number of class A motorhomes in use in the USA

For what you are proposing, have you searched to see if you are clear of patents on prior implementatiions? Waste into exhaust systems were offered on motorhomes in the late sixties and early seventies, disappeared when exhaust emissions standards became widespread.

If you join RVIA as a manufacturer you can get access to the commercial statistics they maintain for members. Most likely, these will be production or sales figure by year, not registrations. Don't expect much in the way of response to questions by e-mail, it is just something that industry associations don't pay much attention to, spontaneous requests for the information the organization exists to sell to members.

Registrations for total number of motorhomes will be hard to put together, as many states do not even have a motorhome category. Mine is registered as a "passenger car." Even fewer would categorize by RVIA A, B, C types, which have not been incorporated into vehicle codes generally, the classification is by the industry for the industry.

Neither sales nor registrations help much with "in use" as a significant proportion are unused for years at a time.

wildtoad wrote:
Still not sure I want to pull up behind a motorhome at a stoplight that is dumping liquid poo into their exhaust pipe.

LMAO :D !
That's a good one

Just look at the RV industry stats for shipments of new RVs of the type(s) you are interested in and then figure a reasonable annual attrition rate (maybe 3% or 4%). That would get you pretty close to how many are still registered and road worthy. I am very skeptical that even if it is approved for offshore use, it will automatically transfer to vehicular use. There are big differences, one of which is Yachts generally are under power for a big percentage of their usage, where RVs are primarily stationary and powered down the vast majority of the time. It will take a long time and a lot of heat for an RVs exhaust system to vaporize 100 gallons of grey water and a equivalent amount of black tank waste. I am also skeptical of how well a black tank will drain drop by drop, since they are designed to be evacuated quickly.

JUSTJOHN wrote:
Sorry, you ask an important question. The reason I am asking for the number of Class A, B, and C's is: We are trying to bring to the RV market place a new product call THE ZLD. It is a black and gray waste elimination system that can virtually eliminate the need to stay in a campground or park that has waste disposal facilities.

This product can be viewed at www.thezld.com or www.namonnassef.com. As it has been a struggle to get the manufacturers involved, we have decided to bring it directly to the RV users attention. The aftermarket becomes the arena we want to go to.

The ZLD was chosen as one of the top 10 best inventions for 2011 by Popular Science and has been featured in numerous boating and RV websites. It is a struggle to get any product of this potential into the hands of the users but we are determined to let the RV customer know as soon as we can get backing, we will be offering this to them.

Hope this clears up why the information is needed.

Does it really matter if there are 80,000 motorhomes on the road or 250,000?

While you could have a company like RL Polk survey all DMV's in all 50 states and give you a near exact number of registered motorhomes, would it be worth spending say $5,000 to get that information? Or would a estimate of between 80,000 and 250,000 be close enough for your purpose to develop and sell you product.

By the way, when I bought my 1975 F-350 used, it came with a brochure for a waste disposal system that involved cutting 24" out of the exhaust system and replacing it with a stainless steel section, and the grey and black tanks would be harmlessly be drained onto the hot section of the exhaust, with the material evaporated into thin air. My thought was the guy following me might be able to smell something. Now that it is so popular to tow a car behind all motorhomes, that might be where some of that water might condense back into a liquid.

Fred.

Whoo dogie! First there is campfire smoke and now roasted diapers....camping at it's very best....maybe we could add some hickory chips to the mix to make it smell better.....:B...

Comparing marine applications to vehicle applications is like comparing apples to oranges..marine facilities can be emptied at open seas which would be comparable to simply letting it fly on the open road....OP should take his product to the Shark Tank.....Dennis

2bzy2c wrote:
Try THIS

I would question their information. In NYS, and many other states, My Class A Diesel Pusher is registered and titled as a WH (Wheeled House) or HOW (House On Wheels). They do not differentiate between the "Classes" of motorhomes. And they lump the WH category into the standard series of registrations in their reported statistics - http://www.dmv.ny.gov/Statistics/regin11.pdf.

Try THIS

JUSTJOHN wrote:
Sorry, you ask an important question. The reason I am asking for the number of Class A, B, and C's is: We are trying to bring to the RV market place a new product call THE ZLD. It is a black and gray waste elimination system that can virtually eliminate the need to stay in a campground or park that has waste disposal facilities.

This product can be viewed at www.thezld.com or www.namonnassef.com. As it has been a struggle to get the manufacturers involved, we have decided to bring it directly to the RV users attention. The aftermarket becomes the arena we want to go to.

The ZLD was chosen as one of the top 10 best inventions for 2011 by Popular Science and has been featured in numerous boating and RV websites. It is a struggle to get any product of this potential into the hands of the users but we are determined to let the RV customer know as soon as we can get backing, we will be offering this to them.

Hope this clears up why the information is needed.

JustJohn,
What you need to do is hook up with a technical writer, and find a local RVer willing to allow you install the system into their RV. The technical writer follows and writes up the installation, and then follows the RV around to different locations reporting on the use of the system. Lots of pictures!!! Then the writer gets his article published in RV magazines. There are Public Relations companies out there that you can hire to do this for you. Biggest problem is that it takes lots of money to get a new item to market. There are several members of this forum who "test and report on" new products for manufacturers before they hit the market. Just look in the RV magazines under "Contributing Editor", and I am sure you will recognize some familiar names of people from this forum.

Considering the fact that there are 50 different states (countries) that operate their own DMVs using different laws, I doubt you will find the information you desire, as the DMVs do not differentiate between Class A, Class B, or Class C. Therefore, the closest information I can offer you is this little piece from the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association: New RVIA Research Shows Record Level of RV Ownership. If you dig further into the RVIA web site, you will find the Historical Glance: RV Wholesale Shipments Deliveries Annually from Manufacturers to Dealers 1978-2012. If you dig far enough, you might find the info you want.