Newbie question about touring with 5th wheel

Good advice...thanks for breaking down to simple terms

“Dealer said it was no problem...”

You have two choices IMO...find another dealer who is knowledgeable or don’t believe anything your current dealer says about 42 footers in NPs.

You need to understand that most CG in major older parks were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) back in the 1930's and sites are based on what they expected from that era, small in other words and no services for many parks. 30 to 35 ft is the max in many but not all park campgrounds and there are quite a few that have shorter length limits.

We had a fiver before getting our new unit and after looking at some park campgrounds we decided on a 34 ft unit. You should do the same look at the campgrounds on Reserve America (where you make national park reservations) website and make your own determination.

Just my personal thoughts: it would be a cold day in Hades before I'd drag that behemoth around.

Oh one very important point: DEALERS LIE. Don't trust a thing they tell you, all they care about is your money in their pocket. Once you are off the lot they do not care what happens to you. I doubt many of them actually are RVers and probably have never camped in a park.

Yep I have been a fulltimer for 8 years and been to alot of parks mine is a 40fter and you can forget about National parks like was said before but you will have no Problems 90% percent of the time in Private parks KOA's etc... just outside most National Parks And MAKE Reservations as early as you can or you are in a world of hurt and you will be spending many nights in Walmarts and Truck stops NOT GOOD Plan out your trip and have Fun:B

Dealer said it was no problem but we thought it might be. James, what's the max length you'd recommend for National Parks?

You probably will not find many campgrounds inside the national parks that can accommodate an RV that long. There are commercial parks outside the national parks that will be able to take it. For the big parks like Yellowstone or Yosemite that will add quite a bit of travel time to your day. Many Forest Service campgrounds probably will not accept that RV but Corps of Engineering CG usually take large RV's. But those are less common.

What tow vehicle will you be using, for a very big RV like that you will want a dual rear wheel truck. You will also find it a trial to maneuver in tight spots. With the truck you will be over 60 ft long.

42 5th wheel is going to be way to big for most NP. campgrounds.

For camping inside many National Parks, yes. You could camp outside the parks and drive in to tour. See this chart:

http://outdoorsrvmfg.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/National-Park-Trailer-Length-Chart.pdf