From Camping World:
RVing used to be simple… or was it? From $230,000 luxury “housecars” in 1913 to the electric rigs rolling out today, the RV has survived just about everything history could throw at it — the Great Depression, a World War, the interstate boom, the OPEC oil embargo, and a global pandemic that made 2021 the biggest year in RV history.
Join Ian as he traces more than a century of RV evolution and the one fight that never really ended: RVs versus fuel prices.
• The Luxury Era (1910s–1920s) — Wood interiors, steel frames, and travel trailers that cost a fortune. Early RVing was pure luxury for those who could afford it.
• Depression to Wartime (1930s–1940s) — “Trailerites” took to full-time living on the road, and aircraft-inspired icons like Airstream and Bowlus arrived — right before WWII brought production to a halt.
• The Golden Road Trip (1950s–1960s) — Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System, propane appliances, air conditioning, and Winnebago’s assembly-line motorhomes turned the family road trip into the American dream on four wheels.
• Boom, Embargo & Reinvention (1970s–1990s) — Aztec upholstery and shag carpet gave way to fuel crises, downsizing, and the rise of towables — plus the hydraulic slideout that finally made RVs feel like home.
• The Modern Era (2020s–Today) — A pandemic sparked an RV renaissance, a new generation went digital with solar, lithium, and satellite internet, and manufacturers like Winnebago, Jayco, Bowlus, and Lightship are now going all-electric.
So after industrial revolutions, world wars, and everything in between… was RVing ever really simple? And is it worth it? You tell us.
