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Trailer age restrictions, I haven't heard of that. We bought a pretty old (1986), small (15') travel trailer that we've been working on in order to explore som

Trailer age restrictions, I haven't heard of that. We bought a pretty old (1986), small (15') travel trailer that we've been working on in order to explore some bits of California and hopefully other parts of the US we haven't seen. And yes, there is a huge bit of nostalgia in the market: We were shocked at the prices of 'classic', partially-or-fully restored trailers like Shastas and Aristocrats. You can buy used "fiberglass rectangles" with more amenities and generally better construction for far less (but they are, as you say, not in any way charming). Check out the 5-year history of the stock of Winnebago Industries (NYSE: WGO). I think that's a lot of baby boomers hitting the market.

SwellJoe 9y ago
"Trailer age restrictions, I haven't heard of that." You will. California is awful. Particularly the bay area. I ended up having to park over an hour and a half away from San Francisco when I visited. I'm in an old Avion travel trailer these days. When I first moved into an RV it was a newish motorhome, and I never ran into the trailer age restriction. But, I think there's actually two things at play: Parks that never had such restrictions in the past have added them in recent years. All the parks I used to stay in in Austin had no such restrictions in the past, and all but one does now. This is, I think, a reflection of the growing class divide among RVers and the growing desire among wealthy RVers, who do it by choice, to not be associated with or share space with poor trailer residents who do it out of necessity. It is most pronounced in major cities. It's rare to find this restriction at parks that are out in the country. Also, obviously, city, county, state, and national parks have no such restrictions. So, it's usually possible to find a good place to park it, but it's surprisingly difficult to get a spot somewhere close to a major city. It's been such a frustrating problem for me that come spring, I plan to buy a newer rig just so I don't have this problem anymore. I like to be able to visit major cities with my RV. It pisses me off that I'll have to give my business to parks that participate in ugly classism in order to do it, though. I've also considered going with a big old bus and just putting a gazillion solar panels on the roof and huge water tanks, so I don't need to be in a park at all.

SwellJoe 9y ago

"Trailer age restrictions, I haven't heard of that." You will. California is awful. Particularly the bay area. I ended up having to park over an hour and a half away from San Francisco when I visited. I'm in an old Avion travel trailer these days. When I first moved into an RV it was a newish motorhome, and I never ran into the trailer age restriction. But, I think there's actually two things at play: Parks that never had such restrictions in the past have added them in recent years. All the parks I used to stay in in Austin had no such restrictions in the past, and all but one does now. This is, I think, a reflection of the growing class divide among RVers and the growing desire among wealthy RVers, who do it by choice, to not be associated with or share space with poor trailer residents who do it out of necessity. It is most pronounced in major cities. It's rare to find this restriction at parks that are out in the country. Also, obviously, city, county, state, and national parks have no such restrictions. So, it's usually possible to find a good place to park it, but it's surprisingly difficult to get a spot somewhere close to a major city. It's been such a frustrating problem for me that come spring, I plan to buy a newer rig just so I don't have this problem anymore. I like to be able to visit major cities with my RV. It pisses me off that I'll have to give my business to parks that participate in ugly classism in order to do it, though. I've also considered going with a big old bus and just putting a gazillion solar panels on the roof and huge water tanks, so I don't need to be in a park at all.