Forget the fancy retirement condo in Florida. Mo and Lin Moser traded their Denver home for a US$1 million recreational vehicle (RV) and four places to park it -- spots worth US$80,000 to US$500,000 each -- at several high-end RV parks around the US.
The RV world was once populated mostly by vacationers who rented spots at modest, woodsy campgrounds. Today, some RV owners are also buying -- rather than renting -- places to park their vehicles, and sometimes with amenities like concierge and room service and full-time tennis instructors.
Many of these parks are more akin to resorts than campgrounds, with manicured lawns and waterfalls, security guards, golf courses, tennis courts, health spas, live entertainment, yoga classes and coffee shops. The price for a parking spot may run from US$75,000 to US$750,000.
"Baby boomers are coming in, and they are looking for more," said Linda Profaizer, president of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, in Falls Church, Virginia. "They want to be entertained. And they need a place to park their big rigs."
High-end RVs, priced from US$175,000 to US$2 million, have become the fastest-growing segment of the industry, although they still account for just a small slice of the overall market. The most recent available data shows that sales of such vehicles grew 19.8 percent from 2002 to 2003, according to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association.
Ten years ago, most of the biggest RVs were around 9.1m long; today they are 13.7m. Some of these rigs, which have quieter diesel engines, have high-speed Internet, satellite television, washing machines, gas fireplaces, hardwood floors and built-in garages for canoes and motorcycles.
The Mosers didn't cut corners on their RV, which has marble floors and six television sets -- including one that pops out of the exterior for outdoor channel surfing. "It's about as high-end as you can get," Moser said. "It's got all the luxuries of a pretty nice home."
The Mosers bought two RV properties in Breckenridge, Colorado, one in Palm Springs, California, and one in Newport, Oregon, but they are far from just investments. Rather, the couple wanted to buy what Moser called "the RV lifestyle," and the convenience of having several home sites where they know other people. "It's the friendships, the camaraderie," said Moser, 70, a retired real estate developer. "There is always someone to visit and chat with."
One of the couple's future nesting spots will be at Desert Shores Resorts in Palm Springs, where a 650-square-meter RV pad and a private casita are under construction. By the end of the year, they hope to enjoy the casita -- a small building with a private garage, full kitchen, bathroom, closets and living space, as well as a private patio and a private swimming pool.
As sales of luxury vehicles climb, one RV maker, the Monaco Coach Corp, wants to use the driver-owned parks as a way to increase demand for its products. Monaco, of Coburg, Oregon, created a division to develop RV parks with Outdoor Resorts of America and has two under way -- in Indio, California, and Las Vegas, with RV pads selling for US$160,000 to US$330,000 each. The Indio resort, which uses the Outdoor Resorts name, has a restaurant, room service and private docks for electric motorboats.
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