Wilmington, NC Parking Rules: RV & Boat Parking (2026)

Sec. 18-533(b) covers trailers, including boat trailers, separately from motorized recreational vehicles under Sec. 18-533(d). Any trailer over 25 feet long cannot be parked or stored in a residential, O&I, or CB district except inside an enclosed building. Trailers under 25 feet may only be parked behind the plane of the front facade of the principal building, with a two-trailer maximum per lot and only one of those allowed between the front and rear facades; if the trailer or anything loaded on it tops six feet in height, it has to move behind the rear facade instead.

Recreational vehicles, covered separately in subsection (d), follow their own placement ladder. Unless it sits in a garage, carport, or accessory building, an RV must be stored behind the portion of the principal building closest to the street, though it can park anywhere on the premises, or on the street if otherwise lawful, for up to 24 hours. In a side yard that does not touch a street, an RV cannot exceed six feet in height, not counting masts, antennas, vent stacks, windshields or other minor accessories. Anything taller than that six-foot side-yard limit has to go in the rear yard instead. No RV parked or stored on a residential lot may be used for living, sleeping, housekeeping or business purposes. The city manager can conditionally approve front- or side-yard storage of a taller RV if the rear yard genuinely cannot fit it due to trees or structures, the RV sits at least 200 feet from the frontage line, screening reaches 50 percent opacity to at least six feet high, and the RV stays at least 30 feet from any adjacent primary structure.