Then & Now - Celebrating 40 Years of RVing

January 25, 2006 - In 1966 the RV market was revolutionized and interest swelled in the RV lifestyle, bringing it to the forefront of American culture. Similar to the way Henry Ford's mass-produced automobiles altered the American landscape; Winnebago Industries Inc. changed the way America's working families vacationed.

It was the same year the Good Sam Club was formed, and Winnebago produced the first assembly-line-built motorhome. The 19-foot assembly-line-produced Winnebago cost around $6,000 - about half the price of customized motorhomes of the era - and, for the first time, motorhome ownership became affordable to the average family.

This new advancement in RV manufacturing certainly brought an increase in enthusiasm for the RV lifestyle, but the idea of traveling the open road had long been familiar to Americans as travel trailers, like the Airstream, had been popular for decades.

Although both travel trailer and motorhome manufacturers of the mid and late '60s worked to make travel more comfortable and convenient and continued to seek better ways to create a homelike environment, the early models were modest when compared to today's RVs.

Forty years ago, RVers had few choices when it came to purchasing and outfitting an RV. Not only has the selection of RV types increased to include Class A, B and C motorhomes, travel trailers, fifth-wheels, truck campers, toy haulers and pop-ups, but the myriad of RV options and accessories now available can be dizzying.

As consumers have become more sophisticated and demanding throughout the decades, RV manufacturers have responded with a range of amenities that continue to raise the standard of RV travel.

Manufacturers continue to focus on improving aerodynamic design and performance, but the most dramatic changes in RV living are just that - the RV living space. Today's RVs offer such creature comforts as king-size beds, central heat and air conditioning, full baths with showers, gourmet kitchen appliances, washers and dryers, basements and garages and state-of-the-art media centers.

RVs have kept up with the breakneck pace of technology by including navigational systems, satellite video and audio systems, computer stations and closed-circuit cameras to aid in backing up units up to 40-feet long - more than double the length of the 1966 Winnebago.

And when limits on RV length were placed on manufacturers, they looked at other ways to increase living space: they made RVs wider. Arguably the most important innovation in RVs has been the slideout- room feature. While some scoffed at the first electronic slideout- room expansions in the 1990s and dismissed it as a passing fad, the slideout's staying power has proven otherwise.

Single slides, dual slides, triple slides and even quadra slides significantly expand the living space with the simple touch of a button. With the added space and comfort, people have become more willing to spend longer periods of time in their motorhomes; and the number of full-time RVers has continued to climb.

Although RV innovations have changed dramatically during the past 40 years, the attractions to the RV lifestyle have stayed the same: a taste for adventure, experiencing new places, spending time with friends and family and enjoying nature. Today RVers continue to savor those simple pleasures - but do so in unmatched luxury, style and space.

SOURCE Good Sam Club