captenaj Report post Posted February 22, 2015 Hello All, My Florida homeowners association does not permit motor coaches that are older than 15 years. But some coaches are beautiful and in great shape well beyond that limit. I have a few questions related to this. Is there some standard, legal wording to exempt vintage motor homes from this restriction? Is there and outside, unbiased review agency or process that can conduct inspections of motor homes to document they are still safe? Any help would be appreciated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
whiteeagle Report post Posted February 22, 2015 Suspect their requirement has nothing to do with safety.... Probably more about their perception / perceived reflection of society status.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted February 22, 2015 captenaj, Welcome to the Forum. The state of Florida does not have an age restriction on Motor Homes. It is your Home Owners Association that has a restriction. And as with any rule, Regulation, Restriction or Law, you must live and abide by them and work like H*9& to get them changed. Visit with your HOA meeting and carry 8 X 10 pictures of some older motor homes that are in good shape and ask them if they can tell the difference. That may help them to understand what a nice older MH can look like. Good Luck Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
captenaj Report post Posted February 23, 2015 Thanks for taking the time to respond. I guess I wasn't clear. I am a representative of the HOA and am looking for some standard we can adhere to so we can allow older RVs into our park. We are trying to come up with an unbiased (or as unbiased as possible) way in which we can evaluate older RVs. Safety is our concern but so is appearance. I have learned that RVIA certifies technicians and they may be helpful in assuring the integrity of the systems. Does anyone know of standard methods of evaluation for areas that an RVIA tech may not cover? Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe10 Report post Posted February 23, 2015 There are a number of RV parks with a "10 year age limit". But, the vast majority do not automatically disqualify older coaches. They reserve the right to make a decision when they see one. We are in such a park right now. Were here two years ago in a 1993 Foretravel-- no problem with getting in. By definition, the over 10 years old decision is a subjective one. A well maintained 10+ year old high end coach in most cases is better looking than many newer ones. Age would only very indirectly relate to safety. Said another way, a well maintained 10+ year old coach will likely be in better shape than many 5 year old coaches that have had zero maintenance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted February 23, 2015 captenaj, As Brett said There are some 30 year old coaches that are in as good of shape and appearance as a 5 year old unmaintained coach. RV parks that have the 10 year restriction in place is so they have to option to reject a coach due to condition. Many cities restrict RVs being parked for more then a certain amount of time, that must have current registration and inspections as required by your city town and or state. We have a city here in Texas, where several of our friend live, that allows you to park and store a RV on your property only if it can not be seen from the front of their property and your neighbor does not object. Your HOA has the right to put restriction in place that are approved by the home owners. I am sure that with proper guidance your association can come up with something that will be acceptable to all concerned. Use the wisdom of Solomon and it will be OK. Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaypsmith Report post Posted February 23, 2015 Home owners associations often have a very warped mindset on many items, such as some won't allow flying the American Flag. Since you stated HOA, I would assume that is a stick and brick association. Our mayor owns a 1991 Beaver Contessa, has been garage kept and looks like it is not over two years old. The HOA where he lives will not allow an RV of any sort to sit in yard, so they built the garage addition onto their house. Also you could opt to store at a storage facility. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
captenaj Report post Posted February 24, 2015 Thanks for the responses. hermanmullins, that is exactly what I am looking for: guidance from RV owners so we can come up with something that will be acceptable. We are in the process of gathering information from RV owners here in the park but I am hoping that others, namely those on this forum, have other ideas as to how an RV can be objectively (as possible) evaluated. Other than RVIA certified technicians, does anyone know of organizations that have guidelines for evaluating RVs? Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted February 24, 2015 captenaj, Every coach has an RVIA sticker on saying the manufacture complies with certain guide line for RV manufacturing. I don't think you want to make every RV owner has his coach inspected to meet certain guide lines. I don't want to sound harsh, but the association must decide whether to allow or not allow RVs within the HOA. If you agree then you must decide whether they may or may not be parked in the drive or must be behind the front building line? Will you allow them to be seen from the street? Are you going to allow members to have a guest park on the street? If so what is the max. time or numbers of days? You as the governing board must decide what you want or don't want and have the members approve or disapprove the amendment to your HOAs covenant. Like anything that you do, you will not please everyone. One thing you have not said, what are the ordinances in the city or town where your HOA resides as to parking an RV on your property? That to will come into play in making your decisions. Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thestoloffs Report post Posted February 25, 2015 Every coach has an RVIA sticker on saying the manufacture complies with certain guide line for RV manufacturing. Herman: I beg to differ with this statement; it appears as if every coach built by an RVIA member company has an RVIA sticker! Many Class C owners would confirm the quality construction of my Born Free coach; they've had an outstanding reputation in this category. However, since they are not and have never been RVIA members, they are not allowed to display RVIA certification stickers. Their reasons for not being RVIA members are their own; until recently, Born Free has been privately owned by the Dodgen family. So, if one uses the RVIA certification sticker as the defining standard, you would be discriminating against many high quality coaches which you might not want to oust. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hermanmullins Report post Posted February 25, 2015 The use of "every" was probably a miss use. However the majority of Manufactures do belong to RVIA. This just says that they conform to certain industries standards (be it though RVIA set the standard just like ISO). Manufacturers such as Born Free has for years set their own standards to follow which has been very high for many years. I meant no disrespect to Born Free nor any other Mfg. that is not a Member of RVIA. Herman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wayne77590 Report post Posted February 25, 2015 Meeting RVIA standards is as the unit was built and delivered, it doen't mean that a coach is still in that category. It is not an annual certification. However, some states require an inspection by the State Inspection agency, and only if it has been on the road during that year. In Texas for example, all trailers exceeding 4,500 Pounds Actual Gross Weight or Registered Weight have inspection requirements. So depending on your local, 2, 5, 10 years, all depends. In this state all registered vehicles require an annual inspection sticker. That being said, there is no inspection requirement for the interrior aparatuses. They could be original equipment, or new eupment installed yesterday. Question would be, was it installed correctly. So back to HOA. It comes down to appearance, and conformity to whatever the HOA mandates. I don't believe there is a way to tell if a unit is safe. p.s., Get the unit inspected, drive it off the lot, and things can still go wrong. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gbrinck Report post Posted March 8, 2015 Does this HOA have a "standard" for the appearance of the site built homes? Typically, they would have a committee that reviews appearance, sometimes with some bylaws guidance as to what can and cannot be considered in the decision. Something similar could be applied to RVs, perhaps even starting at age 5 or so. Some things a review committee could look for include: 1. Obvious physical damage to exterior walls and roof, whether due to accident or deterioration. 2. Heavily oxidized finish 3. Broken window glass 4. Current vehicle registration (no unlicensed vehicles allowed) 5. Missing exterior components If you want to give some leeway, specify a point system for each category above. Have the RV appearance committee rate each appearance category on a scale of 1-10 and set a combined point minimum, e.g. must score 45 on a combined 50 point scale. That lets the committee vote and allows for minor issues without automatic disqualification over some little thing. The people who staff such committees tend to nitpick and owners need some leeway to make reasonable accommodation. I would also suggest allowing 30 or 60 days for an out-of-compliance RV to be repaired or removed. I personally don't feel any HOA should pass judgment on color schemes or decor, whether on a house or RV, but many do so. It's your HOA, of course, but I would not want to live a place where my neighbors could force me to paint my front door white instead of blue or green. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
akadeadeye Report post Posted March 10, 2015 Our HOA has no age restriction for RVs but it does require "indoor storage" for any RV, and the indoor storage building must be built with a similar outside appearance (exterior walls and roofing) as the main house. I suppose this is one way to "get around" the bias of RV age, albeit somewhat expensive. There are no exceptions, however. Don Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hayesfamily Report post Posted December 31, 2016 Not sure if this post is still going or read but I have a 17 year old coach and she is well kept, not an eye sore, all the light and awning look presentable and I don't think I could go into a Campground and she not be accepted. Therefore age is a FINE LINE that I wouldn't touch - however, I would use the same system you would have for having a custom car or any vehicle parked in the area. If it has noticeable body damage - missing bumper or broken glass then it needs to be FIXED or moved. If the vehicle has under inflated or flat tires - If the vehicle Registration has lapsed this is a problem. Baltimore City has an ordinance that says I can not have my coach parked in the front yard. In fact it must be 10 feet behind the front of the house. Do we pay it attention, no cause before we leave we park in the drive way so we can get things in and out --- saying that to say be very careful that your HOA doesn't pick on folks just because they can. Lawyers are itching to sue and you could be barking up the wrong tree and tick of the wrong person. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
