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In the 1981 movie Stripes, misfit soldiers Bill Murray and Harold Ramis wreak havoc behind the Iron Curtain in the U.S. army's secret weapon -- a recreational vehicle equipped with lots of gadgets designed to blow things up real good.

In fact, weapons are about the only thing that vendors won't customize an RV with. They are happy to equip vehicles with infrared thermal imaging for better night vision, GPS navigation aids, satellite Internet access, surround-sound stereo systems and wheelchair-friendly access. As the two actors showed, an RV can be a pretty cool way to sightsee.

One million drivers here agree. That's how many RVs there are on Canadian roads, according to Go RVing Canada, a coalition of RV manufacturers, dealers and campgrounds.

And, while the stereotypical image of an RVer is of a snowbird senior citizen, it's not an accurate picture in Canada, where 50 per cent of RVs are owned by people younger than 55, and 43 per cent of RV families have children. Retirees are a secondary market, albeit one that is growing rapidly as boomers with the travel bug seek out ways to scratch their itch without breaking the bank.

But although RVs can be a cost-effective way to see the country, don't buy them as an investment, the way you might a cottage.

"Any motor vehicle is a depreciating asset," says auto editor Jeremy Cato. "You rent things that depreciate and buy things that appreciate."

Plus, there is a glut of them on the market because high gas prices have triggered a slowdown in sales, he says.

Even so, RVs can cost a lot of money. Depending on how it is equipped, a new large Class A motorhome starts at about $65,000 and goes up to $500,000 or more.

Upkeep can also be expensive. Mr. Cato says motorhomes have high maintenance costs because they are essentially houses on wheels and the more you drive them the more something is likely to wear out.

Consider renting instead. Rates vary widely but expect to pay more than $1,000 a week for a large motorhome in high demand periods. A small camper van can cost as little as $45 a day at low season.

However, as research by retired McMaster University anthropologists Dorothy Ayers Counts and David Counts has shown, RV owners don't buy their vehicles as investments, they purchase them for the lifestyle. The Counts' studies showed that RVing brings together people with different backgrounds to form a subculture with its own system of values and social networks.

"People don't buy motorhomes for any other reason than the lifestyle," Mr. Cato says.