Caravans are cool
CARAVANS have become the new must-have among millennials after lockdown made them cool.
Once the preserve of the over55s, demand among the young has rocketed due to uncertainty over foreign travel and new funky designs.
Makers of the mobile homes are kitting out modern vans with luxury features like roof-mounted Wifi, solar panels, sprung upholstery, deep pile carpets and ceramic loos – making them more like boutique hotel rooms on wheels.
Retailer Steven Burnley said: “It’s now cool to have a caravan.
“We’ve got a whole market of new customers who in the past would not have considered one.
“We’re getting young couples with babies, sports fans who
want to take vans to the Grand Prix and music lovers planning to use them to camp out at festivals.
“The older clientele is still there but the caravan’s appeal has spread. Our profits have tripled.”
Brands such as Barefoot and Rocket Caravans offer stylish shapes and cool interiors.
With its racks for surfboards and mountain bikes, the Swift Basecamp – which retails from £20,000 – is billed as a “crossover camping vehicle”.
“Where caravans were always white in colour, now you’ve got silver, champagne or metallic blue coloured sides,’’ said Jarrod Clay, boss of
Robinsons Caravans. “They are a lot more modern.’’
The Caravan and Motorhome Club’s director general Nick Lomas said “They may travel in their own units but all stay on the same campsite, or some stay in their motorhome while other family members use our glamping options.
“It is this flexibility that people appreciate.’’