A recent story told of 44-year-old hazardous-waste inspector Dee Williams, who scrap-built an 84 square-foot cabin on a trailer frame. For a time, Dee's tale even made it onto the Yahoo.com home page.
One has to ask, "Is this a recreational vehicle"? Just because it's on wheels and can be towed, is it an RV?
What is an RV, Anyway?
According to the Recreation Vehicles Industry Association (RVIA), a Recreation Vehicle (RV) is "A motorized or towable vehicle that combines transportation and temporary living quarters for travel, recreation and camping. RVs do not include mobile homes....RVs are sold by recreation vehicle dealers."
This leads to an examination of the growing trend towards park models and lodge-on-wheels homes such as that of Dee Williams. The first are indeed sold by recreation vehicle dealers, but does that make them RVs? And surely the second is a type of mobile home? Should they have RV insurance or home insurance?
Types of Park Models
GoRVing Canada, a coalition of RV manufacturers, component suppliers, dealers and campgrounds, identifies two types of park models, and identifies them both as RVs.
Park Model Travel Trailer 102 – Like a large conventional travel trailer, this park model is towed by a heavy-duty tow vehicle and does not require a highway movement permit. It meets standard CSA Z-240 for maximum set-up size of RVs. Like other RVs, this type of park model RV
- is intended for seasonal use but comes in winterized versions
- is built on a single chassis mounted on wheels.
- contains sleeping, dining, cooking and bathroom facilities.
- may have slideouts for extra space.
Unlike other RVs, a park model RV of this type
- is not designed for transportation
- is designed to be towed infrequently.
- does not have a 12V system for fixtures and appliances so is not intended as "temporary living quarters for travel, recreation, or camping".
It appears that by the definition of the RVIA, this is not an RV; GoRving says it is.
Park Model Recreational Unit – Designed to be moved solely for occasional relocation, this park model RV unit requires a special tow vehicle and a highway movement permit. The chassis/wheels may be returned to the factory once the unit has been set in place.
"This RV Unit is built to a different standard (CSA Z-241) which allows for a greater width than all other RVs", says GoRVing Canada.
- Its only similarity to an RV is that it comes complete with sleeping, dining, cooking and bathroom facilities.
- Often a park model RV unit of this type will be equipped with larger appliances suitable for long-term use, such as a full-sized washer and drier.
RV Insurance or Home Insurance? A House-on-Wheels is not Necessarily an RV!
Perhaps in response to the housing crisis, there seems to be a renewed interest in smaller, more sensible, energy-efficient housing. Some, such as Tumbleweed Houses, take tiny to the extreme (Dee William's mini-pad is a good example as part of the tiny house movement). The teardrop trailer is the RV equivalent of the "small is beautiful" attitude.
The park models listed above are generally large units built using RV construction techniques (such as composite sandwich walls) and layouts. But what about a small stick-built home using more conventional wood construction. If such a small home is mounted on wheels, is it an RV? Even if the only use of the wheels is to get it to its final destination?
The Martin House Company, for example, builds the Lodge-on-Wheels, a heavy-looking unit with wood framing, wood siding, and solid wood floors. Founder Julie Martin claims that "Each Lodge-on-Wheels™ comes with a Mississippi State DMV travel trailer title. Our experience is that since it is on wheels, it is a travel trailer." Martin even recommends getting RV insurance rather than home insurance.
At 10' to 14' wide, the Lodge-on-Wheels exceeds the standards of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and SEC. 63-5-13 (1) of the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Code (maximum allowed width 102"). Moving the unit on any state or federal highway would seem to require an oversize permit. It is possible that some jurisdictions might even require a pilot vehicle.
Martin is definitely bucking the trend towards light-weight campers. A beautiful high-quality cottage it may be (just look at the gorgeous interior shots!). But in this writer's opinion - an RV it's not!
Refrences:
Martin's Lodge-on-Wheels
Thomas Alan Gray - Tom has been writing for over 30 years; curiosity leads him to dig into a wide variety of topics.
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