RV Mfg's Missing a new market segment
After full timing for two years now and meeting and talking to hundreds of other fellow travelers one thing is apparent to me. The RV Manufacturers are missing or unaware of a significant market se...
Forum Discussion
fulltimedaniel wrote:If you feel so strongly that this is a need that isn't being fulfilled and the market is so significant take the lead and work to make it happen.
To all of those that responded with bunkhouse model suggestions and pointed out that I obviously was not looking. I think I stated in my original post that the bunkhouse was not a real option as they are mostly designed for kids and would require fairly extensive modifications. That is not something you really want to do with a brand new trailer. Most bunkhouse models have nothing more than a curtain between it and the rest of the floorplan.
Further for those full timing a real separate bedroom is a very real need. One needs privacy and sometimes solitude.
Camping for a weekend or week is another matter this is not what I was addressing.
One can certainly make an argument for the market. It would not be huge but would be significant I am sure. I meet many such folks on the road all the time.
Some few do exist but they are thin on the ground.
Create a business plan. Get some actual market data. Organize some like minded individuals and build a manufacturing plant and build them. Don't have friends who want to be in the manufacturing business, present your plans to venture capitalists and be the CEO. Or, put your business plan out there on GoFundMe.
There is a saying in the automobile business, there is an Ass for every seat. That being said, you can't make a specialized vehicle for each of those asses. Heck, I saw recently where someone bought one of the Oscar Meyer Weiner cars. That doesn't mean that GM should start a production line to pump out a few hundred thousand of them. Taking that maximum of 400 square feet that is allowed in RVs and allocating much more than normal to bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens isn't going to leave much for what the average person looks for, which is living space. Your needs are very much a very small niche market, and the responses here seem to indicate there are some choices within that niche that could meet your needs. If none of those work, you have the next best solution, do it yourself. I don't think you are going to find multiple manufacturers that are going to do it for you. (BTW, there is another option, Newell or Foretravel would build what you want, right down to the colors and trim. All it would take is time and money, and I mean lots of both.)
