Hi Teach,
Thanks for the link. Interesting and good read for us towing techy kind of folks. I agree with that he was saying but I'll add a few things he didn't that are very different here in the US. Cost and size are the 2 big things.
I made this post a while back which helps show some of campers in Germany when I worked there.
http://www.sunlineclub.com/forums/f63/campers-in-germany-pics-8305.html
If we look back at some of the evolution of campers in the US, long ago we started small. I think we are now past 117 years of towable campers in the US. This article was from 2010
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/commemorating-100-years-of-the-rv-56915006/
Point being, back in 1910 the 8 cylinder auto engine was already starting to get traction and by the 30's it was more popular. RV's and the automobile world go hand in hand. As time went on, auto's went faster, could haul more weight and campers where being made longer, larger and heavier. OK now lets move into our lifetime....
When we were kids, gas was cheap. A gallon of gas in 1960 is somewhere in the $0.25 to $0.30 range. Some maybe even cheaper. Since energy was cheap, auto's kept getting bigger and bigger and campers heavier and heavier and longer.
Then the 70's oil crisis, US max speed limit was brought down to 55mph to save gas and the rationing... Remember that time?
RV's had to survive all this... See how many RV's sold in 1978 up to 2015 They dropped like a rock every time the auto, energy and economy crisis hit.
The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association: Historical Glance
In the early 80's we had the first big downturn in the auto industry that was in our life time. Not our parents but our generation. RV sales dropped like a rock. Anyone in machine tools or supporting the auto world with parts or machines were really hurt. I happened to fall into that group being in the machine tool world. I did not even know what a camper was back then... A tent was all I ever been in.
As the country came out first hit at the energy crisis the RV industry had to change. Sunline use to make small campers, very light weight. Then as time went by, the little ones faded away and the single axle Sunline was a thing of the past in the mid 90's until the Que was born.
Once we where hit with the $3.50 to $4.00 a gallon gas not that long ago, the RV industry had to change again. They can't sell large heavy campers like they use too we need to make lighter ones. Half ton towable is the new buzz word. And now that gas is down in the $2 dollar something range, 30 footers and small truck towable declared campers evolved. And now current day they are starting to make big and long campers again. 34 to 37 feet but yet lighter then they used to be in the 70's.
Europe evolved different. Their fuel prices never came back down like ours did. They are use to $5 to $8 a gallon fuel. Many to most things are much more efficient. They learned how to live on smaller and more efficient everything. We have not so much. While our current day campers are lighter, they are no where as small at the European ones. Look at my link of the campers in Germany. How many tandem axle campers do you see? Not many...
How many single axle campers do you see here in the US verse 2 axle campers? While there are some single axle campers, the percentage is very different then Europe. Just count how many 2 axle campers you pass on the interstate verses single axle campers. As a country we just like our larger campers and while there is a trend to be smaller, it is not that fast spreading.
If the price of gas (energy) goes back up into the $4 to $5 range and keeps going up, we will be forced to down size. Our 2 axle larger campers will become seasonal site campers...
The main point being, on average, there are currently many more 2 axle campers and longer campers in the US then in Europe. The RV and auto industry follows what will sell. Your not going to be selling a lot of 30 foot 2 axle campers in Europe as there are not that many auto's that can pull it owned by the average lower to middle class worker. They have small auto's that have gotten better fuel mileage then many of ours for a long time. If they want a camper, it needs to be light weight, less wind drag and very efficient.
At least in Germany, I can't speak for the rest of the EU, they approach towing a camper different. They have speed laws that are enforced and the other things that your link talked about. While they have an Autobahn and they fly on it, campers are not towing like they do in just a plain auto. We can't say that here.
Thanks
John
