Metateps

Recreational Vehicles (RVs)

An RV, also known as a motor home (in spite of some arguments to the contrary), is an enclosed wheeled or motorized platform dually used as a vehicle and a dwelling. They offer more mobility and protection than a tent or a tepee, and buck for buck, about the same living space and comfort as a yurt. Unfortunately, there are a lot of RVs out there that look nice but fall to pieces with any serious use. Check with consumer organizations and get an RV that's for living in, not merely for vacation traveling. Here are the categories of RVs or motor homes:

Class A Motor Home: A home built on a commercial bus, big truck, or specialized chassis.

Bus Conversion: A commercial bus converted to a motor home. Some of these get ridiculously fancy.

Class B Camper Van: This is essentially a conventional van with an added raised roof or a low-riding backside.

Class C Motor Home: These are van- or truck-like compartments built on a truck chassis with an attached cab section. The cab-over profile is distinctive and contains a bed or an entertainment center. These are also known as mini motor homes.

Truck Camper: This is a compartment temporarily placed on the bed of a pickup truck. A camper has insulated walls, a small kitchen, a heater, and sometimes a small bathroom. A camper shell is a single walled compartment with no frills. Shells can often be nicely customized to fit the needs of the owner.

Folding Trailer (aka, Pop-Up Tent or Tent Camper): These collapse into small packages that make towing easier for smaller vehicles.

Travel Trailer: These units are designed to be towed by larger vehicles with bumper or frame hitches.

Teardrop Trailer: These small, lightweight, somewhat aerodynamic trailers are designed to be towed by tiny cars, motorcycles, and even bicycles. They essentially contain nothing more than a bed and some passive ventilation.

Hybrid Trailer: These are a mixture of travel trailer and tent trailer. They may have roofs or top sections of walls that can be lowered over the bottom section, or pullout tent sections.

Fifth-Wheel Trailers: These are the RVs you curse under your breath in traffic on steep hills. They are designed to be towed by a pickup truck, and hopefully it will be a medium- to heavy-duty truck with some guts. A special fifth-wheel coupling hitch is required. There's usually a cab-over, containing an entertainment center, a stash of hunting rifles and beer, or a couple of repulsive youngsters making faces and flipping off passing motorists.

Park Model: These are also known as vacation or resort models, and are designed for trailer park camping only. They are not capable of off-grid living without some extensive modification.

Toy Hauler: These are motor homes, fifth-wheels, or travel trailers that are part living space, part garage or stable (for horses, ATVs, motorcycles, etc.).

Home-Crafted RVs: These are units improvised from cars, vans, school buses, boats, etc. With a little imagination, some nice dwellings can be put together from these vehicles.