Airstream Nest: Motorhomes are morphing under the strains of new tariffs and lifestyle trends. Photo / Supplied, Airstream
Airstream Nest: Motorhomes are morphing under the strains of new tariffs and lifestyle trends. Photo / Supplied, Airstream
The campervan holiday was once the pursuit of those in the golden years.
RVs were reserved for mobile baby-boomers who wanted to head outdoors but bring all their mod cons with them.
Now a younger crowd are taking to the roads in mobile homes bristling with solar panels and Wi-Fi boosters, and joining them is a new generation of RVs built to appeal to millennials.
A lifestyle once primarily associated with retirees - social media trends such as the #Vanlife movement have turbo-charged sales of high-tech RVs.
'We don't do rustic': Millennial are not going to leave their tech for the road. Photo / Kim Raff, Getty Images
The finest of such vehicles were on display last week at the Colorado RV Adventure & Travel Show in the US.
Classic American models such as the Airstream 'silver bullet' trailer are getting a new age makeover.
Silver Bullet: Today you're more likely to have a coffee served out of an Airstream trailer than camp in one. Photo / Getty Images
Popularised in the music and iconography of the American highways and byways the latest fibreglass "Airstream Nest" looks unrecognisable without the company's trademark aluminium shell finish.
Instead, it's what's on the inside that counts for the new generation of Airstream trailers, with features such as Bluetooth smart lights and solar-panel fittings.
"We love every amenity. We don't want to struggle too much," said prospective buyer Ryan Daniels as he browsed the show with his wife Emily. In their thirties, the couple explained to USA Today that they "don't do rustic" and are interested in a solution that can travel with their tech.
It's an odd time for the all-American pursuit of motor homes.
As once cheaply imported materials such as steel and aluminium begin to feel the pinch of Trump's tariffs, RV companies have begun to experiment with designs that cater to a new generation of road trippers.
Millennial campers: As millennials age into the pursuit of motor homes, they're not going to slow down (or abandon their tech). Photo / Kim Raff, Getty Images
In New Zealand the image of motor homes and campervans been kept perpetually young (and wild) by the backpacker rental market and firms such as Jucy and Wicked Campers. Backpackers it seems will drive anything.
But Kiwi buyers are leading the way for high-tech and luxury motor homes.
Futuristic designer trailers such as the Christchurch designed Romotow, retail for a price of around $500000.
While not everyone will be willing to spend that kind of cash on a mobile home, the next generation of tech-obsessed buyers have high expectations of comfort when it comes to campervans.
It's this new market's idea of fun which is shaping the future of "Recreational Vehicles".
