Jucy Camper Van
RV Business
Editor’s Note: The following is a report appearing in USA Today looking at a trend toward smaller, more maneuverable RVs.
Within minutes of pulling into space 12 at the Pismo Coast Village RV Resort, my neighbors rush over to welcome me.
Rather, they charge toward my bright green and purple campervan, which is emblazoned with signage promising it “comes with everything … including the kitchen sink.”
Jennifer Beall confirms that there is a kitchen sink and a gas cooker and a refrigerator — albeit miniature ones. They are all in the trunk. The back seat folds down into a bed that can sleep two at night. It also converts into a dining area. On top of the car is the “penthouse,” a pop-up container that sleeps another two. Below the seats is a storage area, which I dub the basement.
“This is a lot easier to drive than that big thing there,” says Beall, pointing to the 29-foot Fleetwood Jamboree RV she and her husband have traveled in from southern California. It may be hard for her to drive, but it’s still better than a hotel, she says.
The Jucy RV campervan, based on a Chrysler minivan, is part of a new generation of RV campers. Travelers, especially younger ones, favor smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles over the trailers and motorhomes that have populated American roadways for decades. Rather than getting around in a condo on wheels, many road trippers are settling for a living room.
"RV-ing in the United States is huge," says Dan Alpe, who co-founded Jucy in 2001 in New Zealand. But he observed that operating some RVs is a "scary, intimidating experience."
That's why Jucy and other companies have made the experience happen in a more compact space. California Campers offers Volkswagen Westfalia campers from San Francisco. Lost Campers has budget campervans from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Salt Lake City. Cruise America's fleet of compact campers can be found at locations across the USA and Canada.
Like Jucy, which now has 265 vans in the USA, Escape Campervan Rentals originated in New Zealand and has an over-the-top look. Each van has a different design by a graffiti artist. The Escape vans can sleep three adults or more if a rooftop tent is added. The company has about 350 vans in the USA.
They're tapping into a lucrative market. According to Kampgrounds of America, 46 million households in North America camp at least occasionally, with 1 in 4 households engaging in some sort of camping activity each year.
The majority -- 54% -- stay in tents, but 21% are RV campers, according to the latest figures.
The report also found that Millennials have the greatest potential for growth in the camping industry in the next year. Six in 10 Millennials said they would spend more nights camping, compared with 4 in 10 Baby Boomers.
"We're going to bring a different group of people into the market," Alpe says. "We are getting young people saying, this is a cool thing to do."
Originally published here.