Glossary of RVs and Camping
What does Boondocking mean? What is an EMS? What is a ‘weight distribution hitch’? Let RVTravelBugs.com help you with our list of regular RV and Camping terms and their meanings.
| BLM | Bureau of Land Management: Federal Government department dedicated to managing open public land throughout the USA. BLM land often refers to places where you can camp freely, but usually without amenities, provided you follow certain restrictions. |
| Boondocking | Staying outside of a campground, like in an open field, usually in BLM land or along a beach. |
| EMS | Electrical Management System or a surge protector. This unit can be portable, connected to your power cord at the campground power post, or a built-in unit may be installed in your RV. These units can detect faults in the power supply to your RV. |
| Moochdocking | Parking your RV at a friend’s home, which might include plugging into their home’s electricity supply and water. Some RVers have been known to hookup into another RV with a large solar power source, in the open camping areas , allowing them to stay without the use of a generator. |
| Slideout or Slide | An RV slideout is part of a wall of the RV that can extend. This will increase the space inside the RV for more useable areas. |
| Surge Protector | Can be portable where it is connected to the campground power pedestal and then you connect your RV’s power cable to ensure you have safe power. Also known as an EMS (Electrical management system) |
| Weight Distribution Hitch | Sometimes known as WDH. Used on travel trailers to reduce sagging in the rear suspension of the towing vehicle. Strongly fabricated of steel and chains and connected between the towing vehicle and the travel trailer. The WDH aims to shift some weight from the back wheels of the towing vehicle towards the front wheels of the tow vehicle and some of the weight is also shifted rearwards to the travel trailer’s wheels. Weight is redistributed, hence the name: Weight Distribution Hitch. Safety is enhanced because a properly configured WDH can prevent the front steering wheels from losing contact with the road, which could result in loss of steering control in extreme cases. Ride comfort is also improved because the towing vehicle is not lifting in the front and sagging in the rear, headlights are level and not aiming into the tree tops. The weight distribution hitch also reduces bucking and bouncing. In some WDH versions, there is an anti-swaying feature to reduce the tendency for the travel trailer to wobble or sway from side to side which can also lead to pushing the tow vehicle sideways. |