CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than a year since the global pandemic sent just about everyone into lockdown, life begins to return to some kind of normal. People are starting to travel again, but this time around travelers are starting to stick to the ground.
Instead of full flights, packed resorts, and bustling beaches, mobile homes-away-from-home are becoming trendy. For some people like Alice Zealy in Archdale, it's becoming a whole new way of life: her pandemic project involved taking an older camper and polishing it up into a shiny new home.
"It's a safer way to travel. I'm getting to travel more now," she said. "It was very empowering, actually! I really enjoyed it, it made me feel like I could do anything."
Zealy isn't just moseying about in her camper all the time, however; after showcasing her camper renovation, she's now making it a business; after seeing plenty of positive feedback on her work, she's launched rain2shine ventures, specializing in making campers and RVs look even more homely.
"I was getting thousands of comments, thousands of likes and messages. They can't believe it's the same camper," she noted.
That desire for a more specialized mobile home means she has a wait list, and it's not surprising given recent industry surveys. The RV industry Association said in one such recent study that 61 million Americans plan to us an RV to travel within the next 12 months, and total RV shipments in March 2021 jumped 79% from March 2020. This is good news for dealers like Brian Bailey, the general manager of Camping World of Colfax.
"[I've] been in this industry for close to 30 years and it is booming as I've ever seen it," he remarked, saying sales at his location in Colfax are up at least 40%.
"On Saturdays, it looks like a Walmart in here, it's so overrun. It's crazy," he said.
It isn't just larger motorhomes getting a lot of love either. Mark Jenkins and Lexi Keen are a couple in Charlotte who decided to hop onto van life, documenting the renovations they made to turn their van into a tiny home on wheels.
"It seems like a win-win, because not only do you save the money, you're able to go wherever you want to," they told us.
The couple spent the last year renovating their van, and now are on the road, sharing their story on their YouTube channel: "Shut Up & Travel". They share the scenic highs and frustrating roadblocks, and through it all say their pandemic project has paid off.
"We haven't built anything in our lives. I didn't even know how to use a drill," Keen said. "I've learned so much, so it's been like, it's been a great experience, honestly, for so many different reasons."
Jenkins said "If we can finish this, then literally anyone can do it."
Contact Savannah Levins at slevins@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.