HOME ON THE ROAD: MILLIONS OF AMERICANS RV'ING

Jack P. and Frances Grisham don't worry about motel reservations when they travel.

They don't worry if there's no nearby restaurant.

They do, however, plan their route around a number of KOA campgrounds, says Jack Grisham.

For more than 20 years, the Grishams have been doing what a lot of Americans have discovered only recently -- "RV-ing."

More and more Americans are buying RVs and hitting the leisure-time road.

Motor homes and other recreational vehicles, such as travel campers and fold-up campers, have experienced some phenomenal sales the past two years.

Sales were up 52 percent in 1993, and are up 20 percent this year.

There was a boom in sales of RVs during 1993, said a spokesman of the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association. "The majority of sales increases were in the lower end -- campers which are towed behind a car or truck."

Grisham is well acquainted with the various types of campers. "We've been traveling by RV for years and years. We've had fold-up campers, we've had Airstream trailer homes, and we've had motor homes."

Right now, the Grishams opt for a 27-foot "fifth wheel," an RV which is towed by a pickup truck.

"We like to pull into a campground, unhook our RV, and use the pickup for transportation in the immediate area," said Grisham.

Grisham, who is retired from the armed forces, said he didn't really get into RV travel until he retired. "Of course, that's been more than 20 years," he said.

For a while during his early retirement, Grisham taught school, spending a number of years at Cape Central.

"We traveled pretty extensively even while I was teaching," he said. "Now, we're looking at three to four trips a year."

On schedule this summer is a trip west, to Montana, Custer's Battlefield, Mount Rushmore, and some points in the Dakotas.

They recently returned from a southern trip to Texas, where they visited family.

Later this year, the Grishams plan a trip east, to attend a military reunion in North Carolina.

"We always stay at a campground," said Grisham. "At one time, when we first started using an RV, we would occasionally stay at a rest area. But that's too dangerous these days."

Grisham says "RV-ing" is great.

"We meet a lot of people in our travels," said Grisham. "We still maintain contact with some people we met RV-ing several years ago."

Recreational vehicles are taking more and more Americans -- 25 million of them -- into the outdoors and providing them with comfortable lodging when they get there.

"The 1990s could be termed the RV decade," said Jerry Schwab, president of Cape Town RV Sales, Interstate 55 and Airport Road. "A recent survey found that heads of households, aged 18 to 54, have a strong interest in purchasing RVs."

The survey, conducted by the University of Michigan Survey Research Center for tahe Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), found that there are 9 million RVs on the road, with more than 100,000 per year being added to the fleet.

The typical RV owner is 48 to 50 years old and had a household income of $39,000 in 1993.

Lower prices and changes in lifestyle have played a major role in the RV boom, says David J. Humphreys, president of the RVIA.

"I think the focus of our nation on the environment has really helped us," he said.

Schwab agreed. "I think a lot more people are realizing that the outdoors is there to enjoy.

"And people are realizing that the RV can be gentle on the environment. There's no reason to leave a drop of water on the ground, no need to have a fire outside, no reason to leave any trash."

In addition, a young family can get its first folding camping trailer for under $4,000, and most banks offer long-term financing because such vehicles hold their value.

"You can spend as little or as much as you want on an RV. They range from folding campers to custom conversions of buses (motor homes), costing $200,000," said Schwab. "More than half of the industry is not motorized, however."

Unmotorized vehicles include the folding camping trailer, average price $4,352; the truck camper, which fits in a pickup truck bed, $9,195; the travel trailer, $11,965, and the fifth-wheel trailer, which is towed by a truck, $18,475.

Motorized vehicles, says Humphreys, start with a custom-van conversion at an average price of $24,976. They include the compact motor home, average price, $29,873; mini-motor home, $38,309; van camper, $39,585; and the large motor home, with an average price of $62,583.

Many of the RV units provide all the conveniences of home -- microwave oven, gas range, color TV, stereo systems, queen bed, full bathroom, shower and flush toilet, refrigeration ... and a roof over your head.

"The folding trailers fit the younger generation, but the `home on wheels' fits the retiring generation," added Schwab. "But you do see some younger people buying the motor homes today."

Schwab is also a user of RVs. "We have been in every state except Alaska," said Schwab, "and we hope to eventually visit there."

The first motorized recreation vehicles were something to see. Recreational camping in the 1920s was "bed and breakfast" style with a 1928 Model A Phaeton, which had its dining and sleeping conversion equipment stored in the running board.

When RV-ing started, it was called "auto camping" because most of the vehicles were actually cars with add-ons and modifications that made them more suitable for camping, a recreational pursuit enjoyed almost exclusively by the upper middle class because car prices were out of reach of the average American.

The first step for a young family that wants to get a recreational vehicle is to decide what kind of use it will get - whether they plan mostly long weekends, trips of a month or so, or travel for extended stays, Humphreys says.

Then they should go to one of the hundreds of retail shows around the country to see what type of vehicle fits their needs and price range.

"You'll have 20 to 30 dealers at a big RV show, and each dealer typically carries five to 10 brands," Humphreys said. Buyers at shows get to meet dealers and can choose one they're comfortable with. They can also look at a used unit.

"A lot of people actually end up buying a used vehicle," said Humphreys. "They find they've got less risk. They get a tremendous value for their money."

Schwab said, "One of the things I find in traveling by RV is that you never get the feeling of leaving home.

"There's no place like home, and when you're in your RV, you are at home."