Mastering RV Slang: Decoding Terms Every Camper Should Know

If you have recently bought new RVs or are new to RV life, you’ll quickly realize RVers have their own language. That’s why we’ve gathered a small dictionary, from a seasoned RVer to a newbie. You’ll know all about RV type, campground etiquette, and road trip lingo. Understanding RV slang is great if you want to understand what others are referring to when they talk about 5th wheels or boondocking. This guide will break down the most commonly used RV terms in the community. By the end, you’ll be able to talk like most of Rvers, making your camping and RV experience smoother, more enjoyable, and a whole lot more fun.

Key Takeaways

• Understanding RV slang helps enhance communication with fellow campers and campground staff.
  
   
• Knowing RV types like “Class A” and “Fifth Wheel” allows you to make informed decisions when purchasing or renting an RV.
  
   
• Familiarity with campground terms like “Full Hookup” and “Boondocking” prepares you for a variety of camping situations.
  
   
• Road trip slang such as “The Big Rig” and “Slide-Out” makes your RV travel experience easier and more enjoyable.
  
   
• Using the right terminology when networking with other RVers helps you connect and build relationships on the road.

Basic RV Slang All RVer’s Should Know

RV slang will have you part of the crowd and culture in no time like a pro. In this section here, the most used and useful RV slang will be explained to you so that you can learn to be an expert and get the most out of your RV holiday. We have separated this RV glossary into four sections so that you can find what you are looking for easily.

General Slang

• RV: Short for “Recreational Vehicle,” it’s the catch-all term for any vehicle that has sleeping quarters on board. Cars and buses are not RVs, but camper vans, motorhomes, and travel trailers are. If you use it as a bed and drive it down the road, it’s an RV.
• RVer: An RVer is just someone who refers to himself/herself as part of the RV community. If you RV camp constantly, you’re an RVer. It’s just a friendly term that equates to just “RV fan” or “RV lifestyle tourist.”
• Rig: A colloquialism to refer to any RV. “Got my rig,” referring to their RV. It’s an RVers colloquial way of referring to their home away from home. 
• Camper: “Camper” is used quite differently in RV lingo. It’s the short form of an RV, the little ones, and is also used downright as a noun when referring to slide-in truck campers. But usually, it’s simply a casual synonym for any motor home where you live out of it.
• Motorhome: A motorhome is an RV with its own engine—a house on wheels, basically. Class A, B, and C motorhomes that are independently mobile are all motorhomes. If it contains a bedroom and an engine inside, you can refer to it as a motorhome.
• Winnie: Short for Winnebago, one of the older, more established RV brands. When people say that they’re going to take the Winnie, they’re talking about their Winnebago motor home. Just like people use facial tissue and call it “Kleenex,” Winnebago was a brand name used to call any large RV.
• Sticks-and-Bricks: Not a phrase used to describe RV camping equipment, but RV slang for the typical house built on a foundation. To refer to “leaving the sticks-and-bricks behind” as an RV’er would be to say that they gave up dwelling in a home for dwelling in an RV. In a playful manner of referring to conventional living.
• Home on Wheels: This phrase means the RV itself is your home. It emphasizes that your living space is mobile. When you’re in an RV, your home is literally on wheels—whether you’re parked for a week or driving across the country.
• Jerry Can: A Jerry can is a heavy-duty gas can. RVers typically keep one (or two) of spare diesel or gas. It is so named after the old military jerry cans, but in reality, all you need to know is it’s a safe way to carry extra fuel on a long trip.
• Off-grid: Off-grid means living without public utilities—no electricity hookup, no city water. In RVing, off-grid camping (often boondocking) means relying on solar panels, batteries, and onboard water. If you’re off-grid, you’re fully self-sufficient.
• Bumper Pull: A bumper pull is also a nickname for a travel trailer. Since these trailers hook onto the bumper of your tow vehicle, RVers just call them “bumper pulls.” So, if someone says, “I have a 28-foot bumper pull,” they’re talking about a 28-foot travel trailer.
• Dinghy (toad): Any trailer which is towed behind an RV. It is usually your car which you unhook at the camp site for making short errands. If you’re going to be “towing your dinghy,” make sure that it is towable behind your rig.
  

RV Types and Features

• Airstream: The bullet-shaped, glittery aluminum trailers that appear in all the old RV photographs. They look retro with a shiny coat. Airstreams are a favorite with Rvers due to their attractiveness and toughness. 
• Class A Motorhome (Coach): It is the largest motorhome, constructed on a commercial bus or truck frame. Coach driving is similar to piloting a luxury bus, and inside is everything one can have in a small house.
• Class B Motorhome (Camper Van): Small, self-sustaining RV built on a van frame. They fit living space into a tiny area, so they are easy to maneuver and park. Size doesn’t matter—most campervans have kitchens, beds, and even small bathrooms.
• Class C Motorhome: A Class C motorhome has a sleeping area above the cab (most frequently described as a “cab over” bunk). Class C motorhomes are of average size and truck frame-built. Class C units are perfect with most families because they are plenty big without being large enough to be a Class A.
• Fifth Wheel (Fiver): A fifth wheel, or a “fiver,” is a trailer towed on in the bed of a pickup truck. The raised front section straddles the truck, giving you additional living space and stability. A 5th wheel has large interiors and open floor plans, which give them the feel of an apartment on wheels.
• Travel Trailer (TT): The most widely used towable RV is the travel trailer. You hook one to the back bumper on your vehicle (a.k.a. “bumper pull”). They come from tiny teardrop trailers to enormous multi-slide models, so there is a travel RV trailer to fit every type of camper.
• The Big Rig: This refers to large RVs, especially motorhomes or 5th wheels, which can be difficult to maneuver in tight spaces. If you’ve got a big rig, you’ll want to be extra cautious when driving through smaller areas.
• Teardrop Trailer: And the name would say it all, a teardrop trailer is shaped like a teardrop. It’s a very small camper, just large enough to sleep in most cases, but with a small kitchen hatch in the back. Teardrops are very light and tow very easily—a perfect choice for couples who want an intimate camping experience with barely any setup.
• Toy Hauler: A toy hauler is an RV or trailer that has a pre-installed “garage” in the back. The garage space enables you to tow along your “toys” like ATVs, dirt bikes, or even kayaks. Upon unloading of the toys, the ramp is then usable as a patio or extra living room.
• Truck Camper: It’s a small camper that will fit in a truck bed, so the truck itself is now an RV. It’s a great setup if you want something small and off-grid-capable with no towing necessity.
• Pop-up Camper (PO): A pop-up camper (or PO) is a canvas-sided trailer that “pops up” when you arrive at your campsite. It’s light and easy to fold up; unfolded, it contains beds and a living room.
• Slide-out (pop-out): A slide-out (or pop-out) is an extra section of an RV that you slide out when you are in a campsite. It provides you with additional floor space indoors—such as opening up a closet to a second room. Slide-outs provide you with additional living space when you are in a campsite.
• Bunkhouse: The bunkhouse is one of those RV floor plans that features a room (or space) with bunk beds. It’s great for families or groups and gives kids their own bedroom. Imagine a bedroom with built-in bunk beds—a huge hit with traveling families.
• Leveling Jack: Hydraulic or electric jacks that you can install on your RV so you can level the RV at a campsite. When you’re on uneven ground, you power up these jacks to lift or lower a corner of the RV. make sure the trailer brakes are on to prevent any risks.
• Basement: RV “basement” isn’t a root cellar—it’s the storage compartments(s) under the main floor of the RV. That’s where equipment, tools, and outside paraphernalia go. Not space to live in, but precious acreage for all your trash.

Campgrounds and Sites

• Campground / RV Park: A campground or RV park is a place that is established for RV camping. RV parks provide individual sites for rigs and could have electric and water hookups, restrooms, showers, and laundry. It’s sort of like a subdivision where there is an individual lot for every RV on which to park and camp.
• Campsite (Pad): A campsite or pad is the space you actually camp on in a campground. It usually has a flat surface area (gravel or concrete) to park your RV, and the amenities of a picnic table and fire ring. When you make a reservation for a trip, you are usually reserving one of these campsites.
• Back-in Site: It’s a place where you have to put your RV. It is actually similar to parallel parking RV style—not half as scary as it seems once you’ve had some practice.
• Pull-through Site: The site allows you to come in by driving and then pulling back out again. You never have to back up. Pull-through sites are very simple to park if you have a large trailer or you just don’t feel like dealing with the hassle of backing up.
• Full Hookups (FHU): It means the campsite has water, electricity, and sewer hookups. If you have full hookups, you can hose out your camper, plug it in for power, and connect your sewer hose right at the campsite. It’s as if you have home amenities right where you drive in.
• Partial Hookups: This is receiving some but not all of the utilities at your campsite. You might have water and electricity but dump tanks elsewhere (no sewer hookups).
• Dump Station: It’s where you can drain the black water and gray water tanks of your RV. You drive over some strange drain, hook up your sewer hose, and dump the tanks.
• Boondocking (dry camping): It’s basically camping without hookups or amenities. Desert, forest, or some other remote location—you name it—you’re living off your RV batteries, tanks, or solar panels.
• Glamping: It’s a mix of the words “glamorous” and “camping.” Glamming up camping. For RVers, glamping might be camping in a high-end RV resort with all the amenities or gourmet meals and linens. It’s for campers who want comfort—if not luxury—outside.
• Wally docking: Is a phrase used to describe overnight parking in a Walmart (or other large-box store) parking lot. Most Walmarts will allow RVs to park overnight free of charge, and it’s a blessing for tired travelers. It’s named wally docking after Walmart, and it’s a good trick when you just need a safe place to sleep and fuel up a bit.
• Campground Host: It’s an RVer who resides on site (usually for little or no fee) and assists in the operation of the campground. Hosts may clean, welcome campers, or provide information. They’re an excellent asset; consider them master campsite concierges with all the insider knowledge.

Road Travel and Lifestyle

• Road Trip: In RV language, it means planning a multi-day (or multi-week) road trip, stopping at parks, campgrounds and attractions along the way.
• Full-timer: It’s someone who’s in an RV on a full-time basis. Instead of having a house on land, their home-on-wheels goes with them wherever they choose. Full-timers have learned how to get all the systems up and running while in transit—It’s a revolutionary change, but it’s pure freedom.
• Part-timer: It’s someone who spends a lot of time in an RV but isn’t on the road 24/7. Maybe they RV weekends, vacation, or several months of the year but still keep a stick-built house (sticks and bricks). It’s a very popular way into RVing without unloading their house.
• Snowbird: A snowbird is an RVing winter migrator—usually south for winter. While the birds fly to warmer climates, snowbirds travel away from cold locations (like the northern United States or Canada) and winter in warm climates (like Florida or Arizona). They also head north in spring.
• Workamper: Is someone who works for camping. They can work for a campground, a national park, or farm and receive free or inexpensive camping in exchange for several hours of labor. It’s an excellent way for RVers to meet other individuals, stay longer, and save.
• Rally (RV Rally): It’s like a bash for RVers. It’s a bash where an honorable number of RVers show up at one location for a weekend or a week. There’s mingling, potlucks, games, and classes.
• Caravan: It means being on the road together on the road with a group of RVs with family or friends. Members all ride the same route, camp in one group, and even may eat as one group. Good way to make the trip sociable and split up the driving duty.
• Convoy: A convoy is a group of vehicles (usually trucks or RVs) that travel in formation. A convoy, unlike a caravan, will usually go in line and even have a lead vehicle. Truckers do this, and there are some RVers who do it on highways too—it is safer and better to drive in formation, especially through unfamiliar countries.
• Vanlife: Vanlife refers to living in a converted van and traveling, often with a minimalist, adventurous spirit. It’s popular on social media (you’ve probably seen those cool Instagram pics of converted VW vans and Sprinters). Vanlifers typically live small and may boondock or park in quirky spots. It’s RVing’s hip, no-fuss cousin.
• Moochdocking: Moochdocking is camping for free on someone else’s property. Picture parking your RV in a friend’s driveway or backyard, maybe plugging into their electric. It’s called moochdocking because you’re kind of “mooching” off a buddy’s hookups. It’s a great way to save money and spend time with friends and family.
• Nomad: An RV nomad is someone who’s always in motion going here and there without any fixed home base. If one is said to be living the nomad lifestyle, then one is touring the nation in one’s RV on an open-ended trip. It’s go-with-the-flow RVing at its best.
• Black Tank: This term refers to the RV’s sewage holding tanks. It’s a necessary part of RV life, but it can be a bit uncomfortable to deal with, so knowing where and how to empty it is key.

Talk Like a Pro on Your Next RV Adventure

Now that the slang term is in your back pocket, you can take to the open road with confidence. By using these RV slang terms as part of your everyday RV life, you will not only get more enjoyment out of your RV vacations but you will also form lasting relationships with other people who appreciate highway freedom.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is rig not really an RV?

“Rig” is just a casual term RVers use for their setup that doesn’t refer to a specific type. So yes, all rigs are RVs, but not everyone calls them that. “Rig” just adds a personal touch and is part of the friendly slang you’ll hear in campgrounds and online groups.

2. What is the difference between “30-amp” and “50-amp” power at a campsite?

That’s a measure of the electrical service your RV needs. A 30-amp connection has one outlet (usually 120V up to 30 amps) and is standard equipment on smaller RVs. A 50-amp connection has two 120V legs at 50 amps each (240V total)—it’s for behemoth units with several air conditioners and appliances. If your RV cord is heavy (usually a 4-prong plug), you probably need 50-amp service. Smaller RVs have a 3-prong 30-amp plug.

3. Do I absolutely need “Full hook-up” camping?

It depends, you might or might not need it based on your trip preferences. For a weekend, you can get by on partial hookups or boondocking. Full hookups are worth the expense, though, for extended trips or winter driving when you’ll likely be using more water and electricity.

4. How is a trailer different from a motorhome?

A motorhome is independent and comes equipped with an engine, while a trailer (or “toad” or “bumper pull”) must be towed. Motorhomes (Class A, B, and C) are independent automobiles, while trailers are towed by another automobile. People may use “RV” informally to refer to either one of them, but that is the broad distinction.

5. What is a “four-season RV” in RV slang?

A “four-season RV” is just a fancy way of saying rigs that are intended to be used year-round—even subzero winter temperatures. When you consider “four-season,” it is an indication that the RV has been constructed to endure different types of weather.