Forum Discussion

outwestbound's avatar
outwestbound
Explorer
Mar 27, 2014

Is a 40 foot fifth wheel too long to access neat places?

Hi to all. We're 30 days into researching full timing and decided on a fifth wheel/ 1 ton DRW truck based on lifestyle choices. We're in our early 50s and enjoy hiking, kayaking, backpacking, biking a...
2gypsies1's avatar
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Mar 28, 2014
rfryer wrote:

When someone says “neat places”, that to me means undeveloped, minimal or no services, and away from the mass of campers.

"Neat places" to you can mean something altogether different to others. One doesn't have to drive 25 miles on a dirt path to find them.

And I can say unequivocally that you won’t find anything remotely approaching 40’ within miles of me, even a 25’er would be a rare sight. So obviously we’re not going to the same places, ....

No, we're probably not. You have a 16' and we have a 40'. As I stated previously we research places that we can fit and we find places that are "neat" and beautiful to us with no services and away from the mass of campers. Not being able to get to your 16' spots doesn't mean we can't find 40' spots for us and ones we consider "neat". We've been by ourselves on mountain tops and next to rivers and lakes. No one else around. I think that's kind of "neat".



I don't know where you are but you state Phoenix on your profile so I assume in Arizona. Perhaps these places aren't within miles of you but we have found some pretty special places regardless. You stated that a big rig can write off national forests and most state parks. I disagree.

We have boondocked or used public parks in all the western states and some of the eastern ones. Since you're from Phoenix here are some places where we've been in Arizona. Perhaps we've been fairly close to you at times:

We've stayed at ALL of the Arizona state parks (which you said we could write off as not being able to fit). We've volunteered at some, too.

We've been in the Phoenix Maricopa County parks (which is what the OP is looking for in terms of site space in natural surroundings with hiking)

National forests from Payson over to Greer/Alpine
National forest - Flagstaff area
Grand Canyon - North Rim FR22 and 611 and east of Jacob Lake
Cordess Jct - 5 miles off the highway on the top of a mountain with gorgeous views
Ajo area traveling 5 miles on gravel to get to "neat places"
...and many others

The OP's stated his preference is state or national campgrounds or some boondocking. His question was could he find them? Some folks said no. My response is: yes, he can find those spots.

No, as you stated, we're definitely not on the same wave length when folks say you can't find spots for a 40' RV. I just wanted to give another opinion - that we do find them. Safe travels!

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