Local sellers cite the easy access to camping areas... and to places like Pismo Beach. And if you already have a pickup truck your options are cheaper.
Today's RVs allow families to live the life of luxury on the road... high end appliances and flat-screen TVs. Some sleep up to ten people.
Adolf Salazar of Toy Hauler Liquidators says more families are buying travel trailers which can be towed, not driven.
Toy haulers are popular with those who want to bring along ATVs and bikes.
"The last two months was really crazy," Salazar said. "We're selling up in the 80s, 90s a month."
Vicky Smith Diehl and her recently retired husband Rainer are preparing for a cross-country trip.
But retirees aren't the only customers anymore. Some families say the convenience of a home on wheels is more comfortable than a hotel stay or a cabin rental.
"It's a whole different buyer," Salazar said. "The age category has gone down. We have young couples that have two, three, five year old kids."
Salazar says the price of a 40-foot Eclipse Attitude has come down in recent years.
"They used to cost 70-80 thousand dollars," Salazar said. "We're down to 50, 53-thousand dollars."
A smaller half-ton towable toy hauler goes for 14-thousand dollars, with room to sleep six. You can even get a unit small enough to be towed with a mid-size SUV.
The towable units are much less expensive than the RVs which you drive. Salazar says that's where he has seen the spike in sales.
