Millennials and RVs

WTP-GC wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Almost every millennial I know does not want to deal with black water and gray water or anything like that. Maintenance is another problem for most of them. Not all of them; but most of them.

That's my experience with them.

Most older people I know don't change the oil in their vehicles themselves and many would just assume pay someone else to perform minor maintenance and repair tasks around their home.

Old people, middle aged people and young people alike can all have a distaste for a common activity that others would suggest is a necessary skill. Much of it comes from your regional background. I was born and raised and still live in a very rural community. I'm in my mid-30's and feel like there's nothing I can't fix. Most people I hang around with of the same age feel the same way. Sorry and lazy people who grew up in the cities and suburbs without ever getting their hands dirty raise children with the same values.

For sure. The problem is one can pay someone to change their oil. I know of no way to practically pay for someone to dump your tanks.

The millennials I know just want to go to Hawaii and swim with the whales and have a mai tai or two and stay at a 5 star hotel. No driving, no black tanks, no blown tires; no nothing. Just throw down the plastic board a plane and have fun.

Good for them. Leaves more room for me at an RV park. :)

Who do you think is at that jiffy lube changing your oil? Oh yeah, some kid. Lol. I work in construction, the kids were hiring now are just as tough and willing to fix stuff as we were. But they are, for the most part, way smarter about the world than we were, and definitely more tech savvy.

fj12ryder wrote:
When I was under 50 year old, I had no use for any kind of RV. Those were for old people.I figured when I get too old to ride, I'll own an RV...maybe. Now I'm old so I have an RV, time and viewpoints change. Of course I still have the motorcycles too though. Since I am only one person and don't speak for a whole generation, apparently about the only person that feels that way, I can only say what I felt when I was much younger.

Ya just gotta love generalizations. My friend's kids are that way so that must be how all kids are. Riiiiight. And the article is from USA Today, a widely respected periodical. Snort, snort, chuckle, chuckle.

I had a smile on my face when I read your post. I had my epiphany when I turned forty. Before that I thought who in thier right mind would want to pull a monstrosity around when there are perfectly good motels.

What changed my mind is I loved to go trail riding in Colorado in summer. Since this use to be the (off season) motel rooms were plentiful and cheep. Through the years that changed and I had to drive back down from the mountains to find a room then drive back the next morning to continue to ride. I thought I'm leaving a beautiful area to go back to the city's to eat and sleep.

I decided to purchase a used RV and never looked back. I liked the lifestyle and the like minded adventurous people I met.

My parents never camped, I think Dad had enough of that in WW2.

I do find it amusing that young and old people try to stereotype the others generation.

Ductape wrote:
Ah, yes, another opportunity for the elders to demonstrate what an attractive and welcoming community the RV experience is.

NOT.

No wonder this forum is dying off.

Younger campers are mostly doing the same things I did at their age, sleeping in tents or in the back of my pickup.
Expensive RV's don't make sense for most working people.

Aint that the truth,see how this kid travels

https://youtu.be/Z0wAPztOO2U

camperdave wrote:
Who do you think is at that jiffy lube changing your oil? Oh yeah, some kid. Lol. I work in construction, the kids were hiring now are just as tough and willing to fix stuff as we were. But they are, for the most part, way smarter about the world than we were, and definitely more tech savvy.

Agreed. Just wish there were more of 'em.
We got a real labor shortage going on up here and honestly, a pretty old workforce in general.
Don't understand it. There should be young men flocking here to work. Easy to make good money working open shop and real good money on prevailing wage or union work.

True, there are plenty of educated helpless millennials out there with their heads buried in their smartphones. Heaven help them if they had to change a wheel or diagnose & change a fuse. There must be an app for everything or roadside assistance.

Thankfully there are also plenty who are not afraid to get their hands dirty & think things through for themselves. Resourcefulness is alive & well.

Some of we lot in the Geritol Club should not be so fast to poke fun at the millenials. Look around these forums. How many want to go running to a dealer for every little thing? On the Alaska forum, how many are so concerned about not having cell service for a few days at a time?

gbopp wrote:

larry cad wrote:
Kids nowadays want to sit in front of a monitor, or hold their Iphone up next to their eyes and block out any sense of reality around them.

I asked my 13 YO grandson if he wanted to see the Grand Canyon and other sites in the western USA. He said why? I can go on Google Earth and it's just like being there....
I took him anyway and he loved it.

In the words of the famed explorer Jacques Cousteau:"Il faut aller voir." ("We must go and see for ourselves.")

Depending on who you ask, my husband and I are millennials (born in 82 and 83). We do not have kids and aren't planning on any. Both of us work in the tech industry, and work very hard, long hours, etc. I look forward to the trips where we lose cell service. It's one of the only times I don't feel bad for sitting down and reading a book all in one day. At home there's always something to do around the house, errands to run, a social event to go to, etc. Camping is the only time where we can truly relax.

We also only use the TV in our rig to watch DVDs if the weather is bad or there are too many bugs to enjoy it outside (that's only happened once, we learned that while the riverside campsites are scenic and relaxing sounding, the bugs make them impossible to enjoy during certain times of year). We've stayed in one campground that had wifi, but we didn't use it except to get a better signal on our phones so we could be in touch with home, my mom was watching our dogs for us during that trip. We've never once used the cable TV (I'm not even sure where the hookup is for it). We've never even turned on the TV in the bedroom area.

The main reason we have a "glamper" toyhauler instead of something smaller is the garage space. We found the shortest 5th wheel we could find that had a 12'6" garage. The main "luxury" feature we wanted was auto-leveling since we boondock a lot.

However, while camping, I see plenty of rigs with their satellite dishes set up outside, and the residents of said rigs barely even come outside. Those people are mostly Boomers.

And, for the record, I don't know a single person, regardless of age, who "wants" to deal with a black tank LOL! But we do it because it's part of the RVing lifestyle.

The perception of the today's youths "abilities or inabilities" is directly related to where and how they're raised. City raised vs rural raised makes a VAST difference in outcome along with actual parents vs the "being their friend" stance.