The RV Community

Published: May 11, 2009

By Nathan Swartz

I’ve been thinking a lot about “the RV community” as we traveled the wide Texan expanse as we migrate from our beloved Austin, TX to Las Vegas and beyond. What is the RV Community? Is there even such a thing? Or are there just so many RVers out there, for so many different reasons, that we’re not really a united community in any way?

I think of motorcycle riders. If you’ve done any amount of traveling on the highway you’ll probably have noticed that folks on motorcycles almost always wave to one another. Whether full face masked and bent over a neon green crotch rocket or a tattooed biker, male or female, young and old, motorcyclists rarely fail to tilt there hands up off the handlebar and acknowledge one another.

RVers though, don’t particularly do anything of the sort. Certainly we can rarely see one another behind our tinted windows so waving as we pass on the freeway isn’t particularly customary. A good deal of people wave in the park, but it’s not nearly as ubiquitous as the two wheeled warriors mentioned above. This is probably because what drives people to ride motorcycles, whether it’s a Harley or a Ninja, is the freedom, the thrill, the nakedness of it all.

We RV to see the country and live a simpler life. You’ve got your snowbirds who are mostly RVing because it’s a cheap way to retire in the south while staying close to the family up north. Hunter/fisherman types just looking to get out and kill something for the weekend; the retired guy who always imagined writing a book on the open road; trailer trash who like to keep moving; gypsy folk and hippies following festivals around the nation — there are so many different types of RVers, with so many backgrounds, and so many reasons for being in a rolling home that no, I would have to argue that we’re not all part of a greater RVing community. The couple with the veggie oil motor have nothing in common with the young and drunk guys with the field of Busch cans that pour out of their rig every time the door opens.

And try rolling into an Airstream convention with your ’96 C Class and see how quickly they run you out of town.

It’s not that I don’t like the idea of a kinship between those of us who choose to roam the way we do, it’s simply that while common courtesy is the prevalent attitude among us all, a brotherhood we are not.

May 11, 2009
Well, I’d have to disagree with that. I’m a motorcyclist, and there are definitely snot-butt Harley riders who won’t wave to me because I ride a Yamaha. And sport bike riders won’t either. Sure we all ride, but there are very definite lines drawn.
But when it comes to RVs, we’ve partied with hippies in skoolies and drank martinis with Airstream snobs. I’ve never experienced the kind of “oooh, I won’t shake your hand because I might get soy sauce on it” attitude that I get sometimes when I meet a Harley rider while I’m on my bike.
With RVers, we are all self-admitted trailer trash to an extent, and from the oldest codger to the most hippie granola traveler, I’ve noticed a definite sense of camaraderie and willingness to lend a helping hand when someone needs it. That’s just my experience though.
Rene
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May 11, 2009
You ride a what?! Yamaha?…
Oh my god, I have to completely reassess my opinion of you now, Rene. :)
Nathan
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May 11, 2009
Wow Rene – you described all the types so perfectly! I’ve definitely felt the camaraderie in the full-timer RV community and so often from complete strangers looking to help with this or that if they see me struggling with something or curious about where we come from and why we’re travelling full-time.
I’ve found that if I just stay in a park for longer than 3 days neighbours introduce themselves, and after 2 weeks I feel comfortable enough to just rock up on their doorstep and hang out for an hour or two. This is how I socialise most of all these days – just dropping by – and its always such a great time. And of course the BareNakedFamily have been amazing!! (though they are family now so they’re in a whole other category)
It would be sweet if RV’s tooted and waved as they passed by. We should start it! I’m guessing if we had a really unusual bus it would illicit some smiles and waves too.
Olivia
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May 12, 2009
I’m with Nathan here (Greg, bnf). Though we’ve hung with Airstreamers and old codgers – we’re clearly not a part of their community just because we have an RV.
We were clearly not welcome in the Airstream section when we stumbled into Maine; nor the Phoenix ‘RV Community’ because we were both under 50… and had kids… and pets!
We were openly bashed on RV.net forums as mis-representing the ‘RV Community’ after telling ‘our story’ and our use of an RV through national media – which really got me thinking about the ‘RV Community’ as well.
Community is defined on dictionary.com in many ways, the closest to subject being:
“…group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists”
When living in an RV we were also often mistook or mis-labeled as part of the ‘full timers’; ‘home (road, un) schoolers’; ‘beatnik / hippie / spiritual / nomad’; ‘trailer / white trash’ communities though we never participated with much more than a smile and wave.
Just because my redneck brother takes his RV camper out to shoot meat on occasion or lives in it temporarily to weld up some pipelines in Mississippi does not make us distinct – though we would likely loan each other less leaky sewer hoses and drink a beer afterwards – our sharing the same parents is the only thing that makes us distinct.
And for the record, we are not now part of the ‘renting a duplex’ community.
barenakedfamily
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May 12, 2009
Maybe not, Greg, but you are definitely part of the “7 or so folks who still own a kick ass Thing” community!
Nathan
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May 12, 2009
…and that does translate into more than a smile or wave. “What kind of ball joints that there Thing have?”
barenakedfamily
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May 12, 2009
Yeah, a Yamaha Virago cruiser.
Ok, so here’s the thing: we and like-minded RVer friends who don’t fit the sterotype of old fart retirees got sick of the bashing on RV.net. Most of them are just a bunch of cranky pants who like to slap labels on people before they get to know them. Just see what they have to say about Slab City.
Thus, our friend Kevin started NuRVers.com as a way to gather groups of independent-minded RV travelers from all walks of life. Check it out, I think you’ll like them.
I’ve never had the nerve to walk into an Airstream gathering (mostly because I’d probably pee my pants laughing about how much money they pay for so little in return), so I don’t know what that’s like, but I’m betting that Jim and I would be ousted there as well.
Maybe the reason the majority of RVers don’t wave is that their age-related physical challenges prevent them from taking their hands off the wheel without causing an accident?
Just a thought.
Rene
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May 12, 2009
Rene – Try this: Wave to everybody on two wheels. Everybody. I’ll bet what you find is that more people wave back than don’t. That has been my experience. It’s funny, but the Harley guys who wave back tend to be the older ones who look like the genuine article. Whether a Harley or (like me) crotch rocket, it’s the poseurs who are too cool to acknowlege a metric cruiser, standard, or sportbike. And the heck with them (I’m paraphrasing).
Richard
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May 12, 2009
Good assumption Richard. I’m going to try that wave and will let you know what I encounter.
Rene
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