Truck Campers 10 years from now?

[Jeepers92]

Being close to the new year, was just wondering what kind of camper our children might be driving ....

I can see them being much more " Off Grid ", than what we have now. Using newer designed photo cells to charge nickle metal battery packs controlled by an on board central computer system. Think of a battery system 1/2 the size, and 4 times the capacity of our current best spiral batteries.
How about smaller generators running on a fuel cell, also tied to the central computer system. It would automatically sense all power use and charge, making the best choices for you. It would also sense propane usage, auto tune your TV, be your radio, weather station, Co2 monitor,etc...and provide this info to a small touch pad monitor.

Flexible plastic outer bodies with an integrated aluminum frame, 2 or 3 slides, using a hydraulic system. The slides would sealed with accordion silicone seals to reduce leaks. How about the opposing slides to one track for counter balance.

All the outside to inside outlets ( AC, vents, etc.), would be sealed with ridge type aluminum seals requiring no sealant and all accessable from the outside.
The black water system would contain a compaction system, and dry disposal to reduce requirements on the black tank. How about a system to take the gray water and use it to supply the commode?

A water system that would collect rain, dew, exc.

Oh well, enough musing. My spring project is rebuilding the nose on my Fox.

[RobertRyan]

jimh425 wrote:
DiploStrat, you might want to note where RobertRyan is from. I think he knows something about what's going on in Australia. ;). Btw, I disagree that some of the items you mentioned are innovations. At least, most of us have no need for them. Our RVs work pretty well.

For some of the other posters, most of the people who are hardcore rvers I know or met didn't really get going until their late 50s or 60s. If say most of the Gen Xers and Milleniels have some time to grow up or save. For now most of those are in tents.

See my recent posts on the Class C forum about Expedition vehicles in Australia

[DiploStrat]

jimh425 wrote:
DiploStrat, you might want to note where RobertRyan is from. I think he knows something about what's going on in Australia. ;). Btw, I disagree that some of the items you mentioned are innovations. At least, most of us have no need for them. Our RVs work pretty well.

You kind of lost me on this one; I am very aware of where RobertRyan is from. I have followed Australian 4x4 issues for decades. FWIW, was there just last year (lamenting that I did not have my Tiger) to attend Beloved Spouse's High School reunion. (My previous visit involved an overnight at King's Cross at way too young an age. 😉 )

My point is that Australian expedition RV's, like the beautiful Earth Cruiser that parked next to us at OEXPO East, and with whom we shared many a bottle of wine and tall tale, already incorporate many of the items on many American RV's wish lists.

Being a rather patriotic soul, my biggest complaint about my rig is that fact that so many of it's systems are imported as there are simply no US made products with comparable capabilities. Probably because, as you noted, so many US RV owners are satisfied with what they have. This may be one reason that many foreign RV's have better systems; US owners aren't demanding better.

[jimh406]

DiploStrat, you might want to note where RobertRyan is from. I think he knows something about what's going on in Australia. ;). Btw, I disagree that some of the items you mentioned are innovations. At least, most of us have no need for them. Our RVs work pretty well.

For some of the other posters, most of the people who are hardcore rvers I know or met didn't really get going until their late 50s or 60s. If say most of the Gen Xers and Milleniels have some time to grow up or save. For now most of those are in tents.

[mbloof]

Humm... what does the future bring for TC's??

Hopefully not more of the same crud! The industry moves at such a snails pace that (as others have pointed out) a modern model might not be much different than one +25yrs old!

I'd like to see:

- true water proof - the entire idea/concept that every 6mo-year or 2-3 years you have to reseal the entire darn thing has to go the way of the doodoo bird!

- lighter with composets, any remaining wood skin or structure needs to be replaced. (inside cabinet faces and doors are fine to be wood)

- Hibread Compressor/ammonia refridge's

- Led lighting throughout

- Factory solar+MPPT controller

- True Amp Hour battery monitoring system

- More +12V outlets and a few USB ones as well

- Lots of folks end up adding one later - why not INCLUDE a quality SINE WAVE inverter?

- Are they EVER going to give us a DSI button to light the oven?

- Are they every going to just give us a DSI/AC Hot water heater as STANDARD?

- Why don't TC's come with outside (and inside) bubble levels?

- Don't get me started about the joke they call a sound system - seems the industry and the Jensen stuff they put into these rigs sounds worse than factory Automobile audio systems from the 1970's!

Just a few ideas...

[DiploStrat]

RobertRyan wrote:

dadwolf2 wrote:
IF, Australian or other country RV companies make a foothold with innovative construction, then the US market will change. But if these companies don't meet a competitive price point...will never happen.

They are already doing just that.
Air commander Airconditioning
Host industriess Eathcruiser
All Terrain Warriors United States
EarthCruiser in US partnership with host Industries
ARB

Worth noting that these Australian products, like my Tiger and the Earthroamer, are NOT designed for classic US RV use. That is they are designed to provide all of their functions without the use of campground power, water, or sewage connections. Sometimes referred to as "expedition campers", these beasts are designed not for weekend trips, but for multi-month travel off of paved roads. As a result, they generally cost two to three times as much as a conventional truck camper.

[Naio]

silversand wrote:
Steve:

....oh ya; for sure there is a back to the roots light-weight camping/trekking movement/trend among Millennials. It is really interesting to read Backpacking magazine (and other similar genre: for kayakers/paddlers); their retained review personnel is/are very very young (Millennials).

I think this is a good thing.

Unfortunately for Millennials, only a few will ever have the means to "get into" RVing (the few that do buy older vintage RVs, and literally rebuild them from the ground up, as best they can)...

There is a strong DIY subculture among Millenials and Gen Xers. Part of this is making a virtue of necessity -- we cannot afford to buy things new and ready-made. Part of it is nostalgia for what we imagine was a simpler time. Part of it is growing up on Nickleodeon and AMC ;). And another, darker, part is that we always wonder if we will NEED survival skills, after the next financial crash or global pandemic. So we learn them.

And, yes, we do a lot of camping, backpacking, and kayaking. And a lot of Rving-on-the-cheap -- homemade van conversions and the like.

You can see the simpler aesthetic starting to hit the market with the Eggcampers, for example. I was so surprised to see someone comment, in a thread about fiberglass campers this summer, that they felt 'claustrophobic'. To me, and, I think, to a lot of people my age, it is the mainstream RVs that seem claustrophobic, with their frou-frou prints and raised-panel woodgrain cabinets and wallpaper and valences.

I think RVs of the future may focus a lot more on the smaller end of the market. That might mean TCs become more popular.

[bcbouy]

the wife and i looked at the palomino 1225 2014 model pop up tc at the last rv show.it was almost identical in construction and fit out to our 25 year old sun lite,except for the electric roof lift.

[RobertRyan]

dadwolf2 wrote:
IF, Australian or other country RV companies make a foothold with innovative construction, then the US market will change. But if these companies don't meet a competitive price point...will never happen.

They are already doing just that.
Air commander Airconditioning
Host industriess Eathcruiser
All Terrain Warriors United States
EarthCruiser in US partnership with host Industries
ARB

[dadwolf2]

IF, Australian or other country RV companies make a foothold with innovative construction, then the US market will change. But if these companies don't meet a competitive price point...will never happen.

[RobertRyan]

Silversand wrote:
Robert Ryan's pointing out the enormous strides made among Australian RV/truck camper manufacturers vis composites is important (Australian RV manufacturers need to market their products World-wide by selling turn-key manufacturing "systems" and expertise, not by exporting "end product" from geographically shipping-disadvantageous Australia).

This hopefully will make Conference attendees aware of what people are doing here with suspensions, composites,Off Road RV's and other accessories I.e air conditioners
RVIA Conference in Melbourne in 2015

[silversand]

Steve:

....oh ya; for sure there is a back to the roots light-weight camping/trekking movement/trend among Millennials. It is really interesting to read Backpacking magazine (and other similar genre: for kayakers/paddlers); their retained review personnel is/are very very young (Millennials).

I think this is a good thing.

Unfortunately for Millennials, only a few will ever have the means to "get into" RVing (the few that do buy older vintage RVs, and literally rebuild them from the ground up, as best they can)...

[sabconsulting]

silversand wrote:

Billy G wrote:
Will the computer generation want out door activities? Will we be able to afford them?

....it depends what cohort you mean. To me, the computer generation are baby boomers (who invented computing and supercomputing: pre smart-phone). This group earns roughly 40% of all US income. The Gen Xers were the cohort who invented mobile technology (ie. the first smart-phone "phone-computer mashup" was the IBM Simon in 1992, designed by people born in the '60s and '70s), Gen-Xers earning about 30% of all US income. It could be argued that Gen-Yers (Millennials) were kind of involved in the invention/marketing/apping of the super smart-phones debuting in the 2005+ era (this generation is the poorest, earning only <18% of all US income, and with a horrendous unemployment statistic at an astounding ~15% in the US)...paradoxically, Millennials are the most educated cohort among all generational cohorts, they are the poorest, most chronically unemployed, and vast numbers of them still live with their parents.

It is HIGHLY doubtful that Millennials will ever be able to afford any kind of RV lifestyle....anytime soon (read: perhaps in the future, when they inherit).

Though the latest generation may not afford luxury RVs, camping is in reach of everyone, and it may be that with the saturation of technology, gadgets, designer products, etc. some will start a fashionable backlash, wanting to experience the wild with just basic camping equipment. But of course this does raise a question about who will fund the next generation of development of RVs.

Steve.

[silversand]

Billy G wrote:
Will the computer generation want out door activities? Will we be able to afford them?

....it depends what cohort you mean. To me, the computer generation are baby boomers (who invented computing and supercomputing: way pre smart-phone). This group earns roughly 40% of all US income. The Gen Xers were the cohort who invented mobile technology (ie. the first smart-phone "phone-computer mashup" was the IBM Simon in 1992, designed by people born in the '60s and '70s), Gen-Xers earning about 30% of all US income. It could be argued that Gen-Yers (Millennials) were kind of involved in the invention/marketing/apping of the super smart-phones debuting in the 2005+ era (this generation is the poorest, earning only <18% of all US income, and with a horrendous unemployment statistic at an astounding ~15% in the US)...paradoxically, Millennials are the most educated cohort among all generational cohorts, however, they are the poorest, most chronically unemployed, and vast numbers of them still live with their parents (well into their 30s).

It is HIGHLY doubtful that Millennials will ever be able to afford any kind of RV lifestyle....anytime soon (read: perhaps in the future, when they inherit). Millenials only look at car payments by the weekly numbers (ever notice that over the past ~8 years, car companies advertise: "....payments only $30.......WEEKLY." Extrapolate this socio-marketing calculus to the cohort that buys RVs (RVs cost $50,000 to $300,000 +) ) :E

[billyg]

Hi I wonder lets go further out. Will the computer generation want out door activities? Will we be able to afford them? Humm

[Bedlam]

What about incorporating a 3-point suspended floor for the TC (like some expedition RV's) which would also be the tie down points? This would allow a rigid structure that moves independently of the vehicle.