A Baby Boom in Motor Home Sales?

Now that baby boomers have made bestsellers out of minivans and sport-utility vehicles, they’re being asked to consider something even bigger--say, 30 feet long and seven tons.

The nation’s motor-home makers have traditionally targeted sales to people over 50 years old. As the baby boom generation reaches that milestone, the industry is looking to make new inroads to a vast market.

“We think we’ve got a product that sure meets the expectation of the boomer, but we haven’t come together,” said Jim Jaskoviak, vice president of sales and marketing at Winnebago Industries Inc.

In an unusual move for the highly competitive business, rivals like Winnebago, Fleetwood and Coachmen have joined together for an advertising campaign to boost the image of motor homes and travel trailers, known collectively as recreational vehicles.

“Rather than everybody fighting against each other, why not try to bring more people into the industry?” said Bruce Hertzke, president of the Forest City, Iowa-based Winnebago.

The three-year, $15-million effort by the Go RVing Coalition--made up of recreational vehicle manufacturers, dealers, suppliers and campground owners--is aiming the print and television ads squarely at the baby boom generation.

Appearing in magazines like Country Living, Good Housekeeping and Parents and running on family-oriented cable networks and morning TV shows, the ads tout the RV lifestyle with the slogan: “Wherever you go, you’re always at home.”

Eisner & Associates in Baltimore, which developed the ad campaign, estimates that 13 million of the 35 million baby boomer households fit the profile for potential RV owners. But more than two-thirds of those homes, or 9 million boomer households, don’t own motor homes.

In developing its profile, Eisner identified four basic needs that are fulfilled by RV ownership: a yearning to reconnect with nature, a wish by parents to better communicate with their children, a desire for a sense of control over their lives and the need to feel like part of a community.

For the RV industry, attracting the 40-something crowd means a continuous market as they rent and buy models and trade up or down as their needs change.

“I think the industry is looking at that as a great opportunity,” said Guy Nielsen, a Nutmeg Securities analyst who follows the industry. “If this thing works, you’ve got a long span there that could bump up demand.”

Although total U.S. recreational vehicle sales reached a record $12.4 billion last year, the industry was hard hit by a slump in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when a weak economy and rising gasoline prices pinched sales. In 1991, sales bottomed out at $6.6 billion.

And Winnebago says 70% of its current buyers are over 50 years old.

“They felt that now was the time” to target the under-50 crowd, said Dan Carney, spokesman for the Recreation Vehicle Industry Assn. “If they waited they might miss an entire generation.’

Part of the challenge is getting people to give the new models a look, since they are a far cry from the RVs that the boomers knew in their youth.

“We had very few models in the ‘70s,” Hertzke said. “We used to build a white motor home with a gold stripe on the side.”

Winnebago’s line now ranges from the 21-foot, 8-inch Rialta to the 37-foot, 8-inch Luxor, which can be outfitted with a queen-size bed, washer and dryer, and television satellite dish.

“I don’t think people realize how classy these things can be, with tile floors and walnut cabinets,” Nielsen said. “When you get in them, you say, ‘Hey, these things can be really plush.’ ”

And so can the price. Motor homes range from less than $40,000 to more than $200,000. Travel trailers cost $5,000 or more.

But Jaskoviak believes the campaign is a sure hit.

“We think there’s an RV gene in every human being in the world,” he said.