Mr. Brawdy, who extols the benefits of reconnecting with nature  “dirt is in our DNA”  during appearances at sporting goods stores and other venues, said a bout of skin cancer triggered his interest in renewable energy sources. “I decided to look at the bright side and harness the power of the sun to protect natural resources,” he said, adding that a storm the night before yielded 40 gallons of water from the camper’s rainwater harvesting system.

He said most of what he knows about the camper’s wind turbine and solar panels has come from on-the-road experience  a fact he hopes will encourage others to emulate his example. “I thought I could show the world: ‘Hey, Brian doesn’t look like the sharpest knife in the drawer, so maybe I can have a rig like that, too,’ ” he said.

Others have hopes of taking the environmentally friendly RV much further. Alexandre Verdier, a 35-year-old from Montreal, has designed a prototype camper that includes a diesel hybrid engine and solar panels that are controlled by a global positioning system to capture the maximum amount of sunlight. The vehicle is an update of the classic Volkswagen Westfalia camper van, which was synonymous with the counter culture in the 1970s.

“I did a lot of trips in the Westfalia, so I came up with the idea of a new green version,” said Mr. Verdier, citing as particular inspiration a three-month trip he took with friends around the United States when he was 17.

Image FUTURE TRAVEL? Alexandre Verdier designed this biodiesel hybrid camper with GPS-controlled solar panels. Credit... Verdier Van & Camper Inc.

The design for the Westfalia Verdier won a 2006-7 Innovation for New Mobility prize awarded during the Caravan Salon Düsseldorf in Germany, one of Europe’s largest caravanning exhibition and trade shows. Mr. Verdier said that he was negotiating with a manufacturer and that the vehicles, with an estimated price of $129,000, should be available next summer.

Even for those RV owners already on the road, being a pioneer has its challenges. To fill their 100-gallon tank with used cooking oil, Sara and Matt Janssen scour the landscape for fast-food and mom-and-pop restaurants willing to give away an increasingly valuable commodity. The fueling process itself takes about an hour, Ms. Janssen said, adding that the couple invested in an on-board oil filtration system, which strains the “batter and chicken chunks” before the oil reaches the engine.