RV Travel: CARB Pollution Rule Portends Disaster

Above, San Diego's Campland On The Bay. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Two blog posts on the California "ban" on Class A, Class B and Class C RVs have already been posted here.

For more in-depth information on the coming CARB (California Air Resources Board) emissions standards has been posted at RV Travel. It is by RV lemon law attorney Ron Burge.

It begins with:

The new California Air Resources Board (CARB) rule that becomes effective in 2025 will cause major changes to the RV industry and that means motorhome buyers, too. Originally aimed at the tailpipe pollution levels of fossil fuel emission engines — gas and diesel — of big rig trucks, the new emissions level mandate will hit the RV industry hard, too, with an industry-wide and nationwide impact.

To read the article, go here. 

California, 5 Other States To Ban Motorhome Sales

Above, unless things change, the California RV Show will be
barren of motorhomes starting in 2025. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It looks like the Communists running the state of California have effectively banned the sale of new motorhome.

California, along with five other states (including New Mexico in 2027), are going after the motorhome industry using emissions laws as their pretext starting next year.

RV Travel reported:

“If nothing changes, motorhomes will not be able to be sold and registered in California beginning in 2025. The exact date is still to be determined.” —RVIA

On Monday we broke the news about what boils down to a ban of motorhome sales in California and five other states. At the time, our understanding was the clamp-down would affect only diesel motorhomes. It does not, as many gas motorhomes will likewise be affected. And, hold on. While sales of affected motorhomes in those states will cease in 2025—several other states will follow suit thereafter. The RVIA has rung in with more information, which we’ll cover here.

This morning, the RV Industry Association (RVIA) released a fact sheet on the motorhome near-total “ban” situation. You can read the entire fact-sheet here, but we’ll boil the matter down in this story.

 

Note, these states are some of the most liberal (i.e, Democrat) states in the U.S.

To read more, go here.

Out-of-State Motorhomes Exempt From California Smog Plan

Above, out-of-state motorhome owners can continue to visit Yosemite
 with no fears of forced emissions testing. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A while back, I blogged about a California plan (scheme is more like it) to smog test vehicles with gross vehicle weight ratings of 14,000 or more and diesel powered. There were no exemptions for out-of-state motorhomes.

Since then, holy hell was raised and the California Air Resource Board backed off.

RV Travel reported:

In early March we reported on the new pollution-reduction rule-making going on in California. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has been tasked by law to create new rules. These apply to diesel-powered vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 14,000 pounds or more. Under the proposed rule, ANY vehicle meeting that criteria, including motorhomes, will be required to undergo periodic emissions testing. After a lot of “intervention” from industry groups, CARB is retreating – a little. Out-of-state motorhomes are exempt.

Three-days-OK shut down

Prior to backing off, CARB indicated it could be expansive and allow non-residents with big diesel motorhomes to cross into the Golden State. Then they could stay without the need for testing. The catch was, they could only stay for 72 hours. It’s hard to imagine much of a visit to California and holding it down to three days. But that was the thinking for CARB rule-drafters.

So when industry-types got wind of the smog stand, it must have rung a bell. The RV Industry Association (RVIA) and campground owners’ associations both in California and on the national level created a stink about the testing plan. One letter from the California RV dealers’ association struck a responsive chord. Using expressions like, “catastrophic impacts not only to rural economy dollars, but the overall economic health of California” and “California will be mocked as having created a system where we make perpetrators out of tourists and subscribe to an infrastructure that enforces the three-day rule” must have stung.

Money talks. Evidently pride does as well. CARB now says motorhomes are exempt from the testing regimen. No three-days-OK permits, no “tailpipe intrusions” and no hooking up a black box to OBD ports. Motorhoming vacationers trying to get a vacation break get a break from intrusive testing. The fine print in the contract does say the visiting motorhomes must be non-commercial in nature to avoid the testing.

To read more, go here.