Sorry guys this turned into a bit of a novel, I'd make a brew first. :blink:
Personally I believe younger audiences & owners are beginning to notice the many blogs, forums & rallies out there and just like other contributors of this thread I also mention the site, magazine & forum regularly. Many of the hints, tips & tech info I read on here is passed along through links to members of a certain ferry forum I'm particularly active on.
For what it's worth, here's my reasoning why I think this website and publications together with others like it will grow.
Owning a motorhome has usually been associated with the more mature among us, a personal golden handshake, if you like, after years of hard work...possibly an age group who aren't particularly interested in engaging electronically, preferring the more traditional magazine subscription and face to face socialising all camping genre's promote.
It's only in recent years that a younger audience has become attracted to motorhomes, whether they be coachbuilt or conversion rather than possibly looking at the car & caravan combination which together can be a more expensive overall package at the outset when compared to the quality of so called budget builds offered by the likes of Auto Trail, Swift & Roller Team, not to mention the increase of budget marques offered by the established Euro premium brands such as Dethleffs & Hymer and the added value in the many dealer specials on the market.. I sometimes wonder whether Elddis prices are a misprint, tremendous value!
Overall value is what drew us to motorhomes back in 2010 as being 42 at the time we, like so many others, felt a caravan was the "younger" option.
We now have an ever increasing source of top quality, well looked after preloved vans especially in the 20k-40k price range, many of which are 3500kg... I've recently noticed a good many Auto Trail Excels on forecourts, a short lived but high quality van ideally placed for those wishing to embark on the motorhome lifestyle. When you consider the price of that new Audi saloon you have your eye on, a preloved compact 4 berth motorhome may just tick all the boxes and leave money in your pocket.
Category limitations on post '97 driving licenses are possibly a factor too, we'll soon have a country of mid 35-40 year olds who without further financial outlay for training are unable to tow a caravan.
These younger age groups are computer savvy. a website more often than not is their first port of call when purchasing or seeking information. Many camp sites are under increasing pressure to offer a more reliable, more powerful wifi service. you could argue that this is age driven as younger families are beginning to enjoy the freedom offered by a self contained travelling home whilst still able to read their monthly fix of Practical Motorhome.