Caravans, large and small, neatly placed in rows of onions on the grounds of a small municipal airport.
On June 29, 2002, journalist Jacques Bissonnet attended the annual meeting of the International Camping and Caravaning Federation held in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, in the Montérégie region.
Nearly 2000 motor homes are gathered on the site for this great celebration in which some fifteen countries participate.
Téléjournal, June 29, 2002
Caravanning is booming around the world and in Canada in particular, explains the journalist in his report for the News. And for many, it is becoming an alternative way of life.
We can do like migratory birds: spend the winter in the south and then come back to the summer here in the country
, says a follower. It’s twelve months a year.
Crossing from east to west is fantastic!
The snowbirds
On the show Challenges of October 15, 1997, the journalist Pierre Dupont and the director Robert Verge study the phenomenon a little more in depth.
More and more retirees are getting rid of their property and becoming automobile nomads, they observe. In ten years, Canadian sales of vehicles allowing people to live there have tripled.
In 1997, in Canada, there were now 10,000 households storming the roads of the continent for much of the year.
The suburban house is finished! The Lanthier family are preparing to make their new dream come true: living on the road.
Journalist Pierre Dupont collects the testimony of a retired couple who have just sold their long-standing property in Laval to reside throughout the year in their well-equipped motorhome.
When the sign landed I cried a day long
, says Hélène Lanthier on this big turning point.
For the Lanthiers, however, the house was a logistical burden during the winter months they were already spending outside the country.
This change of life can surprise those close to them, says Maurice Brisebois, another commuter turned trucker.
Through his itinerary in VR, the grandfather can still plan a few visits to his grandchildren and even invite the family to come and join him in Florida for the holidays.
It is true that we do not have a fixed dwelling. The advantage is that we always have the same accommodation wherever we go for a walk.
The journalist also meets a couple of bird watchers who have chosen to follow the birds to observe them better.
During the winter, from her laptop, France Dion was able to advance in her collection of children’s books. From Texas to Alaska, André Dion has been busy documenting endangered birds.
It costs less, to live in it full time, to travel and have fun than having a condo
, supports the new caravaneer. Between $ 16,000 and $ 17,000 for a year, confirms his partner.
Retirees who choose this lifestyle often exchange a house that has already been paid for for a fully furnished vehicle, explains journalist Pierre Dupont. And many are happy to have cut their annual expenses in half.
You still have to have the means to invest in a motorhome.
In the fleet of merchant Marcel Dumont, there are models at $ 75,000, $ 130,000, $ 290,000 or $ 400,000 for a VR most luxurious with whirlpool tub, vibrator bed and “thermos windows” that allow you to live there all year round.
SRC Bonjour, September 17, 1992
$ 400,000 is also the price paid for a motorhome by this couple interviewed by journalist Bruno Richard on the show SRC Hello of September 17, 1992.
Johane and Réjean added $ 200,000 for the interior design and several gadgets “which all have their uses”.
Over the years, we have become a little less working and we have tried to taste the pleasure a little more
, explains the caravaneer.
With this luxury motorized house, his way of life could not be compared to voluntary simplicity.
The vanlifers
Téléjournal, August 24, 2018
In recent years, another type of caravanning movement has been gaining momentum, promoting more ingenuity and adventure.
At News of August 24, 2018, Julien Roussin Côté presents the vanlife to journalist Anne-Andrée Daneau.
For the past four years, the 30-something has been traveling across America in a converted van while running his video production business.
More and more numerous in Quebec, vanlifers meet in online communities to discuss nomadic life, places to discover and changes to be made to their vehicle.
Sprinters, followers of Westfalia from different decades, there are even subcultures in this movement, explains Julien Roussin Côté.
We have to make compromises, that’s for sure. You have to get out of the routine
, he exhibits by showing around his van equipped with a small propane stove and a handshower.
He chose this way of life for meetings and discovery. We arrive as an individual, but we leave as a family
, support the vanlifer in 2018.
