Franklin, TN Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

RV, camper, and boat-trailer parking in Franklin is controlled by two layers of city rules plus state law. First, the City of Franklin Property Maintenance Code, administered by Building and Neighborhood Services, makes it unlawful to keep any inoperable or unlicensed motor vehicle on any premises, or to keep any vehicle in a state of major disrepair. The code lists indicators of an inoperable vehicle as: inoperable under its own power, missing one or more wheels, lacking inflated tires, burned throughout, or with more than one window broken. The same code prohibits parking motor vehicles on the lawn to prevent erosion and stagnant water accumulation, requiring vehicles to sit on an approved parking pad or driveway. An unregistered, flat-tired camper or boat trailer parked on grass or sitting indefinitely in a driveway can be cited as both an inoperable-vehicle nuisance and an unlawful lawn-parking case. Owners of cited properties have 30 days to correct the violation; the city may then employ contractors to abate and invoice the owner, with non-payment within 45 days resulting in a property lien. Second, Title 14 (Zoning and Land Use Control) of the Franklin Municipal Code governs outdoor storage of recreational vehicles on residential lots and the location and dimensions of permitted parking surfaces. On the public street, RVs, boat trailers, and campers are governed by Title 15 (Motor Vehicles, Traffic and Parking), including the city's authority to restrict parking by ordinance under Section 15-618 and the standard state-law parking prohibitions in TCA 55-8-160 (no parking within 7.5 to 15 feet of a fire hydrant, in an intersection or on a crosswalk, on a sidewalk, in front of a driveway, etc.). In the downtown core, the two-hour Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. signed limit on Main Street between 1st and 7th Avenues effectively prevents long-term RV or trailer parking on the historic Main Street block faces.