Original research

The RV inspector gap: 3 in 10 RV storage lots are more than 50 miles from an inspector

We measured the straight-line distance from each of 26,680 RV storage lots in our sister storage directory to the nearest of the 295 RV inspectors we list. 29.9% of lots are more than 50 miles away and 11.8% are more than 100 miles away. By population, 31.4% of Americans live more than 50 miles from one of our inspectors, and 10.0% more than 100 miles.

By the RV Inspectors research desk · Published October 25, 2026

Key findings

  • 3 in 10 storage lots are a long drive from an inspector. 29.9% of 26,680 RV storage lots are more than 50 miles from the nearest inspector in our directory; 11.8% are more than 100 miles away. The median lot is 25.9 miles away.
  • 31.4% of the US population lives more than 50 miles from one of our inspectors, and 10.0% lives more than 100 miles away. 1,987 of 3,144 counties are past the 50-mile mark.
  • The gap is widest where we list few or no inspectors. Every storage lot we track in Arkansas, North Dakota and Hawaii is more than 50 miles from a listed inspector, followed by Alaska (93.3%), Minnesota (89.7%) and Connecticut (88.6%).
  • The Sun Belt is well covered. In Florida only 2.1% of lots are more than 50 miles from an inspector (median 7.6 miles), and in Nevada 3.8%.
  • The farthest populous county in the lower 48 is Flathead County, Montana: 326.1 miles from the nearest listed inspector, with 113,679 residents.

The map

Each tile shows the share of a state's RV storage lots that are more than 50 miles, in a straight line, from the nearest inspector in our directory. Darker means a longer trip for an owner who wants a pre-purchase inspection on a rig in storage, or an annual check before a trip.

Share of RV storage lots more than 50 miles from an inspectorAR 100%, ND 100%, HI 100%, AK 93%, MN 90%, CT 89%, SD 84%, WI 82%AK: 93%AK93%ME: 65%ME65%VT: no dataVTNH: 5.9%NH5.9%WA: 30%WA30%ID: 37%ID37%MT: 78%MT78%ND: 100%ND100%MN: 90%MN90%IL: 37%IL37%WI: 82%WI82%MI: 41%MI41%NY: 67%NY67%RI: 0%RI0%MA: 15%MA15%OR: 25%OR25%NV: 3.8%NV3.8%WY: 73%WY73%SD: 84%SD84%IA: 30%IA30%IN: 39%IN39%OH: 48%OH48%PA: 9.3%PA9.3%NJ: 21%NJ21%CT: 89%CT89%CA: 12%CA12%UT: 5.9%UT5.9%CO: 12%CO12%NE: 27%NE27%MO: 42%MO42%KY: 61%KY61%WV: 75%WV75%VA: 41%VA41%MD: 0.6%MD0.6%DE: 0%DE0%AZ: 19%AZ19%NM: 52%NM52%KS: 66%KS66%AR: 100%AR100%TN: 29%TN29%NC: 15%NC15%SC: 61%SC61%DC: no dataDCOK: 49%OK49%LA: 50%LA50%MS: 63%MS63%AL: 12%AL12%GA: 18%GA18%HI: 100%HI100%TX: 18%TX18%FL: 2.1%FL2.1%0%100%Dashed outline: no data
States with at least 30 storage lots in our data. DC and Vermont have fewer and show as no data. Based on 26,680 lots and 295 inspectors, October 2026.
29.9%of storage lots are 50+ miles from an inspector
11.8%are 100+ miles away
25.9 mimedian distance from a lot to the nearest inspector

State by state

Storage lots and distance to the nearest RV inspector, by state
Arkansas401100.0163.10171.9
North Dakota72100.0182.80205.2
Hawaii36100.0No inspector listed0No inspector listed
Alaska7593.3254.62339.9
Minnesota36889.787.0192.8
Connecticut13288.665.1064.1
South Dakota9084.455.7284.3
Wisconsin49281.5110.3098.5
Montana24477.5187.91181.2
West Virginia8475.078.5080.0
Wyoming10473.188.61101.4
New York55466.663.6256.0
Kansas27365.9105.2180.6
Maine10564.874.00101.1
Mississippi22563.196.81104.2
South Carolina61661.259.3162.6
Kentucky30460.961.3155.3
New Mexico24951.864.1176.6
Louisiana30349.547.8366.0
Oklahoma53549.247.3749.7
Ohio73547.947.9356.9
Missouri66341.834.9542.3
Michigan78741.337.8246.4
Virginia57040.736.9338.6
Indiana52338.643.5343.7
Illinois66236.942.5250.4
Idaho36936.941.1281.9
Washington87130.310.81446.5
Iowa21629.638.5447.0
Tennessee70728.939.5748.9
Nebraska18627.429.1153.5
Oregon47024.724.5635.4
New Jersey31921.036.2237.0
Arizona82618.912.41036.5
Georgia94917.923.1832.8
Texas3,64317.814.24037.3
North Carolina1,02214.926.41030.0
Massachusetts22514.719.5226.5
California2,28312.115.02425.5
Colorado74212.114.01424.2
Alabama53711.520.71231.9
Pennsylvania5939.323.2826.1
Utah4095.910.0718.1
New Hampshire1015.917.4322.5
Nevada3163.87.5630.1
Florida2,2202.17.66612.5
Maryland3330.620.4321.0
Rhode Island530.015.5117.6
Delaware590.019.8215.9

Distances are straight-line miles to the nearest inspector in our directory, which may be across a state line. Average resident distance weights each county's distance by its population. Road miles are longer. Download this table (CSV)

The farthest populous counties

Among counties with at least 50,000 residents, these are the farthest from any inspector in our directory. Hawaii's four counties (Hawaii, Honolulu, Kauai and Maui, about 1.4 million people) have no inspector in our listings at all.

Counties of 50,000+ people farthest from a listed RV inspector
Kenai Peninsula BoroughAlaska340.361,223
Flathead CountyMontana326.1113,679
Bonner CountyIdaho297.652,547
Marquette CountyMichigan269.266,999
Ward CountyNorth Dakota267.668,332
Aroostook CountyMaine266.067,351

Hawaii's four counties are left out of the table because no inspector is listed in the state. Download this table (CSV)

What it means for you

A long distance doesn't mean you can't get an inspection. It means you should plan for travel time and a trip fee, and book earlier.

  • Look for mobile inspectors. Many RV inspectors come to the rig. Search mobile RV inspection and ask how far they travel and what the trip fee is.
  • Search the next state over. The nearest inspector to many lots in Arkansas, Connecticut or North Dakota is across the line. Browse inspectors by state.
  • Buying from far away? Several reviewers in our data hired an inspector to look at an RV hours from home, or out of state, and bought or walked away based on the report and photos. Ask for a live video walk-through as part of the job.
  • Use a certified inspector for remote buys, so the report follows a known standard. See certified RV inspectors.
  • Book ahead of the spring rush. Long-distance jobs fill a calendar fast. See when to book an RV inspection.

The infographic

The RV Inspector Gap · 20263 in 10 RV storage lots aremore than 50 miles from an inspectorShare of each state's RV storage lots more than 50 straight-line milesfrom the nearest listed RV inspector.29.9%of 26,680 storage lots are 50+miles away31.4%of Americans live 50+ milesfrom an inspector10.0%live 100+ miles awayShare of storage lots 50+ miles from an inspectorAR 100%, ND 100%, HI 100%, AK 93%, MN 90%, CT 89%, SD 84%, WI 82%AK: 93%AK93%ME: 65%ME65%VT: no dataVTNH: 5.9%NH5.9%WA: 30%WA30%ID: 37%ID37%MT: 78%MT78%ND: 100%ND100%MN: 90%MN90%IL: 37%IL37%WI: 82%WI82%MI: 41%MI41%NY: 67%NY67%RI: 0%RI0%MA: 15%MA15%OR: 25%OR25%NV: 3.8%NV3.8%WY: 73%WY73%SD: 84%SD84%IA: 30%IA30%IN: 39%IN39%OH: 48%OH48%PA: 9.3%PA9.3%NJ: 21%NJ21%CT: 89%CT89%CA: 12%CA12%UT: 5.9%UT5.9%CO: 12%CO12%NE: 27%NE27%MO: 42%MO42%KY: 61%KY61%WV: 75%WV75%VA: 41%VA41%MD: 0.6%MD0.6%DE: 0%DE0%AZ: 19%AZ19%NM: 52%NM52%KS: 66%KS66%AR: 100%AR100%TN: 29%TN29%NC: 15%NC15%SC: 61%SC61%DC: no dataDCOK: 49%OK49%LA: 50%LA50%MS: 63%MS63%AL: 12%AL12%GA: 18%GA18%HI: 100%HI100%TX: 18%TX18%FL: 2.1%FL2.1%0%100%Dashed outline: no dataSource: RV Inspectors analysis of 26,680 US RV storage lots, 295 RV inspectors andCensus county data, Oct 2026.rvinspectors.org

How we did this

  • Storage lots are the 26,680 approved RV storage facilities with coordinates in our sister directory, RV Storage Rates. Inspectors are the 295 approved RV inspectors with coordinates in this directory. Both lists were current in October 2026.
  • For each storage lot we found the nearest inspector by straight-line (great-circle) distance. State figures cover states with at least 30 lots.
  • For population, we measured from the centre point of each of 3,144 US counties to the nearest inspector and weighted by county population from the US Census Bureau.
  • Road distances are longer than straight-line distances, and inspectors who travel can cover more ground than these numbers suggest. Inspectors without a listing in our directory are not counted.
  • We don't name businesses.

Sources

  1. RV Inspectors directory listings, October 2026
  2. RV Storage Rates directory listings, October 2026, accessed October 24, 2026
  3. US Census Bureau, 2023 county population estimates (co-est2023-alldata), accessed October 24, 2026
  4. US Census Bureau, 2023 Gazetteer county file (county centre points), accessed October 24, 2026
  5. RV Inspectors analysis, October 2026

Cite this: RV Inspectors, "The RV inspector gap: 3 in 10 RV storage lots are more than 50 miles from an inspector," October 25, 2026, https://rvinspectors.org/rv-inspector-gap/

Spotted an error or have newer data? Tell us and we'll check it and update the page.

Questions people ask

How far is the average RV storage lot from an RV inspector?

The median RV storage lot in our data is 25.9 miles in a straight line from the nearest inspector in our directory. But 29.9% of the 26,680 lots are more than 50 miles away and 11.8% are more than 100 miles away.

Which states have the fewest RV inspectors nearby?

By storage-lot distance, Arkansas, North Dakota and Hawaii are worst: every lot we track there is more than 50 miles from a listed inspector. Alaska (93.3%), Minnesota (89.7%), Connecticut (88.6%), South Dakota (84.4%) and Wisconsin (81.5%) follow.

Can I get an RV inspected if I live far from an inspector?

Yes. Many RV inspectors are mobile and travel to the rig, usually for a trip fee. Buyers in our review data hired inspectors hours away or out of state and decided from the written report and photos. Ask whether a live video walk-through is included.

What share of Americans live far from an RV inspector?

Weighting each county by population, 31.4% of US residents live more than 50 miles from an inspector in our directory, and 10.0% live more than 100 miles away. Hawaii has no listed inspector.

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