RV certification offers many benefits to consumers including the following:
Peace of mind
When tiny houses first started popping up, they didn’t fit into building and zoning codes. We solved this issue by becoming the first company to get licensed as an RV manufacturer and turned our Ready-made Tiny Houses into licensed RVs. The RVIA (Recreational Vehicle Industry Association) licenses and certifies RV manufacturers and only licensed manufacturers can produce a certified RV.
Safety
To become licensed, a manufacturer must be open to random inspections, adhere to over 500 safety codes and inspect each of its Tiny House RVs to affirm adherence to these codes. These codes cover electric, plumbing, brake lights, heating and fire safety and include safety features. One would expect these safety features to be standard but are often eliminated to save costs by non-certified builders. These include proper fire egress and road worthiness.
Financing
As members of the RVIA and NADA (National Automobile Dealers Association), customers who purchase an RVIA certified Tiny House can obtain financing from a much wider list of lenders including credit unions. The end result is a lower payment for your Tiny House RV.
Insurance
There are more options to insure a Tiny House RV vs a non-certified Tiny House.
Parking
Having an RV Certification can possibly open up more options on where to park your Tiny House RV. Local and state laws support RVs generally and you may be able to place your Tiny House RV in your backyard or property. You will, however, have to research your local municipal or neighborhood RV regulations. Additionally, RV certified Tiny House RVs are welcome at many RV facilities nationwide. These locations, whether parks or campgrounds, offer all necessary and full hookups for water, electricity and septic.
Re-Sale
RV Certification makes it easier to sell your Tiny House RV buy allowing prospective buyers to obtain financing. This is critical since most buyers don’t have $70,000 in cash to spend on a used Tiny House RV. A buyer will also have more confidence in the purchase knowing the Tiny House RV was built to RV code.
I am researching tiny homes and manufacturers. Can they be made to withstand midwest winter living?
Tumbleweeds are designed for extreme cold weather. We have several online resources for winterizing your tiny house.
I recently bought a THOW (NOT from Tumbleweeds) but I caution buyers…..INSPECT your THOW PRIOR to purchasing and AFTER delivery (with power and water hooked up). Mine was available immediately and had a NOAH Certification……….I called NOAH to ask what the certification meant for a consumer…..I was assured it meant is was quality construction and “to building codes”……..BIG MISTAKE. My THOW arrived with a window that would not open correctly….it had “twisted” a bit during the transport….no big deal – we wanted it so badly……and the builder reassured us reputation was important and he would handle anything that was not right……..and it had NOAH Certification. First rain hit – ALL THREE Velux Skylights leaked……my known, experienced roofer came out to tarp it for me so the occupant was not getting wet……and tells me the roof is going to fail period…..it had 1/2″ rise per foot which was well below the metal roof panel manufacturers minimum specs (GRABER required 1 1/2″ rise per foot but suggested minimum 3″ rise per foot)
NOAH Cert and the builder have given me the run around now for about 2 months. They offered the builder would choose a roofer and put a rubber roof on the unit using the existing VELUX skylights (which require minimum 3″ pitch per foot as builder did not buy the ones for a flat slope roof.) SO the skylights would still fail eventually…..BUYERS BEWARE – inspect and inspect before you buy.
Are you NOAH certified as well? I can only find this page and the bottom webpage symbol for RVIA.
There are at least half a dozen certifications available for Tiny House RV that build to ANSI 119.2 as we do. They are all generally the same in principal with slight nuances between them. From a cost perspective it doesn’t make sense to maintain two of them, so RVIA is the only one we use. NOAH doesn’t require you to maintain an on-site inspector (they do all the inspections virtually for you) and they are ideal for smaller builders and DIY builds.
Are you NFPA 1192 or ANSI 119.5 certified?
Hello I have a cypress 2919 that I’m trying to resell and everyone keeps asking is it L and I certify. How do I fine out if mine is I bought it in 2019