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RV size limits


Living The Dream

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Hi,

My wife and I are recently retired and we are looking into buying an RV to travel across the US/Canada.  When the kids were young we owned several different tent trailers which we pulled behind our 1/2 ton Tundra crew cab and it worked GREAT!!! We love the outdoors and want to find another setup which fits our empty nester retired life style with a dog.  The new tow vehicle is TBD so its first a matter of finding the correct RV for our travels.   We are thinking about a 5th because it gives more space but we are concerned about the size and any limitations it might have on camp grounds.  Does any one know of a web link where someone has consolidated a length limits for State and National parks? or where to find this information?  Do most RVers camp outside these parks in RV parks?  We are new to this style of camping so we are learning.

Appreciate any guidance.... Ivan

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Welcome to the Escapee forums!

l have never heard of a source for the campsite information you seek and doubt one exists  it would be an impossible task since site sizes are no consistent within a state or federal agency and you would almost have to visit them all  to get accurate information. With some agencies improving sites while others fall into disrepair it would not be accurate for long. Unless you are thinking of a very large trailer, I would not be too concerned  In 14 years with a 36’ motorhome I only remember two occasions that it was too large  

 

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

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

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Campsites vary and you may find some that are not large enough. We have a 40 foot + 5th wheel and truck and 5th wheel are 56 feet long. We always call ahead and tell them we are 40 feet long with 4 slide outs.

Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky

SKP 100137. North Ridgeville, Ohio in the summer, sort of and where ever it is warm in the winter.

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Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!

If you use the Recreation.gov website for federal facilities the length of the site is often included in the information provided when you click on the site on the map. This website often provides site size information for National Forest Service Campgrounds. For state parks, Reserve America often has site size information for each site.

This is a post by forum member Zulu from another topic on the same subject
 

Quote

 

As an FYI, from research I did a few years back, about 1/2 the sites in both state and federal parks are at least 40'. However, CA and East Coast parks are on average smaller.

State Park Stats

Federal Park Stats

 

Again, Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!

The one that dies with the most toys is still dead!

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Welcome to the Escapees forum.  Congrats on your first post.

I’m not aware of any consolidated lists but this forum is chock full of threads discussing what you are interested in.  I recommend searching through here and do some reading to start firming up your plan.

5th wheels come in a tremendous variety of sizes.  There’s some so small they can be towed with a half-ton pick-up and fit in virtually any park anywhere.  These rigs can be somewhat spartan but if that’s your thing then you’ve got options.  If you want more livability then there are lots of possibilities, just write a bigger check, get a bigger truck and know that you'll probably be too tall or too long for some camping facilities.  For instance; in Big Bend NP, the campground in the Chisos Basin is limited to trailers no longer than 20’.  It is not so much that the campground is small, although it is, but the road up the mountain to the campground has a couple of hairpin turns that are very problematic for longer rigs.  The same is true for Black Rock Mountain in north Georgia.  Still, that leaves thousands of campgrounds all across this country that can handle much larger rigs.  You may not get as far off the beaten path as you would like, but you can sure get close.

2012 New Horizons Majestic | 2022 F-550 W/Classy Chassis Hauler Bed

Full Time Class of 2012 | Escapee #98787

BLOG: www.CuRVWander.blogspot.com

 

 

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One of the search criteria for sites at parks that use the ReserveAmerica.com or Recreation.gov reservation systems is the length of your RV. The system will not show shorter listed sites as available. Sometimes the length limits are due to the road access to a site rather than the actual site length itself. I did "shrink" our coach to get a site at one park where I knew the sites and access road had been rebuilt recently, and the RA listings had not been updated with the new sizes.

Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F-53 Chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/brake system

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I have a Ram 3500 Dually with 32ft 5th wheel.  We are rookies, first year with this rig.  We have traveled from Norf Dakoota to Indiana and have yet to find a place we could not go.  A couple tight places but care/patience got us into every site we used.  I bought my truck first, knowing it was overkill for the size campers we were eyeballin but, we plan on getting a larger RV-toyhauler in next couple years.  I figured, go big so I would not have to get another truck later.  Big(er) depends on who you talk to.  Some folks drive retired tractors, I drove one for a living, don't plan on getting an RV big enough to justify that.  Anywayz, unless you plan to stay in small RVs, I would not hesitate to pick up a one ton dually, your brand of choice.  Better braking, much better overall control/stability on the road.

Wanna throw a monkey wrench into the mix?  How new a camper?  Newer ones are designed to be more friendly with short bed trucks.  Older campers aren't and short turns will blow out rear truck windows.  Reg. cab, club cab or mega cab, short bed, long bed, then depending on truck/camper, type of hitch?  Alot to think about, not trying to be a downer or smarty.  If driving big vehicles does not bother your, a 30 foot or ?, class A and maybe tow a small vehicle for running around in?

 

IMHO guys, not knocking what ya'll have.

2002 Fifth Avenue RV (RIP) 2015 Ram 3500 Mega-cab DRW(38k miles), 6.7L Cummins Diesel, A668RFE, 3.73, 14,000 GVWR, 5,630 Payload, 27,300 GCWR, 18,460 Max Trailer Weight Rating(For Sale) , living in the frigid north, ND.

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On 7/28/2018 at 10:36 AM, TCW said:

Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!

If you use the Recreation.gov website for federal facilities the length of the site is often included in the information provided when you click on the site on the map. This website often provides site size information for National Forest Service Campgrounds. For state parks, Reserve America often has site size information for each site.

This is a post by forum member Zulu from another topic on the same subject
 

Again, Welcome to the Escapees Forum!!

Thanks EVERYONE for your GREAT input and insight for a newbie...

After checking out all the suggested websites and your comments.  Our current thought is leaning towards a 32'  5th wheel which seems to be a good compromise in size, weight, ease of maneuverability, access to campsites and overall cost.  

Now its time to figure out which brands and models.  Looking for something to get the most bang for the buck on quality and features.  Most likely we will go with a used setup.

Thanks again,  Ivan

 

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9 hours ago, Living The Dream said:

Now its time to figure out which brands and models. 

Just keep in mind that it costs more to build a quality RV than it does to put together a cheap RV with lots of gaudy looks to hide the poor construction. Do not be fooled by what looks impressive on the surface but has a low price. The best quality RVs not only cost more but they also weigh more.

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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Got rid of our 36’ Foretravel as it was to big to go many places we wanted to go. Always calling ahead to see if we'd fit, or if there was space available just wasn’t for us.

Dave W. KE5GOH

Stuck in the 70's ---

In E. Texas

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4 hours ago, Kirk Wood said:

Just keep in mind that it costs more to build a quality RV than it does to put together a cheap RV with lots of gaudy looks to hide the poor construction. Do not be fooled by what looks impressive on the surface but has a low price. The best quality RVs not only cost more but they also weigh more.

Very good point!!  I guess this is the next natural progression in our search for a 5th wheel....which one to purchase?  I am an engineer by trade so construction quality is very important to me because it generally means less maintenance cost for the life of the trailer.  I will start a different discussion thread(or search existing discussions)  to see if people can recommend a few quality builders.  Thanks.

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As far as I know these are the ONLY people that have measured each spur in a Forest Service campground. AND that includes the Forest Service!

https://www.forestcamping.com

I had a 30 foot 5th wheel and parked it in Arizona. Your mileage may vary with a 32 footer. It really depends on where you want to go....and it my case it was everywhere. Like you, I had tent trailers before retirement and hauled them everywhere. The 5th wheel was just to large to haul to those areas that I was interested in going.

BUT, here are some tips on how to get around with that 32 foot 5th wheel on Forest Service managed lands.

http://usbackroads.blogspot.com/2010/05/how-to-find-boondock-locations-part-2.html

 

Vladimr Steblina

Retired Forester...exploring the public lands.

usbackroads.blogspot.com

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We traveled full time with a 36 foot HitchHiker fiver and then a 36foot Challenger, that was so poorly made but sure looked good. We towed them with our Dodge Ram Cummins diesel 1 ton dually long bed. We full timed for seven years, then came off the road in 2003 to care for our last aging parents. We bought a 28 foot 2003 Sunnybrook for weekends and didn't use it much so we sold it. I always wanted to try a Scamp 19 foot fifth wheel so we did. We bought the truck first, a 2500 Ram/Cummins. I had a devil of a time finding a long bed last time we bought a few years ago. I tried a Ram short bed for five months and couldn't stand the bouncy stiff ride when using it as a daily driver. So we finally found another long bed Ram diesel. For RVing we found a long bed indispensable. And I have no problem parking in the back of parking lots too small for a 23.5 foot truck.

Your 32' is a good size. As to selection, I use the RV Consumer Group rating books. They can't help you pick the perfect fiver for you, but you can see which ones to avoid, and that makes it easier. Go here:  https://rv.org/

Welcome to the forums!

RV/Derek
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Retired AF 1971-1998


When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius

 

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