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Is 43' Class A too long for parks?


EW Simp

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We are looking at Class As.  I have not had a Class A before and thought I would reach out to Full Timers that have them.

-  Do any of you have 40'or 43' and have found that you have issues with getting into areas around the US?  

-  Do you find that you are forced to stay in more expensive parks because of your length?

-  Also, do you drive them weekly or monthly. I know motorhomes are meant for driving so how much sitting do you let yours do or should I say have much sitting is bad for them?  

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I am a full timer so having a 42 ft is good for me. Only have had a few places that could not accommodate me. Mostly older places. Most have upgraded and can fit a big rig. The main issue is 50 vs 30 amp. Many places only have 30 and most big rigs use 50 but can get away with 30 for a short time. Also many parks can fit a big rig but you may have a hard time maneuvering around due to trees and posts in the way. Many state parks have narrow roads that a big rig can't get thru. I have even been to some parks that have a tree on both sides of the site and it is a challenge backing in not to mention room for the slides to go out.

2015 Itasca Ellipse 42QD

2017 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Hard Rock Edition

2021 Harley Street Glide Special 

Fulltimer

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Welcome to the Forum and to future full-timing!

We used a 40' for 8 of our full-timing years. Public parks were our first priority and I'd say we staying in them 95% of our time with absolutely no issues.  You do have to do your research first but once we got there we always fit.  We used national parks, state parks, Corp of Engineers, national forest campgrounds, county and city parks. We also boondocked a lot on BLM or forest lands.  We rarely made reservations except if we had to be at a place a definite time/place to visit family, etc.  We even spent a full summer traveling to Alaska with no reservations and staying in our kinds of parks or boondocking.  We fit in Yellowstone, Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Big Bend and others.  We fit in state parks along the Oregon coast and many, many other states.  Having 30A or no electric at all didn't matter to us.  We had solar and we 'tried' not to be in extreme temperatures.  We don't stay in expensive RV parks. We have a national Senior Pass which gives us very reasonable stays in public parks.

You also asked if we move often or not.  .  . a little of both for us.  During the winter we tended to stay put in an Escapee park most of the time for 4-5 months. We also volunteered for national and state parks occasionally so we'd stay in one spot for 2 months or so. It certainly doesn't hurt a motorhome is sit without use. Thousands do it for a season and many leave their in storage a season.  What does hurt them is starting them up and letting them run a short time without taking it out on the road to exercise it.  If you don't want to drive it occasionally, it's best just to let it sit without running it.

Full-timed for 16 Years
Traveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome
and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

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11 hours ago, EW Simp said:

-  Also, do you drive them weekly or monthly. I know motorhomes are meant for driving so how much sitting do you let yours do or should I say have much sitting is bad for them?  

We lived fulltime in a motorhome for 12 years, spending much of our time as live-on volunteers for periods of from one to three months at a stop. Our engine manufacturer recommended that we not start the engine unless we would be driving it for at least 20 minutes and never start it to just let it sit still and idle. The also recommended treating the fule at any stop for more than 1 month and always stoppng with a full fuel tank. We followed those recommendations and never had one problem from our engine. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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Since you are looking at 40+ ft, you will be looking at a diesel.  All of the engine manufacturers will tell you DO NOT START unless you are going to run at highway speeds (or there abouts) for a minimum of 20 minutes or more, as Kirk said above.    And yes, you will run into people who will swear that you have to start the engines and run them - remember, they won't pay for the engine repair if you disregard the manufacturers instructions, you will.

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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With three saying the same thing I think I understand :) I should only start the rig to drive it.  That is great advice. And a full tank is totally logical but I bet that gets forgotten a lot after a long days drive.

Thanks Kirk and Barb!

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You will quickly find a rhythm that works for you, but the  middle of the afternoon is the best time to fill up (less trucks at the truck stop) so we time our fillups with that thought in mind.  That way you can leave in the morning (which ever morning that is be it the next one or 3 months away) without having to stop and get diesel as you hit the road.  We always fill when reaching 1/2 tank - so about 400 miles.  By making our target 1/2 of a tank, we always know that we have sufficient fuel on board to go down the road if necessary.

Barb

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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We fulltime in a 40-foot motorhome and life would be a lot simpler if it were shorter.  Just this weekend, I was looking at an RV park and there was no availability for something 40 feet long, but sites were available for 35 feet.

It's easier (thought not "easy") in the more wide open western states.  But New England is difficult at best with a very long RV. 

If you need the extra length, then you'll make it work for you.  But if you don't need it, life will be easier with a shorter RV.

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For examples, go online and look at RV park reservations, they usually list lengths of sites. We've had our 40' MH for 4 years, when I fill in the length block, if I enter 42' I get very few sites, when I enter 40' I get  many more sites. That's the extent of my testing site lengths. When not making reservations, I just use the Good Sam travel guide, of course the Escapees CG guide does the same thing for their book.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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We have a 40 ft DP with a single rear axle. As soon as you go over 40 ft you go to a tag axle. Tags, unless you really need them add a lot of weight as well as using up precious cargo space. Something to think about.

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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We're still pretty much rookies compared to other posters on this thread, but really enjoy being so:)! We have a 40' with tag.

IMO, if going to 40', jump to 42-43'. Why?

-More interior living space

-You regain some of the lost basement storage by usually jumping to a tag coach

-While a 40' coach will fit in ~90% of the spaces as a 36' coach. A 42-43' coach will usually fit in 91% of the spaces a 36' coach will. (Note: Many a time I've pulled up to a park and and been given permission to drive thru with our toad looking for a site. I've found so many times that I can not count them now, where I fit into a site that was designated as under 36'. 

-I'll also share that one of the reasons we can 'get into' some of these smaller designated sites is due to having a tag. Yes the do add weight, they do add an extra two tires every 7 years, the do consume 1/2 basement of storage, they also look 'cool', they also provide one extra pair of brakes, they also provide substantial higher CCC (Our coach has 11K pounds plus of CCC.) --- But also most important to me then the above... The drive wheels of most tag coaches are set forward more then equivalent sized non tag coaches. And this equates into very nimble supporting turning radius's. Our 40' coach with tag and IFS, turns in a tighter turning radius then our previous F53 base T28 Bounder. Yes, you do need to watch the rear end swing carefully. But I've maneuvered our coach into place that would have had me sweating in our Bounder.

----

So your decision point for a coach is if it is worth being smaller and filing into a few more camp spaces then you can with a larger coach. And living within the smaller living space, basement cargo space, and lower CCC then a tag unit - for the way less then 5% of the time you may need to move on down the road to a different park or campground. (Toss in usually smaller Grey/Black/Water/LP and Fuel tanks of a smaller coach into that decision process too...).

And for sure no 'Right or wrong!'. What is important to you is what matters... 

Good luck to you,

Smitty

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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Thanks Smitty.  All your comments go with many of my thoughts.  And if we go with a Class A we will have the tag axle.  It is good to hear that you get into parks easily enough.  I guess you just try for parks with out calling ahead.  How often do you find that you are not getting a spot because the park is all full?  

One of the main reasons I am looking at class a over 5er is the CCC.  And the 43' is amazing compared to the 40'ers and looking at layouts I don't see any that are smaller that feel as homey.  Thanks again.

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As far as not getting a spot because a park maybe full - well, that is one heck of a variable:)!

Peak travel times in popular locations, can be difficult for traveler. So if we know we'll be needing a spot in popular areas, or say on holidays, we usually make a reservation in advance. (This can be 3-5 months out for some of the really hard to get into to places.

No peak travel times, or non popular destination locations - you're usually going to be fine if you can get off the road by around 2:00PM or so. Later the day, some parks will fill up. So kind of judge where you're headed, figure out where you want to stop, and call to see if they recommend a reservation... (Some do as policy, always say Yes... But many will tell you not a problem, head on in...)

And some older parks, with limited longer sites - yep, it's best to make a reservation. 

(As an aside, I always chuckle when I go to a park with limited longer spaces, and see those precious larger sites holding a car and someone set up with tent. Or say a tear drop trailer... Many or maybe better to say most, city, county, state and national parks only limit and monitor the usage of Handicap Sites. I joke with my wife that RV'er's get discriminated against as some areas are marked for Campers only... And yet many of the same parks allowed campers to come use the RV related sites. (They're popular due to water and electricity, and ample parking. Just saw this at Trailer Village, where a small car came in and had a small tent for 4-5 days.) And I suppose that is just the way it is... I do notice some private parks try to reserve the larger sites for full size rigs. But if a person is willing to pay for say a pull thru site - that's good business for the parks... Mini observation is now over:)!)

I know from reading this, and other boards for many years. Many people never make reservations, or if the do, on rare occasions. They seem to have developed a flow that results in always finding a place. Maybe not their first place they try, but they just move on until the do find one, or Boon dock along the way if needed.

This is something where I think everyone shares info, but then also comes up with what they feel works best for them.

Best of luck to you on your hunt,

Smitty

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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We have a 40'. If you want to stay in commercial parks, a 42-43 is fine. If you want to stay in state and national parks I absolutely would not go over 40'. Even a 40-footer is limiting, but we fulltime with too much stuff so that's as small as we can go right now. I strongly wish we could fit in a 35'. Not gainsaying the others, just offering my perspective. 

1994 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WB40

Full-timers since 2016, domiciled in Crestview, Florida

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15 hours ago, Gannet said:

We have a 40'. If you want to stay in commercial parks, a 42-43 is fine. If you want to stay in state and national parks I absolutely would not go over 40'. Even a 40-footer is limiting, but we fulltime with too much stuff so that's as small as we can go right now. I strongly wish we could fit in a 35'. Not gainsaying the others, just offering my perspective. 

I think 35' is the sweet spot for big coaches when it comes to fitting into spaces.  I'd have one even smaller than that (like 29') if I could, but my experience is that even 35' would make my life easier.

We're 40 feet plus a sports car toad, and maybe it's just the places we happen to go, but there have been plenty of times the moho fit okay, but we had to cleverly wedge the car in front of it in order to keep the wheels off the grass and the rest of it not sticking into the street.  If we'd had a bigger car, no way would we have fit.  And some of these were spaces that were designated for 40 feet. 

It's possible to find a place that says there's a 35-foot limit but you want to take your 42-foot coach, and you go over there and scout it and find out it's okay.  And some people are okay with that effort, but you have to admit that it is an effort that wouldn't be there if you had a 35-foot coach in that situation.

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1 hour ago, EW Simp said:

Gannet and Blues, 

Do you happen to have tag axles or no?  

I agree that a 35 or 37' might be better but there just doesn't seem to be much storage for clothes or kitchen in them.

No tag axle, although that wouldn't help with physically fitting into a space, which is my major problem with a big RV with a toad.

If you need to go bigger to get the storage you need, then you don't have much choice other than to go bigger.  But realize that it will be harder than if you have a smaller RV.

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16 hours ago, EW Simp said:

Gannet and Blues, 

Do you happen to have tag axles or no?  

I agree that a 35 or 37' might be better but there just doesn't seem to be much storage for clothes or kitchen in them.

Yes, we have a tag. A 40' without a tag is likely to have a very poor load capacity. 

1994 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WB40

Full-timers since 2016, domiciled in Crestview, Florida

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