What is the 10 year rule at RV parks?

What is the 10 year rule at RV parks?

The 10 year rule is a house policy at some private RV parks that turns away any RV built more than about a decade ago. No federal or state law sits behind it. Each park that uses the rule wrote its own version, so each one words and applies it a little differently. One park checks your year at the door and waves you through. Another asks for photos by email a week before you arrive.

RVers often learn about it on the phone. They find a good used fifth wheel for a new job, call a park and get asked one question first: what year is it? We are an RV park in Salina, Oklahoma, so we sit on the park side of that conversation. Below we cover why parks use the rule and what to do when your rig is older than the number. What we say about other parks links to its source, checked on November 10, 2026.

Our rule is short. We accept RVs 10 years old or newer, and we review older rigs case by case from photos. Our page on monthly RV sites shows what we offer.

Is the 10 year rule an actual law?

No. RV Lifestyle describes the rule as a campground policy rather than a legal requirement, and Campground Views calls it a guideline that some parks use for RVs manufactured more than a decade ago. SlashGear goes a step further and says the policy is perfectly legal, because it applies only at privately owned parks, where managers set their own standards.

The distinction matters if you get turned away. A park that says no to a 14 year old rig is not breaking a rule you can appeal. A phone call before you tow anywhere is the better move.

Why do RV parks have an age limit?

Parks use age as a shortcut for condition. SlashGear lists the reasons parks give. Older RVs can have mechanical problems or faulty wiring, and either can turn into a safety hazard or a fine. A broken down RV stranded on a site can disrupt the park and cost the owner money. Appearance counts as well, since a rundown rig changes how the park feels to the neighbors on either side.

Stay length adds a second reason. RV Lifestyle notes that parks hosting stays of a month or more want rigs that can still leave when the stay is over. A camper that arrives for a month and cannot roll back out becomes the park’s problem, and that worry grows with the length of the stay.

We run a park where most guests stay by the month, so none of this sounds strange to us. We think a fair review looks at the rig itself, so we ask for photos on older ones.

How common is the 10 year rule?

Less common than its reputation. RV Lifestyle reports a poll by TOGO RV of 94 RV parks, and only a small slice of them held a hard age cutoff. The poll is small and not recent, so read the numbers as a rough picture and not a national count.

Figures as reported by RV Lifestyle, checked November 10, 2026. A small poll, so treat it as a rough guide.

The big number is the 78 percent. Most parks do not draw a hard line at year ten. They keep the right to say no and use it when a rig looks rough. From those results, RV Lifestyle estimates that about 93 percent of parks would welcome an RV older than 10 years if it is in good shape.

SlashGear adds that the rule is typically enforced at upscale resorts and more strictly in peak season. A resort with a gate and a pool plays by different rules than a gravel park by a lake, and a park’s website or a quick call will tell you which kind you are dealing with.

Does the rule hit harder on a monthly stay?

It can. SlashGear says some parks waive the rule for short stays and enforce it for longer ones, which fits the worry about a rig that has to be able to leave. If you are stopping for a night on the way through Oklahoma, an older rig may sail past at a park that would want photos before a three month stay. If you are moving here for work and need a site for months, expect the question and have your answer ready.

Our guests mostly stay by the month, so a worker arriving with a 2012 fifth wheel has every reason to ask about age before anything else. The answer starts with two things: the year and the photos. If the job is at the industrial park in Pryor, our post on living in an RV while you work at MidAmerica Industrial Park covers the commute and the shift side of the move. A nurse with a 13 week contract can read our guide to travel nursing in northeast Oklahoma for the cost side of the same decision, and our post on the new W.W. Hastings Hospital covers a 13 week stay near Tahlequah.

For people planning to make the RV a home, our longer guide to living in an RV full time in Oklahoma goes past the age question into the rest of the year.

How do you know if your RV counts as older than 10 years?

Start with the year your RV was built, because that is the number a park asks for. Our Check Availability form asks for the RV year as a plain number, and when the year is 10 or more years back, the form shows a spot to add photos. Have that year handy before you call or fill out the form.

When you call us, we ask for the RV year and length first, then the date you want to move in. Reservations by phone are our preferred route, and the form on our website works too. Neither one replaces the review for an older rig, so expect us to ask for photos either way.

If your rig sits right on the line, call us and ask. We would rather answer a question on the phone than have you tow a camper here on a guess.

What should you do if your RV is older than 10 years?

Do the asking before the moving. A short, honest first contact does the most good. These steps work at most parks, and they match what we ask of our own guests.

1. Write down your RV’s year and length. Those are the two things we ask for first.
2. Say the age up front. SlashGear’s advice is to mention it before the park raises it, and we agree, since a straight answer starts the talk on good terms.
3. Take clear, recent photos of the rig as it sits today. SlashGear recommends pictures that show upgrades, repairs and upkeep.
4. Send them with a phone call or through our Check Availability form, which shows a spot for photos when the RV year is 10 or more years back.
5. Wait for the answer before you tow. The form only sends us your photos, and the yes comes after we have looked at them.
6. Once you are approved, the $100 deposit is due and you can plan your move in date.

Age first and photos second leave a park much less to guess about. The deposit comes after approval.

How early should you ask about an older RV?

Before you commit to anything that is hard to undo. Ask before you give notice on an apartment and before you tell a new employer exactly when you will show up. Someone at the park has to look at your photos, so build in a little time for the answer.

If you have a start date two weeks out and a 12 year old camper, ask in the first week. If a park says no early, there is still time to ask another one. If you wait until the truck is hitched, there is no room to try again.

Contact a couple of parks at the same time instead of one after another. You are not being rude by doing it, and a second answer gives you a backup if the first is no.

How do you take photos that help an older RV get approved?

We do not publish a photo checklist for our own review, so this section sticks to what other writers recommend plus plain common sense. SlashGear’s advice is to show upgrades, repairs and upkeep. RV Lifestyle’s reporting adds that honesty matters most, because a rig that does not match its photos can still be turned away.

A few habits follow from that. Shoot in daylight and walk all the way around the outside. Add a picture of any repair you have made, and say plainly in your message anything a photo cannot show.

When your RV year is 10 or more years back, our Check Availability form shows a spot to add photos. If you are unsure what to send, call us first and ask.

What happens after you send the photos to us?

We review them case by case and give you an answer. If the rig is approved, the $100 deposit is due and we settle on your move in date. The deposit comes only after approval, so nothing is due while your photos are still being looked at.

Approval covers the rig, and the site comes with it. We tell you which sites are open that match your plans, whether that is a lake view site, a wooded site or one of the budget sites, and the monthly rent follows from the site you choose. Electric is billed by use on top of the rent.

Calling us is still the faster path when you are short on time. Reservations by phone are our preferred route, and the number is (918) 373-9216.

What do other parks mean by good condition?

Park policies rarely spell out a checklist, and we do not publish one either. For older rigs we review each case from photos, so call us if you want a straight read on yours. What RV Lifestyle reports is that a park with a case by case policy can turn away an older rig that shows red flags such as dents or leaks, and that a rig that does not match its photos may still be turned away on arrival.

Send photos that look like the rig today. A flattering angle from three summers ago saves nobody time, and photos only help when they match the camper that rolls through the entrance.

SlashGear also says some parks accept classic or retro models that have modern systems and a good exterior. A rig built a dozen years ago and kept sealed and repaired can look better than a newer one that sat in a field. Our rule accepts newer rigs as they are and looks at older ones from photos.

What if a park says no?

Ask what the park would need to see, and keep it polite. RV Lifestyle advises calling the park and explaining, calmly, why your older rig deserves an exception. If the answer stays no, the article says to choose another park. It adds that complaints can eventually push a park to change its policy, though that will not help you this month.

A first no can come from the rule on paper. A park cannot see how well you have kept your rig until it sees photos. If the no came before any photos, send them and ask again.

If the answer is still no, the useful move is to find a park whose policy fits your rig. The TOGO RV poll suggests you have choices, since 15 percent of the parks it asked had no age policy at all. Treat that as a rough guide and call each park yourself.

What mistakes do people make with the 10 year rule?

These mistakes come up because the rule differs from park to park, and each one is easy to avoid.

• Assuming every park enforces it. Most do not hold a hard line, so skipping a park on a rumor can cost you a good site.
• Buying a used RV to live in before checking park rules. A great price on an older camper loses its shine if you have nowhere to put it, so call the parks you plan to use first.
• Asking at the gate. A no at the entrance leaves you with a loaded rig and no plan.
• Sending old or flattering photos. Pictures that do not match the rig turn a maybe into a no.
• Arguing the rule instead of showing the rig. The photos and a calm phone call do more than a debate.

Will your RV age out while you plan a long stay?

The count moves on each year, so a rig that clears our rule today can land in the photo review down the road. That matters to two kinds of people: anyone shopping for a used rig to live in, and anyone planning to stay a year or longer.

If you are shopping, check the rule at the park you want before you buy, using the exact year of the rig you are considering. If you are planning a long stay, ask the park how it handles a rig that crosses the line partway through. Parks differ on this, and we cannot speak for any park but our own.

If you are aiming at ours, call us with the year of the rig before you buy it. A two minute call costs less than a camper you cannot park where you wanted to.

What does the rule look like at Lake Hudson RV Park?

We accept RVs 10 years old or newer. If yours is older, send us photos and we review it case by case. The policy leaves room for a well kept older camper to earn a site.

Once you are approved, every one of our 67 sites has full hookups with 30 and 50 amp service, and a typical site runs about 35 by 120 feet, which is room for a long fifth wheel and a truck. The laundry and the storm shelter are both on the property, and management is on site. We are 17 minutes from MidAmerica Industrial Park and 18 minutes from Hillcrest Hospital Pryor, so a commute from here stays short.

The phone is the quickest way to start, and the number is (918) 373-9216. Most of our guests stay by the month, which keeps the nights quiet, and our post on what makes a long term RV park quiet and well run explains why. Guests rate us 4.7 stars from 57 Google reviews, and one of them put it this way.

What should your first message to a park say?

Make it easy to say yes. Start with the RV’s year and length and the date you want to move in, since those are the details we ask for first. If the rig is older than 10 years, say so in the first line and attach the photos, so nobody has to write back and ask.

Then mention what rides along with the rig. If you tow a boat, tell us, because our sites differ. A typical site runs about 35 by 120 feet, and many of them fit a truck and a boat, while our budget sites are smaller and have no room for a boat. If you travel with a dog, say that too. Dogs are welcome when their owner is with them.

Finally, say how long you plan to stay. A week and a year lead to different sites and different questions, and our monthly sites exist for the longer plans. Knowing your plan lets us point you to a site that fits it the first time.

None of this needs to be polished. A plain message from a real camper, with honest photos, is the kind we like to get.

What does a monthly site cost once your RV is approved?

Monthly sites run $300 to $450 plus electric, depending on the site. Electric is billed by use and averages about $100 a month for most guests, with a range of about $30 to $200 and the high end coming with heavy air conditioning in a hot Oklahoma summer.

All plus electric. The $100 deposit is due once your stay is approved.

For a fuller picture of what a month adds up to, our post on the monthly RV site cost near Pryor, OK walks through the real numbers. After you park, our first month checklist for moving to Mayes County covers the license, the tags and the other errands. To ask about a site, use Check Availability or call us.