RV Camping Equipment

The best memories I have from childhood involve me and my two sisters piling into the RV with my parents and piles RV camping equipment and trekking off to Angel Fire, New Mexico, to go skiing. Every winter we would rent a small cabin in northern New Mexico and spend a week flailing down the ski slopes, colliding with unsuspecting skiers, singing cheesy songs, nursing our wounds, and sucking down hot chocolates. However, now that I think about it, I remember the 26 hour drive bringing us all together.

Today, hundreds of thousands of Americans travel, live and camp in recreational vehicles, from small popup trailers to lavish diesel-powered "moving mansions" costing over half a million dollars. With increased security at airports and more hassles piled on to other forms of travel, recreational vehicles are becoming more and more popular every year. Fun, convenient, efficient, family-oriented RVing is tough to beat.

RV Camping Equipment and Past RVers

At the tail end World World I, Americans jumped on the road and began camping out of their cars, adding tents, beds and cooking facilities to their cars. RV camping equipment became a market of its own. As early as 1920, RVers would camp in uncomplicated wooden house structures that they would build at home and attach to their model T's. This idea of having a so-called home on wheels actually dates back thousands of years, but I am fairly certain early Nomads didn't conceive of a fully loaded RV with the type of amenities available today.

In fact, RV camping clubs extend back as far as the Tin Can Tourists of the 1920s and 1930s. You might be asking, "What in the heck are Tin Can Tourists?" Well, these people were RVers who trekked across the United States, through all the treacherous terrain and harsh weather conditions, trying to experience the many wonders this great country had to offer. They would camp by the side of the road using gas stoves to heat their food and cold water to bathe their bodies.

By the time the 1930s rolled around, RVs on the market used aircraft-style construction and gave RVers the luxury of beds, small dining areas, electricity and water. As RVs became more and more popular with families, seasoned travelers, the curious, and the fearless explorers, there came the inevitable need for more campgrounds with appropriate facilities. So, the people of the United States started building and continue to build new camping and RV sites every year.

Advancements in RV Camping Equipment

Following World War II, the RV industry boomed (and so did babies) as Americans headed out on to the open road. Americans were marrying their high school sweethearts, buying homes, investing their money, having babies, and traveling across the country. From miniature do-it-yourself kits to lavish models 29-feet long, these "travel trailers" were truly recognized as Recreational Vehicles by 1950.

In fact, if you examine today's Recreational Vehicles and the RV camping equipment manufacturers, you will discover that many of them began operating in the 1950s and 1960s. Advancements in aerodynamic design and interior comforts abound along the RV's evolutionary path. Some of the newest luxury RV's are actually buses with turbo diesel engines, with expandable ones that rival penthouse apartments.

Americans have been equipping their cars and trucks with cooking and sleeping facilities ever since the first Model T Ford rolled off the assembly line. In fact, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone and Thomas Edison, used to go on camping excursions together. Before they would hit the road, they would outfit the car with the best RV camping equipment available at the time. They turned the Model T into an RV.