Length and Campgrounds

Docid · Joined: 20 Mar 2006 Posts: 9 Location: Greeley, CO

I currently do not own an RV, but my wife and I are looking at buying a travel trailer. At this point, the ones that fit our needs are in the 30-33 ft range. I am worried that at that length, I won't be able to fit in many of the public campgrounds in my area. Does any one have any experience as to what is the max length that will fit into most campgrounds?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Alterego · Joined: 12 Jan 2006 Posts: 596

Docid

Motor31 · Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 6:44 am Post subject:

Our rig is in excess of 60' hooked up. We haven't had much of any problems with getting a space or in and out of a campground. A 30' - 33' trailer is going to be right in the middle of the "norm" right now. I really wouldn't sweat it too much unless you are going to camp in state and national forest parks.

Getting a campground guide is an excellent idea. Either Woodalls or Trailer Life would be good. Most of the campgrounds are in them. A description including what size spaces is usually included for each park listed. You can also get a supplemental book called Big Rig Camping Guide for those parks that cater to the larger sized rigs like ours.
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Docid · Joined: 20 Mar 2006 Posts: 9 Location: Greeley, CO

Thanks for the info! I have ordered the Trailer Life book, so hopefully I'll feel a little more confident.

Sam

Chuck · Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 94

We surveyed the readers of RV Travel with this question: "At what length RV will you begin having significant challenges fitting into most public campgrounds?" See how they responded:
http://www.rvtravel.com/rvtravel/rvres.aspx?id=192

Chuck Woodbury
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joe_canadian · Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 4

I have a 33-foot travel trailer, and I've been to hundreds of sites with no size difficulties. While my trailer fits easily into the medium-sized sites, I usually pay the extra couple of bucks per night for a large site, just to have extra space to let the dog out to run on the rope.

What will be most useful to you is practicing parking. Borrow or buy 4 fluorescent cones and take your rig out to a large empty parking lot to practice. Look at it this way: every time you run over those cones, you saved yourself about $500. Back into sites that are at 90 degrees from the direction you approach the site.

Good mirrors that stick way the heck out there are also important as they help you to see where you are backing into.

There are two types of sites: drive-through and back-in.

Drive-throughs are great because you can drive down the roads in the campground, and then turn right or left into your site with no backing up. You'll often find this kind of site in KOAs and other private parks. The downside of drive-throughs is that the sites are closer together on all 4 sides and if the ground is wet, you can easily get stuck.

Back-in sites have their benefits in that they are generally more private sites with trees or other barriers separating your from your neighbours. You'll often find these in Canadian Provincial Sites and other publically-operated sites in the USA.

I prefer back-in sites just because the sites are more private, more like camping, you have shade and nature around you, and I've found the sites are higher quality.

I have also discovered that many of the better sites are publically owned, but those sites often have power and water but no sewer drains on the campsites. You don't have to dump your black tank that often, but your grey water tank will need to be dumped often (daily). I like to be good to the environment so I filter my own grey water in a filter I made, and that permits me to dump my grey onto the ground.

One last thing that you have to consider if you have a 5000 lb-plus trailer is that load levelling and anti-sway hitches are highly recommended for driving safety and comfort. I mention this because when you have to turn tightly to back into a site, or even turn sharp to enter a drive-through site, most of the anti-sway or load-levelling hitches will complain or pop loose during the sharp turns. I have occasionally had to remove the sway bars to do a tight turn into a site.

All this said, each park/camp is different and you may find some near you are too small. Talk to other RVers in your area and discover which sites they like.

97PaceArrow · Joined: 02 Dec 2005 Posts: 16 Location: Colorado Springs CO

We have a 30-foot Class A and have had no problems with campground restrictions so far. We seem to be in the mid-range length.

w1613s · Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 10 Location: North Florida

We are addicted to visiting local, state, and national parks as well as Corps of Engineers sites with our 30' Class C. We have a Toyota Corolla toad. We have never had a problem with finding accommodations. The tow comes off; the C goes in. We park the tow.

About the camper who dumps grey water on the ground through a homemade filter. Surely I misunderstood that. Please tell me I did. I sure don't want to follow that camper into a spot. Besides the mud, what else was in that water? Bacteria? Viruses? Soap and very small chumks from washing the dishes? Leftovers in the sewer connector hose from emptying a black water tank? Gick! And if the site has soft ground, how much fun it would be to level your rig in the muck?

Please continue to be courteous and dump all tanks, grey and black, into the sewer/dump station. We carry a 32-gallon blue Tote-Along Tank with wheels that lets us get about 2 days of grey water (40 gallons) and 5 days for black water (40 gallons) before we have to empty. And the trip with it to the dump station isn't awful; we join a lot of other concerned, courteous folks with the blue tanks. So much for the soap box.
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thewbje · Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 38 Location: High Desert, CA

We have a thirty-two foot fifth wheel and do a lot of national park camping. Most of the campgrounds were built many years ago and were not designed for big rigs. What we do is park and walk through the campground to measure sites. You need to pace off your rig and determine how many feet you need to fit everything in. Pay close attention to slideout and awning clearances. Also trees or obstacles in your way while backing. If you do this, it will increase your confidence and make the set up easier.

barbnor2 · Joined: 26 Nov 2005 Posts: 36 Location: On the Road

[quote="joe_canadian"]I have a 33-foot travel trailer, and I've been to hundreds of sites with no size difficulties. While my trailer fits easily into the medium-sized sites, I usually pay the extra couple of bucks per night for a large site, just to have extra space to let the dog out to run on the rope.

That just leaves one less spot for the big RVs. One park that we use has lots of sites, but only a few that are big enough for a 40' motorcoach. What do we find when we get there but pop-ups, small trailers, etc. that would have fit into a lot smaller site. That means the big RVs don't have any place to park.

barbnor2 · Joined: 26 Nov 2005 Posts: 36 Location: On the Road

MovinSue · Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 24 Location: Cape Coral, FL

We have parked in public campgrounds for 6 years in Class A motorhomes ranging from 32-41 feet. We have often wondered "who" is measuring parking sites, as they are chronically listed as "smaller" than they really are. For example, we have easily fit a 41 ft, quad slide motorhome on a site designated for 35' max. When asked why sites are constantly underrated, rangers do not know. This has happened so many times that when we "know" the park, we "underreport" our true size to the reservation agent in order to secure a spot (be aware there is some risk to this practice).

Indeed, I have had very occasional trouble negotiating interior roads due to trees, rocks, etc. in a larger motorhome, and that is perhaps why some parks limit the size, rather than the actual motorhome length that can be accommodated on site.

One of the worst interior roads ever attempted was in a KOA in the northeast. And THEY did not state a limit on the RV size!

In my opinion, the "RV site size" question is best guided by your ability to drive and maneuver tight spaces, degree of conservatism, willingness to "dig" for information from reliable sources, as well as published advertising material.
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Sue

Docid · Joined: 20 Mar 2006 Posts: 9 Location: Greeley, CO

Thanks to everyone for your information. I appreciate all of it. Since my original post we have bought a 27.5 ft fifth-wheel, which in reality is about 32 feet long. We've had it out once so far and are planning another trip in 10 days. We are looking forward to many fun trips in our new RV!

Sam