Not sure if anyone has seen or read this already but HUD jumped into the fray here a few months ago and decided to start classifying Park Model trailers as manufactured homes. The RV industry is freaking out because this change has a series of major consequences for manufacturers and RV parks. ie manufacturers would be held to construction standards for manufactured homes not RVS and RV parks zoned for RV use would need to remove "manufactured homes".The industry is pro-actively seeking to squash the HUD ruling and get legislation introduced that clearly states that Park models RVs are "not homes".Personally I kind of agree with HUD, Park models sure do look, act, and operate like manufactured homes but I also get the RV industries assertion that they are small and light enough to be towed on a highway without special permit.Here is the article link. Also here is the text of the bill link What do you think?

I owned a park model RV and it was 399 sq ft It did not have a factory installed porch. I contracted with the RV park owner to have a deck and screened in room added. That way it conformed to the park model standards.

When park models first came put, their design was specifically to keep the MH standards out of the mix. It only seems to take time for the gov to catch up and regain power on these sorts of issues.

Difficult for me to understand what is the true intent since the 2nd link only includes a snippet of one version of the bill and states it's an amendment to definition of the original 1970's bill. I suppose the Feds are looking to standardize park models and certain styles of RVs to conform with housing standard norms. Prolly useful in areas prone to hurricanes and tornadoes yet I need more info to not guess. Should this law's definition not have been updated since the early '70's it's prolly about time to do so. Lots of RV innovations since then.

jules6 wrote:I owned a park model RV and it was 399 sq ft It did not have a factory installed porch. I contracted with the RV park owner to have a deck and screened in room added. That way it conformed to the park model standards.when I looked at them in wisconsin dells, the deck/screened room could not be fastened to the Park Model, as that would void the deal. it could be and was abutted to the PM.bumpy

Park Models RV or Not? | Good Sam Community

36 Replies

tatest
Explorer II
Oct 20, 2014
HUD's interest would be that park models are in fact being used as permanent homes. There are colonies of them in Florida, for one place. Of course, other types of RVs are also used as permanent homes. Thus it becomes a "so what?" question.

It goes back to when there were no standards for manufactured housing, and people bought house trailers, later called mobile homes, to get around the cost of houses built to construction and safety codes, which most places in this country include standards about minimum size and amount of space per occupant.
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Oct 20, 2014
jules6 wrote:
I owned a park model RV and it was 399 sq ft It did not have a factory installed porch. I contracted with the RV park owner to have a deck and screened in room added. That way it conformed to the park model standards.

when I looked at them in wisconsin dells, the deck/screened room could not be fastened to the Park Model, as that would void the deal. it could be and was abutted to the PM.
bumpy
NYCgrrl
Explorer
Oct 20, 2014
Difficult for me to understand what is the true intent since the 2nd link only includes a snippet of one version of the bill and states it's an amendment to definition of the original 1970's bill. I suppose the Feds are looking to standardize park models and certain styles of RVs to conform with housing standard norms. Prolly useful in areas prone to hurricanes and tornadoes yet I need more info to not guess. Should this law's definition not have been updated since the early '70's it's prolly about time to do so. Lots of RV innovations since then.
korbe
Explorer
Oct 20, 2014
When park models first came put, their design was specifically to keep the MH standards out of the mix. It only seems to take time for the gov to catch up and regain power on these sorts of issues.
jules6
Explorer
Oct 20, 2014
I owned a park model RV and it was 399 sq ft It did not have a factory installed porch. I contracted with the RV park owner to have a deck and screened in room added. That way it conformed to the park model standards.
Cloud_Dancer
Explorer II
Oct 20, 2014
What's in for HUD?

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Park Models RV or Not?

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