What is an RV?

What is an RV?
A recreational vehicle is a vehicular-type unit primarily designed as temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, or seasonal use that either has its own motor power or is mounted on, or towed by, another vehicle. RVs are NOT designed for permanent or residential living. 

The basic entities are travel trailers, fifth wheel travel trailers, folding camping trailers, truck campers, park model (PMRV) and motorhomes or motorized RVs

RV manufacturers are required to manufacture recreational vehicles to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS)[1] (regulating such things as tail lamps, reflectors, side lamps, clearance lights, and brake lights) and, as a member of RV Industry Association, those standards set forth under the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1192 or American National Standards Institute (ANSI) A119.5 for Park Model recreational vehicles. NFPA 1192 standard establishes fire and life safety criteria for recreational vehicles[2] and ANSI A119.5 is the industry standard established for the safe design of Park Model RVs. 

Moreover, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s regulatory structure makes clear that recreational vehicles are not regulated for full time use (like mobile homes).[3] As further evidence that the intended use of RVs is for temporary recreational purposes, manufacturers place a label on each of its products which contains information mandated by the Code of Federal Regulations such as the unloaded vehicle weight (“UVW”), the gross vehicle weight rating (“GVWR”), the gross axle weight rating (“GAWR”), Cargo Carrying capacity (“CCC”), and the tire and load information.[4] 

What is a Park Model RV?
A Park Model Recreational Vehicle (PMRV) is a unique towable RV designed to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, seasonal, camping, or travel use. PMRVs (previously referred to as recreational park trailers) are built on a single trailer chassis, mounted on wheels and have a gross trailer area not exceeding 400 square feet in the set-up mode, or width greater than 8.5 feet in transport mode. 

They are certified by their manufacturers to comply with ANSI A119.5. PMRVs are most often sited in RV parks or campgrounds for seasonal use. PMRVs, by definition, are not meant to be affixed to real property. PMRVs are neither designed nor intended by their manufacturers to be used as permanent residences.

Although the distinctive appearance of a park model RV sometimes leads people to think it looks like a small-manufactured home, PMRVs are excluded from the definition of a manufactured home under regulations of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) specifically because they are a type of recreational vehicle (24 C.F.R. § 3282.8(g)).

What is a Tiny Home?
A Tiny Home is NOT an RV. 

Tiny homes do not currently have a set safety standard for construction, like RVs do. The most crucial distinction between a Tiny Home and a recreational vehicle, that may look like a small residence, is that RVs are not meant to be affixed to real property, must be built on a chassis with wheels, and are NOT built for permanent residence.

RVs are built to the NFPA 1192 standard which considers the use of an RV for recreational, seasonal, camping, or travel use. These considerations include, but are not limited to: mobility, dimensions for use on public highways, vibrational resilience, and electric and plumbing safety at different locations.

While Tiny Homes have become popular on home improvement shows there is no real central definition of tiny home. Too often when legislators are looking for a definition they look to recreational vehicles and to the safety standard for recreational vehicles but that is not the solution. The solution is a separate standard, unique from the RV standard.

Motorized versus Towable
Motorized RVs, Towable RVs and Specialty RVs (such as Park Model RVs or truck campers) are all recreational vehicles.

Self-propelled RVs only make up ~10% of the recreational vehicle market, whereas towable units are the most common style of RV used by campers and vacationers. All types of RVs must be built to the NFPA 1192 standard, or Park Model RVs to the ANSI A119.5 standard.

Please visit GoRVing to “meet the RVs” and their different styles.

What is NFPA 1192?
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1192 is the standard which establishes fire and life safety criteria for recreational vehicles to provide protection from loss of life from fire and explosions.

What is ANSI A119.5?
Like NFPA 1192, the ANSI A119.5 Park Model Recreational Vehicle Standard is the industry standard established for the safe design of Park Model RVs.

ANSI is a non-profit association that establishes procedures and guidelines to create recognized minimum safety standards for products used by both consumers and industry. 

RVs, or recreational vehicles, are not permanent or residential housing. Recreational vehicles are designed, engineered, and assembled for temporary, seasonal, and recreational use. An RV is a vehicle that combines transportation and temporary living quarters for travel, recreation, and camping. RV Industry Association manufacturing members must comply with the nationally recognized standards for RVs – NFPA 1192 Standard on Recreational Vehicles and ANSI A119.5 Park Model Recreational Vehicle Standard – which specifically state that the standards are for temporary, recreational, and seasonal use vehicles. The RV Industry Association seal that is affixed to RV Industry Association member produced RVs certifies compliance with those standards. Furthermore, a recreational vehicle is regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as a motor vehicle and recreational vehicles must comply with applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Recreational vehicles should not be confused with, or defined as, any product which could be used for permanent habitation. Additionally, the nationally recognized standards for recreational vehicles – NFPA 1192 Standard on Recreational Vehicles and ANSI A119.5 Park Model Recreational Vehicle Standard – should not be used in legislation as a standard for any vehicle or structure characterized as being “permanent”, “residential”, or described with any similar language.

[1] 49 CFR Part 571 – Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

[2] NFPA 1192 Standard on Recreational Vehicles (2021 Ed.) Chapter 1 Administration at ¶ 1.1.

[3]See CFR 17 Part 3282 (“Manufactured Home Procedural Enforcement Regulations; Clarifying the Exemption for Manufacture of Recreational Vehicles”).

[4] 49 CFR Part 567.4 and 49 CFR Part 110.  The enforcement of the proper labeling and product safety recalls associated with recreational vehicles are regulated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”), a division of the United States Department of Transportation.