fncampn
Gardnerville, NV
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Joined: 09/05/2002
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How about this: Future Camper
Or this: Westfalia Solar Power
And yeah, I still say cool...
Cold Weather Camping Mods
A Bunch of Ways to Mod Your RV
'08 Ford F150KR Screw 5.4L LB Auto 3.73LS 4x4
'07 Ford F350 XLT CC LB PSD Auto 3.73 4x4 - SOLD
'08 Thor Summit 27RBS TT - 9000 GVWR, 7500 loaded, 875 TW
'06 Kipor 3500Ti Generator
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Cornelius
Haarlem, the Netherlands
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Joined: 05/09/2004
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Europe’s roads can manage big rigs like A class RV’s. I have been driving big rigs all over Europe and it cities and although it is hard work it’s feasible. The question is: you’re shouldn’t be hard working, you’re on holiday so why making travelling so much more difficult? And another BIG reason here is the 3500kg weight limit on a car license. Getting a license for anything over 3500 kg is an expensive business plus travelling on a Sunday is not allowed in some countries (Germany for instance).
I see many used North American RV’s on sale here and price wise they are dirt cheap compared to their European counterparts for the above reasons.
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webhannet
Southern Coastal Maine
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Joined: 08/09/2004
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Part of the recent mission statement for the newly-reduced Monaco is the intent to develop new, lightweight and efficient RVs. That fits well with your thoughts. Looking at the current basic shells and drivetrains, there hasn't been much real innovation in years - and the possibility of remaking the current designs into something significantly different is unlikely. The improvements from the last (perhaps) 10 years were mostly in quality, but that won't be enough in the future. The bigger worry is whether the manufacturers can survive the current sales crisis - and can they finance complete revamping of the industry. One has to wonder if buyers who come into the revived marketplace will be willing to buy the-same-old for prices we see now. I'd love to see how far into the future these changes will be.
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DraginRat
On The Road
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Joined: 10/15/2004
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Well, RVs have been around for some time now. The whole industry has grown an developed over many, many years. Now we have had a year or so of inflation and increases in fuel cost, and already, there are many people predicting the demise of RVing, or at least RVing as we know it. That may be so, but I will wait for awhile before I accept that as fact.
Before this latest cycle began, the price of fuel and RVing in general was very expensive when you compared them to the same costs in the 60s and 70s, and RVing was but a few truck campers, some vans, and not much else. RVing grew up in inflation and high fuel prices.
It certainly is nice to speculate about the future of RVing, but technology is by far, not the only factor to consider.
RVing is one thing. Camping is another. People will accept certain conditions for a weekend camping trip that would not be acceptable for full time RVing. Differnet needs, different units.
Does anyone really see a difference from the fuel crisis of the 70s, and what is happening now. Well, ok, different media "experts" predicting whatever. I remember all the dire predictions, but when all the hand wringing was done, things were pretty much the same. The fat old station wagon pretty much went by the wayside, and was replaced by the SUV. Cars pretty much got smaller, but then, a funny thing happened. Even the smaller cars were not that efficent. Oh, there were some of course, but as usual, power, performance, gadgets, and other things trumped fuel economy.
We will pay more for fuel to be sure. We will pay more for most things that are affected by the cost of fuel. We will also see wages and salaries increase, and before we know it, the cost of fuel will return to about the same per cent of income as it was awhile back. unfortunately, some people will suffer. Jobs will be lost, lives will be changed. Some will benifit from all this by being in the right place at the right time. In the end, there will be those that can afford those million dollar motorhomes, and those that prefer PUPs, and everything in between.
Will that new "star wars" technology RV happen? perhaps. whether there will be a market for it will be another question. There are a number of small, high tech, high efficent units available now. The cost is way out of line with the value, and only those that can both afford them and wish to make a "statement" have stepped up and purchased one.
I think that there will be changes. Many companing that are/were borderline may not be around in a year or so. New companies with new ideas and more efficent ways of doing business will take their places. Many people will give up their RV's, and there will be many that will take advantage of the gluted market to get into RVing for the first time.
When those ten or twenty years have come and gone, I would venture a guess that RVing will be much the same as it is now. The units will be more efficent, the manufactors will also be more efficent. but the units themselves will be pretty much tha same as we have now.
Ken Gasbarri
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burlmart
Baton Rouge
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Joined: 03/28/2005
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A few years ago we had a thread discussing an ideal RV that is related to this one.
We talked about it having:
1. front wheel drive for overall lower height (no need for driveshaft), like the Rialta and the old GMC moho and a Transtar (I think)
2. about 24 ft length with optimized floorplan so it can live like a 30 footer
3. slightly narrower, like the Chinooks and the new sprinter based Class C rigs for ease of handling
It is sorta like the Leisure Travel Freedom II Serenity mated to the Rialta. Actually, the GMC moho of the 70s already did this.
2005 Trail Lite 213 w/ 6.0 Chevy
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trailertraveler
On the Road
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Joined: 05/24/2008
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Maybe we should also look to the past for ideas like this one.
1974 Volkswagon 5er
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burlmart
Baton Rouge
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WOW! Why can't we do this today, only with improvements with our newer technologies?
Why don't these types of innovations endure?
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Burp
St. George's Island, MD
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Joined: 04/07/2004
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IMHO, the biggest problem we have right now is the frontal area of our RVs; be it a TT, 5er, or Class A. Our MH is very nice but you could make it just one foot shorter and not have much impact in interior space. Why does it have to be over 12' tall? Cut the height and that will help with mileage. After getting up to speed, most of the energy used going down the road is pushing air out of the way. In the short term we could still use the same chassis and improve mileage. In the long run we could look at the European examples and integrate the chassis and coach to make them smaller yet give the same amenities. The biggest hurdle - cost. Look at the cost of an Airstream - very nice trailer, efficient but very expensive. I had to make the same decision when buying a new MH - get diesel and save on fuel or get gas and save on initial cost.
2007 Winnebago Voyage 33V (Workhorse, W20)
2009 Saturn Vue Hybrid, Falcon 2, BrakeMaster
Me, the Wife  , Edgar And Gus 
Places we have camped in an RV
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burlmart
Baton Rouge
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Joined: 03/28/2005
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Somewhat streamlines vintage rigs here
http://www.fmca.com/conventions/photoalbum/vintage.asp
Also, the low profile GMC afforded by the front-drive
http://www.gmcmotorhome.com/faq/
* This post was
edited 08/15/08 08:55am by burlmart *
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Sea Dog
Ontario Can.
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Joined: 04/15/2001
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As long as there are people who believe size matters and you are known by your possessions.
There will always be a market for forty ft long twelve ft high rv`s
The "Hey!,look at me!" syndrome will always be with us.
Life is short,Death is long,
Take a vacation.
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