Talk:Recreational vehicle/Archive 1

Freightliner
"Freightliner" is a specific make of light, medium and heavy-duty commercial trucks. "freightliner" is being used as a generic term, I believe incorrectly, for medium and heavy-duty trucks. I'm loathe to jump in and change it, because I can't think of a better, yet terse term, except "commercial truck" or "commercial truck chassis". There is the possibility to also take the opportunity to link to Truck.

Any thoughts? --Efini 18:37, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

More Photos
I think this article needs more photos of RVs (like LazyDays}, it only had a picture of a truck camper.

Sklocke 18:54, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

law-evading comment
This sentence in the article sounds a little strange to me: "Some people also live in RVs because they lack funds for more conventional housing or are evading the law." It seems to me the inverse is also true. Some people also live in "more conventional housing", perhaps an apartment, because "they lack funds" to live in an RV. Do a lot of people say to themselves, 'well, I lack the funds to live in an apartment, I guess I'd better go buy an RV'?

Also, why mention that some people live in RVs because they're "evading the law"? Are there any statistics that show that a higher precentage of law evaders live in RVs than apartments, boats, park trailers or houses? I just don't understand what the point is of associating RVs with law evaders. I'm not denying it happens, just that I doubt it's a significant enough percentage of fulltimers to warrant mentioning.

What are we doing here, listing all the various reasons that some people might live in an RV? Aren't there potentially hundreds of reasons some people would want to live in an RV?

just my opinion Jim 07:08, 18 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Got rid of law-evading comment, explained non-US use of "RV"
Since it was subject to debate and didn't really seem to add much to the article, I removed the reference to use by those evading the law. I also added the Aussie use of the term "RV" and removed the limited geographic tag, and added a few other bits. Realkyhick 06:52, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

Size Matters
I am deleting the sizes for the various types of motorhomes. . . It really has nothing to do with the classification process. It is simply "too much" information.Morehugh 16:38, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Driver's License
What kind of license is required to drive an RV? Is there a special one, or does a user simply need a normal driver's license? -Litefantastic 00:25, 19 February 2006 (UTC)


 * That'd probably depend on what state or country it is being driven in, and its size. The smaller ones comminly do not require a special license in many American states. If we want to add this info to the article we'd need to find a source. -Will Beback 20:23, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
 * US States and Canadian provinces do not require special licensing for typical RV applications. There are exceptions, very large (long) rigs, multiple trailers, etc. Example: BC...Ralph 13April06

LazyDays
Lazydays RV photos are ready-to-be viewed. You may add them to the RV article.

Sklocke 18:57, 15 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I got no idea what you are talking about...? MadMaxDog 05:06, 17 January 2007 (UTC)


 * They aren't in the public domain. If you want better pictures on here, go out and take good photos, upload them to the commons, and link them in. Pictures off commercial websites are usually copyright of the photographer or the publisher of the website, and can't be used here

Dickpenn 22:19, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Globalize
Sklocke, while I won't revert your template - I don't think it was a good choice. If one put these things wherever Wikipedia is biased towards a US description of something, you'd have them cluttering up 2/3rds of Wikipedia, and pose more of a visual and textual tripwire than a help for Wikipedia as such. I find the globalize tag should be used only on articles and sections where the disagreements are more substantial (i.e., things like politics, philosophy, historical views) than here - after all, while the classifications of RVs may me different all over the world (are we to add them all?) they won't make or break anything about this article. MadMaxDog 05:09, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

I sort of agree - it's better to edit the content for a more international flavor/flavour, rather than kvetch/grumble about what's there. Of course a neutral point of view should include all English-speaking countries, but it needs a light touch. Dickpenn 22:13, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

Link
I was talking about the Lazydays website here. :)
 * They are simply a dealer, I see no reason to even mention them N7bsn 15:17, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Luxury Photo's
This article needs more pictures of Luxury Motorhome's, my Grand-parent's own a $300,000 dollar Motor Coach, and yet, all the ones here simply look like small little contraptions that would be in a motor-park. I'm not good at finding correct pictures that may be displayed, but just thought I'd lend this up. --69.237.199.66 22:36, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Recent edits
I largely reverted the edits made between July 31 and today. Those edits, by seval editors, removed sourced material, added copyright violations, omitted highly-relevant internal links, added commerical external links, and changed the term used for the subject from "recreational vehicle" to "recreation vehicle", all without any explanaiton or justification. We can certainly restore any useful edits (and I've put back I few that were in the mix) but please let's not redo all of the listed problems. If there are issues with the existing article let's fix them directly. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 20:44, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

Hi Will, why are all the references with the exception of gorving.ca commercial websites, owned by the same company? I think the references should be neutral. Listing trailerlife.com & rvbookstore.com is akin to listing amazaon.com as a reference. In my opinion it would be better to replace the somewhat arcane links to affinity group and replace them with industry neutral links like gorving.com ( consumer information ) and rvbusiness.com ( industry news ). Motormadness 13:38, 19 September 2007 (UTC)


 * So long as the sites are reliable, it doesn't much matter who they are. But if you can find more relaible sites that reference the same information then please upgrade the material. ·:· Will Beback  ·:· 16:17, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

USDA Forest Service info
While expanding and cleaning up the existing cited sources (bare links should never be the sole citation, as they frequently break), I ran across a supposed source for information on RV locations at national parks from the United States Forest Service. However, it was merely the main welcome page, not a specific source for this information. Furthermore, I could not find any such information on their website. (If they have it somewhere, their search engine is lousy at finding it.) As this was the main reason I came to this article in the first place, I was a bit disappointed. Can anyone locate such a list and add the source here? ~ Jeff Q (talk) 16:31, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

Cited references
This glossary at trailerlife.com does not include definitions of the type cited. It mainly covers hitches and technical terms. The rv roundup at gorving.ca has better definitions with illistrations.

I could not find any evidence the follwoing sentance is true. In fact, the only references available lead back to this article.

"The term "Minnie Winnie" sometimes is used in references to Class C motorhomes, originally coined by one of the founders of Winnebago Industries, Inc. " —Preceding unsigned comment added by Motormadness (talk • contribs) 14:17, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

Bus Converision
Bus conversions have not been replaced by Class A motorhomes. They are custom build luxury motorhomes. I Replace the antique ram-shackle bus shown with a a picture of a recent conversion of a Prevost Bus by Marathon Coach. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Motormadness (talk • contribs) 16:40, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

List of Manufacturers
There is a what is basically a list of many manufacturers under the section Manufacturers. This isn't useful. Why is it there??? We wouldn't do it about cars or motorbikes, or any other subject, so why do it here? As I cant see any point of it, I have removed it DineshAdv (talk) 20:00, 25 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Why don't you create a new page, e.g. Recreational Vehicle Industry and move the list there? There are indeed lists of car manufacturers in those kind of articles, for example Automobile Industry. --Claygate (talk) 16:03, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

History
When did RVs appear? I read about a 1963 conversion of a Saab 92 that may be one of the earlier one, but there must be people who had done such things earlier. // Liftarn (talk)


 * Henry Ford made one, take a look at Tin Can Tourists for some history "The Tin Can Tourists were organized at Desoto Park, Tampa, Florida, in 1919" N7bsn (talk) 14:48, 10 July 2008 (UTC)
 * As far as I can tell that is about camper trailers. // Liftarn (talk)

Image Deletion
I wish to draw your attention to the following deletion of an image I uploaded: "edited by Aldreds (Talk | contribs) at 03:09, 11 July 2007." I'm sick of seeing contributions rejected by what Downes describes as Wikipedia Nazis. The image I provided was a photo, taken by me, of a camper trailer I designed and constructed. I provided permission to Wikipedia to use this image under the creative commons agreement but the image was subsequently deleted anyway. I hereby withdraw permission for Wikipedia to use my image and assure you that I will not be making any more contributions to Wikipedia or its offspring Websites. I will also be actively encouraging all of my educator peers and their students to boycott the contribution to and use of all the Wikipedia elements. As far as I'm concerned you can have your Wiki and continue to exist within your cloistered existence. Please do not respond to this message as I will not be coming back. If you wish, I will accept a limited number of emails.

Kind regards,

Scot Aldred —Preceding unsigned comment added by Aldreds (talk • contribs) 05:43, 13 January 2009 (UTC)

Criticism
Why is there no criticism section in this article? Most people hate RV's, just really hate them. They clog up roads, doing barely the speed limit (if that) and cause dangerous situations, all so people with too much time and too much money can toodle around from one giant-ball-of-string tourist attraction to the next. Stay at home, grandpa! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 138.163.106.72 (talk) 16:11, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

RV lifestyle (stub) and Grey nomads (stub)
I propose the following changes to the "Recreational vehicle" article: Downsize43 (talk) 04:40, 6 March 2009 (UTC)
 * 1) Include the "RV lifestyle" article as a new section.
 * 2) Include the "Grey nomads" article as a sub-section of "RV lifestyle".


 * Agreed. --claygate (talk) 23:21, 6 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Done! --Downsize43 (talk) 11:01, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

Name change
This article used to be called "Recreational vehicle". Now it's been moved to "RV (vehicle)". Why? The old name seemed fine.  Will Beback   talk    06:35, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

IMHO there are very few topics where an acronym is appropriate for the title of an article in an encyclopedia. This change is particularly inappropriate as it reinforces the North American bias of the article, which has already been acknowledged. One of my reasons for becoming an editor was to provide some balance (and possibly an Antipodean slant) to some topics where I have some expertise to contribute. Downsize43 (talk) 10:12, 30 March 2009 (UTC)


 * The name RV (vehicle) is not consistent with wikipedia naming guidelines and was certainly not discussed before the article was moved. With the only responses so far being that it should not have been moved, I've moved it back.  Unless there is consensus for its move to a different name, I believe that the article should remain at Recreational vehicle. --Athol Mullen (talk) 11:35, 30 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Agreed, thanks for taking care of that. --claygate (talk) 12:55, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

Misplaced edit tags
The edit tags for sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 are placed together at the end of section 6. I suspect it has something to do with the placement of the photos. Any ideas on how to fix this? Downsize43 (talk) 03:10, 23 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Fixed by staggering placement of images.Downsize43 (talk) 11:03, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Slide Outs
There is a reference to slide-outs in the Class A section. Other RV types include slide-outs. Should this note/reference be moved up to history? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ksmith40 (talk • contribs) 15:15, 17 July 2009 (UTC)

Used cars dealer in the links...
Hi, should there be a link to a used cars dealer in the link section? See the link entitled "More About RVs". 85.179.177.146 (talk) 08:57, 14 February 2010 (UTC)

Organisations, Ratings, and Directories
While the information recently added under these headings may be good stuff I have some concerns: What do others think? Downsize43 (talk) 12:44, 6 March 2010 (UTC)
 * 1) It further increases the North American bias of the article.
 * 2) It is not central to the topic, and might be better presented in one or more separate articles.

I have added a UK based RV Fulltiming Association alongside the UK equivalent, this should reduce the bias somewhat —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jame58rown (talk • contribs) 18:11, 3 November 2010 (UTC)
 * I removed MOTORHOME365.COM and Escapees.com because they do not appear to be noteworthy.   Will Beback    talk    23:27, 3 November 2010 (UTC)

Definition
The site states as the definition: Recreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a motor vehicle equipped with living space and amenities found in a home.

You then go on to show towables, which are also considered RVs. Not all RVs are motor vehicles, that is exclusive to a motorhome.

Should the definition, to be accurate, read: Recreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a motor vehicle or towable camper or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.9.23.226 (talk) 23:29, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

Editing
I am going to see what I can do to really improve this page; I'm thinking about creating a main article for all of the types of rv's, to shorten this page. Monkeys 9711 (talk) 14:40, 15 January 2011 (UTC)

Need to add RV classifications: A, B, C class etc. Define each class and how this is determined. What are other classifications are there? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.160.134.73 (talk) 04:06, 21 September 2012 (UTC)
 * I DISAGREE Motorhome classes do not need to be smashed into one article. They need their SEPARATE articles! Do not shorten this page, MORE information is NEEDED. In Correct (talk) 18:33, 25 April 2013 (UTC)

Where ARE The Articles In Wikipedia?!
I have not found any satisfactory articles on Wikipedia about RVs and Motorhomes. I would like to know all the manufacturers of all the Motorhomes EVER. Articles about smaller vehicles such as cars and trucks are easy to find and to read, but WHERE ARE THE MOTORHOME ARTICLES?! In Correct (talk) 18:31, 25 April 2013 (UTC)

Removal of Toy Hauler
This is a classic case of throwing the baby out with the bath water. The Toy Hauler is now a well established genre of RV, with diverse manufacturers in various countries where sufficient numbers of aspirational campers have embraced the concept. The correct path would to find more and/or better references. Downsize43 (talk) 11:24, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

Class
How can we have this article referring several places to "class A", "class C", and so on without ever explaining what the heck the classes mean? --jpgordon:==( o ) 21:37, 23 May 2013 (UTC)

DISMOUNTABLES or DEMOUNTABLES
I am very surprised that the Wikipedia RV article makes no mention of the small campers that travel 'on the back of a pick-up'! I saw hundreds of these when on business in North America in the '90s, so decided to buy one for myself in retirement. It enables me to tow a boat behind - which a caravan will not! - and avoids the need for a second car for local shopping etc. once the camper has been dismounted. (Mine uses highly efficient electrically operated legs for this purpose.) I have a Nissan Navara double cab pick-up to carry it and have enjoyed thouands of miles in the UK and continental Europe in it. At home it serves as a spare room for grandchildren, who love it! John Stone — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.134.113.95 (talk) 10:34, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

RVs as dwellings legislation or full-time use
The article mentions in several places the use RVs for "full-time" use. Though I am sure this type of use does take place, RVs are not built to any building code that would permit it to be used as a residence or dwelling. RVs are defined as a form of motor vehicle and registered with state Departments of Motor vehicles. They are to be used for recreational purposes only. Most all states Departments of Insurance will verify this statement. (15:04, 10 August 2014 (UTC) Pete Minter)

satellite
If I hook a satellite to outside jack on camper marked satellite I cannot get signal to go through to any tv have to run cable through window to satellite box to get to work, had this same issue on two campers that we have owned,anyone else had this issue and how did you get to work — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.46.22.210 (talk) 12:19, 9 June 2015 (UTC)

RV's as 4WD vehicle
I don't know about elsewhere in the world, but in Australia, a 'Recreational Vehicle' is a 4WD vehicle designed for off road driving. It may or may not have accomodation facilities, but these are incidental to it's purpose if they exist. No-one would ever live in one.

What you refer to here as a recreational vehicle is known in Australia as a 'camper van' or a 'mobile home'.


 * Intriguing. A disambiguation bit at the top might be nice, then. Phil Bordelon 04:12 25 Jun 2003 (UTC)

Updates
I clarified and expanded (slightly) a number of the issues presented. I might add more, but will think about it. My (aging) RV-FAQ can be seen here. Ralph (again)

Park Trailers, and the Escapees, and Family Campers and RVers
Your article misses an important type/definition. There is a "Park Trailer<" which differs from a Park Model. There are RV parks which allow Park Trailers, but do not allow Park Models.

You also miss two major RV organizations, the Escapees, and the Family Campers and RVers. (FCRV).

Translations, glossary
Wikipedia articles don't normally contain a list of translations into other language, as currently seen in the "In other languages" section. Also, I think WP:NOTHOWTO applies to the "Terms" section. Therefore, I propose removal of these sections. Cheers, 1292simon (talk) 05:08, 12 March 2018 (UTC)


 * Agree. I just removed the sections. --Guy Macon (talk) 15:34, 12 March 2018 (UTC)


 * Much effort by a number of editors has been thrown out without any discussion. Please do the right thing and seek consensus for this action. IMHO the terms could be incorporated into a separate article rather than being discarded. They are certainly encyclopaediac knowledge of potential interest to many readers. Downsize43 (talk) 03:09, 14 March 2018 (UTC)


 * Feel free to create that article. Because this is Wikipedia, the removed material is preserved in the article history. Just go to the last version before the removal and cut and paste as a starting point for your new article. --Guy Macon (talk) 05:03, 16 March 2018 (UTC)


 * Done! Downsize43 (talk) 01:25, 17 March 2018 (UTC)

RV, since when?
When the name was changed to RV (before Motorhome).--Wikiseidank (talk) 20:11, 17 February 2019 (UTC)
 * There is a separate article on motorhome, which describes it as a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle. Sauer202 (talk) 18:00, 1 February 2020 (UTC)

Updating the Recreational Vehicle article
Hi I'm new here so apologies for any errors as I navigate the complex world of Wikipedia. I'm posting this to ask for some advice and guidance on how best to update the article on RVs.

I'm an RV writer and historian based in Australia and would like to significantly update and modify the Wikipedia article on RVs. My book called 'Recreational Vehicles: A World History 1872-1939' will be published by Pen & Sword in early 2022 (see here). The book is the product of five years of research and includes 250 period images of pre-1939 RVs from around the world. There will also be a new blog at rvhistory.com containing many articles and photos not included in the book. I also wrote the Caravan Buyers Guide in 2014.

Despite the many good contributions to the article so far I feel the article needs updating because:

1) the definition of RV is ambiguous (e.g. the terms 'trailer', 'living quarters' and 'accommodation' are not defined)

2) the article is US-centric (many other countries have millions of RVs and these are not covered)

3) some of the information is factually incorrect (e.g. the first 'motorhome' was not built in 2015 and the covered wagon is not an ancestor of the modern RV). Much new information about RV history has been uncovered recently

4) a number of significant issues relevant to RV usage today (e.g. environmental impact, towing dynamics, weight, driver training, offroad use, offgrid use, electric RVs etc.) are not discussed whilst relatively unimportant issues (e.g. moisture and condensation) are included

5) recent RV-related movements such as the Van Life movement, Freedom Campers, van converters and the Tiny House movement need a mention

6) some of the citations are from unreliable sources and the history section has inadequate citations.

If you think this is a good idea, what is the best way to go about it? Section by section? Rewrite the whole article? Create a new article called e.g. 'Recreational Vehicle (Worldwide)' and rename this article 'Recreational Vehicle (USA)'? Please let me know what you think.

Thanks, VistaXL

VistaXL (talk) 22:19, 28 December 2021 (UTC)


 * After feedback from editors on early drafts I have re-drafted the History section to address some of the points above. VistaXL (talk) 23:58, 7 April 2022 (UTC)