2025 RV motorhome sale ban claims are false

Many individuals personal RVs, or leisure automobiles, that are designed as “short-term residing quarters for leisure, tenting, or seasonal use” and are both powered by motor or mounted on one other automobile, the RV Trade Affiliation says. 

However social media posts declare that the sale of RVs can be banned in a number of states beginning in 2025.

“These 6 States can be banning buy of RV’s beginning in lower than 6 weeks:

• California
• New York
• Oregon
• Massachusetts 
• New Jersey
• Washington

Your Authorities is telling you what you possibly can, and can’t purchase,” one publish says.

VERIFY reader Andrea requested if it is true that some states are banning the sale of RVs.

Are six states banning the sale of RVs in 2025?

No, six states are usually not banning the sale of RVs in 2025. However they’re implementing laws that may require producers to promote extra zero-emission automobiles, which the RV Trade Affiliation predicts will negatively affect the supply of latest RVs in these states. 

Claims that motorhome RVs are being banned in six states stem from California’s Superior Clear Truck regulation, which requires producers to promote an rising share of zero-emission automobiles over the following ten years. New York, Oregon, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington are additionally adopting the regulation and can “preserve consistency with California’s necessities,” the RV Trade Affiliation says.

The coverage doesn’t immediately ban the sale of RVs within the states – it doesn’t apply to fashions already on the heaps or used RVs, and firms should buy credit to get across the guidelines – however producers say the dearth of compliant manufacturing supplies may affect general availability. 

The RV Trade Affiliation says some producers that aren’t capable of meet the annual requirements for zero-emission automobile (ZEV) gross sales would possibly cease promoting any new RVs in states with the laws. 

“Whereas the regulation doesn’t particularly ban motorhome gross sales, the ACT regulation mandates producers of medium and heavy-duty automobiles to promote an rising share of ZEVs annually,” the RV Trade Affiliation says. Firms can nonetheless promote non-compliant RVs provided that they’re assembly the quota of zero-emission automobiles required annually from 2025 to 2035. 

Producers who don’t promote sufficient zero-emission automobiles can nonetheless promote common automobiles by a credit score system, however the credit  “are more likely to be costly on the open market and would add one other layer of price to producing a motorhome with a combustion engine chassis,” the Affiliation provides.

The rule, which impacts each vehicles and RVs, has the aim of reducing the environmental affect of automobiles with air pollution within the state.

There are a number of forms of RVs and the California Superior Clear Truck regulation has completely different targets set for every, based mostly on its gross automobile weight score, the utmost weight allowed on the automobile as decided by the RV producer. 

The regulation states that by 2035 new automobiles offered within the state ought to have:

• 55% of its gross sales of class 2b-3 on-road automobiles with a gross automobile weight score of 8,501 to 14,000 kilos be zero-emission. Autos on this class usually embody camper vans like a Mercedes sprinter van, or smaller motorhomes like a Thor Compass.
• 75% of its gross sales of sophistication 4-8 on-road automobiles with a gross automobile weight score of over 14,001 kilos be zero-emission. Autos on this class usually embody motorhomes just like the Coachmen Leprechaun.
• 40% of gross sales of its class 7-8 on-road automobiles with a gross automobile weight score of over 26,001 kilos be zero-emission. Autos on this class usually embody bigger luxurious motorhomes like a Tiffin Zephyr.

RV business says there aren’t sufficient compliant elements 

The RV Trade Affiliation argues that the regulation would have an effect on the supply of latest motorhomes in these six states as a result of there are not any compliant chassis. The affiliation stated the regulation has “led chassis producers to halt gross sales of conventional inside combustion engine chassis for motorhomes in California, stemming from the dearth of ZEV chassis appropriate for motorhomes.” 

A chassis is the muse that RVs are constructed on. Relying on the kind of motorhome, a chassis usually has a gross automobile weight score that may simply fall in step with the speed restrictions put in place by California state. 

For instance, Ford sells chassis for motorhomes with gross automobile weight scores starting from 9,000 kilos to 26,000 kilos.

“As a result of chassis producers don’t have any ZEV chassis which are rated for purposes to motorhomes, they’ve been informing motorhome producers that they won’t be able to offer them with any inside combustion engine chassis for motorhomes for the California market,” the RV Trade Affiliation added. 

With out the flexibility to fulfill the necessities of promoting an rising variety of zero-emission automobiles per 12 months, some producers might halt promoting within the state altogether beginning in 2025, the RV Trade Affiliation says. 

RV producer THOR Industries says it doesn’t “anticipate any affect to our Class A fuel, Class B or Class C product strains in fiscal 12 months 2025,” though “there may be some potential that our sale of Class A diesel motorhomes into California can be restricted in fiscal 12 months 2025.” The corporate added that Class A diesel gross sales solely accounted for 1% of its North American gross sales within the 2024 fiscal 12 months.

The RV Trade Affiliation has been assembly with the California Air Assets Board as lately as final month to debate a possible exemption for RVs or delay implementation till a zero-emission chassis is offered for RVs. 

“We stay dedicated to working towards a sustainable path ahead that helps each CARB’s targets and the RV and energetic out of doors life-style. We’re additionally exploring all choices to make sure all People will proceed to have the ability to buy new motorhomes,” the RV Trade Affiliation says.

Guidelines wouldn’t affect RVs that residents already personal or the acquisition of used RVs

Whereas availability of latest motorhomes on the market could also be impacted in these six states in 2025, the regulation can have “no impact” on motorhomes already produced and delivered to the state. It impacts producers, not present homeowners, and the sale of latest, 2024 mannequin and later automobiles.

Shoppers who want to buy a non-compliant RV outdoors of an impacted state can nonetheless register the automobile in-state provided that the RV is used, with greater than 7,500 miles on the odometer. 

A number of extra states are set to implement California’s Superior Clear Vehicles regulation in later years, together with Vermont in 2026 and Colorado, Maryland, New Mexico and Rhode Island in 2027.

Whereas the RV Trade Affiliation says “chassis suppliers have indicated that there isn’t any change in sight for future years as effectively,” Winnebago is one producer engaged on a prototype for an electrical RV. THOR Industries can also be presently engaged on a hybrid Class A motorhome that features a Harbinger electrical automobile chassis. 

“RVs constructed on this hybrid chassis can be commercially obtainable in 2025 from the THOR household of corporations. The product is predicted to qualify as a Close to-Zero Emission Autos (NZEV) beneath the Superior Clear Truck laws adopted by the California Air Assets Board,” THOR Industries says. Producers can get credit for promoting near-zero emission automobiles, though they are going to be counted as partial credit.

VERIFY reached out to the California Air Assets Board for remark however didn’t hear again on the time of publication.