No RV parking signs

[brholt]

Having a truck camper I am a bit confused about signs, rules and regulations that specify no RV parking. Are we RV's for the purpose of those signs or are we just trucks? At 25 feet in length I'm not exactly small.

Does anyone have any actual experience where they were allowed, or not allowed, to park in a "no RV parking space"?

[thetroutman4]

Billtex wrote:

p.s. we even squeezed through here;


Can anyone guess the location?




I was gonna say Chaffee County Rd 371.

[billtex]

bcbigfoot nailed it...good job!

[bcbigfoot]

I think it was here.



This was a little down the highway. Really threading the Needle.;)

[thejustin]

Super_Dave wrote:
In the past, I've most frequently seen this debate come from folks fighting an HOA rule.

One of the reasons I got a truck camper. Our HOA wouldn't allow us to park my 5th wheel on the curb for more than 24 hours at a time. So I could bring it home the night before a trip and get her ready but then after that it had to go to the storage yard. I keep my truck camper parked in the driveway all season long from June till October and nobody has complained (yet). Here in Alaska TC's do not require registration or titling so I suppose that is why. Now mind you the TC is still on my truck. I'm sure if I removed the TC and unloaded it onto the driveway somebody would complain. I haven't been brave enough to test that theory yet.

[Super_Dave]

In the past, I've most frequently seen this debate come from folks fighting an HOA rule.

[stevenal]

I figure it's a truck when only non-RV parking spaces are available, and it's an RV when the RV only spaces are handy. Haven't been cited yet.

[GMCPU53]

billtex wrote:
Our TC does not require a registration...so our truck has the only plate.
In Yellowstone, there were many side roads that restricted RV's...I started to enter one (it was a tight/twisty road) the Ranger just waved...after that we drove on any road we wanted and were never questioned. OTH, we parked in "RV' spots at many NP's...so the TC was the best of both worlds. I actually felt bad (not TOO bad) for the difficulty Folks in Class A/C's had trying to find parking in the NP's. The TC was so easy...we could fit anywhere.

Twice we have pulled into to State beaches here on the East Coast, that said "No RV's", the attendants never batted an eye...they charged us the automobile rate and in we went.

We have camped in "tent sites" at NP's, NF's, etc with the Rangers permission, if there were no RV sites. We take only 1 parking space, same as a tent camper...

As noted, I guess it depends who is posting the signs and why. If you are not registered as an RV, you could always point that out to who ever asks.
Ask nice, explain you only need a single space. We have never had a problem.

Bill

p.s. we even squeezed through here;


Can anyone guess the location?

Yup ! Real easy ... you're in that famous hole in the wall place under that giant boulder. My brain is starting to fade so I can't remember which state it's in, but I think I have it narrowed down to the lower 48. That makes me the closest without going over. When do I get my prize ?

Joe

[mkirsch]

Tiger4x4RV wrote:
One type of place where I have seen RV's forbidden: national parks.

I don't mind too much if the sign said no vehicles over a certain weight or length or height, but I really object when they forbid by function. I've seen this occur where much larger vehicles (a tour bus for example) were allowed and my RV was not.

Two BIG reasons for that:

1. Your average driver has no idea how long, wide, high, or heavy their vehicle is.
2. People who intend to "squat" for the night in their camper, can't. Tour bus full of senior citizens, not likely to sneak off into the bushes and try to spooge a free night of camping.

[bigdogger]

camperpaul wrote:
In one of the parking lots on the South Rim there is an area that is very clearly marked "RV AND BUS PARKING ONLY".

A couple of us pulled in there with our families and our RVs and found a Mercedes parked right smack in the middle of that area, so we parked him in.

We came back a few hours later to find the local LEO (Ranger?) writing him a parking ticket. 🙂

And now a Mercedes driving City Councilman is some town is either drafting up ordinances to prohibit RVs from parking on city streets and overnighting in parking lots or instructing the police department to start enforcing those laws already on the books.

[Tiger4x4RV]

MKish wrote:
There are a few places in national parks--like the road to Mineral King--where RVs aren't supposed to go due to the road being unfriendly to larger vehicles.

One of these days I'll test it. The ranger on the phone didn't think it would be a problem for a TC, but he said it was full so I didn't go. 🙂

The NPS website clearly states "no RV's or trailers" at the two campgrounds in Mineral King.

The road up there is narrow and has hundreds of twists and turns. I'd only consider driving it if I could camp for a day or two at the top, so I've never been there.

[ralphnjoann]

billtex wrote:
Our TC does not require a registration...so our truck has the only plate.
In Yellowstone, there were many side roads that restricted RV's...I started to enter one (it was a tight/twisty road) the Ranger just waved...after that we drove on any road we wanted and were never questioned. OTH, we parked in "RV' spots at many NP's...so the TC was the best of both worlds. I actually felt bad (not TOO bad) for the difficulty Folks in Class A/C's had trying to find parking in the NP's. The TC was so easy...we could fit anywhere.

Twice we have pulled into to State beaches here on the East Coast, that said "No RV's", the attendants never batted an eye...they charged us the automobile rate and in we went.

We have camped in "tent sites" at NP's, NF's, etc with the Rangers permission, if there were no RV sites. We take only 1 parking space, same as a tent camper...

As noted, I guess it depends who is posting the signs and why. If you are not registered as an RV, you could always point that out to who ever asks.
Ask nice, explain you only need a single space. We have never had a problem.

Bill

p.s. we even squeezed through here;


Can anyone guess the location?

Zion???

[brholt]

Following up on my own post 🙂 I looked at same of the local municipality codes. Some of the specifically define truck campers, some of them define them as RV's, and some don't. For example, here is one in which we are not (unless dismounted), Redmond WA regarding parking:

"Recreational and Utility Vehicles. Travel trailers, boats, jet skis, wind surfing boards, folding tent trailers, motor homes, truck campers removed from a truck or pickup, horse trailers, boat trailers with or without boats, and utility trailers. This definition does not include pickup or light trucks, that are10,000 pounds gross weight or less, with or without a mounted camper unit, which are primarily used by the property owner for transportation purposes."

I guess the overall answer to whether or not we are "RV's" is it depends.

[Bedlam]

Although WA does not specifically classify them as RV's, it does have definitions for campers and motor homes:

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.04.085

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.04.305

[brholt]

Bedlam wrote:
WA plates the TC as an RV, so there there should be little confusion to your classification. If you are visiting an area that does not plate the TC, I would not consider you a RV.

Your post proposed me to look at my vehicle registration on the truck camper and then search through RCW (state laws) and WAC (administrative code). The result is Washington specifically defines truck campers (camper) as well as motor homes and travel trailers. The law specifically refers to campers where applicable. However, there is no definition of "RV" anywhere so signs saying no "RV" parking must fall under local rules.