All of our RVing has been in Alaska, with the exception of one 12 day trip with rented RV several years ago. Have read Motorhome magazine for years and have been trying to prepare for our first big adventure this fall. Have been reading about age restrictions on older RVs in many parks. Our 1999 Fleetwood Southwind is in excellent mechanical and interior condition, but the outside shows its age in faded decals and lack of shine. How can we determine ahead of making reservations which RV parks restrict by age of vehicle? I've looked at several campground websites and don't see that information displayed. We are members of Good Sam, but, frankly, not much of a presence here in Alaska. How do we obtain a print motorhome directory? Does it indicate if there are restrictions of this type? Thank you for your help!

You can’t fix the decals except by replacement but why didn’t you spend a little time on the Southwind’s exterior? With elbow grease you can make big improvements.I do but rarely stay in high brow private RV parks.

your rigs in good shape if they say something just tel them you,ll take your money some place else. its mostly to keep real junkers out,that then won,t leave.

We camp at national and state forests and parks where there are no such restrictions.

RV age restrictions are really quite rare, and are usually found at high end "resort" RV parks. Don't use the "resort" in a park name as an indicator though, since the name has lost any real meaning over the years as older parks failed to modernize. Another place rig age restrictions can be found is long term stays, such as seasonal or annual sites. For 1 or 2 weeks or shorter stays, as long as the RV is in reasonably good condition there's typically no problem. State and national parks usually have no restrictions on age either, but 2 weeks is typically the maximum contiguous allowed stay.

Our MH is 15 years old, about 3 months a year we are gone and never stay more then 5 or 6 days anywhere. No one ever asked us how old it is

Restrictions on older RVs. | Good Sam Community

D_E_Bishop
Explorer
Aug 22, 2019
We have never run into an age restriction(other than those really high end private parks) but in Las Vegas the one question about my rig that surprised me was "do you have any cracked or broken windows?".
Jayco-noslide
Explorer
Aug 22, 2019
We've never encountered a campground in over 40 years that doesn't allow older rigs but then we mostly use public parks under some branch of government. Personally, I doubt I would patronize such a campground although I would support restrictions on junky units or campsites.
noteven
Explorer III
Aug 22, 2019
I check with the nearest cactus or pine tree where I usually park... they are good with my rig...

But ... occasionally use private enterprise paid site...

The one time at the $150/night one in Palm Springs CA they didn’t take truck camper rigs.
parkmanaa
Explorer
Aug 22, 2019
IMHO age restrictions at RV park are a stupid cop-out.
The reason some parks have this restriction is because they have weak management of the park, so the owners say "don't take any RV over 10 years old"
Smart ones go by condition rather than age. Sure wouldn't seem prudent to turn away a 25 year-old fully-restored airstream, yet let a 5 year old unit in with a couple of window units hanging on the side.
1320Fastback
Explorer
Aug 23, 2019
I've always called and asked as my truck is now 27 years old but have yet to find one that said it was a problem. I figure if I do run across one that won't allow it it's not really a RV Park I want to stay at anyways.
BarabooBob
Explorer III
Aug 23, 2019
I owned a 1988 Damon Escaper built on a Toyota C/C. The unit was in very good shape and ran very good with only 70,000 miles on the clock. I only ran into a problem at a CG one time and I just moved on to the next CG.
CFerguson
Explorer
Aug 23, 2019
I think its just a rule on the books that can be enforced if a crappy looking rig/owner wants to stay there. If you look good, you're fine. If you look like a rolling meth lab, you get shown The Rule and asked to move on. And I'm fine with that.
Airdaile
Explorer
Aug 23, 2019
The 10 year rule is a tool that campgrounds use to prevent people from dumping old RVs on their property thus avoiding the cost of having a junker towed. If you make reservations and they make a fuss about the age of your rig, tell them you'll send a pic and if they think your rig fits the junker category you'll go somewhere else.

Then send them a pic of a new Marathon.
valhalla360
Navigator
Aug 24, 2019
parkmanaa wrote:
IMHO age restrictions at RV park are a stupid cop-out.
The reason some parks have this restriction is because they have weak management of the park, so the owners say "don't take any RV over 10 years old"
Smart ones go by condition rather than age. Sure wouldn't seem prudent to turn away a 25 year-old fully-restored airstream, yet let a 5 year old unit in with a couple of window units hanging on the side.

Much easier to point to a simple age restriction when telling someone they can't come in as opposed to telling their rig looks like @#%#$. You can expect the later to start an argument and get negative feedback on review sites. Kind of hard to get into it if you have an 11yr old rig and they say 10yr old or newer.

If you come in with a 15yr old rig that looks good, they just conveniently forget to ask.
chuckbear
Explorer
Aug 24, 2019
We did an 18,000 mile trip around the U.S. and stayed at every type of RV park. We never found any that questioned the age of our RV. It's a 1999. Chuck

Forum Discussion

Restrictions on older RVs.

About Campground 101

Related Content

Length restricted rv parks

Age restrictions

Campground motorcycle restrictions?

Older Motorhome

entry level, older rv