In this video I want to discuss something called RV Terminology. And what I mean by this, these are all the various names that people use to call an RV. There’s so many different names out there and people have different meanings for each one of them. So, when we get phone calls, people will say “Hey, do you have this, that or the other?” And you know, of course we help them out. But for those who don’t know, or maybe would like to be a little more educated, I’ve got a thorough list and I’m going to run down those as quickly as I can and explain the different RV terminology or different RV names.
Recreational Vehicles = RV
So I’ve broken the names up into three categories, two main categories and then a sub category (if you will). The very first one or first terminology, not even in any category is the term, RV. What does RV mean? It means Recreational Vehicle. So every other name hereafter refers to a recreational vehicle. So now matter what you’re talking about, it is still referred to as a recreational vehicle, or an RV. So let’s just clear this up immediately from the get-go!
Driveable RVs and Motorhomes (Motor homes)
Now the first category, I would like to say, are called DRIVEABLE units or driveable RVs or your motorized units or your MOTORHOMES, which is a very popular term. These are any type of RV which will have a motor built directly into it to make it self-driving and you don’t need to pull it with another vehicle or do anything special with it; you just get in the motorhome, turn on the key and you drive away. These are motorhomes. These types of RVs are usually gas or they can be diesel. Which is generally the only types of engines out there at this time. Then the motorhomes are broken into classes (which in one of my other videos you can see the different RV classes and what they mean). So you have a Class A, which is the long, cigar, bus style looking motorhome. Then you have a Class C, which is what I like to call a cab-over because there is a bed or loft/nook above the cab area where you drive. Then you have a Class B (as in boy) for a conversion vans. Anything on a van chassis like a Mercedes Sprinter, a Dodge Pro Master, a Ford Transit or whatever else is out there in the market and they are converted into a motorhome. So this is a Class B. Now along with the Class Bs you’ll have what is called a “Campervan”. This is popular in Europe and you’ll hear this terminology used a lot from overseas. And I imagine this is because smaller motorhomes and recreational vehicles are popular overseas because of smaller streets, smaller parking area, smaller spaces, and whatever the case might be. So I get a lot of my foreign customers calling in requesting a campervan and since we know what they’re talking about, we can help them out.
Diesel Pusher
Now there are some sub categories of these types of motorhomes. You have a term some people use called a “Diesel Pusher” and maybe you’ve heard this terminology. All this means is a Class A motorhome, but it has a diesel engine mounted in the rear which pushes the motorhome down the street. This is why it got the nick name, diesel pusher. And to my current knowledge, I don’t know of any gas mounted engines in Class As that are mounted in the rear (I have no idea). But generally speaking a diesel pusher is a rear mounted diesel powered motorhome.
Super C
Another motorhome type is a “Super C”. Maybe you’ve heard this term. These types are fairly newer to the industry (I would say) and these are going to be the really big, box truck (or moving truck) style, semi-truck chassis, Class C style motorhome. These are on a diesel chassis with brands from International, Freightliner, Kenworth, Volvo, and other big manufacturers. But these are going to be the big monster looking Class Cs with the diesel engine in the front end; a Super C.
Super B, B+
The last motorhome style goes along with the Class B. This one I want to talk a little bit more about because this name kind of bugs me a little bit. Myself and the manufacturers don’t see eye to eye or get along with this terminology, but here goes: I call these “Super B” or B Plus”. Now what do I mean by this? In my opinion, anything that is mounted to a truck chassis, like a typical Class C, technically, this falls under a Class C category. If the RV is mounted to a van chassis, like the Sprinter, Pro Master or similar, this to me is a Class B. What manufacturers have been doing is cutting away the Class B conversion van and putting a box on the frame, to make it appear similar to a Class C motorhome. But to me, these types drive and feel like a Class B. So I call them, “Super B” or “B Plus”. So some manufacturers will call these Class Cs others will call them Super Bs. I still feel strongly that this type of RV should fall into the B category. And this should sum it up for any of the driveable, motorhomes that are out in the market.
Towable RVs, Travel Trailers and Pull behinds
The next category is your towable units. This is simply anything that will be towed or pulled behind your personal vehicle. Now there is a lot of names for these types of RVs as well! You have a towable unit, some call them bumper pulls. To me a bumper pull is a type of RV unit on the trailer side, not on the 5th wheel type (which I’ll explain in a moment). Meaning it is towed and pulled from a hitch directly from the back of your vehicle. This is a bumper pull.
5th Wheel & Gooseneck
You also have 5th Wheels and goosenecks. These are RVs that are similar to a semi-truck style trailer that mounts on the back of the pickup truck directly in the bed of the pickup truck. This is a 5th wheel or a gooseneck. At this time Hightened Path RV does not rent 5th wheels or goosenecks, we might in the future and there are some companies that will rent these but unfortunately we are not one who does. They are very large and take up too much space. Plus washing and dumping is very challenging.
Travel Trailer
The general term for a towable unit is a trailer or “travel trailer”. This is the general, generic term when people ask if you have a trailer for rent. But unfortunately when people say trailer, they can be referring to a motorhome too (so it’s kind of funny in this regards). Now to me, going back to the trailer specifically, a trailer is a hard sided unit and what I mean by this is that they are not a popup with canvas canopies on them, so all four sides are hard sided. Now in-between a popup and a hard-sided travel trailer, you have what’s called a “hybrid travel trailer”. A hybrid trailer is the best of both worlds (in my opinion) and it’s a combination of a popup and a hard-sided trailer. So during travel, all four sides of the trailer are hard sided and when you’re ready to setup the unit at your campground, the front and back of the trailer flip open to provide much more space, but they are usually soft sided canvas similar to a popup. The nice thing about hybrid travel trailers is they are lightweight and they still sleep a handful of people, sometimes up to 10! So this is a hybrid travel trailer.
Popups, Folding Campers, and A-Frames
Now let’s go back to the term “popup” “pop-up” or another term is “folding camper” or “a-frame”. Although an A-frame is slightly different but these type of RV units all come equipped slightly different. Basically with all of these types, you have to use a crank to open the units up allowing them to expand to get all of the sleeping space provided. Generally speaking, none of these types are hard sided, although an a-frame is hard sided and has the same concept, you crank them open and they expand to look like the letter A and this is your little camper trailer. The nice thing about popups is they sleep a lot and they are usually lightweight similar to a hybrid. The biggest thing that I personally like about popup trailers, especially with my kids, is that they are like a glorified tent camping experience. They are completely open all the way around with the see through canvas windows. Which is really nice because it gives you the traditional tent camping feel without being in a tent and laying on the ground.
So this should cover all of the second category of various types of trailer units, towable, bumper pull, hybrids, popup, folding campers, a-frames, hi-lo’s, hard sided, soft sided, travel trailer, 5th wheel, and gooseneck.
Campers, All Season, and Extreme Condition
So lastly are the sub categories and the general terms that people use a lot and they can mean pretty much anything regarding recreational vehicles. One term is “camper”. Hey do you rent campers? Yes, do you want a driveable or towable? And this is how I handle this question. Another term is “All Season”, do you rent all season RVs? And the is a maybe because it’s referring to winter rentals. So the RV would be used during the winter season, and the term refers to the water and waste tanks being heated or the water pipes are coiled and heated or even the water pump is insulated and heated. But mind you, in another separate video, I talk about if you can rent an RV during the off season winter months. You certainly can, but we always leave the RV winterized. There are rare exceptions but even if the RV is an all season motorhome or travel trailer of any type, we still leave them winterized. So please be aware of this. Another term is “Extreme Conditions RV”. These types are becoming more popular and originate from Australia and New Zealand. You probably have seen them at some point and if not, just Google the term and you’ll find out more. HPRV does not have any at this time, they’re pretty magnificent RVs and they are just beasts. They are fully equipped, they are rugged, they go anywhere, and they are tough. These are extreme condition RVs. Popups and trailers can be extreme conditions and this just means they are lifted, with larger tires, and maybe they have diamond plates around the sides which makes them extreme condition popups and travel trailers.
Toy Haulers
The last one are “Toy Haulers”. The interesting thing about toy haulers is people assume they only come in a towable unit like a travel trailer or 5th wheel. But now toy haulers can come in a Class A, Class C (I don’t think they come in a Class B, too small), in 5th wheels and most types of travel trailers. A toy hauler is exactly as it sounds, it hauls your personal toys around inside of the RV. The very back of the RV has a large built in garage door that will fold down as a ramp and provide extra space to put smaller vehicles inside such as a motorcycle, dirt bikes, ATVs, quads, a razor, or anything else you can think of that will fit into this space. So that’s a description of a toy hauler and at this time we do not have any for rent. But always check our website to see what we have in our inventory; the inventory changes all the time each and every year since this is an owner consigned rental fleet.
Slide in Camper, Truck Camper
One more that I forgot to mention is called a “Slide in Camper” or “Pickup Camper”. A Slide in Camper is basically an RV box or camper box with all the normal amenities of a recreational vehicle, that slides into the back of a pickup truck. At this time we do not have any and maybe you’re watching this video and you own a slide in camper and would like to add one to our fleet to rent for you. Just give us a call and let us know. But again, this is a slide in camper and they are pretty cool units as well.
Conclusion
So this should cover all of the RV terminology I’ve come across. I’m sure there’s still other names and terms out there that I’ve missed (if so comment below) and we’ll likely get calls about these. But hopefully this answers your questions and if you watched the whole video, now when you call in, you’ll have a better understanding of the specific type of RV you’re wanting to rent! Thanks for watching this long video and I hope you’re having a good day. Make sure to check out some of the other blogs.
