length

I think you will be limited by your TV. I have a 2015 GMC Denali, SRW, Diesel 3/4 ton and a 35' 5er. So, look at your owners manual and determine your weight ratings. I wouldn't want anything bigger than what I have. Where I notice the difference with a SRW is dips in the road where the trailer tends to rock forward and backward. So, in general, I'm thinking less than 36' probably ok, 36-39 pushing it, greater than 40' need a DRW. Of course, everything depends on the weight ratings of your specific truck and trailer.

A DRV 32TK3 was at the top of our 'possible' list. We wound up with the Alpenlite 34RLR, a very similar floorplan. Huge galley work area.

The LOA is a big issue if planning to do many SPs, NPs & BLMs. The commercial CGs will cram you in no matter the size. Our 34RLR is just under 36'LOA. We prefer the SPs & NPs so the rig was chosen with length in mind. We have been in some SPs that supposedly have a 30' limit. The policy is usually if you can fit, you can stay. Fit often means the back is hanging out in space past the designated site pad. No way to use stabilizers.

Much has to do with the skill of driver & director. If the DW is the one who sits in the passenger seat holding the itty bitty dog till the rig is parked or the driver does not take directions well, then possible sites are limited still further.

Going over that 35-36' mark the potential number of available sites drops rapidly.

Windwalker55 wrote:
If you like national forest and national park campgrounds, you will want to stay as short as possible.

I highly disagree with this. Our 40' motorhome and Jeep easily fit in any public parks we chose. Of course, you have to do research and there are plenty of ways to do it.

Even without reservations we have stayed in Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier, Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, and many, many others. National forest campgrounds with big sites are easy to find. We also used state parks, county parks and city parks. It CAN be done.

If you like national forest and national park campgrounds, you will want to stay as short as possible. We once had a 30' Hitchhiker but got rid of it and went to a 16 hybrid. It just suits our tastes much better because we seldom camp in RV parks but do a lot of forest service, national park, and state/local park camping. Much is dependent on what type of camping you want to do and how much you want to pull.

IMO, search carefully and long for a floorplan that works in the 25-30 foot range - compromise may be required. Otherwise, you'll most likely end up having to compromise in other ways: site selection. I have a short trailer, but my parents don't. There are several places I go that they can't, or more commonly, where I can stay in most any site but they're restricted to just a handful due to length.

I'm not very familiar with 5th wheel floorplans... If an east west bedroom takes up more space and runs perpendicular to the length of the trailer, then get the other sort and always drive east or west so that the bedroom runs east west. :)

The smaller you are, the more places you can park, particularly public campgrounds. What length is critical will depend on where you are. Width when parked is also important too, because not every place has been designed to accommodate multiple slideout configurations popular today.

Most of my RVing has been in the midwest farm belt and on the Great Plains, a mix of commercial RV parks, COE facilties, and state parks. In the commercial parks, and the "improved" campground in public parks, "big" here does not become an issue until over 32-36 feet, e.g. that size you will fit into almost any site, though you might have to park a tow vehicle elsewhere.

But there are other campgrounds in the same parks where a lot of the sites are sized for tent campers, and if you want to fit into one with a RV, the site selection is limited and something around 16-24 feet might be the limit for those.

I come from Michigan, still visit several times a year, not often RVing, but I do go to the state parks. Some of the state park campgrounds are suited to modern RVs, at least to 36 feet if you don't have too many slideouts to fit between the trees. Others are sized from the the 50s and 60s, when almost everyone was tenting or in Pups and RVs not only rare but generally small, under 22 foot. Larger RVs pack into these campgrounds, but they are packed wall to wall. A space that will handle a 36-45 footer with 3-4 slideouts will be scarce, most likely immediately reserved by someone who knows about it.

I can't tell you about the west coast or eastern part of the country. I've been across southern Colorado and to the red rock country of the Colorado Plateau, and my experience there was a lot like on the plains, up to 30-32 feet generally not a problem at commercial parks, maybe more than half the space in public campgrounds also big enough. Much larger than 36 feet you will be looking for a few specials sites (often roadside pullthroughs) made to handle bigger rigs.

We have a 35 foot 5th wheel with 3 slides and camp mostly in state parks and COE parks. Most state parks have online reservations with descriptions of the sites. Sometimes it's not the size of the site but issues with trees and narrow roads in the campgrounds that make it difficult to get in a site. If there is any doubt I will call the park directly and ask questions. Good luck!

Oh yes, we have 3 slides - slides are very important.

Increasing your length considerably will probably mean there are some CGs that can't accomodate you. Here in FL and in VA where I came from, many state parks have fewer spaces for larger rigs. I'm moving from my signature FW to a 38 footer (picking it up tomorrow) and I can think of many locations I've camped in before that will no longer work. On the other hand, I'd recommend getting the largest rig you can that will accomodate your living requirements, especially if you're full-timing.

We're just under 34' and haven't run into any issues with length. I think any longer could cause some problems.