Discovering The Freedom Of RVing

David Meerman Scott has long been a world traveler. He’s lived in Tokyo and Hong Kong. He’s visited 107 countries and all seven continents. As an author and marketing expert, the 59-year-old is invited to speak all over the world, and he and his wife, Yukari, treasure their trips abroad. 

“We’ve always had two to three new trips on the radar at any one time,” David says. But when the pandemic hit, the globetrotting ground to a halt. Airplanes and hotels no longer felt safe. Nonetheless, David says, “we still had the adventurous spirit we’ve had since we met 30 years ago.” 

So in October, he and Yukari bought a 2021 four-wheel-drive Winnebago Revel Diesel Camper Van, built on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis. It’s big enough to accommodate the couple comfortably, and with a full kitchen and bathroom, it allows them to take adventures and get off the grid in a way that feels safe, comfortable, and fun. In the first month after they bought it, David and Yukari, who live in the suburbs of Boston, headed straight for Maine. They camped in Naples and Greene, where they enjoyed watching the sundown, stargazing in the evening, and going for a good, exhilarating, five-hour hike.

“Being able to have this mini hotel that we could drive anywhere is really cool,” David says.

The Scotts are part of a wave of first-timers launching adventures in RVs, trailers, and sprinter vans. Daniel Caffrey, owner of Lee’s Family Trailer Sales and Service, in Windham, where the Scotts bought their van, is seeing more customers like them, folks who’ve never considered RVs before. 

“It’s been a lifeline for people to see loved ones, and to remedy their cabin fever,” Caffrey says.

Nationwide, shipments of RVs from manufacturers to dealers — a key measure of the strength of the industry — are up 2 percent over last year, according to the RV Industry Association. Every month in the latter half of 2020 saw record levels of RV shipments.

Check out the full article from Down East here.