It can be very confusing… Rv, travel trailer, camper. Class A, Class B, B+, C… It really is another language but it is also very easy to translate! In this article I will break down the confusing sounding, but not really confusing world, of the different types of RVs.

Let’s start with the term RV - it stands for recreational vehicle and it is an umbrella term that all of these rigs falls under. That being said, people generally think of a camper as something you tow and an RV as something that you drive and I don’t think that it going to change anytime soon. But if you want to be crystal clear about what is what, here is your primer.

Pop Up

This type of camper folds into itself, is generally 8-16 feet long and is one of the easiest for towing and parking. These are towed on a ball hitch.

Travel trailer

Also referred to as a TT, this is a very broad category and it covers all non-folding camper trailers that aren’t 5th Wheels, also towed on a ball hitch. They can be anywhere from 10-40 feet and weigh between 1,100 and 12,000 pounds. Our Happier Campers fall into this category.

5th Wheel

This is the biggest of the tow-behind campers and they run from 22-40 feet long. You can tell it’s a fifth wheel because it’s towed differently than the pop-ups and travel trailers. The hitch is in the truck bed so the trailer itself extends over it.

You can see that the hitch is in the bed of the truck

Class B/B+

We are officially in a ‘the kind you drive’ category now and this is the smallest type. These are usually between 18-24 feet long and they are sometimes called van campers. These are definitely the easiest to park! The B+ can be very luxe and include a lot of the amenities from home.

Class C

This is a really broad category of RVs that you drive and they generally resemble something more like a large truck. They often have a section that extends over the cab which is commonly used for sleeping. There are a lot of rigs that classify as Class C so another way to think about it is, if it isn’t a Class B and it isn’t a Class A, then it’s a Class C! These rigs are generally 20-30 feet long.

Class A

This is that massive motorhome you see cruising down the highway where you think maybe the person needs a pilot license to drive it. They can be as long as 45 feet and it is basically a house on wheels. You often see them towing a car behind (which is called a toad) because once you are at your site, you aren’t going to want to move it to pop out for some groceries.

Hopefully that helps sort of the different types of RVs for you. Be sure to like this article if it was helpful and I will try to respond to any questions you have in the comments section below.