Home, suite motor home

How about a home on wheels?

That’s what Clayton Hodgson, 77, and his wife Ardella, 77, did when they bought a 38-foot-long fifth-wheel, 2010 Crossroads Seville, which has a living area so spacious, you could play soccer in it.

OK, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, “but not much,” Hodgson quipped.

Luxury motor homes – they are far removed from “campers” – are the latest trend in upscale vacation dwellings. Demand for these houses on wheels has doubled in the last decade, to about 320,800 units a year, according to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. The biggest gains are in the high-end market, where high-dollar mobile homes offer everything from big-screen TVs with satellite dishes to granite countertops and leather furniture.

The Hodgsons have been snowbirds, spending time in Florida for the past 15 winters in some sort of pull-behind-their-truck dwelling instead of flying down into a more permanent nest.

“Sure, you can rent apartments and condos; a lot of snowbirds do that,” he acknowledged. “But it’s so nice to have your own place and your own bed.”

Hodgson added, “And we are in a campground that’s in the country, on the Swanee River. It’s gorgeous, peaceful, quiet, serene. You couldn’t get this kind of atmosphere any place else.”

Hodgson pointed out they started smaller with their fifth-wheels.

“It’s been an evolving process,” he admitted. “This is the fourth camper we’ve purchased and each time we get a little bigger.”

This rig lists for $76,000, “although that’s not what we paid,” Hodgson said. “We traded in our previous RV and got a pretty good deal,” and has four slide-outs – room sections that expand when the RV is parked to increase the square-footage – three televisions, a fireplace, a washer/dryer, a central vacuuming system, a queen-sized bed and “an exceptional refrigerator with a defroster.”

Why not just buy a house on some nice property?

“I guess if you wanted to do that as an investment, that would be the way to go,” Hodgson mused.

“But we like the flexibility a camper offers,” he noted. “We can take our camper all over and visit family, even in the summer.”

Hodgson added, “Our son, who lives in Des Moines, recently closed on a condo in the Fort Myers area as a winter getaway. They chose that option because it fit their lifestyle. You know everybody has to march to their own drummer.”

That marching may change as gas prices climb. Hodgson pulls the fifth-wheel with a 2000 Ford F250 diesel pickup truck.

“Sure, that may affect how we handle traveling,” he said. “We may leave the camper here and travel in the truck, which gets 16 miles per gallon when it’s not towing and I figured about 8.6 with the RV.”

Home is where the heart is and Le Mars is where the Hodgsons hang their hats from mid-April to Dec. 1. Part of the appeal of having a nice motor coach is the camaraderie it instills. Hodgson thought it was like everyone belonging to the Methodist Church.

“We have a winter Texans breakfast in Le Mars every month throughout the summer with folks who we might not have been friends with before getting the RV,” he said.

“Then there are these friendships you forge with the people you camp with,” Hodgson continued. “My folks had a park model camper they used for 14 years when they went to Texas. I couldn’t understand why all the strangers they would meet fleetingly became so close. Now I get it.”

What used to be considered something only the rich could afford has become a practical tool for retirees who prefer the nicer weather in the south, said Matt Fedders, president of Fedders Marine & RV in Le Mars.

“People like to be comfortable and they like the luxury stuff,” he said. “I try and put it into perspective for them: You can take one big trip to Disneyland for one big vacation or you can buy a camper and have a lifetime of memories.”

Once buyers start to check out the various options, they steer away from the bare-bones models, added Micah Salter, Fedders sales manager.

“Favorite add-ons include electric jacks, satellite dishes, a central cleaning system and nicer countertops,” he said. “They are really looking for convenience.”

They are also concerned about tooling around in something close to an 18-wheeler, Fedders pointed out.

“There are crash-avoidance systems and tiny cameras on both sides and in the back to allow you to see where the mirrors can’t,” he said. “There are ones with an awning that retracts when the wind blows too hard.”

After 32-inch televisions and marble countertops, what’s next?

“I would look for the entire side of a camper to slide out,” Fedders predicted. “And ice makers and water dispensers in the refrigerators.”