How many times has a sleek, ginormous motorhome passed you on the highway that made you wonder “Who is in that thing?!”
That RVer could be a regular person just like you and me, but the odds are good that your fellow road tripper could be one of the many notable celebrities, sports figures and politicians who love the RV lifestyle. From rocker Bret Michaels to legendary Robert DeNiro to our President Obama, the RV lifestyle is loved by everyone.
“As soon as this convention is over we are loading up our kids in an RV. We are traveling around to county fairs, eating ice cream and taking our two girls to the swimming pool.”
Barack Obama, following his keynote address on MSNBC’s The Joe Scarborough Show, August 2, 2004
Camping used to be something that many families did because it was an inexpensive way to go on vacation. But with the exponential growth of luxury motor homes, coaches and uber-cool restored vintage trailers, RV vacations are loved by people of every income and profession.
“My RV is the only place where I can find some peace and quiet.”
Jeff Gordon, NASCAR driver
Of course, just like the rich and famous are different, so too are the RVs in which they roll. It’s a safe bet you won’t see most of them in a 24′ Jayco traveling down the highway. Take for instance Dolly Parton’s pink RV palace on wheels – her motor coach tour bus is large enough to house some of her enormous wigs!
While most actors like Leonardo DiCaprio just use RVs for location shooting and many musicians like Willie Nelson only live in them on the road, a few of these famous people actually to hit the road on a regular basis and camp! Actor Matthew McConaughey is one happy camper, who often travels with his family in one of his many vintage Airstream trailers:
“It’s a really fun life, you gotta do it. The hardest part is just getting out of your driveway.”
Many of the best-selling luxury RVs are made by companies like:
Other luxury motorcoach companies are best known for converting commercial buses into luxurious homes on wheels, like Marathon Coach of Coburg, Oregon.
With prices hovering anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million or more, some of us regular folks find that these luxury RVs are just a little beyond our budget. Even renting can give us sticker shock. According to the blog MarketWatch,
“A luxury, custom-built RV with driver runs from about $3,000 to up to around $15,000 per week. You’ll also have to consider gas prices — many big RVs get just 8 miles to the gallon, and with gas prices near $4 per gallon, a round-trip from Miami to Cape Cod would run you more than $1500 in gas alone.”
Still that doesn’t stop us from being celebrity RV voyeurs. We can dream, can’t we?
Often called “The O.G. of full-time RVing,” Rene Agredano and her husband Jim Nelson hit the road in a fifth wheel trailer in 2007, after their dog Jerry lost a leg to terminal cancer. Sixteen years later they are still traveling and sharing their nomadic adventures at LiveWorkDream. As a self-employed wordsmith, Rene shares her expertise for many RV industry videos, publications such as the Escapees RV Club Magazine, and has authored numerous books, including the Essential RVing Guide to National Parks, and Income Anywhere, a guide to earning money on the road. She has been featured in global media outlets including the PBS documentary “NATURE: Why We Love Cats and Dogs,” The Guardian Sunday Edition, and the Dan Pink book Free Agent Nation.
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