The 40 terms every new RVer runs into, in plain English. Bookmark it — nobody remembers what GCWR stands for the first season.
- Shore power
- Plugging the RV into external electricity at a campsite (30-amp or 50-amp pedestal).
- 30A / 50A
- The two common RV electrical services. 30-amp is one 120V leg (~3,600W); 50-amp is two legs (~12,000W). Different plugs — adapters exist.
- Boondocking
- Camping with no hookups at all, on public land or elsewhere. Also called dry camping or dispersed camping.
- Dry camping
- Camping without water/electric/sewer hookups, including in developed campgrounds.
- Full hookups (FHU)
- A site with electric, water and sewer connections at the site.
- Fresh tank
- Onboard tank holding potable water.
- Grey tank
- Holds sink and shower drain water.
- Black tank
- Holds toilet waste. Dumped via the sewer hose at a dump station or sewer hookup.
- Dump station
- A facility for emptying black and grey tanks.
- GVWR
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating — the maximum a vehicle or trailer may weigh fully loaded.
- GCWR
- Gross Combined Weight Rating — max allowed weight of tow vehicle plus trailer together.
- OCCC / payload
- Cargo capacity — how much weight (gear, water, people) you may add to the rig.
- Dry weight (UVW)
- The rig's weight empty from the factory. You will never travel at it.
- Tongue weight
- Downward force the trailer coupler puts on the hitch — ideally 10–15% of loaded trailer weight.
- Pin weight
- The fifth-wheel equivalent of tongue weight, carried in the truck bed.
- Weight-distribution hitch
- A hitch with spring bars that spreads tongue weight across both vehicles' axles; usually paired with sway control.
- Sway control
- Friction or cam hardware (or built-in trailer tech) that damps side-to-side trailer oscillation.
- Fifth wheel
- A large trailer that couples to a hitch in a pickup bed rather than the bumper.
- Toy hauler
- A trailer or motorhome with a rear garage and ramp for bikes, quads, etc.
- Class A / B / C
- Motorhome types: A = bus-style, B = camper van, C = cutaway chassis with over-cab bed.
- Travel trailer
- A bumper-pull towable RV.
- Slide-out
- A room section that extends outward at camp to add living space.
- Leveling
- Getting the rig flat at the site — blocks/ramps for trailers, jacks on many motorhomes. Absorption fridges need it.
- Chocks
- Wedges that keep trailer wheels from rolling once unhitched.
- Stabilizer jacks
- Corner jacks that stop bounce; they are NOT for lifting the rig.
- City water
- The pressurized water inlet you connect a hose to at a campsite (use a pressure regulator).
- Water pressure regulator
- A small inline device that caps campground water pressure to protect RV plumbing.
- Low-point drains
- The lowest valves in the plumbing, used to empty water lines for winterizing.
- Winterizing
- Removing/protecting all water in the rig before freezing weather (antifreeze or compressed-air method).
- RV antifreeze
- Pink, propylene-glycol antifreeze safe for potable systems. Never automotive antifreeze.
- Converter
- Turns 120V shore power into 12V DC to run the house systems and charge batteries.
- Inverter
- Turns 12V battery power into 120V AC to run household outlets away from hookups.
- House batteries
- The deep-cycle battery bank that runs the living-space 12V systems.
- LiFePO4
- Lithium iron phosphate — the common lithium RV battery chemistry: lighter, faster-charging, more usable capacity than lead-acid.
- Surge protector / EMS
- Pedestal protection that blocks bad campground power (surges, open neutral, low voltage).
- Generator
- Onboard or portable engine that makes 120V power off-grid; observe campground quiet hours.
- TPMS
- Tire Pressure Monitoring System — sensors that alert you to pressure/temperature problems while driving.
- Lap sealant
- Self-leveling roof sealant used around vents and seams to keep water out.
- Breakaway cable
- Trailer safety device that applies trailer brakes if it separates from the tow vehicle.
- Snowbird
- Someone who migrates to warm regions for winter in their RV.
Ready to put the vocabulary to work? Start with the free 47-item pre-trip checklist or the RV Life Launchpad course ($97).