I just finished writing a blog on the VW Beetle culture. It is apparent that the beetle has always had a certain cult following, at least from the 1960’s, and a strong VW culture exists within the country.

There is certainly an RV culture that exists in the US. I’m not sure I could go as far as to say there is a Travel Trailer Cult following. Although, I would say that if any brand of trailers had a strong cult following, it might be Airstream. The Airstream trailers are like the vintage beetles. They were made extremely well, they all look the same (shape and composition), have been around even longer than the beetle. Like the beetle, they have their own clubs (much like the VW Clubs) and really strong following.

I am aware that certain manufacturers have yearly Rallys (like Grand Design). However, I’m not sure that rises to the level of “Cult Status”. However, there is most definitely an RV culture.

I would say that in the RV world the culture gets broken down into categories:

Truck Campers, pop-up campers, tear drop campers, travel trailers, fifth wheels, and motorhomes (Which are further broken down by class). You can certainly find groups that are formally associated with each of the groups I just mentioned.

Now, whether it happens to be a towable unit or a motor home, you will probably see the same cultural umbrella. It is a culture of folks that want to get away from the city, relax in the quiet of a park, or visit landmarks and places that they wouldn’t ordinarily get to visit. They might be stopping at chain campgrounds, state parks or boon docking. However, we are all traveling on the highway from destination to destination. That type of travel adds to the camping experience as the climate and scenery change.

There is also a campground culture. This involves folks that are always willing to help fellow campers that are struggling to back their rig into place or have a problem with their camper. There is also just the aspect of meeting new folks on the road. You get to hear their camping stories (good or bad), and maybe share a beer.

I’ve often said that I meet the nicest people at VW car shows. It has been absolutely the same for us on the road with our travel trailers. We have met some outstanding folks, and some outstanding campground owners.

So, is camping a cult? It probably doesn’t fall into that category, but there is a camping culture for sure. While it may not be a religion, you had better “get religion” around caring for your rig. Making sure you keep up on all of your maintenance items will insure you get to enjoy the culture for a very long time.

Safe Travels!