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Over the Next Hill: An Ethnography of RVing Seniors in North America
Living either full or part time in a recreational vehicle has been an alternative lifestyle in North America since the 1920s. By the 1930s, Wally Byam's Airstream company could not keep up with the demand for his self-contained "house trailers." And today, "RVing" has become so widespread that, for perhaps two million retired North Americans, home is a recreational vehicle. In this book, anthropologists Dorothy and David Counts tell the story of their research living the life of RVing seniors in trailer parks, "boondocking" sites on government land, laundromats, and other meeting places across the continent.
The authors convincingly convey the feel of various RV lifestyles (boondocking, full timing, flea marketing and so on). But they also raise broad questions. Are there parallels to be made between the RVers of North America and the gypsies of Europe? Is there an association between RVing and socio-economic status? Why would people sell their homes and live on the road as nomads? The answers come from RVers who argue persuasively that they experience a greater sense of community and fewer of the emotional problems common to old age than do many who have chosen other forms of retirement living.
This edition expands the original 1996 text, including an extended section on working RVers and on the CARE center (Continued Assistance for Retired Escapees) in Livingston, TX. The CARE center is a unique and innovative experiment that provides inexpensive assisted living and adult daycare for RVers who must hang up their keys because of age or infirmity, but who want to continue their participation in the RVing community.
A new appendix (Appendix 5) offers information, resources and suggestions for people who want to try serious RVing but need help getting started. The authors include a list of websites providing resources and information for both experienced and novice RVers. The list includes sources for RVing families, single RVers, those interested in a particular kind of RVing style ("boondockers," for example), people who want to rent an RV, organizations for RVers with special interests (former military, Canadians, etc.). There is updated information on Canadian provincial residence rules defining eligibility for provincial medical care programs.
352 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 25, 2022
Fascinating! Only wish it were up-to-date
Anthropologists Dorothy Ayers Counts and David R. Counts, as a way of filling a season they couldn't devote to their "real project" at the time, decided to follow up on something they'd heard about years before: people who choose to live in their recreational vehicles (RVs) full-time. Because their specific area of study is in senior populations, retirees and older travelers were of particular interest to them.
What started as a curiosity for them became a long-term study, conducted primarily through field observation supported with secondary sources. And what they found is fascinating: for example, seniors who RV are generally healthier than those who live more sedentary lives. RVing provides the mental and social stimuli seniors need to remain vibrant and healthy.
Their in-depth interviews and surveys provide specific case studies, and I found myself (as a senior and full-time RVer) mentally checking off the points I agreed or disagreed with. For the most part, they nailed the subculture pretty solidly.
It struck me how much has remained the same roughly 10-20 years after their research (they did two rounds): they describe a woman who left RVing in 1993 at the age of 81 "because, she says, of the 'bunch of crooks' who repair RVs.'" (50) RVers today can attest to the fact that there are still a "bunch of crooks who repair RVs."
The Counts' examination of the concept of "home" relative to those of us who are continously pulling up roots only to settle in again many miles down the road was especially interesting for me, as it's something we struggle to explain to others. Reading the Counts' science-based ideas about this gave me some insight and even more to ponder.
But there were some things I didn't agree with, given my thirteen years in this lifestyle. For example, the Counts' discuss how "RVers... embrace the ideal of equality." (219) Well, while I agree RVers embrace equality as an ideal, the reality is very different. High-end Class A rigs towing enclosed trailers in matching custom paint jobs and carrying boats, motorcylcles, small Porsches who pull into an RV resort costing hundreds of dollars a night can't honestly be seen as on par with someone struggling to buy groceries while staying long-term in a run-down RV park where the water freezes in cold weather and the washing machine in the common laundry room leaves unidentifiable stains on everything put through the cycle.
Because of their focus on older RVers, the Counts spent quite a bit of their field research at RV parks owned by the Escapees (SKPs) RV Club and their members. Many of these parks are cooperatively run and are limited to those who are fifty-five years old and over. These locations made for convenient research spots for the Counts, but also limited their interactions with older RVers because -- one could argue -- those drawn to Escapee parks are a particular type of RVer (generally social souls who want to stay in the areas where the parks are located, which is a fairly limited in terms of geography). This, I would contend, also impacts their findings, although exactly how is difficult to say without a counter-balancing study of senior RVers who do not stay at Escapee parks.
My notes on the book are extensive, but these are key take-aways. Overall, the book delves into a little-studied but increasingly popular and visible American subculture. The time for an update is long overdue. Dorothy Ayers Counts passed away and David Counts is retired, so it's time for someone to grab the baton and run with it. Take it from someone in the study group: this would be fascinating research for someone compelled to delve into it!
Anthropologists Dorothy Ayers Counts and David R. Counts, as a way of filling a season they couldn't devote to their "real project" at the time, decided to follow up on something they'd heard about years before: people who choose to live in their recreational vehicles (RVs) full-time. Because their specific area of study is in senior populations, retirees and older travelers were of particular interest to them.
What started as a curiosity for them became a long-term study, conducted primarily through field observation supported with secondary sources. And what they found is fascinating: for example, seniors who RV are generally healthier than those who live more sedentary lives. RVing provides the mental and social stimuli seniors need to remain vibrant and healthy.
Their in-depth interviews and surveys provide specific case studies, and I found myself (as a senior and full-time RVer) mentally checking off the points I agreed or disagreed with. For the most part, they nailed the subculture pretty solidly.
It struck me how much has remained the same roughly 10-20 years after their research (they did two rounds): they describe a woman who left RVing in 1993 at the age of 81 "because, she says, of the 'bunch of crooks' who repair RVs.'" (50) RVers today can attest to the fact that there are still a "bunch of crooks who repair RVs."
The Counts' examination of the concept of "home" relative to those of us who are continously pulling up roots only to settle in again many miles down the road was especially interesting for me, as it's something we struggle to explain to others. Reading the Counts' science-based ideas about this gave me some insight and even more to ponder.
But there were some things I didn't agree with, given my thirteen years in this lifestyle. For example, the Counts' discuss how "RVers... embrace the ideal of equality." (219) Well, while I agree RVers embrace equality as an ideal, the reality is very different. High-end Class A rigs towing enclosed trailers in matching custom paint jobs and carrying boats, motorcylcles, small Porsches who pull into an RV resort costing hundreds of dollars a night can't honestly be seen as on par with someone struggling to buy groceries while staying long-term in a run-down RV park where the water freezes in cold weather and the washing machine in the common laundry room leaves unidentifiable stains on everything put through the cycle.
Because of their focus on older RVers, the Counts spent quite a bit of their field research at RV parks owned by the Escapees (SKPs) RV Club and their members. Many of these parks are cooperatively run and are limited to those who are fifty-five years old and over. These locations made for convenient research spots for the Counts, but also limited their interactions with older RVers because -- one could argue -- those drawn to Escapee parks are a particular type of RVer (generally social souls who want to stay in the areas where the parks are located, which is a fairly limited in terms of geography). This, I would contend, also impacts their findings, although exactly how is difficult to say without a counter-balancing study of senior RVers who do not stay at Escapee parks.
My notes on the book are extensive, but these are key take-aways. Overall, the book delves into a little-studied but increasingly popular and visible American subculture. The time for an update is long overdue. Dorothy Ayers Counts passed away and David Counts is retired, so it's time for someone to grab the baton and run with it. Take it from someone in the study group: this would be fascinating research for someone compelled to delve into it!
October 26, 2017
Interesting, if scientifically laid out, book about people who are full-time RV-ers. Very dated having a release date of 1997, but it gives a picture of those who live that lifestyle, and gives advice for anyone considering that course. I'd like some more recent data, however...
October 19, 2017
Interesting perspectives on the rv'ing community. Makes me think about doing this in my old age...
July 8, 2008
Highly recommended, even if you're not a senior or planning on traveling in an RV when you are one.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews