Margaret Ann and Franklin Jackson discovered the joys of traveling the open road in a recreational vehicle when they were young parents with a 6-year-old son.

Their first trip -- in a pop-up camper -- was to Denver on a two-week vacation. They soon upgraded to a mini-motor home and never looked back.

Now, 35 years later, they are still rolling merrily along in their seventh RV: a snazzy $289,000 Winnebago Ultimate Advantage, a 40-footer with two TVs, clothes washer and dryer, convection oven and shower with a mini-garden tub -- plus a Jeep Liberty in tow.

Thanks to a new generation of consumers driving up sales, RVing is a booming business. The Jacksons are among the estimated 30 million RV enthusiasts nationwide, both owners and renters, fueling America's $12 billion and growing recreational vehicle industry. RV wholesale shipments are expected to rise 2.3 percent in 2004 to 320,000 shipments, close to 1999's peak of 321,000, the highest level in a quarter century.

``A stronger economy, higher incomes, continued low interest rates and concerns about safety of international travel will continue to bolster the appeal of RVs,'' says researcher Richard Curtin of the University of Michigan Survey Research Center, which made the forecast.

RVs are mighty attractive to travelers looking not only to avoid long lines at airports, security searches, schlepping heavy luggage and bouncing from hotel to hotel but also to reconnect with family in a relaxed setting.

RVs allow travelers to go where they want, when they want. When the road calls, the Jacksons are off -- to state and national parks, Disney World, Georgia Tech away games and bowls. Every summer, they head out to Forest City, Iowa, for the annual Winnebago Grand National Rally. They've traveled via RV to 47 states and parts of Canada.

The Jacksons say they don't need a lot of time to get ready to hit the highway. ``It doesn't take a lot of prepping,'' says Franklin, an AT&T retiree who now supports his RV habit as a salesman for John Bleakley Motor Homes.

``We keep the heat on (in the motor home) most of the time because we never know when we're going to use it,'' adds Margaret Ann Jackson. ``We just get a few clothes and go.'' They may grab some groceries from home or stock up at their first stop.

Sometimes their son, Bill, now 41, and his family join the fun, and he relives a childhood in which he ``got a chance to see the country from end to end.'' His daughter, Christin, 8, is an old pro at RVing, and 3-year-old Madison made her first solo trip with her grandparents to Disney's Fort Wilderness campground in Florida in December.

``We've noticed young people traveling more in motor homes,'' says Margaret Ann Jackson. ``It's caught on with the younger generation and families.''

In fact, more RVs are now owned by baby boomers than any other group.

Recreational Vehicle Industry Association President David J. Humphreys credits baby boomers -- coupled with the popularity of driving vacations in the United States -- with RVing's robust growth.

A 2001 University of Michigan study found the number of RVs owned by those 35 to 54 grew faster than all other age groups between 1998-2001.

``Families enjoy the greater freedom, flexibility, control and comfort RVs provide -- especially in today's travel climate,'' Humphreys says.

Boomers Denise Docal, 44, of Roswell, Ga., and her husband, Alan, 46, purchased a 32-foot Itasca Sunrise motor home three years ago. She says they ``had a ball'' on their first trip: a 2 1/2-week family vacation to Montana.

Their only regret is not having taken the plunge 10 years earlier so they could have enjoyed it more with their sons, now 19, 21 and 23.

Now the Docals, who take one long vacation a year and lots of weekend getaways, are considering upgrading their motor home and living in it full time, perhaps in about 10 years. She says she and Alan, a consultant to NASA, could easily work from the road.

Purchase prices start at about $4,500 for a towable folding camping trailer to anywhere from about $60,000 up to $500,000 or more.

RV rentals can run from $28 to $75 a day for a folding camping trailer or travel trailer and up to $500 a day for a motor home.

Despite the costs, the Go RVing Web site (www.go rving.com) claims many RV models allow a family of four to save up to 70 percent on vacation expenses over other forms of travel.