RV Definitions and Words You Might Hear

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  • Artic Package – An RV designed for the colder climes.
  • Axle Ratio – The number of times the drive shaft must turn for the axle to turn one time. If you have a 4:1 axle ratio the drive shaft turns 4times for every time the axle turns. The higher the number, the more pulling power you have and the more gas you’ll burn.
  • Backup Monitor – A monitor located in the driver’s view showing the back of the RV.  Helps you move without trouble.
  • Basement Storage – Storage compartments or storage area under the floor of your RV.
  • Black Water Holding Tank – You know it better as a septic tank.  Make sure to empty it before it hits the 3/4ths mark!
  • Brake Controller – A switch designed to make sure your trailer brakes when your car does.
  • Breakaway Switch – A switch in your trailer that, if disconnected, will engage the trailer brakes.  It needs a 12-volt power source to work, though,
  • Bumper Pull – Slang for a travel trailer.
  • Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) – How much weight you can put on your RV.
  • Class A or Type A motor home – The largest type of motorhome, what you think of when you think “Winnebago”.
  • Class B or Type B motor home – Smaller than a Type A, about 20 feet.
  • Class C or Type C motor home – Generally built on a van, and about 20 to 30 feet.
  • Converter – Turns AC power to DC power, very useful for your RV.
  • Coupler– What attaches your trailer to your car’s hitch.
  • Deep Cycle Battery – Also called a “house” battery or “auxiliary” battery, it supplies 12-volt DC power to the appliances and accessories in the RV.  It’s designed to be charged up while your motor home is running, but it’s different from a car battery since it’s designed to be recharged repeatedly and hold charge for longer.
  • Delamination – When a fiberglass panel starts peeling off the RV, usually because of water damage.
  • Demand Water Pump – The water pump that keeps your water system pressurized.
  • Diesel Pusher – Also called a “pusher”, this is an RV with a diesel engine in the back.
  • Dinghy – Slang for what you’re towing behind your RV.
  • Dry Camping – When you go camping without any hookups.
  • Dry Weight – The RV’s weight when it rolls off the line.
  • DSI- Direct Spark Ignition (DSI) – touch-button system for igniting a propane burner, often used in motorhomes.
  • Ducted A/C and Heat – A system for air conditioning in an RV; the cool air goes through the ceiling and the heat through the bottom.
  • Dually – A truck with two tires for each side of the axle.
  • Dump outlet – Where you empty out your sewage and waste water on your RV
  • Dump Station – A place to dump sewage at a campsite.
  • Equalizing Hitch – A hitch that distributes some of the weight across your trailer as well as your towing vehicle, usually 10 to 15 percent.
  • Fifth Wheel Trailer – A trailer with a raised front that extends over the bed of a pickup truck. There a special hitch in the truck bed to attach it.  Also called a “fiver”.
  • Filon – Fiberglass sheeting used in RVs.
  • Folding Camping Trailer – AKA a tent trailer or a pop-up.
  • Fresh Water Fill – Where you load fresh water into your RV.
  • Full-Timers / Full-Timing – Slang for people who live in their motor homes year-round.
  • Genset – Short for generator set.
  • Gray Water Holding Tank – Collects sink and shower water for later disposal.
  • Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) – The most weight an axle on a vehicle is allowed to support.
  • Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) – The most weight allowed for a tow vehicle and trailer together.
  • Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) – the most weight when the trailer is fully loaded for travel.
  • Gross Vehicle Weight or Gross Trailer Weight (GVW) – The actual weight of your tow vehicle and trailer.
  • Hitch Receiver– Where you connect your RV to your tow vehicle.
  • Hitch Weight – How much weight is directly on the hitch.
  • Inverter – Converts 12vDC to 12vAC for use with appliances.
  • Kilowatts – How much power a generator puts out.  1000 watts equals a kilowatt.
  • LP Gas – Liquid petroleum or propane, used for cooking and heat and stored in tanks.
  • Monitor Panel – Lets you see how full your water tanks are and also the status of your house battery.
  • OEM – Original Equipment Manufacturer
  • Park Model – A trailer designed to be set up permanently somewhere.
  • Porpoising – Used to describe the movement of an RV while traveling; it goes up and down, like a dolphin swimming.
  • Pull Through Site – A campground where you don’t have to back up.
  • R Refer – Abbreviation for “RV refrigerator”.
  • Regulator– Gas controls for your appliances.
  • Rig – Slang for your RV.
  • RV – Short for “recreational vehicle”.
  • RVDA – Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association
  • RVIA – Recreation Vehicle Industry Association
  • Safety Chains – Chains connected between the trailer and the tow vehicle so if the hitch breaks, the trailer won’t be a hazard.
  • Screen Room – Think of this as your RV’s screen porch; it pops out for you.
  • Sewer hose donut – A plastic or rubber ring  to get a good seal on your sewer hose.  Required at most campgrounds, for obvious reasons.
  • Shore Power – Slang for plugging into an external 120vAC connection at a campground.
  • Slide-In – A truck camper that slides in to the bed of a pickup truck.
  • Slide-Out – A section that comes out to give you more space.
  • Slider Hitch – A special hitch used for fifth-wheel trailers, to keep the trailer from bumping into the truck’s cab.
  • Snowbird – RVs who travel south for the warmer winters.
  • Stick and Tin – An RV with a wood frame and an aluminum interior.
  • Surge Brakes – A system on the trailer that acts when it sense the RV slowing down.
  • Sway Control– used to prevent the trailer from swinging around wildly.  Comes in several types, such as friction sway control.
  • Tag Axle – An axle that’s not a drive, used to support some of the RV’s weight.
  • Three Way Refrigerator – a refrigerator that can work on 12vAC, 12vDC, or LP gas.
  • Toad – See dinghy.
  • Tongue Jack – The jack mounted on the the trailer that supports the front.  Used to raise or lower the trailer during hitching.
  • Tongue Weight – the weight pressing on the trailer’s hitch when fully loaded.
  • Tote tank – A tank to fill and haul to a dump station if you can’t get close enough, designed to be portable.
  • Toy Hauler – An RV that has a ramp for you to load in motorcycles and other expensive toys.
  • Transmission Oil Cooler – A small heat exchanger or radiator designed to keep your transmission cool and prevent overheating.
  • Travel Trailer – An RV that you tow.
  • Truck Camper – Campers placed on the bed of a pickup truck.  Very good with off-roading.
  • TT – Short for travel trailer.
  • TV – Short for tow vehicle.
  • Water Pressure Regulator – Protects your plumbing system against overpressurization.
  • Wheelbase – The distance between the centers of the primary axles.
  • Wide Body – An RV that is wider than 8’, the standard width.   Generally a wide-body is 8”6’.


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