RV Culture

This is our first exposure to a culture in which almost everyone is either retired or semi-retired, as well as to the RV lifestyle/culture, which I suspect is a sub-set of the former, and probably different than the one you would run into in the golf-oriented retirement communities of the sunny Southwest. There appear to be at least 4 distinct kinds of travelers here in Baja: the Caravaners, Big Rig RV-ers, Life Style Travelers, and the Vacationers or Dabblers (the smallest group). The Caravaners travel in fairly large groups of 13-25 rigs and are designed to be pretty self-contained and create their own communities. There are different levels of Caravan service in terms of what’s included; some even include the meals and all activities along the way. I really don’t know anything about the people who participate in these highly organized groups, because they are largely closed communities. At the other end the caravan spectrum there is the Caravan package that just includes a one way trip down the Baja peninsula in which the leader organizes the border crossing and campgrounds and provides a lead vehicle and a tail vehicle with folks in them to trouble-shoot for you if you have problem. Once to the south end of the road, they turn you loose and you’re on your own. This latter type seems to work well for those who just need a little help overcoming the bad press that Mexico has received. These types of Carvaners then become members of one of the other three catagories of Baja travelers. We have met a number of the what I term “Big Rig RV-ers” and they are folks who have large motor homes or 5th wheels who spend extended parts of the year, or full-time, in their rigs, and have collected a large number of accessories which might include satellite TV, internet, off-road quads, “toads” (RV lingo for towed vehicles) and tend to spend extended periods, weeks or even months, at each location where they stop. Interestingly, at least to me, is that these folks tend to be from what I’d think of as very Middle America (geographically, economically and politically), not the more well-to-do I had imagined inhabited these big, expensive rigs. Many of the men in the Big Rig RV-er group have had jobs where they worked with their hands, such as loggers, farmers or electricians, ran small businesses or in resource industries. These are not people who are “just like us” but they tend to be outgoing, friendly and happy to invite us into their lives for a few visits while we are their neighbors. Then there are the Life Style Travelers. We’ve run into a number of folks who seem to have been outside of the mainstream for significant parts of their lives, and for whom RV-ing is only the most current iteration. Sometimes we wonder if they don’t have some secret past that they are hiding from as, after having spent some time with them, you review what you know about them, and it’s clear there are parts of their stories that you don’t know. This category also has a sub-set which Bob describes as “the lonesome and the loners” (Bob would belong to this group if Cathryn ever left him). This subset is made up exclusively, as far as we have seen, of men who are traveling alone and don’t seem to be all that interested in interaction with other people. The Vacationers/Dabblers: These are the folks like us, out for an extend trip, but not committed to this kind of travel as a life-style. They are not defined by their vehicle: they may drive a Big Rig or be in a tent. They may be fully retired, or they may be semi-retired like Jim and Jan, who still have an active role to play in their businesses, but don’t need to be there for the day-to-day anymore. It may include the folks who are down to wind-surf for a couple of months but will return to their homes when the season is over. Most of these folks, like us, think what we’re doing is great fun, but don’t know that we will do it every year. I suspect many of the Big Rig RV-ers started out like us. It would be interesting to know what percentage of vacationer/dabblers make the transition. We pretty well know that we won’t.