Booze in the RV... Legal?

The only thread with more posts than this booze thread is the one about toilet paper.

coolbreeze01 wrote:
Beer in the frig and guns in the RV are legal where I travel in the United States.

Whiskey/Bourbon and guns for me. If I can't take both with me there are plenty of other places to go & see & spend my money.

paddywanpeep wrote:
If you are not drinking while driving, no police officer gives a flying hoot if you have any booze in your fridge or not.

Watch out, you are gonna get yelled at for "scolding" if you offer advice like that... =)

If you are not drinking while driving, no police officer gives a flying hoot if you have any booze in your fridge or not.

Grit dog wrote:
Having booze in a RV and getting hassled over it with no other extenuating circumstances is right there with my level of concern for getting struck by an asteroid......

X2

The buuze palice have ariveed........Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurp.......hiccup hiccup.

NCGS 20-138.7. 3 (a2) Exception. - It shall not be a violation of subsection (a1) of this section for a passenger to possess an alcoholic beverage other than in the unopened manufacturer's original container, or for a passenger to consume an alcoholic beverage, if the container is:
(1) In the passenger area of a motor vehicle that is designed, maintained, or used primarily for the transportation of persons for compensation;
(2) In the living quarters of a motor home or house car as defined in G.S. 20-4.01(27)d2.; or
(3) In a house trailer as defined in G.S. 20-4.01(14).

Everything behind the front drivers seat and passenger seat is living quarters, and the exception only exists if the driver has not consumed any alcohol.

Having booze in a RV and getting hassled over it with no other extenuating circumstances is right there with my level of concern for getting struck by an asteroid......

ThePowells,

Of course they teach the Carroll Doctrine. I was addressing the OP, which supplied no PC for a search......

"First know I have no intention of drinking and driving with this question.

But... What if you have some beer in your fridge while you move from one place to another? Or let's say even a passenger in the back drinks a beer? Or an old empty beer in the trash?

I know all will say "Look up local laws", but it was not that easy. When I google it, I LITERALLY get results that say "Yes, it is fine", "No, it is illegal" and so on back and forth.

I read MY local laws and they were unclear at best! So I figure I will ask people in this situation what they have found.

Have any of you been given a hard time for booze in your RV? Do police seem to come in and check for this sort of thing? I imagine most RVers would have some type of alcohol on board at one time or another.. But I can't find any CLEAR CUT answers about it."

Maybe I should have addressed the PC issue as well. However, based on the OP, the information it contained, and the specific question(s) asked, I did not see it as a necessity.

Jeff

jwstrout wrote:
I'm going to chime in here..........as a cop.

The following comments are just my opinion, and I make no claim that they are all encompassing, and cover every little nuance that individual state laws address.

Legal in your specific area or not, I would not allow anyone to consume alcohol while I was driving, and the RV was in motion. That being said, I would not for a second worry about open bottles that are capped, and stored within the living areas of an RV. I also would not worry about empty bottles that are clearly in a trash container.

While states manage their own alcohol laws, the Bill of Rights is always applicable. You are constitutionally protected against illegal search, and seizure, no matter your location in the United States of America. At the end of the day, if an officer wants to search, short of some exigent circumstance, you MUST provide consent to search or a search warrant MUST be obtained. You have an expectation of privacy in your domicile. An RV certainly qualifies as that.

Happy camping, and have a drink for me,

Jeff

Jeff, do they not teach or follow the Carroll Doctrine where your are? Now somebody gonna say that some cop posted on a RV board that you have to have a warrant to search a vehicle with PC. My response will be to subpoena him as a defense witness at his resist/delay/obstruction trial.