RV Insurance in Vermont: Motorhomes, Campers and Mountain Roads

By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO

Vermont rewards RV owners who plan. The Champlain Islands, the Northeast Kingdom and the ski towns along Route 100 are all within a day’s drive of one another, and the state park campgrounds are some of the prettiest in New England. They also come with no hookups, a mountain pass that big rigs are banned from, dirt town roads that turn soft every spring, and long winters of snow load on whatever you leave outside. A Vermont RV policy should be written with those things in mind, not copied from a policy written for flat suburban roads.

Portsmouth Atlantic Insurance is a family-run independent agency based in Portsmouth, NH, and licensed in Vermont. We place RV coverage alongside auto, home and umbrella policies through 40+ carriers, and we work with Vermont owners, and with New Hampshire and Massachusetts owners who camp in Vermont, by phone and email. Call (603) 431-4020.

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What Vermont law requires for a motorhome or camper

Vermont’s motor vehicle title calls a towed living unit a “trailer coach”: a trailer or semi-trailer designed to be pulled by a motor vehicle and built or used for sleeping, eating or living quarters (23 V.S.A. §4). A motorhome, by contrast, is self-propelled and registered as a motorhome. The difference decides where the liability coverage comes from.

For a motorhome, the policy has to meet Vermont’s financial responsibility law, which the Department of Financial Regulation summarizes as $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 per crash and $10,000 for property damage (23 V.S.A. §800; DFR consumer’s guide to auto insurance). Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is mandatory too, at no less than $50,000 per person and $100,000 per crash, and it follows your liability limits upward unless you choose otherwise (23 V.S.A. §941). Those are floors. A heavy coach in a pileup on I-89 can produce claims far beyond them, so most owners carry much higher limits.

For a travel trailer, fifth wheel or pop-up, the auto policy on the tow vehicle normally provides liability while the two are connected. It does not repair the camper after a tree falls on it, replace what is inside, or respond when a guest trips over your awning stakes. A separate trailer policy or RV endorsement handles that.

Titles and registration after the 2024 change

Vermont used to skip titles on vehicles older than 15 model years, which is why many campers in the state change hands on a registration and a bill of sale. That changed in 2024. The DMV now titles a vehicle to its new owner on any change of ownership, whatever the model year; a unit that is 2009 or older and still with the same Vermont owner can keep using its registration as the ownership document (Vermont DMV: vehicle title). Trailers that weigh 1,500 pounds or less empty are still exempt from titling (23 V.S.A. §2012).

The DMV’s registration, tax and title application asks for a trailer’s empty weight, length and width (Vermont DMV: new registrations). Insurers ask for the same details, so make sure the two match before a claim, not after.

Smugglers’ Notch and other roads to plan around

Route 108 between Stowe and Jeffersonville squeezes between boulders and cliffs below Mount Mansfield, and it is the one road in Vermont with its own RV length law. Single-frame vehicles over 40 feet and combinations over 45 feet may not drive the Notch segment, and the Agency of Transportation can close it during winter weather (23 V.S.A. §1006b). VTrans calls the result of trying “stuckages” and says over-length vehicles simply cannot make the turns (VTrans: Scenic VT Route 108).

If your coach scrapes rock, the damage is a collision claim with your deductible, and the penalty for blocking the road is yours, not the insurer’s. Approach from the Cambridge side, and treat steep gap roads such as Lincoln Gap with the same caution.

The interstates are easier: I-89 runs from White River Junction through Montpelier and Burlington to the Canadian line, and I-91 runs north from Brattleboro to Derby Line. Off them, long grades and narrow village streets on Route 100 reward a driver who knows the rig’s height, length and weight.

Camping in Vermont State Parks without hookups

Every Vermont State Parks campground is dry camping. There are water spigots, restrooms and often a dump station, but no electric, water or sewer connection at the site, and each RV site lists the longest unit it can take (Vermont State Parks camping information). Most sites allow stays of up to 21 nights, and after reaching the limit you wait seven days before booking another site in the same park.

Grand Isle State Park, on Lake Champlain, is the second-largest campground in the system, with 115 tent/RV sites, about half of them large enough for a self-contained RV, and a season that runs from mid-May into the third weekend of October (Vermont State Parks: Grand Isle). Quechee State Park, just off I-89 near the gorge, has 45 tent/RV sites, and most of them can take a large RV (Vermont State Parks: Quechee).

Dry camping changes what you want insured. Generators, inverters, solar panels and battery banks are common upgrades; some policies treat them as attached equipment and others limit them as personal effects, so tell us what you carry.

Mud season, dirt roads and getting to camp

Much of Vermont’s town road mileage is gravel, and every spring the frost comes out of it. Selectboards may restrict or post a town highway when its use would damage it, and a driver who ignores the posting can owe the town for the damage to the road (19 V.S.A. §1110). Lowered weight limits only bind if the town files them with the DMV within three working days of posting, and the DMV keeps a public list of current municipal limits (23 V.S.A. §1400b; Vermont DMV: municipal weight limits).

A loaded motorhome or heavy fifth wheel can exceed a posted spring limit, which matters most for a camper kept at a hunting camp at the end of a dirt road. Check postings before the first spring trip.

Lake Champlain, rivers and flood exposure for parked RVs

In the spring of 2011, snowmelt and rain drove Lake Champlain to a record level and kept it high for weeks, flooding shoreline property around the basin (Lake Champlain Basin Program, floods of 2011). River campgrounds can flood far faster than the lake.

Flood damage to an RV is normally handled under comprehensive (other-than-collision) coverage, not a National Flood Insurance Program policy, so it only helps if comprehensive is in force. If your camper stays on a seasonal lakeshore or riverside site, keep comprehensive on all year and know the campground’s evacuation plan.

Winter storage in snow country

Most Vermont RVs sit from October to May, carrying snow on roofs never designed for it or parked in yards where nobody is watching. Points to settle before the first storm:

• Lay-up options. Some carriers reduce or suspend driving coverages on a stored motorhome while comprehensive stays on. Keep comprehensive for any unit that sits outdoors.
• Roof load and slow leaks. Snow and ice cause roof and seal failures that show up as water damage in spring. Sudden damage may be covered; gradual seepage over months usually is not, so clear the roof and inspect the seals.
• Plumbing. Winterize the water lines. Cold-weather damage to an RV’s water system is treated as a maintenance issue on many forms.
• Pests. Mice, squirrels and moisture are routine exclusions. Prevention is the owner’s job.
• Storage location. Tell your carrier if the unit moves to a storage yard or barn in another town; the garaging address affects the policy.

Crossing into Quebec

From the Champlain Islands, Highgate or Derby Line, Quebec is a short drive, and many Vermont RV owners head north. Vermont law requires every auto liability policy issued here to cover liability for injury and property damage elsewhere in the United States and in Canada (23 V.S.A. §941(b)). Other parts of an RV policy, such as emergency expenses, towing for a large vehicle or full replacement of belongings, can differ outside the U.S. Tell us before a long trip so we can confirm what applies.

What an RV policy covers, piece by piece

Coverage	What it does	Vermont angle
Liability and UM/UIM	Injury and damage you cause; injury caused to you by an uninsured or underinsured driver	Required on a motorhome at the statutory minimums or higher
Collision	Damage from hitting something or rolling over	Rock walls, guardrails and narrow mountain roads
Comprehensive	Fire, theft, falling trees, flood water, animal strikes	Moose and deer, lakeshore flooding, winter storage
Personal effects	Clothing, gear, bikes, kayaks and electronics inside the RV	Fishing, ski and paddling gear add up
Attached equipment	Awnings, generators, solar panels, satellite dishes	Dry camping means more of this gear
Campsite liability	Injury to a guest at your parked RV	Seasonal sites and state park stays
Emergency expense and roadside	Lodging, transport and large-vehicle towing after a covered breakdown or loss	Long distances between towns in the Kingdom

Valuation choices differ by carrier and by the unit’s age: actual cash value, a stated or agreed amount, or replacement options for newer units. Our RV insurance overview and the longer RV insurance guide explain each one.

Renting it out, using it for work or living in it

Three situations take an RV outside a standard personal policy. Renting it to strangers through a peer-to-peer platform is commonly excluded. Using it for business, such as a mobile shop at fairs, a crew bunkhouse, or towing other people’s campers for pay, needs commercial coverage, not a personal RV policy; our article on commercial vs. personal auto insurance explains where that line falls. Living in the RV full time usually calls for full-timer coverage that replaces the liability and contents protection a homeowners policy would provide.

Where we write RVs and how it fits with the rest of your coverage

We insure RVs kept anywhere in Vermont, from the Champlain Valley and the Islands to Stowe, Woodstock, the Mad River Valley and the Northeast Kingdom. If you also own a camp or ski place, see our pages on Vermont second homes and ski houses, Vermont homeowners and second-home insurance and Vermont high-value homes. Boaters can read Vermont boat insurance, and if a snowmobile, ATV or UTV rides along on a trailer, read about powersports insurance.

A personal umbrella policy adds a layer over the motorhome, the family cars and the house, provided the RV is listed and its liability limits meet what the umbrella carrier requires underneath. For families who also camp farther south, our Connecticut RV insurance page covers that state’s rules. Our RV carrier list includes Progressive, National General, Foremost and Liberty Mutual; which of them fits a particular Vermont unit depends on the vehicle, its use and where it is kept, and we compare them for you. You can read more about our agency or about our founder, Jon Merwin.

Get a Vermont RV quote

Our clients have left 1,000+ Google reviews and over 2,000 testimonials, and many of them own a camper or a motorhome. Send us the details of what you drive or tow and where it lives through the year. We shop the unit across our 40+ carriers, walk you through how the options differ, and we don’t charge any fees. After a loss, we help you file and stay on the claim with the carrier until it is settled. Request a quote. There’s no obligation to buy. Fill out the form below, go to our quotes page, phone (603) 431-4020 or write to insure@portsmouthatlanticins.com. Office hours are Monday to Thursday from 9 AM to 5 PM and Friday from 8 AM to 4 PM, Eastern time.

Frequently asked questions

Is RV insurance required in Vermont?

A motorhome, yes. It is a registered motor vehicle, so Vermont requires the same financial responsibility as a car: at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for bodily injury and $10,000 for property damage, plus uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per crash (23 V.S.A. §800; 23 V.S.A. §941). A towed camper is not insured that way on its own. While it is hitched, liability usually flows from the pickup or SUV’s auto policy, and coverage for damage to the camper is something you add, or something your lender insists on.

Can I take my RV through Smugglers’ Notch on Route 108?

Only if it is short, and even then it is a bad idea. Vermont law bars single vehicles over 40 feet and combinations over 45 feet from the Notch segment of Route 108, with a five-figure civil penalty for a violation, and the road is closed in winter (23 V.S.A. §1006b). VTrans says plainly that over-length vehicles physically will not fit, whatever a GPS suggests (VTrans: Scenic VT Route 108). Go around through Jeffersonville or use I-89.

Will my RV policy cover me if I drive into Quebec?

Liability should. Vermont requires every auto liability policy issued here to cover bodily injury and property damage liability anywhere in the United States and Canada (23 V.S.A. §941(b)). Physical damage, roadside help and emergency expense coverage vary by carrier, so tell us before a long Canadian trip and carry your ID card and registration.

Does my camper need a Vermont title?

If it is a trailer weighing more than 1,500 pounds empty, generally yes. Lighter trailers are exempt from titling (23 V.S.A. §2012). Vermont also stopped exempting older vehicles on a change of ownership in 2024: a used motorhome or heavy camper bought now is titled to the new owner regardless of model year, while a 2009 or older unit that stays with the same owner can keep using its registration (Vermont DMV: title guide). A lender will want to be listed on the title and the policy.

Do Vermont state park campgrounds have hookups?

No. Vermont State Parks campgrounds have no electric, water or sewer hookups, though many have dump stations, and each RV site lists the longest rig it fits (Vermont State Parks camping information). That means generators, propane and batteries do more of the work. Make sure your policy covers attached equipment such as a generator or solar panels, and list anything you added after purchase.

I live in New Hampshire and keep my camper on a seasonal site in Vermont. Which policy do I need?

Usually a policy written in your home state that lists the Vermont campground as where the unit is kept. The carrier needs to know the unit stays parked for months, whether you added a deck, shed or screen room, and whether it is left there over the winter. If you also own a camp or ski house in Vermont, we look at the RV and the house together so the liability limits line up.

What information do you need to quote a Vermont RV?

Send the VIN, year, make, model and length, the type of unit, how you bought it and what you have added since, the drivers, the town where it is kept in summer and where it spends the winter, any trips into Canada, and your current declarations page if you have one. Request a quote. There’s no obligation to buy. The form below works, or call (603) 431-4020 to go over it with us.

Sources

• 23 V.S.A. §800, maintenance of financial responsibility
• 23 V.S.A. §941, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage; U.S. and Canada liability
• Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, consumer’s guide to auto insurance
• 23 V.S.A. §4, definitions (trailer coach)
• 23 V.S.A. §2012, vehicles exempt from titling
• Vermont DMV, vehicle title guide
• Vermont DMV, new registrations
• 23 V.S.A. §1006b, Smugglers’ Notch closure and vehicle length limits
• Vermont Agency of Transportation, Scenic VT Route 108
• Vermont State Parks, camping information and stay limits
• Vermont State Parks, Grand Isle State Park
• Vermont State Parks, Quechee State Park
• 19 V.S.A. §1110, posting of town highways
• 23 V.S.A. §1400b, filing of municipal weight limits
• Vermont DMV, municipal highway and bridge weight limits
• Lake Champlain Basin Program, the floods of 2011

This page offers general information about insuring an RV in Vermont. It is not legal advice, a quote or a binder. Policy language and each insurer’s underwriting control what is covered, and Vermont statutes and park rules change over time. Questions about your own motorhome or camper? Phone (603) 431-4020.