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Inside America’s obsession with RVs

Discover the history, popularity, and global appeal of motorhomes, campers, and RV living from America to Australia

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Home is where you park it

In 1960, John Steinbeck set out across America in a custom-built recreational vehicle (RV) with just his poodle for company. Steinbeck’s mission was to learn more about the country he’d already spent decades writing about — and his biggest discovery may have been the most obvious. A lot of people want to pack up and go in an RV, poodle or no. “Nearly every American hungers to move,” the Nobel Prize winner concluded.  

RVs are popular because they allow for just this sort of movement. But we’re mistaken if we assume the urge is solely American. In fact, RVs of various types — true motorhomes, fifth wheels, pop-up campers, and toy haulers, to name just a few — are popular around the world. Smaller, sleeker models are traversing British and European roads, a more niche scene is crisscrossing Russia, and the Chinese market is among the world’s fastest-growing. It makes sense that the capital of RVing would be a moving target, with the data suggesting Australia has the highest rate of RVs per capita, and New Zealand a close second in the rearview. For more on RVs,........

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