ON THE ROAD AGAIN HOME, STREET HOME: LOVE OF OUR RVS REALLY ROLLING.

Byline: Eugene Tong  Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - For avid fisherman Jacques Fleischmann, there's no better way to travel than in his 5-year-old, 26-foot motor home.

``You have your home on wheels,'' said Fleischmann, 61, of Valencia, who found recreation vehicles ideal for visiting local lakes and even longer trips to his vacation home in Missouri. ``It's pretty much the most comfortable thing you can drive in. I can drive 14 hours in this, and I don't feel it. If I'm tired, I'll just pull over to a campground and rest.''

The $12 billion U.S. motor home industry is booming, and sellers in Santa Clarita have been riding high on the trend spawned by the combination of shifting travel behavior since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, low interest rates and a touch of nostalgia, industry watchers said.

At American RV Outlet in Newhall, 2004 sales from January to August topped $13.8 million, compared with $13 million in the same period in 2003 and $8 million in 2002, said Nancy Houck, the dealership's general sales manager.

``(Since Sept. 11, 2001), people are traveling closer to home - going to see the heart of the country rather than foreign travel,'' said Robb Mark, assistant sales manager at American RV.

A 2001 University of Michigan study found nearly 7 million - or one in 12 U.S. vehicle-owning households - owns an RV. The study, commissioned by the trade group Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, also cast the typical motor home owner as roughly 49 years old with an annual income of $56,000. Baby boomers 55 and over are the industry's fastest growing market.

``The biggest thing is baby boomers are getting closer to retirement age,'' Houck said. ``People are retiring differently.'' A motor home - with the right wireless communication equipment - can allow them flexibility in both work and play, she said.

Chris Czapla, 51, of Northridge became an RV enthusiast after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake left him temporarily homeless.

``My home was destroyed,'' he said. ``Now I have a place with gas and water and food I can take with me in an emergency.''

Meanwhile, the average motor home owner is skewing younger, shifting from retirees in their 60s to middle-age parents between 35 to 45, Mark said.

``A lot of people had the experience with their parents and want to do it with their kids earlier,'' he said, noting a number of young local professionals with families have bought into life on the road - often with such outdoor toys as boats and off-road vehicles in tow.

``This area is growing. The houses are priced at a level where they have to be making a lot of money. They work hard, and play hard.''

An average camper can cost more than $20,000, and an actual motor home from $60,000 upward. A top-of-the-line unit on the lot, retailing at more than $110,000, comes equipped with a flat-screen television, queen-size bed, tile floors, crown molding along the walls and a rock-star paint job.

Most new buyers are homeowners who come equity-rich from the real estate boom of the past decade, assisted by record-low interest rates, Houck said.

And, despite recent high fuel prices, motor home sales have not slowed.

``Who it really affects are the people driving from home to the (San Fernando) Valley every day,'' Houck said. ``Most RV owners are not thinking about gas prices.''

While recent gasoline hikes have added roughly $100 to what was an $800 to $900 trip to Missouri, Fleischmann said he has no plans to cutback on traveling.

``People who are making a decent living, they'll go anyway,'' he said. ``A hundred dollars is not going to make a difference.''

But finding storage can be difficult. Most new subdivisions forbid motor home parking along the sidewalk, and few driveways can accommodate them. Fleischmann stored his at a Castaic RV park for $65 a month.

Czapla, now on his second motor home, also uses the vehicle for travel, whether it's a weekend at Zuma Beach or longer trips in the woods.

``When you stay in a hotel, what are you going to do?'' he said. ``(With a motor home) when I go outside and close the door, it's like a thousand years ago. It's just me and the animals.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Jacques Fleischmann of Santa Clarita looks over new recreational vehicle at the American RV Outlet in Santa Clarita.

(2 -- color) This master bedroom belongs in the Sport Coach Elite, a 40-foot diesel motor home, at the American RV Outlet.

(3) Robb Mark of American RV Outlet, shows off the interior of the Sport Coach Elite, one of the largest the outlet sells.

David Crane/Staff Photographer