Hello,We are considering a 45ft 5th wheel. North Point 382flrb, 44ft long, 13.2 height. We are also considering a Solitude 378(40 ft long, 13.5 height). Love the North Point but Solitude is 40ft and a great unit as well. Would we be too restricted with the 45ft in particular? Is height a big concerned with these? I have had 32 ft Class Cs and 32 ft Travel trailers but not a 5th wheel yet. We will use it 5 months out of the year during the summer to travel from Arizona along Oregon coast, Washington, Tetons, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier and Banff. We have traveled this route with a Class C and 32FT TT but not a 5th wheel. We love to stay at state parks (Oregon) and National Parks but use private campsites occasionally (Glacier) when they are near parks or beach. We move sites every 10 days or so.When driving to destinations, we like to stay hooked up as we spent just the nights at campsites. It helps not to connect and disconnect too much when just passing thru. MC

I have a 39ft toy hauler 5th wheel hitched. I find the height (13ft 4in) to be the limiting factor more than the length of the rig. It is 56ft overall length but the trailer axles are in the traditional RV teeter totter location - I have got out and looked and been able to back the rear of the trailer over a curb and get into a short spot from time to time.

You will love pulling a 5th wheel over a bumper pull trailer. I would think you would have very limited options at National Parks.

Length related, interior park roads may be more limiting than site length. Depends greatly on where you like to camp, National and State Forests and parks generally have shorter sites with narrower roads with lower over hanging limbs.

45’ will limit you a bit in some Oregon Costal parks, that is a lot of trailer. During the summer the costal parks are reserved full most of the summer. You would need to get early reservations to get the long spots.

Yes, I think that NP options would be limited. I usually find campgrounds near by. We love Yosemite and we have stayed inside the park before. I just don't know what campground options are nearby for a 45ft 5th wheel.If memory serves me well, most NP we have been to, either have a few spaces or other private campsites around them. I am just wondering what experiences people have had moving around with a 45ft 5th wheel. We won't be staying put for more than a week to 10 days. I plan ahead but these days you can easily end up in a 2-3 day stay given availability. Any issues dry camping on National Forest with 45ft? We won't be going much further than a mile off the roads MC

45ft, would I be too limited? | Good Sam Community

34 Replies

laknox
Nomad
Nov 12, 2021
speediq99 wrote:
It is mostly about kids and grandkids.
They like to join us when we travel in the summer. We also have a couple of goldens and the extra space comes in handy. A floorplan with a office/bedroom, an open kitchen/living room area, master with a decent bathroom, space for washer/dryer, decent storage and 2 extra pullout beds is hard to come by under 40ft. Bunks don't usually work well, too small.

A 45ft is probably not a good idea given how we travel and the limitations. We Will most likely order a unit at or below 40ft.

Thank you for all the feedback. All of it gave us something to think about.

Look at a toy hauler with an enclosed garage, then. LOTS of space in the garage and, if you get the right one, a half-bath in the rear. You can let the gate down as a patio or just seal it up. I've seen pics of a couple rigs where the owner added steps to the rear and cut a man-door into the ramp, as the garage was their office.

Lyle
laknox
Nomad
Nov 12, 2021
JIMNLIN wrote:
Its rare a state will check a rv combo length but my state has a 65' max combination length truck-trailer) and a 40' rv trailer total length including the hitch.
I see long bus type MHs pulling long bumper pull enclosed trailers that look to be over 30' long.
Other states you travel through may have similar length limits.

FYsI (For y'all's info): AZ's length limit is 65' from the front bumper to the center of the rearmost axle. You are allowed a 10' "overhang" from the center of the rearmost axle to the rearmost point of the tow, for an OAL of 75', without a permit. (Think of a large boat with outdrives; that can easily be 10'.) As I said in my Rocky Point post earlier, I saw some double-tows that =had= to be close t0 80' OAL, yesterday, and more than one.

Lyle
rhagfo
Explorer III
Nov 11, 2021
Veebyes wrote:
fj12ryder wrote:
Veebyes wrote:
Well of course the length matters. Most private CGs, with their FHU pull throughs will accommodate the really big units but SPs, NPs, CPs my not. Some of them say flat out NOTHING OVER 30'. Most are flexible & have a few sites that can handle maybe a 35 but if SPs etc are your preference & you enjoy the space between sites & general beauty that these parks provide, you might reconsider buying a monster.

What does the monster give that a smaller mid to lower 30'er does not besides floorspace. Both have the same appliances, the same furniture etc. The biggies will have more storage & a bigger TV. The sacrifice of the ability to go places is a big loss for the gain of little.

JMO.
What does it matter why they want what they want? They aren't forcing you to do it? They just want opinions on how easy it will be to get/find sites. Their preferences are their business, not yours. If the monster pushes all their buttons, so be it.

I'd feel claustrophobic in something as small as 30', but that's me and I don't criticize other's choices. Dif'rent strokes for dif'rent folks.

The OP came on & asked for opinions. He got them. Some of them sugar coated. Some not.

Ultimately he will get what he wants. His money. If he finds that he has gone too large, his consequences.

We bought somebody's mistake. They had not thought things through before buying. Not a size issue. It was a lifestyle issue. They had not even rented to try RVing out before putting down well over $100,000.00 a truck & trailer in 2006 then desperately wanting out of it in less than six months. Lifestyle not for them at all.

VeeBees, we see this too often new retirees that never RVed in their lives, getting a BIG fiver and maybe enough truck to pull it. I have seen new rigs torn up because they have only driven a compact car previously.
Veebyes
Explorer II
Nov 11, 2021
fj12ryder wrote:
Veebyes wrote:
Well of course the length matters. Most private CGs, with their FHU pull throughs will accommodate the really big units but SPs, NPs, CPs my not. Some of them say flat out NOTHING OVER 30'. Most are flexible & have a few sites that can handle maybe a 35 but if SPs etc are your preference & you enjoy the space between sites & general beauty that these parks provide, you might reconsider buying a monster.

What does the monster give that a smaller mid to lower 30'er does not besides floorspace. Both have the same appliances, the same furniture etc. The biggies will have more storage & a bigger TV. The sacrifice of the ability to go places is a big loss for the gain of little.

JMO.
What does it matter why they want what they want? They aren't forcing you to do it? They just want opinions on how easy it will be to get/find sites. Their preferences are their business, not yours. If the monster pushes all their buttons, so be it.

I'd feel claustrophobic in something as small as 30', but that's me and I don't criticize other's choices. Dif'rent strokes for dif'rent folks.

The OP came on & asked for opinions. He got them. Some of them sugar coated. Some not.

Ultimately he will get what he wants. His money. If he finds that he has gone too large, his consequences.

We bought somebody's mistake. They had not thought things through before buying. Not a size issue. It was a lifestyle issue. They had not even rented to try RVing out before putting down well over $100,000.00 a truck & trailer in 2006 then desperately wanting out of it in less than six months. Lifestyle not for them at all.
Lantley
Nomad
Nov 10, 2021
bucky wrote:
I'm in the camp that says buy what you want and don't worry about what others say.

X2 But there will be some compromise involved.
Yes occaisionally you will not find a site and it will generally be harder to find sites at older parks.
But there will always be alternatives and a place to camp.
A bigger rig is not necessarily better but a bigger RV will always allow to have more room and carry more stuff.
fj12ryder
Explorer III
Nov 10, 2021
MarkTwain wrote:
bucky wrote:
I'm in the camp that says buy what you want and don't worry about what others say.

Old proverb BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR. What others say will not change the size and availability of RV sites.
I don't think he's referring to that advice, he's referring to the criticism some have had with even considering what they consider as too big of a trailer.
MarkTwain
Explorer
Nov 10, 2021
bucky wrote:
I'm in the camp that says buy what you want and don't worry about what others say.

Old proverb BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR. What others say will not change the size and availability of RV sites.
fj12ryder
Explorer III
Nov 10, 2021
Veebyes wrote:
Well of course the length matters. Most private CGs, with their FHU pull throughs will accommodate the really big units but SPs, NPs, CPs my not. Some of them say flat out NOTHING OVER 30'. Most are flexible & have a few sites that can handle maybe a 35 but if SPs etc are your preference & you enjoy the space between sites & general beauty that these parks provide, you might reconsider buying a monster.

What does the monster give that a smaller mid to lower 30'er does not besides floorspace. Both have the same appliances, the same furniture etc. The biggies will have more storage & a bigger TV. The sacrifice of the ability to go places is a big loss for the gain of little.

JMO.
What does it matter why they want what they want? They aren't forcing you to do it? They just want opinions on how easy it will be to get/find sites. Their preferences are their business, not yours. If the monster pushes all their buttons, so be it.

I'd feel claustrophobic in something as small as 30', but that's me and I don't criticize other's choices. Dif'rent strokes for dif'rent folks.
speediq99
Explorer II
Nov 10, 2021
It is mostly about kids and grandkids.
They like to join us when we travel in the summer. We also have a couple of goldens and the extra space comes in handy. A floorplan with a office/bedroom, an open kitchen/living room area, master with a decent bathroom, space for washer/dryer, decent storage and 2 extra pullout beds is hard to come by under 40ft. Bunks don't usually work well, too small.

A 45ft is probably not a good idea given how we travel and the limitations. We Will most likely order a unit at or below 40ft.

Thank you for all the feedback. All of it gave us something to think about.
StirCrazy
Moderator
Nov 10, 2021
bucky wrote:
I'm in the camp that says buy what you want and don't worry about what others say.

yup me to, but then again, I didn't post on here asking for opinions on how restricted I would be if I bought so and so.

for the original poster, one thing Ill add is our 40 foot has a 8 foor long back bunkhouse bedroom, so in reality when it is just the wife and Myself we dont even put that slide out or open the door unless we are storing something back there. as of this year the last kids are moved out and we bought this because they liked to bring friends and such camping. now we are hitting the grandkid phase so we will keep it so the grand kids have a room of there own when camping but realy for the two of us we only use about 32 feet of the rv, and if it is a good lay out thats a nice size. length is one thing but the layout is what makes or breaks how you use it to me.

Steve