Code & safety requirements

First, the NEC is a collection of standardized rules. There is no law that says a gov't entity, ie. State, County, Municipality HAS to adhere to these standards. I believe almost all do. Permitting is also under the purveyance of your Gov't entities and I don't think you'll find any that will issue a permit for a moving vehicle. In most locales, a property owner is allowed to work on their residential electrical service without a permit.

LP gas for RV's is regulated by federal DOT and most mfg's will adhere to the RVIA and national Fire Safety standards. Again, this is not a building so no permitting is needed.

There is no procedure for an owner of an RV to work on his rig. You can make it into a spaceship if you so desire. No permitting or restrictions on who can do the work if you have it hired out, no licensing or certification is required.

As RV's become more sophisticated, there is probably a push to have trained technicians that have completed certain course work or are able to obtain an endorsement. Who that endorsing body is, I have no clue.

FWIW, I've worked in building trades since I was a wee lad and am presently a Residential Building Contractor. Because of the nature of what I do, it's necessary for me to keep up on ordinance, code changes, permitting, inspecting, new technologies, and a host of other legal matters. I think folks put too much importance into building inspection, feeling that once inspected, they are immune to any calamity and disaster. The role of a building inspector is to insure that the codes adopted for the agency they represent are adhered to, safe buildings being the result. There is no guarantee that the wooden stair tread in your stairwell won't splinter and your foot go right through it, for example.

If you're not conversant with safety standards, don't have the skills or knowledge, or just don't want to complete projects, the best you can do is hire service and repairs done through a reputable service shop.

Thanks for that!

I'm an engineer by training and worked in the construction field a long time. I'm so used to building construction being highly regulated and inspected for compliance and the consequences if it's done wrong. I just have to wonder about some of the things owners do with their RVs in comparison to what you can and can't do in a house from a safety point of view.

But then, you can totally rebuild and restore an old car and then just get it licensed when done.

In B.C. any vehicle that contains a propane device or storage tank and is offered for sale must carry a valid inspection certificate that can only be issued by a licensed R.V. dealer or repair shop.

Since you brought it up...you can pretty well be assured if you modify your rig and there's an electrocution or fire, they will be looking it over with a fine tooth comb for anything not done properly. If it can be shown you knew or should have known it was not done properly you'll probably be hung out to dry. If it was deemed negligence on your part, you'd be out of luck for sure...

My motto is "Do it right, or don't do it at all"....Dennis

74alex wrote:
In B.C. any vehicle that contains a propane device or storage tank and is offered for sale must carry a valid inspection certificate that can only be issued by a licensed R.V. dealer or repair shop.

Is this for a new unit or is the original certification only good for a certain number of years like on say, propane tanks?

If somebody modified something though, how would anyone know? I can see somebody buying a pre-owned RV that's been altered and having no idea it has. You can go to any place that sells RV parts and they will sell you LP fittings or a new furnace or water heater with no questions asked.

Executive wrote:
Since you brought it up...you can pretty well be assured if you modify your rig and there's an electrocution or fire, they will be looking it over with a fine tooth comb for anything not done properly. If it can be shown you knew or should have known it was not done properly you'll probably be hung out to dry. If it was deemed negligence on your part, you'd be out of luck for sure...

My motto is "Do it right, or don't do it at all"....Dennis

I totally agree. It's interesting that you read all the time about some owners who have made various LP and electrical modifications, repairs or replacements. It makes you wonder - what if.

In Ontario technicians that work on your RV are licensed. Colleges across Canada offer courses for this. Our local college is a 4 year course.
When we had a new stove installed we got a certificate to say that the LP had been inspected by a licensed technician.
Also, the laws on such things could be different in Canada and the US.

I have done alot of mods to my OFF-ROAD POPUP RV Trailer. Most have been electrical in nature. I have also modified alot of wood work inside my RV trailer.. I also have some similar type mods to my house as needed.

All of these mods for the most part was not inspected by any authorities for code or safety inspections.

Like said above if any of these mods ever cause deaths or other large discrepancies then the insurance companies probably would have big implications on settlements...

It's a big catch 22 that all of us do...

With all of this in mind I try to follow code with everything that I do...

There of course are some things that it would be very important to get properly certified by a licensed technician...

Roy Ken

If I turn my TT into a spaceship would I have to get it inspected by NASA?? :B

(Sorry, I usually try not to post off topic posts . I know this is a serious thread, and I find it interesting but, I just couldn't resist it this time after what Westend said. )

CavemanCharlie wrote:
If I turn my TT into a spaceship would I have to get it inspected by NASA?? :B

(Sorry, I usually try not to post off topic posts . I know this is a serious thread, and I find it interesting but, I just couldn't resist it this time after what Westend said. )

No, not NASA but before you reach space you are flying through air space governed by the FAA. They might have some things to say about your airborne RV.:W

For my own RV electrical installation, I try to adhere to NEC's residential building code with a smattering of vehicle and marine usage mixed into the work.

Just judging by the number of RV'ers that install solar and are upgrading their batteries, I'd say most do a bang-up job on electrical work. RVnet member's solar installations