Bob and Lana’s RV Terms Glossary

Like many trades and industries, the RV industry has its own lingo. You may have come across a term and wondered what it meant. Here, we explain some of the common vernacular of the lifestyle, as well as some of our own terms. 

awning - a vinyl sun shade that connects to the side of an RV and extends manually or electrically

black water tank - a temporary holding tank for toilet water

basement - storage under an RV’s flooring that’s accessible from the outside

boondocking - camping off the grid; no electric, water, or sewer hookups

class A motorhome - a big-rig, bus type of RV

class B motorhome - a camper van

class C motorhome - a drivable RV that has a bed over the top of the cab; smaller than a class A motorhome

dually - a truck that has four tires on a single rear axle

dump station - a location where it’s safe to empty RV tanks; it may or may not have potable water

fifth wheel - an engineless RV that connects via a kingpin or gooseneck in the bed of a pickup truck

fiver - another name for a fifth wheel RV

freshwater tank - a temporary holding tank for potable water

full hookups - electric, water, and sewer connections

glamping - glamorous camping; can be in a cabin or in a big-rig RV

gray water tank - a temporary holding tank for shower and sink wastewater

Gulliver - our 2018 Dodge Ram 3500 dually with a Cummins 6.7-liter diesel engine

loft - an elevated interior space; it’s often above another room and may contain sleeping space

moochdocking - staying on the property of friends or family and using (“mooching”) their amenities, such as electric, water, and/or laundry

motorhome - a drivable RV

residential refrigerator - an RV refrigerator that runs on normal, 120-volt, household AC electricity

RV - recreational vehicle

shore power - RV electricity from the electric grid

slideout - expandable section of an RV that slides out on rails when stationary to increase living space

sticks and bricks - a traditional, stationary house

stinky slinky - the flexible hose used to dump RV wastewater tanks

Tagalong - our 2018 Jayco Pinnacle 37MDQS fifth wheel with four slides; it measures 42 feet long and 13 feet, 3 inches tall

three-way refrigerator - an RV refrigerator that can run on propane, 120-volt household AC electricity, or 12-volt DC battery power

toad - the vehicle towed behind a motorhome

toy hauler - a travel trailer or fifth wheel that has an opening ramp in the back to haul an ATV, motorcycle, or golf cart

travel trailer - an engineless RV that connects to a ball hitch off the bumper of a vehicle

two-way refrigerator - an RV refrigerator that can run on propane or 120-volt household AC electricity

weekend warrior - an RVer who takes their rig out on the weekends rather than living in it full time​