Is this a trend in North America or just here in Australia?
Sunliner Motorhome
More solo women hit the road
Popular network for solo RV travellers experiences rapid growth as more women decide to go it alone
Most caravan advertising is aimed at โgrey nomadโ couples and families, but there's increasing evidence of a growing number of RV owners being female and โgoing soloโ.
Earlier this year TripAdvisor released findings from its global Womenโs Travel Survey that revealed that as many as 81 per cent of Australian women were planning to travel solo in 2015.
Lyn Rees, the president of one of the largest social and support groups for RV โsinglesโ, the Solosโ Network run by the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia, says this trend is reflected in the clubโs membership growth in recent years.
โAt the moment weโve got between 700 and 800 members (of the Solo's Network),โ Rees says. โI would say it has grown probably at least 30 per cent (over the past five years).โ
She cites various reasons for this, including ill-health or separation causing a break-up of existing RV โcouplesโ, as well as more single women like herself finding the RV lifestyle an increasingly attractive alternative due to rising domestic living costs and the security and comfort offered by modern recreation vehicles.
She says around half the members are either new to the RV lifestyle or are existing solo travellers that decide to join the group.
Some are forced to travel alone because partners donโt want to come along, while others like herself, decide to live on the road full-time.
Rees has travelled and lived in a Toyota Hiace campervan and currently a Mazda-based Winnebago motorhome for the past four years.
She initially rented out her home but later sold it, and now relies on free camping and the hospitality of other solo travellers as well as her two daughters to stretch her savings.
She says one downside of solo travel is having to pay the full overnight rate at caravan parks.
โI do go to caravan parks sometimes but as a solo traveller we tend to get charged the same amount of money (as couples). You donโt get a discount for one person.
โIf they changed that and did a (reduced) rate for a solo traveller I would go to caravan parks more.
โ(But) as far as safety goes Iโve never had a problem since Iโve been travelling,โ she says.
โI never thought Iโd be doing this,โ she explains. โI just made up my mind one dayโฆ Iโm working seven days a week and I was by myselfโฆ itโs the best thing I ever did, itโs an amazing lifestyle.
โI must admit I donโt miss the home.โ
The national marketing manager of Sunliner Motorhomes, Candice Brittain, says the Melbourne manufacturer has also noticed more solo travellers purchasing Sunliner campervans and motorhomes, particularly women.
โWe are definitely seeing more single women than we are single men,โ Brittain says.
โThere seems to be a growth in women who want to travel and motorhomes are a safer option than caravanning, as if there are any security issues they can simply jump in the driverโs seat and drive away.โ
Also driving growth is the rise of โglampingโ social media sites aimed specifically at females and more general informational sites for solo travellers.
However, she believes thereโs a need for the RV industry to educate the new breed of female buyers, many of which have never used an RV before.
โThe single men who tend to buy motorhomes have been camping or RVing or caravanning prior. What weโre finding is the single women getting into the RV world often donโt have that level of experience.
โ(Some female buyers) have literally stepped out from behind a desk and donโt have those practical skills and we need to meet the gap in their knowledge.
โWeโre working with our sales network because itโs more about providing a more intensive handover process and also being very clear upfront in the sales process about what it is they want and where theyโre going, and what they means in practical terms.โ
She says Sunliner is also "actively looking at our products and figuring out whether there are any tweaks and changes we can make to meet the unique needs of these people".
Brittain says the rise in solo women travellers also reflects societal and cultural changes, including women living longer and becoming more independent in older age.
โThere are more and more people over the age of 55 who are single than there has been in previous generations,โ she says.
โBut I think the romance of exploring and travelling is appealing to more and more women.โ
Steven Page, the general manager of Victorian Jayco dealer, Page Bros RV, is also seeing more single women buying caravans and motorhomes, particularly widows.
He says itโs also increasingly popular for women to join with female friends and buy an RV together.
Sunliner Motorhome
Another great group is womenrv.com - not to be confused with the paid membership group rvingwomen.org.
The women of womenrv.com are not required to be single (for whatever reason), but the vast majority is single. The only requirement to join the group is that you are a woman and already have, or want to have, any type of RV.
I have been hauling my pooch and little travel trailer around by myself for 3 1/2 years now. Never had a moment of fear or loneliness.
Why, here's last year's Thansgiving feast and the pooch did not get a single bite of it!! ๐ Cooked outdoors a dutch oven in some really, really cold weather. Reservations are already made for this year's Turkey Extravaganza...
Go for it - you'll most likely have a ball!!
The women of womenrv.com are not required to be single (for whatever reason), but the vast majority is single. The only requirement to join the group is that you are a woman and already have, or want to have, any type of RV.
I have been hauling my pooch and little travel trailer around by myself for 3 1/2 years now. Never had a moment of fear or loneliness.
Why, here's last year's Thansgiving feast and the pooch did not get a single bite of it!! ๐ Cooked outdoors a dutch oven in some really, really cold weather. Reservations are already made for this year's Turkey Extravaganza...
Go for it - you'll most likely have a ball!!
pnichols wrote:
This thread started out somewhat as a general discussion on solo RV'ing .... of which there is a lot going on.
Getting more specific - with regards to lady solo RV'ers doing a lot of vagabond type RV'ing instead of staying for long periods of time in a given camping area - maybe I've watched too much news, but unfortunately that seems real risky to me. Perhaps it's safer for ladies in Australia to do that than it might be here.
No, it includes both. Staying for long periods of time in a specific camping area,, is not that common generally in Australia. If you are talking about a month or two in one spot more the exception,no matter how big the RV
I am single mature female from Europe, full time traveller.
I plan of hitting the road again from Brisbane to anywhere (Alice springs, cairns, Sydney) later next month in my Toyota coaster motorhome and stop in many places on the way. No set route or timeframes, very relaxed travels.
I have a spare seat and and a full annex for another like minded lady with a full clean Australian licence to join me. I travel with two pet birds, vegetarian, smoker , not drinker.
You would be expected to share driving, fuel and related costs.
Call or text me if you are interested to join my travels.
GMandJM wrote:Markiemark32 wrote:
Saw this option in a smaller A ---
Trek Review
Markiemark
That is so cool! That PleasureWay with the Murphy bed has been replaced on my WishList. ๐
Thanks.
Drop down beds Common here
