and working remotely in them as they tour the country looking for a place where they would like to settle down.

I live where Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia meet and there are numerous Colleges, Universities, Nursing Schools, VOED's, Trades Schools, and other such learning institutions established. Many of the home built B's in those areas are just plain white Vans with a beach towel stretched across behind the front seats. If you looked inside you may find a bed set across the rear wheel wells, and a cabinet (like a bathroom sink cabinet) set up as a kitchenette. Carpet on the floor with an ice chest & plastic Jerry Jugs for water. The aim is to have their B look like any other vehicle. The term "Stealth" is common among those owners.

[Jfstang]

On my street we are trying to buck the trend of not that many class B's.
I have a Roadtrek in my driveway and my next door neighbour has one in his, a nice matched set.
Or rather, we will come next month (sigh), when we both release them from winterjail back to our driveways on 6 month parole.