In
North American English the term
recreational vehicle, and its acronym
RV, are generally used to refer to an enclosed piece of equipment dually used as both a
vehicle and a temporary travel
home.
RVs are intended for everything from brief leisure activities such as vacations and
camping, to full-time living, for which they're often parked in special
trailer parks. (However, many trailer parks are reserved just for
mobile homes, not to be confused with RVs/motorhomes.) RVs can also be rented in most major cities and tourist areas.
Manufacturers
Perhaps the most widely known brand of recreational vehicle is Winnebago, a product of
Winnebago Industries, Inc., of
Forest City, Iowa. In fact, many people still refer to recreational vehicles — especially motorhomes — using the generic term, "Winnebago". The company, under a group of Midwestern investors, was a pioneer of the RV industry in the early 1960s. Other major RV manufacturers include
Roadtrek of
Kitchener, Ontario;
Fleetwood Enterprises of
Riverside, Calif;
Thor Industries, Inc., of
Jackson Center, Ohio;
Newmar Corporation of
Nappanee, Indiana;
Monaco Coach Corporation, of
Coburg, Oregon;
Coachmen Industries, Inc., of
Elkhart, Indiana;
Starcraft RV, Inc., of
Topeka, Indiana;
Trakka Motorcampers of
Sydney, Australia;
Jayco, Inc. of
Middlebury, Indiana;
Carriage Inc. of
Millersburg, Indiana and
K-Z, Inc.
of
Shipshewana, Indiana. Australia's largest manufacturer of motorhomes is Talvor.
Historical manufacturers include
Avion Coach Corporation,
Cayo RV Corporation of
Benton Harbor, Michigan, and for a short while
General Motors, whose recreational vehicles still attract a sizable following of collectors. The most expensive, high-end brands include Newell Coach of
Miami, Oklahoma;
Fleetwood Enterprises; and Monaco Coach....
Etymology
Australian English The term "recreational vehicle" may refer to a
sport utility vehicle (SUV or 4x4).
British English The term "recreational vehicle" is little used. Terms covering some of the vehicles classified as "recreational vehicle" in North America are
camper van and
caravan. The term
motorhome (see below) is also used.
French language The French-made English term "
camping-car" is used, and term has also spread to
Japan.
German language A "recreational vehicle" is called "
wohnmobil".
wohnen means live or reside; ".
Spanish language A "recreational vehicle" is called "
autocaravana". The word "caravaning" is also (albeit rarely) used to mean "traveling together as a group" in British English, leading to a different meaning.
Categories
There are different classes of vehicles generally labeled as RVs:
Class A motorhome : Constructed on either a commercial truck chassis, a specially designed motor vehicle chassis, or a commercial bus chassis.
Bus Conversion : A commercial passenger bus that has been converted into an RV. Highly customized with luxury components, bus conversions are typically the largest motorhomes available.
Class B campervan : Built using a conventional van, to which either a raised roof has been added or had the back replaced by a low-profile body (aka coach-built).
Class C motorhome : Built on a truck chassis with an attached cab section, which is usually van based, but may also be pickup truck based or even large truck (freightliner) based. They are characterized by a distinctive cab-over profile, the "cab-over" containing a bed or an "entertainment" section. Also referred to as "mini-motorhomes". In the UK, the cab-over is known as a Luton.
Truck camper : A unit that's temporarily let into the bed or chassis of a pickup truck. These are much favoured by hunters and other backwoods travellers, particularly in North America.
Folding trailer : Also known as a pop-up or tent camper, a light-weight unit with sides that collapse for towing and storage. Suitable for towing by many vehicles.
Travel trailer : A unit with rigid sides designed to be towed by some larger vehicle with a bumper or frame hitch. Known in British English as a caravan.
Teardrop trailer : A compact, lightweight travel trailer that resembles a teardrop, sometimes seen being towed by motorcycles.
Hybrid trailer : A blend between a travel trailer and a folding (tent) trailer. One type has rigid sides and pull-out tent sections (usually beds) while another type's top section of walls and its roof can be lowered over its bottom section to reduce its height for towing.
Fifth-wheel trailer : Designed to be towed by a pickup or medium duty truck equipped with a special hitch called a fifth wheel coupling. Part of the trailer body extends over the truck bed, shortening the total length of vehicle plus trailer combined.
Park model : This is a standard travel trailer that isn't self-contained. It is designed for park camping only, and while it's easily moved from site to site, as a normal trailer is, it isn't capable of "dry camping" as it doesn't have any water storage tanks and must be used with hookups. It is not a mobile home.
Toterhome : An uncommon term indicating a motorhome built around a semi truck chassis (such as a Freightliner). This type of motor home allows the pulling of large and heavy trailers.
Toy hauler : A motorhome, 5th-wheel, or travel trailer, it's designed to be part living space, and part garage for storing things such as motorcycles and ATVs.
Features
A minimal RV typically contains beds, a table, food preparation and storage areas. Larger models add full bathrooms, refrigerators, living areas, master bedrooms, etc. Some RVs are very elaborate, with satellite TV and Internet access, slide-out sections, and awnings, and either storing a small car inside it or providing the option of towing it behind the RV. RVs can cost (new) from less than US$10,000 to $1,500,000 or more. Very high-end Class A motorhomes, for example, can cost between US$100,000 to $650,000 new. In 2006, Featherlite Luxury Coaches debuted the Featherlite Vantare Platinum Plus, a motorhome featuring marble floors, a built-in treadmill and other luxury features valued at US$2.5 million.
Many RVers stay at
RV parks, most of which feature electrical, water and sewer service (
full hookups), as well as cable television and wireless Internet. One can also get
partial hookups in the same parks. Amenities often include swimming pools, gamerooms and even destination-resort activities such as horseback riding. Others prefer staying at locations in remote rural areas (called
boondocking), and still others at public campgrounds with minimal facilities.
Also many RVers stay at city parks, county parks,
state parks and
national parks. The
United States Forest Service and
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) also offer camping, often at no cost to the camper.
Advantages of RVs include not having to move one's things in and out of motel rooms, not having to rent multiple motel rooms, sleeping in a bed one is comfortable with. Also, preparing food oneself saves money compared to eating in restaurants, and better meets any dietary restrictions or preferences. At the same time, an RV provides more organized living space and better protection from the weather than a tent.
Disadvantages of RVs include low fuel economy for the motorized RV or tow vehicle, lack of maid service as experienced in motels (maid service is available at a few high-end resorts), and the challenge of driving or towing larger RV models for the novice.
There is a stereotype that people who live in RVs full-time do so because they're poor and can't afford more conventional housing. However, an increasing number of people are opting to sell their homes and live in their RVs, which can cost as much as their home did. Some return to home ownership after several years while some few bounce back and forth between owning a home and going RVing full time. For these, mostly retirees, RVing is a life style choice not a financial decision.
Similarly, RVs — specifically, trailers which strongly resemble travel trailers, but usually with fewer amenities — have been used to temporarily house victims of natural disasters. A notable example is
Hurricane Katrina, after which the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ordered large numbers of such trailers to house victims of the storm in
Louisiana and
Mississippi.
Some people craft their own RVs out of cars, vans, school buses, and buses.
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart, Indiana is known as the "RV Capital of the World" because it's home to many RV manufacturers, including
Berkshire Hathaway's
Forest River, Heartland RV, the Damon Corporation,
Four Winds International, Hy-Line, Keystone, Monaco, Sun Valley, and Travel Supreme. Many other manufacturers, including Newmar, Dutchmen, Gulf Stream, and Jayco, can be found in the nearby towns of
Goshen,
Middlebury,
Nappanee, and
Wakarusa. In 2005, these locales experienced a boom because of the large number of trailers ordered to house Hurricane Katrina victims.
Recreational vehicle terms
Black water : Wastewater from the RV toilet. Body waste. Called blackwater because if left in the blackwater tank long enough, turns black.
Chemicals (for wastewater tanks) : A variety of commercially produced chemicals that are added to the blackwater and graywater tanks to control odors. These chemicals may or may not kill the bacteria in the tanks and may or may not have an adverse affect on septic systems. Some wastewater tank chemicals contain enzymes that are supposed to control odors and help breakdown the organic materials in the wastewater. Commonly referred to as 'blue' or 'green', the latter being designed to be less harmful to the environment.
Converter : An electrical device that's usually supplied built-in the RV by the manufacturer. The converter takes AC power from a campground electrical hookup (shore power) or generator and converts that power to 12 volts DC for use in the vehicle. Converters also charge the house battery(s
Dry camping (boondocking) : Is camping in a campground or any area without water, electricity and sewage hookups, including parking lots or driveways. In the USA, most campgrounds operated by the US Department of the Interior (BLM, National Park Service, National Monuments, National Wildlife Areas, National Forests) and most state and county campgrounds don't have full hookups for water, sewage or electricity. Dry camping is made more livable by having: » # A supply of potable water storage within the RV
# Having enough house-battery(s) power to supply basic camping needs (low voltage lights, water pump, control portion of refrigerator, etc.) » # Having a means of recharging the house battery(s) such as solar panels or generators
# Having enough wastewater tank capacity to contain the wastewater for several days of camping
Dump station : A place where RV waste-water tanks is emptied. Usually a small concrete pad with a 3 to 4-inch brass fitting embedded into the concrete. The fitting accepts a sewer hose from the RV. Sewage dumped into the station goes into a sewer or a septic system. The brass fitting usually has a pivoting cover to keep rocks and other objects out of the dump station piping. Dump stations are usually situated so that an RV can be driven next to the receptacle. Dump stations often have running water for rinsing the RV's sanitary pipes and for cleaning up the dump station pad. This water shouldn't be used to fill an RV's potable water tank. RV etiquette demands that when using an RV dump station, you clean up any spills.
Dumping, dumping tanks : The act of emptying the waste tanks.
Generator : A gasoline, diesel or propane-powered device for generating 120 or 240 volts AC electrical power for use when boondocking or dry camping. Generators are rated by their electrical output, usually in watts. A minimum generator size for a small RV would be 1500 to 2000 watts. To run an RV air conditioner, a minimum of 3000 watts is usually needed. Larger RV's with multiple air conditioners require generators with 6000 and more watts of capacity. Generators also charge the house battery(s). Generators are common in North America but very unusual in Europe, where their noise would be an unpopular intrusion to the rural calm of a campsite.
Grey water : Waste water from the sinks and showers. It isn't truly "clean", but it isn't as "dirty" as "blackwater". It is called graywater because it looks gray from detergents in the water.
High voltage : refers to shore power, generator power or power from an inverter, which is AC at the standard household voltage of one's country, used to run air conditioners, television and stereo systems, microwave ovens, electrical refrigerators, electric heaters, and electric water heaters. It also powers AC outlets in the RV for electrical devices such as toasters, hair dryers, computers, printers etc. (Strictly, "AC" only means that the polarity reverses many times per second, but in an RV it may be assumed to mean high voltage.)
House batteries : The batteries, usually 12 volt DC, that are installed on or within an RV. Known in the UK as 'leisure batteries'. Usually there are multiple batteries combined in a parallel circuit, but there may be a single house battery on some RV's. Separate and isolated electrically from the vehicle battery(s) that are used to start and operate the motor vehicle part of the RV (motor of a motorhome, car or truck for tow vehicles or campers). RV batteries differ from car or truck batteries in that they're 'deep cycle' batteries. This means that RV batteries can be drawn down further before recharging than car or truck batteries. For best RV battery life, don't draw down the charge below 50% before recharging. Deep cycle batteries that are well maintained and cared for can last 10+ years. RV batteries that are poorly maintained and abused will last only a year or two. Batteries are rated in amp-hours; multiplying this figure by the battery voltage yields watt-hours, which indicates the length of time a known load can be run.
Inverter : An inverter takes the 12 volt DC house power from the house battery(s) and inverts that to AC power at the standard household voltage for one's country. Inverters are not usually supplied in RV's by the manufacturer. Inverters are rated by the output, in watts. There are two categories of inverters. The least expensive are called 'modified sine-wave' or 'quasi-sine wave' inverters. The more expensive versions are 'sine-wave' or 'full sine-wave' inverters. The modified- or quasi-sine wave inverters work well for most RV uses, but most inverter manufacturers recommend the use of full sine wave inverters to power televisions, VCR players and recorders, DVD players, computers, printers, fax machines and other electronic devices. Like a generator, inverters must be sized to accommodate the anticipated electrical load. Most inverters in RVs are rated at 1500-2000 watts. This is enough power to run a microwave oven or run a TV, DVD and computer but not at the same time as the microwave. The number of watt-hours that can be provided; how long a given load can be run; depends on the battery, after allowing for the slight inefficiency of the inverter.
Low voltage/high voltage electrical systems : In U.S. RVs there are two types of electricity used in the unit. Low voltage refers to electricity from the house battery(s), typically 12 volts DC. This electricity is used to run lights, the water pump, the control portion of a refrigerator, the igniters for cooktops, smoke and gas detectors, fans, jack and slide-out motors and often the blower and control circuits of a built-in propane furnace.
Pink water : This would be water to which 'pink' antifreeze has been added, for use in flushing toilets. Pink is used to imply that it isn't toxic. Normal antifreeze is colored green or blue to show that it's a toxic chemical.
Refrigerator: Most RV refrigerators are "Absorption Cycle", rather then "Compressor Cycle" appliances. These operate by the direct application of heat to the refrigerant, without the use of a pump, unlike most domestic refrigerators. In recent years special 12VDC operated compressor type refrigerators have been developed and are being used in some RVs. » The typical RV (absorption) refrigerator uses either propane or electricity as a heat source. Most operate on propane or AC (2-way), while some add 12VDC (three-way). Three-way (powered) RV refrigerators draw too many amps to be powered by the house battery(s), but may run on 12VDC power while the engine is running in an RV. Newer models use 12VDC to control electronics that switch power sources automatically. Absorption refrigerators are very sensitive to being level and don't function unless reasonably level. However, newer RV refrigerators are less sensitive to being run out of level.
Anyone planning a long ferry ride with an RV should bear in mind that it's impossible to run the fridge while on board, where gas bottles must be turned off, and electricity is seldom provided.
RV shower : Is a method of showering that conserves water, wastewater tankage and battery power in a motorhome, trailer or camper while dry camping. The steps in a basic RV shower are: » # Turn on the water
# Wet the body » # Turn off the water
# Shampoo hair » # Soap up and scrub body
# Turn the water back on and rinse off the soap and shampoo » The total time for the water being on is typically under 2 minutes and often less. The RV shower is similar to a Navy shower. Owners of smaller vehicles seldom use the shower in the van, preferring to use the campground showers.
Sanitary station : in Europe, black water is usually collected in a portable toilet with a detachable tank which is carried to the sanitary station. Sometimes referred to as a Thetford, Porta Potti or an Elsan (from commercial names), this tank has a small amount of 'blue' or 'green' added to it each time it's emptied, to manage odours. The sign for a sanitary station usually includes the word 'Chemical' in one form or another.
Shore power : Electricity that's available to an RV from a power company. The basic service in USA campgrounds is a standard 2-prong w/ground 120 volt AC outlet with 15-20 amps. Most newer USA campgrounds with electrical hookups offer three outlets in the connection box: 2-prong w/ground 120 volt AC 20 amp; 3-prong RV 120 volt AC 30 amp; and a 4-prong RV 120/240 volt AC 50 amp (which can power 120 volt loads and the large 240 volt loads at the same time). A variety of plug converters are available from RV supply houses to convert from one type of plug to another. (High voltage can kill when wired wrong, and the fact that appliances work doesn't mean that it's wired right.) In the UK and most of Europe, 240 volt power is supplied through a 16 amp socket which is designed for outdoor use. In continental Europe, although the socket is rated at 16 amps, the circuit is often limited to a much lower current, sometimes as low as 3 Amps. Less modern campgrounds may use domestic sockets similar to those found in homes.
Slide-Out : A section of the RV that can be expanded by pulling it outward from the side of the vehicle, thus making the interior space wider. Many modern North American RVs feature at least one slide-out section – this is typically to widen the kitchen and better accommodate the seating area.
Tow vehicle : The car or truck that's used to tow an RV trailer.
Towed vehicle or "toad" : A car or other vehicle that's towed behind motorhomes for use when the motorhome is set up in a campground and connected to utilities. Also called a "dinghy". Fairly common in the US and Canada, but unheard-of in Europe.
White water : This is the fresh water directly taken from a clean-water source. It may or may not be potable water, for example, drinking water.
Wild camping: used in the UK to refer to camping at unofficial sites or at the side of the road. The legality of this varies from country to country in Europe, and it can be risky in some places.
Winterize : The maintenance of an RV's water system to protect it from damage during cold winter storage. This involves making sure all water is removed from the hoses and tanks using compressed air or adding a non-toxic antifreeze to the system. Some modern RVs are equipped with automatic winterization systems.
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