Recommended Practice For Testing Of Exterior Components For RVs Released By Standards Team

The RV Industry Association Standards Department works with industry experts as well as the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop ten standards for RVs and park model RVs. In addition to these standards which are adopted by the RV Industry Association Board of Directors, the Standards team also develops other “recommended practices” for the RV industry.

Recently, the Standards team released the 2021 Edition of ANSI RVIA/RVEC-1 Recommended Practice Testing Requirements of Exterior Components for Recreational Vehicles. This recommended practice was developed by the RV Industry Association to address the proper laboratory testing for patio railings, patios and ramp doors, and manual exterior entry steps installed on RVs. This document provides information on the recommended testing procedures to improve exterior components, reliability, and enhance consumer safety.

Unlike Board-adopted standards, this recommended practice is not enforced by RV Industry Association inspectors during regularly scheduled inspections at member production facilities. Instead, recommended practices provide members with technical specifications, guidelines, and best practices to facility uniformity in application. They are developed by the Standards team on the direction of the RV Industry Standards Steering Committee.

Recommended practices, like the newly released 2021 Edition of ANSI RVIA/RVEC-1 Recommended Practice, can become requirements by being submitted into the ANSI/NFPA process. Through this process, the recommended practice can become a mandatory requirement within the NFPA 1192 RV Standard. The RV Industry Association does plan to submit this recommended practice for incorporation into the 2026 edition of the NFPA 1192 RV Standard.

For questions on this recommended practice, please contact Senior Director Standards, Kent Perkins at kperkins@rvia.org.