Size Matters!

trnfla wrote:
I know that a number of SP parks in Florida it would be difficult to find spots for the large of a unit. Just a thought.

. We have 35 ft and have stayed in a dozen different FL State Parks with no problems.

Yes you will not be able to get into some campsites with longer fiver. You will however be able to get into a lot of campsites with the longer rig. I pull a 37' fiver and I have never had an issue finding a State Park near any destination I wanted to go. The extra room is really nice. If you plan to dry camp that may not be a big issue anyway. I do agree that you need enough truck for whatever you pull. Good luck.

Get the camper you want and enjoy it. Some people have a hard time getting into and out of a Wal Mart parking lot while others can put a 43 ft toyhauler into a 30 ft campsite.

The dually choice is probably as important as your 5th wheel choice. Having enough truck to comfortably and confidently tow your new home around is a must. Think of the mountains in CO with too little of a truck; NOT GOOD.
I just upgraded from a one ton diesel to a dually. Haven't pulled with it yet but my old truck was getting pushed around and didn't have the pulling power even though it was a diesel with 4:10 gears (SRW).

I agree that you'll have issues in a lot of the older campgrounds but, if you're a hard core boondocker, you might be avoiding them altogether, so your size might not be as much an issue. I also agree that you'll definitely need to upsize your truck if you want a rig that long. 1-ton dually, for sure on a FW that size.

Lyle

More rigs have slide outs which can be used to reduce the length and not give up living and usable area. I would be looking at shorter rig but with slideouts in areas you want more space.

jmtandem wrote:

Hello All – We are new to RV forum. We have had smaller rv’s in the past, but now in retirement are looking to buy a 5th wheel TT. Currently looking at 35 to 39 foot long. We will equip to dry camp, so as to have the most choices of campgrounds. We have room to store the unit at home, and I am pretty comfortable with backing/maneuvering. Plans are to eventually do some long distance travel around the USA, starting in So Cal. What I would like to know is what experiences (good or bad) you have seen or had that make you favor one size vs. the other. Thanks in advance for your “seasoned” insight.

You have had smaller RV's and you know about them. You have not had a larger RV and since you are looking at retirement, get what you think you want. Getting into a campsite is only one issue regarding size and perhaps the least important. If you can't stay at a national forest campground, you can stay at an RV park nearby that will accommodate your size. Don't make the size thing an issue as it relates to not being able to go to places you want. You will need a truck that is plenty stout to tow it and that has lots of payload capacity. If you purchase a smaller RV and don't like it you will wish you had bought the larger one. RV's get real small in inclement weather, go bigger if you plan to spend time inside.

GOod info Getting into the campsite is only part of the equation.
Be sure your TV is rated to tow a large 5'er.
Payload matters as well. Think 1 ton dually for the largest 5'ers

I noticed on another post, that you have a F250 as a tow vehicle. You may want to rethink that 35 to 39ft fifth wheel. You will need at least a one ton dully, air bags won't help. The truck will be over loaded. Re think to a smaller fifth wheel that the truck can handle.

We have a 31ft fifth wheel, over all length 37ft. We have found that due to the size we cannot fit into a lot of the national forests and some state parks. If we had to do over we would have opted for a smaller fifth wheel.

Hello All – We are new to RV forum. We have had smaller rv’s in the past, but now in retirement are looking to buy a 5th wheel TT. Currently looking at 35 to 39 foot long. We will equip to dry camp, so as to have the most choices of campgrounds. We have room to store the unit at home, and I am pretty comfortable with backing/maneuvering. Plans are to eventually do some long distance travel around the USA, starting in So Cal. What I would like to know is what experiences (good or bad) you have seen or had that make you favor one size vs. the other. Thanks in advance for your “seasoned” insight.

You have had smaller RV's and you know about them. You have not had a larger RV and since you are looking at retirement, get what you think you want. Getting into a campsite is only one issue regarding size and perhaps the least important. If you can't stay at a national forest campground, you can stay at an RV park nearby that will accommodate your size. Don't make the size thing an issue as it relates to not being able to go to places you want. You will need a truck that is plenty stout to tow it and that has lots of payload capacity. If you purchase a smaller RV and don't like it you will wish you had bought the larger one. RV's get real small in inclement weather, go bigger if you plan to spend time inside.

You will probably find that the length is going to exclude you from a lot more camp sites that you might think. Many NF camp grounds are older and were designed for trailers around 20-25 feet long. Slide outs are also going to create problems for you as a lot of sites are really narrow to boot. Compounding the problem are narrow access roads with lots of low hanging branches. Personally if you want to do a lot of boon docking think much much smaller. But at the end of the day you also want to have a comfortable home to come back to.