Not all HOAs are the same. Where I live, they really just want to minimize major things. I can wash my car and motorcycle in the driveway. I can't KEEP a boat or RV there all the time, but it's fine for a few days to work on it or whatever. And that's fine with me, as the streets are too narrow to have them littered with RVs and boats. Meanwhile we pay very little and they do a great job of maintaining the roads and parks. We have four beautiful parks where we take the dogs. The city park is brown and everything is broken. Our roads are perfect, and as soon as we leave the HOA area the city road is absolute garbage and the landscaping is trash. So it's a compromise, one that works well for us. Also doing something like having an RV at home will get you a letter and TWO WEEKS before they fine you.