Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards

[Amk22]

Hello - I'm building an expedition camper on the back of a Fuso bed and thought I had figured everything out with ODOT and the DMV (I am in Oregon).

I was told today that I had to comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and the The Oregon Revised Statutes - two lengthy and confusing, in my opinion, document s. I was previously told by the DMV that I didn't have to comply as I'm making after-market modifications and am not a manufacturer of RV's. Does anyone have any insight into this process? I want to get clear before I start building.

Thank you

 

[pugslyyy]

1. I think the person you talked to was either uninformed, didn't understand the question, or gave a stock answer that they knew was safe.

2. You would be hard pressed not to be in compliance with FMVSS anyways.

3. I have to agree with Verkstad, I would rather poke a stick in my eye than ask random government employees questions about whether I can do something or not.

 

[mog]

I'm in Oregon and had no issue registering my Fuso 'Motorhome'. At the time, it had a standard 14' Marathon aluminum truck body/box, with a futon bed screwed to the floor (so it was 'permanent') and sink / colman stove mounted to a countertop to meet the "permanent sleeping and cooking facilities" requirement.
Disclaimer, I am in baja/rural Oregon so your results might vary up in 'the big city' (Portland).

Oregon Recreational Vehicles:
A vehicle that has been designed, reconstructed, or permanently altered to provide facilities for human habitation, i.e., permanent sleeping and cooking facilities. This includes permanently mounted campers on pickup trucks or other truck frames

So compared to say, California, we have it very easy.

California Recreational Vehicles:
**A recreational vehicle is defined as any motorhome or housecar, travel trailer, truck camper, or camp trailer with or without motive power designed for human habitation or other occupancy.
They must contain less than 320 square feet of internal living room area (excluding built-in equipment and including, but not limited to wardrobe, closets, cabinets, kitchen units or fixtures, bath or toilet rooms) and 400 square feet or less of gross area measured at maximum horizontal projections. Recreational vehicles are built on a single chassis and are self-propelled, truck-mounted, or permanently towable on the highways without a permit.
**Motorhomes must contain permanently-installed independent life support systems which meet the criteria of the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) and provide at least four of the following facilities:
cooking
refrigeration or ice box
self-contained toilet
heating and/or air conditioning
a portable water supply system including a faucet and sink, separate 110-125 volt electrical power supply
LP gas supply
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