BMWMOA ‘fesses up on their forum:

“Greetings from the RV Team,

Well it looks like it’s going to be a big year for the RV crowd in Billings. Since Rally time is drawing near we thought we would address some of the RV related items here.

We sold all of the available Full Service sites in record time and the only sites still available on the MetraPark grounds are in the Boondocking area.”

I’ve been noticing this trend all spring at BMW rallies- While I counted around 50 four wheelers at the Iowa BMW rally on saturday, there were only a bit over 100 bikes and tents with a paid registration of 290. At the Land of Oz BMW rally a week before the RVs exceeded the supply of hook ups to power them too. The only BMW rally I attended this year that wasn’t overrun with RVs was GR3 and the Florida BMW rally, probably because the hosting club has a deal to give members cheap access to the site’s military housing. No surprise… when a bunch of outa shape Harley owners face the prospect of trying to ride unreliable uncomfortable motorcycles to a gathering point more than a couple hundred miles away, they load ’em up and trailer. When a bunch of BMW owners face a similar problem but with more comfortable bikes and more income, they load ’em up and tow ’em behind the motorhome.

The implications of this market shift are a few years out, but you can see where the BMW motorhomers are headed… Electric, water, the attendant sewer, and of course internet access so they can watch the rally on their laptop will be must haves for the BMWMOA. Rather than scenic getaways with a few conveniences, the selection criteria for future BMW Motorhome Owners of America rallies will be STAA big rig access and hectares of pavement. Access to emergency rooms will trump access to good ridin’ roads, and the farklefest AKA vendor area will be pre-empted by dueling medical specialists that can pay higher rent and keep BMWMOA solvent.

So in a couple weeks motorhomes bigger than a city bus towing damn near as big trailers full of low mileage BMWs will overrun Billings. BMW AG will quietly take a stake in Winnebago Industries while the farkle peddlers will introduce… Farkles for RVs. Me, I got a Yamaha and a $50 Costco tent… I’m good!