Rv park admittance

[John and Ang]

 Having been a commercial driver for over 30 years and just recently retiring I have bought an HDT to tow my 5er . We are heading out for a mainly in the 11 western stares journey and I was wondering what kind of acceptance you generaly get from rv parks ?  
      Our tractor is 24 ft long and our trailer is 39 ft . With kingpin being 2 ft in from rear of tractor it gives us a total length of about 61 ft , which I think I can get into anywhere that a long bed dually can .

[spindrift]

If you haven't already done so, mosey on over to the Resource Guide where you'll find a listing of HDT friendly campgrounds. In addition, there are BLM guides for camping/boondocking on Federal lands...if you're up for that kinda' thing.

 

[John and Ang]

6 minutes ago, spindrift said:

If you haven't already done so, mosey on over to the Resource Guide where you'll find a listing of HDT friendly campgrounds. In addition, there are BLM guides for camping/boondocking on Federal lands...if you're up for that kinda' thing.

 

 

[John and Ang]

 Thank you my friend . I have found that , however I made previous reservations thinking I would be driving my dually at the time . So for the 3 or 4 parks we have reserved I am thinking about showing up without calling ahead and telling them I now have an HDT . Sometimes it can be better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission as for the topic of a semi tractor can intimidate some people un necessarily .

[jkoenig24]

Many state & national parks were built decades ago when "big" RVs didn't exist. VERY few have been updated to accommodate new, longer RVs. It's not unusual for there to be private campgrounds / RV parks fairly close to state & national parks where they can often handle today's longer rigs. As spindrift recommends, start with the HDT Resource Guide. There are also lots of apps that offer a wealth of information (one of my favorites is AllStays Camp & RV)

Edited December 26, 2022 by jkoenig24
spelling

[rickeieio]

First of all, WELCOME!!!  Where are y'all from?  What kinda truck do you have?  Pics?

We've never been turned away because of our choice of toter truck.  But, in the past few months, we've twice been asked for pictures of our rig, because of it's age.

So, in addition to what spindrift advised, use google maps to measure sites and get a feel for the turns in the parks.  By right clicking your mouse on google maps, you can measure sites.  Don't rely on the person on the phone to say they can handle any rig, or that their sites are 80'. 

As mentioned by John above, parks in the east are older and tighter.  At 71' overall, we've had little trouble finding large sites in the western states.

[Darryl&Rita]

12 years of travelling, west of the Mississippi, been refused once.

[GlennWest]

I have been turned down once for the HDT. Have been turned down several for having two vehicles plus the truck. Lots of sites just don't have room for us. 

[Chad Heiser]

I have never been turned away from a park in 10+ years of HDT RVing.  My HDT has a skirted bed on it and is singled short, so it is obvious it isn’t used commercially when you look at it.
 

 I also don’t volunteer that I tow with an HDT unless I am specifically asked.  Usually the only question I get asked when making a reservation over the phone is what my rig’s overall length is.  I give this information freely and only mention the HDT if they question me further about the rig.  I have had no issues to date west of the Mississippi doing this.

[Jaydrvr]

I agree with Chad that it's unnecessary to volunteer the details about your HDT. As far as anyone needs to know, you still actually have a dually. I would continue to just go with that. Jay

[NeverEasy]

I am with Chad, too.  I might add that I am towing with a 26 ft class A motorhome.  

Only been turned down once.  Elkhart Co. / Middlebury KOA Holiday.  The manager came out and told us we could not enter the park.  Had trouble with HDTs in the past.

 

 

[rickeieio]

Chet, we stayed at that park twice in the past three years, towing with the Volvo.  No issues.

[richardbetsey]

This is probably a dumb question. I cannot find any link to access the Resource Guide. Where do I find it.?

[Darryl&Rita]

23 minutes ago, richardbetsey said:

This is probably a dumb question. I cannot find any link to access the Resource Guide. Where do I find it.?

At the top of the HDT section, there's a bunch of pinned topics. The Resource Guide is among them.

[rickeieio]

Sixth item from the top.

[Jaydrvr]

https://www.hhrvresource.com/

[Star Dreamer]

We were turned down over the phone at an RV park in Brownsburg TX. This has been the only one in over 10 years of using the HDT. We did have one park in Indiana that asked us to move the truck to their overflow area as there seasonal guests complained they didn't like the look of it! 

We have found many State Parks we can fit into and we are 73' long. We will be at one in a couple weeks in Florida. There may only be a few sites that can fit us, so early booking is best!

[aknavy]

City/county parks in the Miami area have RV campsites, and two of them said the HDT couldn't stay on property because it wouldn't fit in the site and they had no overflow parking, and I couldn't park in the "park" parking lots. 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

40 minutes ago, aknavy said:

City/county parks in the Miami area have RV campsites, and two of them said the HDT couldn't stay on property because it wouldn't fit in the site and they had no overflow parking, and I couldn't park in the "park" parking lots. 

We have stayed in one park in Miami with another couple and both had out HDT's towing 40+ trailers. Everything, including the smart cars, fit on the site but getting into the park around the other vehicles parking on the side of the road was a bit of a challenge.

[GruntPilot47]

I don't like suprises at the end of a travel day, so we always tell them we are 43' 5th wheel with 4 slides. We tow it with a converted Volvo tractor titled as a motorhome with our smart car on the back. Overall 65' long when towing. If truck doesn't fit at site, we are happy to park it in overflow. We have only been told no when they just don't have any long sites available or a place to park the truck (rare). I'd rather find that out before I get there. On RV trip Wizard and others, RV park websites will usually tell you if big rig friendly. That's the first rhing we look for in the description.

Corps of Engineers are possibly the best when it comes to extra long (75-100' concrete), extra wide (minimum 50' between sites and often more and almost always on a beautiful recreational waterway. Usually under $30 bucks with 50% off for the Senior pass or 100% disabled. We have stayed and are going back to Waco this year (maybe this time my wife might get to see Chip & Joanna). We will again stay at CoE campground on Lake Waco. Pull thru 75' long, throw a stone in the lake from our doorway, all for well  under $20/night, full hookups. We also find many state, county (especially fairgrounds) and city parks that we can fit in. Just gotta due your due diligence.

[jenandjon]

We were denied one time. Some little podunk campground in the middle of Illinois. I didn't really want to stay there anyway it was just going to be convenient. 

[spindrift]

20 hours ago, GruntPilot47 said:

I don't like suprises at the end of a travel day, so we always tell them we are 43' 5th wheel with 4 slides. We tow it with a converted Volvo tractor titled as a motorhome with our smart car on the back. Overall 65' long when towing. If truck doesn't fit at site, we are happy to park it in overflow. We have only been told no when they just don't have any long sites available or a place to park the truck (rare). I'd rather find that out before I get there. On RV trip Wizard and others, RV park websites will usually tell you if big rig friendly. That's the first rhing we look for in the description.

Corps of Engineers are possibly the best when it comes to extra long (75-100' concrete), extra wide (minimum 50' between sites and often more and almost always on a beautiful recreational waterway. Usually under $30 bucks with 50% off for the Senior pass or 100% disabled. We have stayed and are going back to Waco this year (maybe this time my wife might get to see Chip & Joanna). We will again stay at CoE campground on Lake Waco. Pull thru 75' long, throw a stone in the lake from our doorway, all for well  under $20/night, full hookups. We also find many state, county (especially fairgrounds) and city parks that we can fit in. Just gotta due your due diligence.

GP...we've wanted to visit Waco Lake for awhile.  Is there a particular COE campground that you would recommend?

[rickeieio]

52 minutes ago, spindrift said:

GP...we've wanted to visit Waco Lake for awhile.  Is there a particular COE campground that you would recommend?

Tom, I believe Dan and Freda stayed there for a while.  Give them a shout.

[spindrift]

6 minutes ago, rickeieio said:

Tom, I believe Dan and Freda stayed there for a while.  Give them a shout.

Thank you, sir.  Will do.

I'm going to give that Rose of Sharon a go this weekend.  

[rickeieio]

Lest anyone think "spindrift" is being kinky, (and of course he is), "Rose of Sharon" is a cigar brand we both bought in a cigar shop a few days ago.  It was delightful.