Beginning again

[rad]

Hi all,

 

We sold our TT a few months back and are looking for a motor home that we can visit and do short stays in our National and State Parks throughout the USA. Length is just as big a concern as is the layout of the motor home.

 

What is a realistic general rule for the longest motor home you can actually park in a majority of the National and State Park camp sites? Such as Yellowstone or Yosemite. Just to name two we want to see.

 

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kirk W]

We were at 36' length by tape, even though the builder listed ours as a 35'. We had very few length problems in parks but there are campgrounds that aren't accessible. The same is true for state parks. If you stay under 30' it would be quite rare to have difficulty.

[rad]

Thank you Kirk,

[Al F]

From 2007 to 2010 we traveled full time in a 40' diesel pusher and stayed mostly in NP's, NF's, SP's, BLM areas, City & County parks. We did have to do some very careful driving and maneuvering to squeeze into some of the campsites. We usually would drive our toad into the area to be sure we could fit before taking the MH in. So it can be done in a large MH.

 

Now we are traveling in a 29' (30' by tape measure) Class A motorhome. We spent 7.5 months in it last year and will stay 8 months in it this year.

 

We do find it is much, much easier to find the "perfect" spot to camp with our shorter length. There are more campgounds we can get into. It is much easier to maneuver anywhere we go with our shorter length.

 

We do miss our larger more convenient space inside the MH with the extra storage and cargo carrying capacity.

 

Bottom line it is a trade off, extra space and convenience or ease of finding the "perfect" campsite.

 

It comes down to just what makes you happiest.

[Smitty77_7]

I've always felt a good compromise between length and space availability and navigation in tight parks, was the 36' range. Even though it hurts a bit on maneuverability, picking a 36' with the longer wheel base, vs one who a shorter wheel base by long rear tail overhang, would be preferable. Another compromise, is to stay with two slides on the Drivers side only.

 

Options vary, and for sure you will find a few parks that you would have fit into with say a 30-32' that the 36' would not...

 

And of course, you know that even parks that say max size of 30' or 32' - will usually have sites that you can fit into with a 36'. I've personally been in California State parks that had a max size of 34', very comfortably with our 40' coach. Most Rangers will let you take your toad to go scout out a location that you feel you can fit in, and get to thru the roadways. And as mentioned on other threads about length restrictions, Google research of a campground can also help you find a site that a rear overhang is not a problem, so say you find a 32' marked site while checking for reservations, if you can see not blockage of towards the rear, usually you can make that reservation and fit in without a problem.

 

Very few campgrounds come out with a tape measure and go bumper to bumper:)!

 

Best to you,

Smitty

[rad]

Experience is the best teacher and and I thank you for sharing that experience.

 

It seems under 30' is the safest bet with a drivers side wall slide for more living space. I think we will concentrate our search in the 30' to 34' range. Moderate space,Fairly easy handling and good camping site availability.

 

Now our next question will be purchasing a motor home that the manufacturer went out of business.

 

Thanks again,

 

Ranney

[LindaH]

 

Now our next question will be purchasing a motor home that the manufacturer went out of business.

 

This wouldn't be a concern for me.

 

Most manufacturers provide only a 1-year warranty, so any used rig you buy is likely to be beyond that, anyway. Appliance warranties are provided by their manufacturer, and may be beyond their warranty period in a used rig, also. Any competent RV service center can work on most, if not all, systems in an RV, so if, for example, your refrigerator stopped working, an RV service center could either repair or replace it.

[Wagner4745]

While length is very important in State, County, City, and Federal Parks, be sure you don't over look the availability of power, most Government Parks are primarily 30 amp service power. You need to be aware of where the dump station is at and how much waste volume you have in your rig. Some of these parks also have little space for toad parking and force you to park your toad in a general parking lot. In BLM Lands the length may not be your major concern but instead how much fresh water you have and what are the hours you can run your generator.

[rad]

Good points!

 

A stove, fridge or couch isn't a problem. They can be readily replaced.

 

We got lucky, i guess, on our TT we sold. Good on room and amenities. Had a few warranty issues that were taken care of. A/C worked well, so did the heat.

Never had a campground we couldn't fit in. Guess i need to find that TT on a Class A chassis or there abouts.

 

Seriously, thanks all. We are getting close on a decision. All this input helps.

 

Seems like a new or newer unit, still made with warranty and maybe a 30 amp unit like our TT. Doesn't need to be fancy to have fun and see the USA.

 

Thanks again

 

Ranney

[Al F]

Good points!

 

A stove, fridge or couch isn't a problem. They can be readily replaced.

 

We got lucky, i guess, on our TT we sold. Good on room and amenities. Had a few warranty issues that were taken care of. A/C worked well, so did the heat.

Never had a campground we couldn't fit in. Guess i need to find that TT on a Class A chassis or there abouts.

 

Seriously, thanks all. We are getting close on a decision. All this input helps.

 

Seems like a new or newer unit, still made with warranty and maybe a 30 amp unit like our TT. Doesn't need to be fancy to have fun and see the USA.

 

Thanks again

 

Ranney

 

Seems like a new or newer unit, still made with warranty and maybe a 30 amp unit like our TT. Doesn't need to be fancy to have fun and see the USA.

Watch out for those warranties that are for the original owner only. Dometic and Norcold fridges have that stipulation the last time I checked. That could be the same for the RV itself.

[Kirk W]

Seems like a new or newer unit, still made with warranty and maybe a 30 amp unit like our TT. Doesn't need to be fancy to have fun and see the USA.

The majority of RVs have only a 1 year warranty so transferring it isn't generally an issue. Some RV appliances do have more than a 1 year warranty but I have never had any warranty appliance work that I was asked if I was the original owner, so that probably won't be an issue either. One thing which you may want to consider doing if you are shopping a used RV is to consider selecting a good "extended warranty" contract to protect you from any major service issues on the chosen RV.

[bruce t]

Remember the RV is just a tool. You're are going RVing for a reason. That 'reason' will dictate much of your RV requirements. ie if you want to lol around in an RV resort for 6 months a year, go big. If you want to poke around up country roads and in small older state parks, go small. The rest is just compromises that we all encounter in our everyday life.

 

regards

[rad]

Good Points Again.

 

Kirk, We read your article on warrantees and service contracts. A Service Contract, IMHO, would work for a couple year old coach.

 

Still thinking 30' to 34'???? Maybe smaller to fit in where we would like to go. We want to see the National Parks, State Parks, small towns, travel a lot of secondary roads and see America.....ahh Canada too.

 

Not interested in a several month stays at this time. So it would be a good shorter unit....maybe even gas powered seems like a workable plan to start. More maneuverable and small park friendly.

 

We can always adjust the plan if plan needs adjusted.

 

Thanks for the input and help.

 

Ranney

[Kirk W]

The proper size RV is as much a personal thing as most other issues, other than parking it. We lived quite comfortably and happily for 12 years in a class A that was 36' long and had no slides. Many people, including some on these forums told us that we didn't have enough RV but for us it was just fine and we never regretted our choice. One important factor to consider is the size of those who travel in the RV. While the height of both people is important, the girth is even more so. One of the reasons that ours worked for us was the fact that we are both fairly small people. But attitudes and expectations are equally important.

 

You should both spend enough time inside of any RV you seriously consider to walk thorough the motions of all of your normal daily activities to see what happens. And you should do the things at the same time which you would be doing if staying in it for whatever time period you expect to use it. I have been told that Pam & I live in each-others pocket. I'm not sure I'd take it quite that far but we do tend to spend most of our time in the same room, even when at our home-base and not in the RV. How much togetherness is the right amount for you? That is the key to your proper choice.

[sandsys]

Dave is tall and I am wide. We did fine in a 35' motorhome because, like Pam & Kirk, we prefer to be close enough to share with one another those tidbits we find on our computers. It helps that Dave either keeps his music turned down low or puts on his headphones since I like quiet more than he does.

 

Linda Sand

[2gypsies]

We used our 40' motorhome for eight full-time years and we can honestly say that we didn't find the size an issue. Prior to that we had a 33' 5th wheel. We stayed in the same public parks with both. Public parks are always our first choice and we used them 90% of our time. We also boondocked on national forest and BLM lands driving on gravel roads to get to the scenic spots. We used national and state parks, national forest campgrounds, Corp of Engineer parks, county and city parks.

 

No, you won't fit in all the parks. Even a 30' won't fit in all the parks.

 

We fit in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Canyonlands,Big Bend, Rocky Mountain National Parksand more, plus many, many national forest campgrounds. We drove to Alaska and fit in the Canadian and Yukon Provincial Parks.

 

You mentioned Yellowstone - we stayed in Mammoth, Madison and Bridge Bay campgrounds. Other visits we stayed in national forest campgrounds just outside the west, north and east entrances. We didn't have reservations for any of them. We rarely made reservations for anything. Plus, many campgrounds don't even accept reservations. We'd get there early morning to secure a spot. For the reservation campgrounds we did the same and easily got a cancellation or no-show spot. You learn to research and not drive in late afternoon. You don't try for the big holidays. You secure a spot by Thursday and stay until Sunday or Monday.

 

For Grand Teton there are 600 non-reservable campsites in Gros Ventre (our favorite) and Colter Bay campgrounds in the parks. For Glacier we stayed in Apgar, non-reservable campground.

 

State parks are usually no problem and we found awesome city and county parks throughout the country. We've gone up and down the Oregon coast in three seasons and stayed in the state parks - without reservations. We've stayed in every Arizona state park.

 

The only state parks we didn't use were in California. However, there are plenty of other options in the same areas other than RV parks, mainly national forest campgrounds and county campgrounds.

 

Generally, the site sizes given in writing are the average sizes. There are always shorter ones and longer ones. We were volunteers at Rocky Mountain NP and one of our duties was to inspect each campsite and make a chart as to what the maximum size RV and vehicle would fit. They used that chart when assigning sites. It was amazing how many big sites were there and the rangers didn't even realize it.

 

We never had to park our towed vehicle in another spot. We don't need hookups and dump stations and water fills were no problem.

 

We always wonder why people think a big rig is so problematic. It's not.

[rad]

Thank you all for your input. All good points. You have to have space to actually live.

 

We are developing a checklist of must haves and that would be nice haves.

 

When we find it and purchase it we will post it.

 

Thanks again

 

Ranney

[rad]

Hi all,

 

Again thanks for the advice.

 

We decided on and bought a Georgie Boy Pursuit 3190DS for our first motorhome. 32 feet long with 2 slides. 14K miles and seems in very good to excellent mechanical condition. With very little camping equipment we stayed in a state park the same day we bought it, and everything worked the way it should. On the trip home it just went on down the road without any hick ups.

 

A fellow could get use to this lifestyle pretty quick. We have already been invited by a group of rv friends to go on some trips planned locally or within two days travel. Next years plans are a trip from Florida up the east coast and across to the Michigan UP back to Florida. Didn't buy it to look at.

 

Thank you again for the help and advice. Hopefully someday I can return the favor.

 

Ranney

[ekim]

I'm working on hard data on the national and state (no progress there yet) parks. I've created this web page with the info I have so far for national parks. It's not perfect, but it's a good start. At 32 feet you should fit in most places.

National Park Campground Information

[Al F]

Hi all,

 

Again thanks for the advice.

 

We decided on and bought a Georgie Boy Pursuit 3190DS for our first motorhome. 32 feet long with 2 slides. 14K miles and seems in very good to excellent mechanical condition. With very little camping equipment we stayed in a state park the same day we bought it, and everything worked the way it should. On the trip home it just went on down the road without any hick ups.

 

A fellow could get use to this lifestyle pretty quick. We have already been invited by a group of rv friends to go on some trips planned locally or within two days travel. Next years plans are a trip from Florida up the east coast and across to the Michigan UP back to Florida. Didn't buy it to look at.

 

Thank you again for the help and advice. Hopefully someday I can return the favor.

 

Ranney

With the length of your MH, you will fit with ease in campgrounds and campsites that 40 footers would have great difficulty squeezing into.

 

Here is a link to a website with great details of every NF campground in the US you can get an RV into. There are details on length of the campsites and many times ease of access.

[OLYLEN]

I am amazed at the newer 2 slide 30-32 foot class A's and the storage and overall layout. With a living area and a bedroom slide with even a King sized bed and full wardrobe with TV. With the living area chairs turned in makes for comfortable seating. Then a choice if one wants a dinette or couch. The outside storage is even good, With my 31" really 32" C we have yet to find a camp groung we would not fit, even the older forest service ones.

 

LEN