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Happy campers they're not.

In past years, visitors with park-model campers were free to stay at campgrounds throughout New Jersey for as long as they wanted.

But this year the state is limiting those stays to six months, saying safety issues make it necessary. Owners of the small, 400-square foot mobile homes reject the state's concerns, and say the new regulation is arbitrary.

Chris Donnelly, the spokesman for the Department of Consumer Affairs, told thepressofatlanticcity.com in an e-mail that the restrictions involved safety codes for electrical systems.

"The electrical system of park models is intended for ‘seasonal use' only," he said. "The electric code, however, does not specify what seasonal use is. Therefore, the department has defined six months as seasonal us," according to the article.

But the president of the New Jersey Campground Owners Association, based in Middle Township, rejected the state's reasoning.

"They've convinced the state Legislature this is a health and safety issue when this has never been a problem," Jay Otto, the president of the group, told the Press. "They perceived this danger that doesn't exist," he said.

– ELIZABETH BIRGE, NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM