Eleven Hands at a Campfire - and What They Tell Us About the RV Market

Eleven Hands at a Campfire - and What They Tell Us About the RV Market

From RV Podcast - Stories From The Road by Mike Wendland

June 22, 2026 · 16 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the disconnect between RV manufacturers and the actual buyers in the market, highlighting insights from a campfire gathering.

The RV industry is chasing the wrong generation. While manufacturers court 30-somethings with outdoor TVs and influencer campaigns, the buyers who are actually writing checks right now look nothing like the people in the ads. Last week I sat around a campfire in Hocking Hills, Ohio with 88 members of our RVCommunity. I asked how many had bought a new RV in the past year. Eleven hands went up. A 12th would have, but he was out on a six-mile hike. He was turning 70. That tells you everything the sales charts do not. In this episode we dig into who is really driving the RV market right now, what experienced RVers actually want that manufacturers keep missing, the quiet but alarming shift happening in our national parks, and a dramatic rescue on the Appalachian Trail that is a reminder of exactly why preparation matters out there. Read the companion blog post on RVing in the second half of life at RVLifestyle.com - link below. Here is the complete episode, start to finish. THE RV PODCAST - MONDAY NEWS EDITION Episode Air Date: Monday, June 23, 2026 - 6:00 AM Approx. Running Time: 25 Minutes Host: Mike Wendland THE LAST GENERATION THAT KNOWS HOW TO TRAVEL ...and why the RV industry…

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Host: Mike Wendland

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Places: Hocking Hills, Ohio, Appalachian Trail

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