RV redirects here; for other meanings, see RV (disambiguation).

In North America the term recreational vehicle and its derived acronym, RV, are generally used to refer to an enclosed piece of equipment dually used as both a vehicle and temporary travel home. In other parts of the world, particularly Australia, the term may be used to refer to a sport utility vehicle. This article discusses the North American usage.

While RVs are intended for brief leisure activities such as vacations and camping, some people, especially retirees, live in their units and are known as fulltimers. RVs can be rented in major U.S. and Canadian cities.

There are different classes of vehicles generally labelled as RVs:

• Truck Camper - unit is affixed to the bed or chassis of a pickup truck.
• Folding Camping Trailer - also known as a pop-up trailer; a light-weight unit with sides that collapse for towing and storage
• Travel Trailer - heavier
  
  
  
  unit with rigid sides designed to be towed by most vehicles by means of a bumper or frame hitch
• Fifth Wheel Travel Trailer - designed to be towed by a pickup truck equipped with a special hitch in the truck bed
• Park Model - designed for occasional relocation and will require a special tow vehicle and a highway movement permit
• Motorhome ("Winnebago", a product of Winnebago Industries that dominated the market for many years, was long a synonym for a motorhome, but this usage has faded in recent years.)

Class A Motorcoach - constructed on a specially designed motor vehicle chassis, typically resembling a bus

Class B Campervan - built using a conventional van, to which a raised roof has been added

Class C Mini-motorhome - built on an automotive manufactured chassis with an attached van cab section

• Toterhome, a motor home built around a semi truck chassis such as a freightliner. This type of motor home allows you to pull large and heavy trailers while having all the conveniences of a large motor home

A minimal RV typically contains beds, a table, food preparation and storage areas. Larger models add full bathrooms, refrigerators,

Many RVers stay at RV parks, most of which feature electrical, water and sewer service (full hookups), as well as cable television and wireless Internet. Amenties often include swimming pools, gamerooms and even destination-resort activities such as horseback riding.

Advantages of RVs include not having to move one's things in and out of motel rooms, not having to rent multiple motel rooms, and the fact that preparing food saves money compared to eating in restaurants. At the same time, an RV provides more organized living space and better protection from the weather than a tent. Children also tend to like RVs.

Disadvantages of RVs include low fuel economy for the motorized RV or tow vehicle, lack of maid service as experienced in motels (maid service is available at a few high-end resorts), and larger RV models can be hard for the novice to drive or tow.

Some people also live in RVs because they lack funds for more conventional housing. Similarly, RVs — specifically, trailers which strongly resemble travel trailers, but usually with fewer amenities — have been used to temporarily house victims of natural disasters. A notable example is Hurricane Katrina; the federal disaster relief agency FEMA has ordered large numbers of such trailers to house victims of the storm in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Some people craft their own RVs out of cars, vans, or used passenger and school buses.

Elkhart, Indiana, is known as the "RV Capital of the World" because it is home to many RV manufacturers, including, Forest River, Heartland RV, the Damon Corporation, Four Winds, Hy-Line, Keystone, Monaco, Sun Valley, and Travel Supreme. Many other manufacturers, including Dutchman, Gulf Stream, and Jayco, can be found in the nearby towns of Goshen, Middlebury, Nappanee, and Wakarusa. In 2005, these locales experienced a boom because of the large number of trailers ordered to house Hurricane Katrina victims.

Camping-car Camper Motor Home Husbil