"10 year rule" question

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ricknc

Active member
Joined
Aug 28, 2016
Posts
42
Location
North Carolina
I'm new to RV'ing. I keep running across this so called "10 year rule" that some RV parks won't accept motorhomes older than 10 years. Is this a policy for longer term occupancy only or do they apply it to  weekenders and overnighters also?

Thanks
Rick
 
This is a policy some parks have and it can be either overnighnters or long term. Generally it is both

My thoery is those parks have too much business and thus need to restrict to newer rigs only
ALso sicne they have too much business..... They do not need mine.
 
Some parks have the rule and loosely enforce it, only if a dilapidated rig pulls in.  Some are hard line.  Either way I haven't ran into that rule very often. My buddy has a classic 1986 Apollo motorhome that would put many of the new ones to shame.  He doesn't report much trouble getting into parks.
 
Here's a recent thread in which we discussed this very topic: http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,97880.0.html
 
Having stayed in well over a thousand parks so far, I've only once been asked once what year our motorhome was. And that time, it was only a curious check-in clerk with a sister that owned one very similar to ours and he wondered if they were the same year. The only parks we've stayed in, usually for no more than a week, that published a 10-year rule only applied it to long term/seasonal guests.
 
Some time ago I first encountered this 10 year rule.
I was taken aback at the arrogance of having my rig "approved" to be presentable in their RV park.
I've since learned (here) there's a darn good reason for it.
Scott's reference to an earlier thread offers a very good explanation.
A picture is usually all it takes. I've never had a problem.
 
second time I'm reading about this "10 year rule" this week, I'm getting scared.
Recently tried to book a reservation, they didnt ask the year of the vehicle although they asked the age of the occupants, come to find out it was an adult only, 18 and up type place, killed our plans.
 
My class c is a 2006. At the end of the year, it will be over 10 years old. Therefore,After much deliberation, I have developed a strategy plan that I think is easy to apply and should, for the most part, overcome this problem. I'm gonna lie!
 
Most people, looking at me, or My RV, are seriously conservative when guessing our ages.. I had one recently who did not believe mine till I showed him my Driver's license.

Still. My plan is if you ask how old my RV is.. PARK ELSEWHERE, cause you don't need my business.  Oh, I'm 65, RV's 11 Had a Police officer guess my age at 50.. They have (I thought) Training.
 
JoeFatz said:
second time I'm reading about this "10 year rule" this week, I'm getting scared.

It's pretty rare.  I've never come across it in my ~9 years of RV camping, at places across the Midwest... although mostly state and public park campgrounds for us, which do have rules & standards but rarely discriminate on RV type.
 
Back in 2011 we took a trip to Lake Havasu Az. I made rez's online and came across the 10 year old rule. Our 1985 Class C 22 ft Lazy Daze had just been refurbished inside and out. New 5k off white paint job. I let it be known she was a 2000 model RV. We checked in with no problems. Even thou we were surrounded by big nice Class A rigs we felt right at home. This was a nice park on "the Island". Kinda pricey but now that we have the newer Class A I would like to return...Oh we still have the LD...in too good of shape to take a loss trying to sell her. Step daughter is in line to enjoy it like we did.
 
My parents questioned someone about it because they had a 1986 Avion and where told that it didn't apply to your trailer.
 
I appreciate the replies and clarifications.  Wife and I recently decided to buy a small motorhome in the near future and the small class A's in the 23-28' range appeal to us. With our proposed budget  we are looking at rigs in the 12-20 year age range.

While out riding around last weekend we came across a RV dealer with a 97 Winnie Warrior 25 on the lot. The salesman who showed it to us was telling us essentially we would be left roaming the globe with no place to go because the RV would be over 10 years old and RV parks won't let us in and that new was the only way to avoid being banished to a nearby Walmart parking lot forever. I was pretty certain it was mostly BS.
 
ricknc said:
While out riding around last weekend we came across a RV dealer with a 97 Winnie Warrior 25 on the lot. The salesman who showed it to us was telling us essentially we would be left roaming the globe with no place to go because the RV would be over 10 years old and RV parks won't let us in and that new was the only way to avoid being banished to a nearby Walmart parking lot forever. I was pretty certain it was mostly BS.


Translation: "I'll make more commission if you buy a new one!"
 
ricknc said:
I appreciate the replies and clarifications.  Wife and I recently decided to buy a small motorhome in the near future and the small class A's in the 23-28' range appeal to us. With our proposed budget  we are looking at rigs in the 12-20 year age range.

While out riding around last weekend we came across a RV dealer with a 97 Winnie Warrior 25 on the lot. The salesman who showed it to us was telling us essentially we would be left roaming the globe with no place to go because the RV would be over 10 years old and RV parks won't let us in and that new was the only way to avoid being banished to a nearby Walmart parking lot forever. I was pretty certain it was mostly BS.

In 2005 we bought a small 1986 Class C motorhome to use for short trips to locations where our Class A would be overkill. In the 3 years we used it in around 30-40 different parks, none of them questioned the age of the rig or suggested we look elsewhere for accommodations. None...
 
JoeFatz said:
second time I'm reading about this "10 year rule" this week, I'm getting scared.

I think the "10 year rule" for the majority of parks, is a loosely held trump card in their back pocket to be used in extreme cases. They don't want junk there to be abandoned. If your rig is reasonably presentable regardless of age (no riveted sheet metal repairs and no duck tape holding the exterior together) I would be surprised to hear of any problems.
I compare it to the "no alcohol" rule at state parks -  A trump card they don't enforce if you're behaving yourself.
They need to have a "rule" to fall back on if necessary.
 
While making reservations for our five week trip out west, I ran across one website for a campground that actually stated that all the campgrounds in Las Vegas had 10 year rules, and to not even try to get into their grounds if your rig was more than 10 years old because they would check the serial number plate inside the rig.

This turned out to be somewhat of a joke because I found another park, also with the 10 year rule, that was happy to take my 11 year old coach after seeing a picture of it. The manager told me they had that rule stated on their website only as a fall back if needed to keep out the homemade rigs or those that looked like they were falling apart. And, after further research, I found several parks in that area that weren't concerned about age at all.

The best thing to do is to call the parks and ask. Some are strict about the rule because they want to give an air of being better (tongue in cheek for "snob"), while others are quite lenient and only post that requirement to avoid the really bad looking units. My guess is that half or more of the parks that post that restriction will bend their rules if they want your business.
 
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