National Motorists Association Blog

Recreational vehicles are becoming increasingly popular with each passing year, across multiple types of consumers. On the one side, you have the families that want to travel the country and beyond in their motorhome and take on grand road trips in comfort and style. On the other hand, you have the rise of the remote working culture and digital nomadism that allows professionals from many industries to do their job on the go, meaning that they can explore the country in their RVs while building a successful career in the process.

For these and many other reasons, recreational vehicles are becoming the prime choice for the modern driver, and it’s interesting to note how the leaders in the industry are accommodating their needs in this tech-driven world. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the most popular RV trends in 2020 that will enhance your driving experience, and elevate your safety and quality of life.

Solar panels, inverters, and batteries

Energy efficiency, sustainability, environmentalism: these causes have become very important to the modern home owner whether you’re living in a motorhome full-time or if you use it for your cross-country escapades. It’s important to consider making your RV as eco-friendly as possible. The modern manufacturers recognize this need and now offer a vast array of RV models and complementary features that facilitate energy conservation, lower carbon emissions, and better financial savings to boot.

Achieving this kind of wheeled home can be done through the implementation of solar panels, inverters, and solar batteries into your recreational vehicle. You can choose between a variety of products to suit your needs and fit into your budget, as you can buy portable solar panels or choose to install real monocrystalline solar panels on the roof of your RV for maximum efficiency. With the right solar inverter and an extensive solar battery at hand, you can run your RV entirely on clean energy without the need to stop and recharge.

Smart technology as an integral part

Smart technology has become an intricate part of our everyday lives, and that means that it has found its way into our vehicles as well. The modern recreational vehicle, in particular, is becoming smarter with each passing year, and nowadays, manufacturers are increasingly outfitting the newer models with smart features to enhance comfort, safety, and the driving experience, while elevating your quality of life. Much like a smart home, a smart RV can be equipped with IoT technology and touchscreens.

With more smart technology, there are more cybersecurity risks, so you need to implement the right countermeasures to protect your onboard systems. You can use these features to program and control every aspect of the vehicle, track the performance of individual systems and subsystems, and optimize each for efficiency and energy conservation. If you also upgrade to smart appliances and lighting, you can easily scale the energy usage and control everything from your smartphone and a dedicated app.

Enhancing safety and the driving experience with cameras

Another handy piece of technology that can make all the difference is the surveillance system in your RV. Nowadays, you can find a digital RV camera system that will provide you with a full range view and eliminate all blind spots while driving, while at the same time helping with parking and general vehicle safety. RV surveillance systems are a must when you’re parking at campsites and RV parking lots with limited or no on-site surveillance, and especially when you’re leaving your RV behind to go on hikes and treks in nature.

You can connect the cameras to your smartphone so that you can always keep a watchful eye on your vehicle, and use the onboard displays to monitor all activity around the vehicle when you’re stationary. Make sure that the camera system comes equipped with motion sensors that will notify you of any outside activity.

Better connectivity on the road

Connectivity is essential when adventuring around the country and internationally, which is why one of the biggest trends is the integration of Wi-Fi hotspots, unlimited data plans, GPS systems, and signal amplifiers into the modern RV. The goal of living in a tech-driven age is to ensure connectivity to the rest of the world without any interruptions, which is even more critical in your home on wheels. Signal amplifiers are particularly crucial in this regard, as they allow you to stay connected even when you’re traversing the regions that typically have poor network coverage.

Modern entertainment systems

And finally, the modern RV aims to resemble a typical home as much as possible, and that means that it needs to have a state-of-the-art entertainment system that will accommodate all of the needs of a tech-savvy family. This entertainment system should include Bluetooth-enabled or Wi-Fi devices such as TVs and speakers, as well as surround-sound systems that boast zoning technology that allows everyone to enjoy their media content in peace. This way, you can listen to your favorite tunes while driving, but without disturbing the rest of the family who might be watching a movie in the living room.

With the rapid popularization of recreational vehicles around the world, it’s no wonder that manufacturers are increasingly rolling out innovative technologies and features to accommodate the needs of the new generation. With these trends in mind, you will easily bring your motorhome into the 21^st century.

Lucas Bergman is a real estate agent and renewable energy consultant with many hobbies and passions, but above all, he enjoys the most spending time with his wife – Mara. He also likes Lord of the Rings. He, actually, very much likes Lord of the Rings. He is a regular contributor at smoothdecorator.com.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.