Surprise, AZ Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

Surprise regulates recreational vehicle, utility trailer, and truck parking under Code Sec. 54-113 through 54-115, part of Division 2 covering city streets and rights-of-way. A 'recreational vehicle' is defined to include motor homes, travel trailers, park trailers (320 to 400 square feet when set up), fifth-wheel trailers, and truck campers, while a 'truck' means a commercial vehicle of 18,000 pounds or more or a semi-trailer cab. On city streets, an RV or utility trailer may park for up to 72 hours, no more than twice a month, but only if it does not block a neighboring driveway and the remaining street width available for traffic is at least 20 feet.

While parked, the owner may prep or clean the vehicle for a trip, but sleeping, cooking, or otherwise living in it on the street is prohibited outright. Ordinary trucks and trailers get only a one-hour loading and unloading window on the street, or may stay longer while the truck's occupant is actively providing a service at that address. No truck, RV, or trailer may park within 30 feet of a street corner's curb return, and anyone using a jack stand to support a parked unit must place a load-distributing pad of at least 36 square inches under each stand to protect the pavement.

In residential yards, the rule shifts: a truck, RV, or trailer cannot sit in the front, side, or rear yard if any part of it is closer to the front street than the house itself, unless it is completely concealed inside a garage or a permanent structure built for that purpose. These sections were last amended by Ordinance No. 2024-07 on February 20, 2024.