About Motorhome

Motorhome or Caravan...Which is Correct?

At first, motor homes were called "house cars" (customized on model T chassis similar to Tempo Traveller’s); then the name evolved into "motor coaches" and then to "motor homes". However, the motor home — or motorhome — concept didn't take off until around 1960's and 1970's when Winnebago promoted their motor home by dropping one on its roof. Whether because of this promotion, many people — and far too many reporters — incorrectly call all motor homes "Winnebagos" to this day.

The one-word "motorhomes'" came about when Motorhome Life was first published by Trailer Life Enterprises in 1968 as an annual buyer's guide. In 1982 the title was changed to MotorHome Magazine.

Although the one-word version — motorhome —is standard in Trailer Life publications, the two-word version "motor homes" or "motorhome" is considered more accurate simply because dictionaries do not show the one-word version. This doesn't mean, however, that the one-word version as utilized by Trailer Life writers will not eventually be accepted by those of us who generally use the two-word version.

What's in a name?

Motorcaravan, Caravan, Motorhome, Camper, Camping Car, RV, Trailer, 5th Wheel even Mo'van - what is the difference between them all? The answer is none; they are all interchangeable - even if some groups prefer to use one or the other. But we rather doubt that any A-Class owner would refer to their pride and joy as a 'camper'! European names might confuse the issue still further since many use 'fully integrated' and 'semi-integrated' for A & C Class 'vans with the result that foreign manufacturers sometimes adopt terms like 'B Class' and 'S Class' as names for their own model ranges - both these being called A-Class designs in the UK. The Spanish and Italians differentiate the vehicle construction with names like Autocaravanna for the classic C-Class with a caravan built on to a chassis cab, while the French go more for appearance with their Profilé for a low profile C-Class. The only universal European name seems to be camping-car and Europeans usually translate that to 'camper' in English but we don't seen to accept that name here - all very confusing!

Search Terms: We used to use the term motorcaravan, but motorhome now seems to be more fashionable so in the interests of being found more in web searches we will use motorhome more too.

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