Breaking News! Motorhome Sales Banned in Six States

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Big motorhome sales banned in California and five other states, effective Jan 1, 2025!

This is a special edition of the RV Podcast involving a breaking story that we need to get out there. California and five other states have a controversial regulation in place that will effectively ban the sale of most large motorhomes starting January 1, 2025. How could this happen? We dig into this in this Special Episode of the RV Podcast.

You can watch the video version on our RV Lifestyle YouTube channel by clicking the player below.

If you prefer an audio-only podcast, you can hear us through your favorite podcast app or listen now through the player below. Click the CC logo on the right side of the player, and you can follow along in a word-for-word transcript of the podcast as it plays.

The RV Industry is reeling this week as California and five other clean air states are about to ban the sale of motorhomes with a gross vehicle weight (GVWR) of over 8,500 pounds.

This includes most motorhomes.

• The average weight range for a Class C RV is 10,000–12,000 lbs. 
• The range for a Super C Motorhome is 19,500 lbs and up
• The average GVWR of a Class A motorhome typically ranges from 13,000 to 30,000 lbs

Class B motorhomes – campervans – typically weigh 6,000- 8,000 pounds GVWR and thus won't be affected.

This ban affecting the larger motorhomes will be effective Jan 1, 2025, and it’s a story that has caught everyone by surprise. It came to widespread attention just a few days ago when a letter sent by Newmar RV to its dealers in the affected states came to light, telling them of the coming sales ban. 

Now the reason this has shocked the industry is because, frankly, the industry really expected an exemption from a program that seems aimed at big diesel trucks that are driven around the clock, not low mileage recreation vehicles that typically drive 3,000-5,000 miles a year.

Their reasoning is sound. It seems pretty cut and dry. But several industry leaders I talked to in preparing this special report felt much more should have been done and that perhaps there was a complacency and lack of urgency in dealing with this.

The Advanced Clean Truck Regulation

California and the five other states that have signed on to the same clean air regulations haven’t made a secret of this at all. The Advanced Clean Truck Regulation has been out there for over a year now. The other states that have adopted it are Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey.

You may wonder why California is the driving force here.

Because under Section 177 the federal Clean Air Act that regulates air emissions, California is the only state authorized to set vehicle emission standards and other states wanting to adopt their own such regulations can do so only if they are identical to California's.

Really. I'm not making this up.

But no one in the industry really thought RVs would be affected by the Advanced Clean Truck Regulation. They thought RVs would be treated differently than big commercial trucks once regulators understood the problem making big motorhomes all EV.

But that understanding didn’t happen, and as of right now, California and the five other states following that ACT regulation have not exempted RVs and, in fact, will halt the sales of most motorhomes manufactured after January 1, 2025.

Why? Because of clean air regulations, internal combustion vehicle manufacturers are required to have a certain percentage of EVs – 11% in 2025. The bigger the percentage, the more “credits” the regulation gives them to allow sales.

That’s years away for most motorhomes.

Winnebago, Thor, and others have tinkered around with EV Class B campervans, but none are near ready for the marketplace.

The technology for bigger Class As and Super Cs just isn't anywhere near ready for that to happen because the weight of the batteries required to power a big motorhome would make them so heavy they could barely move, and the frames, tires, and components currently available just could not handle it.

This is very complicated and bureaucratic, and it is led by California and The California Air Resources Board (CARB), which has been on a relentless quest to force internal combustion engine manufacturers to go EV by requiring them to have ever-increasing percentages of their fleet be all-electric. 

The car manufacturers have been largely complying, but the rule that is now causing all the controversy is the Advanced Clean Truck regulation and how it affects recreational motorhomes. 

The new Advanced Clean Truck Regulation followed by California and five other states, as of January 1, 2025, bans all new vehicles over 8,500 pounds unless their manufacturers also make a certain percentage of zero-emission Electric Vehicles. RV motorhomes are not excluded.

So here’s the catch: As we said, the bigger motorhomes have no EVs. And they won’t. At least not for a long time.

For Class C motorhomes, the situation is better.

Most Class Cs are on with the Ford Transit or Mercedes Sprinter chassis. And both Ford and Mercedes do make EVs for other larger fleets, providing some credits that may get them clear of ACT's requirements.

Big Class A and Super C RV manufacturers like Newmar and chassis makers like Freightliner and Spartan have no such emission credit advantage. They thought, however, they would get an exemption from ACT because they are so niche and are unable to make EVs.

They were wrong and have now notified their dealers in the six states that no new models will be shipped to them in 2025.

The RVIA Letter

The RVIA – the Recreation Vehicle Manufacturers Association also thought big motorhomes would be excluded from the regulation and submitted a long letter to California regulators.

Here's part of the RVIA's plea for an exemption:

“…we are asking CARB to exempt motorhomes from the ACT Regulation, as is currently the
case with emergency vehicles, or at least defer compliance for motorhomes until such time that
ZEV chassis for the motorhome market are readily available and desired by consumers.

“This would allow RV manufacturers, RV dealers and consumers alike to avoid the loss of the entire
motorhome industry in the state, while having minimal impact on the California environment. It
would also prevent an economic loss of several hundred millions of dollars for California RV
dealers alone and for motorhome manufacturers, some of which are based in California.

“In 2023, motorhome manufacturers shipped a total of 5,898 motorhomes to California, as
compared with the 134,956 Medium- and Heavy-Duty trucks and tractors sold in California last
year. … motorhomes represent only 11.8 million miles versus the 4.8 billion miles for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, making it obvious that an exemption for motorhomes will not have an adverse impact on environmental concerns.”

But that exemption didn't happen during the California Air Resources Board’s meeting last week, and the RV industry is stunned. Again, it’s not just California. Five other states are following the same rules…Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey.  More states are considering it.

Newmar's Letter to dealers

Last week, Newmar sent a letter to its dealers saying that after existing inventory that was manufactured before Jan. 1 is sold, dealers will not be able to get their 2025 model Class A diesel motorhomes and Super C RVs in those six states.

This could be just the start. Looking further out, a bunch of other states are following the California example and considering enacting the ACT regulation. Unless things change, similar bans on big motorhomes could be coming from other states in 2026 and 2027.

“Unless things change.” Those are the operative words. The RVIA is still working hard to get an exemption for Motorhomes.

When we asked for the current status, they sent us this official statement: “While we are continuing to work with manufacturers, dealers, and CARB to find a solution, if nothing changes, motorhomes will not be able to be sold and registered in California beginning in 2025.”

Note that the RVIA said in their statement “motorhomes will not be able to be sold.” In their letter to the California Clean Air Resources Board, they warned of the “loss of the entire motorhome industry” in the state. Those are sweeping statements. When we asked for clarification, RVIA spokesperson Monika Geraci underscored the scope of the ban.

“All motorhomes are impacted by the ACT,” she said.

From what I can tell and what my sources are saying, though, is that the industry was caught flatfooted by this and is embarrassed. They were all so sure that they would allowed to continue to sell new motorhomes in California because EV technology is simply unworkable right now for larger motorhomes. They were wrong.

They’re still hoping to secure an exemption, believing that California—the leader on these regulations—and other states will recognize the undue burden being placed on the RV industry.

There is some promising news that Washington State is considering such an exemption, but as of this podcast release on November 6, 2025, no changes have been made.

We should point out that giant motorhomes built with Ford F53 engines will be permitted to be sold after Jan 1. As noted earlier, this is because Ford also manufactures EVs, including the Ford F-150 Lightning and various other passenger vehicles, which allows it to meet the EV percentage requirements for its entire fleet.

There are so many questions about this. 

Can California residents buy a 2025 motorhome RV outside the state and register it in California? No. What about out of state owners of new 2025 Class A and and Super C motorhomes, can they take them to California and camp there? Probably, though it’s not entirely clear and, if so, they may need a permit.

Tim DeMartini, owner of DeMartini RV Sales in Grass Valley, California has put out a YouTube video on the ban.

So this is very much an evolving story.

The Advanced Clean Truck regulations include numerous provisions and annual benchmarks that must be met, further strengthening the shift toward zero-emission vehicles. As this push for electric vehicles continues, we can expect to see increasing controversy from California and other states.

Believe me, there is a lot of confusion over this. A lot of scrambling is underway and hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake in lost sales if that ban indeed takes place. We’ll do our best to keep track of this all but at this point, we can see this is a huge disruption and setback to the very lucrative luxury segment of the RV industry.

And when one segment of the industry takes a hit, so do all the others.

So stay tuned. We’ve not heard the end of this.

Social Media Buzz by Wendy Bowyer

The RV Community‘s Meetups, Rallies & Shows Space, we asked “What's the most unique or memorable RV you've ever had the chance to tour and why?”

Burt said he couldn't remember where he saw it, but the most memorable RV was an old camper he toured that was completely carved out of a redwood log. So the doors, windows, table, bed, shelves – all from this log. It had a pot-bellied stove, and the ceiling was about 7 feet high.

Lee said the number one choice is the Noovo Van with the raised bed on top of a lounge built on a RAM chassis. I had never heard of the Noovo, so I went and looked it up, and it was super interesting. The ceiling is more than 7 feet high, bright interior, windows all over the back, then you push this button and the bed comes down from the ceiling over the sofa – impressive!

But you know, everyone who responded to this question had a different favorite, which made me love what Wendy wrote. She said, “I love all RVs because there is something for everyone.” Isn't that the truth!

Also in our Community, in the Troubleshooting & Maintenance Space we asked: “Besides black tank dumping, what's the RV task you dislike the most?”

Did we ever get a lot of responses to this!

The number one thing I saw was loading and unloading. So many people said it gets old, the taking everything in and out, washing, and hauling, putting things away and then back in.

Another common one was washing the RV, getting the dirt, the tree sap, and splattered bugs off after a trip.

And then another one I saw a couple of times was hooking up the truck to the trailer or Fifth wheel. For those who don't camp in a motor home, this seems to be a task few enjoyed.

What about you – what is the RV task you dislike the most?

Then over in our RVLifestyle Facebook Community, Kevin and his family just got the “Camper Map” as he called it – you know, the map where you put a colorful sticker of each state you visit? Kevin said the kids are debating when to apply the stickers, so he asked the group if they apply after they:

1. Camp in the state. 2. Stop in the state. 3. Drive through the state. Well, hundreds of people got into the spirit of this. The majority said their family rule is the sticker goes up only when you camp in a state for one night. But that wasn't everyone. Some said you had to camp two nights in a state for the sticker to go up.

Others said you must camp two nights in the state AND do an activity in the state for the sticker to go up. But then others said driving through the state counts (when the wheels touch the ground as one person wrote), and some said if you do an activity in the state it counts. It was fun to read how passionate folks are about this. But the bottom line, as Mike and others wrote: “Your map, your rules.” I hope Kevin lets us know what his family decides!

RV NEWS OF THE WEEK

Modern America Campgrounds announced its purchase of family-owned Thomas Point Beach & Campground in Brunswick, Maine. This is the 28th campground the northeast company purchased in the past 24 months.

Three campers at Indiana's Raccoon Lake State Recreation Area were flown by medical helicopter to an Indianapolis hospital after one poured gasoline on a fire in an attempt to restart it, causing the can to ignite setting three people on fire. All suffered severe burns.

Five more North Carolina state parks open as cleanup from Hurricane Helene continues, though some of the newly reopened state parks are still fixing their campgrounds. The popular Chimney Rock, Mount Mitchell, and South Mountains state parks are expected to be closed longer than others.

Speaking of state parks, California has removed more than 25,000 cannabis plants so far this season in and near its state parks. A Special Enforcement Team has made 7 arrests and removed 25,558 cannabis plants, 4,820 pounds of processed cannabis, and 18 firearms so far this season.

Michigan's popular Traverse City State Park is closing July 7, 2025 through the entire 2026 camping season for $8.5 million in upgrades. The announcement is the latest campground closure for improvements affecting the state's 2025 season.

RV QUESTION OF THE WEEK

QUESTION: What wind speed is too much to keep going? We are towing a 41-foot fifth wheel.  –Chuck

ANSWER: A steady crosswind of 20 miles an hour will be very noticeable and challenging but doable if you drive slow enough. If you have duallys on your tow vehicle, you can handle higher wind speeds than most RVs, within reason. 

But for most of us, If the gusts are much over 30, you’ll be white-knuckling it and in danger of tipping. Strong front winds will make your tow vehicle work harder and burn fuel. High winds blowing from the rear will push you faster than you may want.

Plus a sudden gust can catch you by surprise and cause you to brake, swerve, or lose control. The longer and higher your RV is, the more susceptible you are to winds. I would stay put if the sustained wind speed is over 20 miles an hour.

A lot of RVers punch on through as if it’s a test of their manhood, but in my book, it shows them to be foolhardy. The bottom line is to be safe. High winds are nothing to mess with.

Explore Arizona with our RV Adventure Guide

We start our Arizona adventure guide at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, then move west in a slow semi-circle to hit all of the highlights, including Sedona, Lake Havasu, Quartzsite, Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Apache Junction, and Saguaro National Forest.

Throughout this guide, we explore incredible rocky vistas, historical and mystical sites, inspiring scenic byways, charming Southwest towns, national and state parks galore with wonderful wildlife. No matter what your interests are, you are sure to find something to awe and inspire you in Arizona.

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