50 free RV trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This RV trivia quiz is for anyone who has ever backed a trailer into a campsite, dumped a black tank or argued about Class A versus Class C. It runs from the horse-drawn Wanderer of 1884 and the world's first caravan club to the pandemic boom that put an RV in more than eleven million American driveways, taking in Wally Byam's aluminium Airstreams, the Iowa town that built the first Winnebagos, the Indiana county that calls itself the RV Capital of the World and the only motorhome ever built start to finish by a major automaker. It also covers the culture around the vehicles: KOA and Good Sam, boondockers in Quartzsite and Slab City, grey nomads, van life, and the RVs that stole films and TV shows, from Lucy and Desi's long, long trailer to Walter White's meth lab and the Winnebago that flew in Spaceballs. About a third of the questions are easy for anyone who has camped, a third need some RV-world knowledge, and the rest reward the full-timers who know which trailer NASA used to quarantine the Apollo 11 crew. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on recreational vehicles, manufacturers and films before publishing, and each question carries the sentence that establishes it. If you think one is wrong, use the report button and we will look again.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The first known purpose-built RV, the horse-drawn Wanderer, was commissioned in 1884 in which country?
Britain
Dr. Gordon Stables had it built by the Bristol Wagon Works and went on to inspire the world's first RV club.
Q 02The world's first RV club, formed in 1907, was "The ___ Club". Which word fills the blank?
Caravan
It grew out of Britain's Gentlemen Gypsy movement, which promoted the restorative benefits of horse-drawn caravanning.
Q 03The first steam-driven motorhome, the Quo Vadis of 1900, was built in which country?
France
The first petrol-driven motorhome, the Passe Partout, followed there in 1902.
Q 04Which affordable car helped make lightweight tent trailers popular in the US from 1911?
The Ford Model T
Better roads and new national parks helped too; early motorhomes were nicknamed "house cars".
Q 05Which small, lightweight 1950 vehicle is credited as the first "one box" RV seen in large numbers?
The Volkswagen Kombi
Westfalia-Werke of Rheda-Wiedenbrück turned it into the classic camper van conversion.
Q 06Which trailer brand is the sole survivor of the 400-plus US RV makers from before WWII?
Airstream
Wally Byam started building trailers in 1931; the polished aluminium shape traces to the Bowlus Road Chief.
Q 07The rounded aluminium body of Wally Byam's trailers is based on which earlier design?
The Bowlus Road Chief
The 1936 Airstream Clipper was essentially a rebadged 1935 Road Chief with the door moved to the side.
Q 08Wally Byam's company builds its aluminium trailers in which Ohio town?
Jackson Center
The plant opened there in July 1952; the brand is now part of Elkhart-based Thor Industries.
Q 09A modified airtight Airstream trailer served NASA as what after the Apollo 11, 12 and 14 missions?
A mobile quarantine facility
The astronauts stayed in it from the recovery carrier until they reached the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston.
Q 10Winnebago Industries was founded in 1958 in which Iowa town?
Forest City
Founder John K. Hanson's company still builds there, though the headquarters moved to Eden Prairie, Minnesota, in 2021.
Q 11In 2018 Winnebago expanded into boat building by acquiring which company?
Chris-Craft
The motorhome maker had also built light-to-medium utility vehicles over the years.
Q 12Roughly what share of RVs sold in the United States are manufactured in Indiana?
About 85 percent
Two-thirds of that comes from Elkhart County, which calls itself the RV Capital of the World.
Q 13The RV/MH Hall of Fame museum is located in which city?
Elkhart, Indiana
The 100,000-square-foot museum displays historic vehicles from Airstream, Winnebago and other American makers.
Q 21A pop-up camper is also known by what other name?
A tent trailer
The canvas sides collapse for towing and storage, making it one of the lightest towables.
Q 22A teardrop trailer typically sleeps how many adults?
Two
The compact profile usually leaves room only for a bed inside and a basic galley kitchen at the rear.
Q 23KOA, the world's largest system of privately owned campgrounds, is based in which city?
Billings, Montana
Founded in 1962, it has more than 500 franchised locations across the US and Canada.
As of March 2021, how many US households owned an RV, according to industry figures?
Q 14Which Elkhart-based company owns Jayco, Heartland RV and Wally Byam's aluminium-trailer brand?
Thor Industries
It has plants in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Idaho and Oregon and sells both towable and motorised RVs.
Q 15The GMC Motorhome of 1973 to 1978 was notable as the only complete motorhome built by whom?
A major auto manufacturer
Built in Pontiac, Michigan, it had front-wheel drive and a low, fully integrated body in 23- and 26-foot lengths.
Q 16What was unusual about the GMC Motorhome's drivetrain?
It was front-wheel drive
The layout allowed a low floor and profile that other coach-style motorhomes could not match.
Q 17A motorhome with its engine mounted at the rear is known as what?
A pusher
Rear-engined coaches have traditionally used diesel fuel, while front-engined pullers ran on gasoline.
Q 18What do larger RVs use to gain living space once parked?
Slide-outs
Sections of the wall roll outward on rails, then retract flush for travel.
Q 19A fifth-wheel trailer connects to the tow vehicle by way of what?
A kingpin into a horseshoe-shaped plate
The same coupling links semi-trailers to trucks; on RVs the plate sits in the pickup bed.
Q 20In North America, an RV carried in the bed of a pickup is called a truck camper or what?
A slide-in
The name cab-over is also used because the sleeping area typically extends over the truck cab.
11.3 million
That was a 26 percent rise in ten years, and October 2021 set a monthly production record of 58,000 units.
Q 25About how many Americans live full-time in RVs, according to the RV Industry Association?
One million
Some do it because they cannot afford housing, but many choose the life; solar panels make off-grid work feasible.
Q 26In Australia, what is the slang term for a retiree who travels the country in an RV?
Grey nomad
Australia developed distinctive pop-top caravans before the war, built for ventilation and high ground clearance.
Q 27Which desert festival is noted for strict rules on RV water leaks and generator use?
Burning Man
RVs are a common sight at rural festivals, but most restrict how they can be operated on site.
Q 28Slab City, the off-grid RV community in California's Sonoran Desert, takes its name from what?
The concrete pads of an old Marine camp
Camp Dunlap was torn down after World War II, leaving the foundations that snowbirds now park on.
Q 29Which small Arizona town of about 2,400 people swells with RV campers every winter?
Quartzsite
Tourism from the seasonal influx is the main contributor to the town's economy.
Q 30Which Lincolnshire, Illinois RV retailer went public in 2016 with a quarter-billion-dollar IPO?
Camping World
Its parent Good Sam Enterprises also runs the Good Sam membership club and the RV.net website.