Is a 40' length Motorhome going to be limited in many campground's?

Depends what you mean by campgrounds. Many of the newer RV parks will have room for that size rig, but a lot of state and national parks may not - or at least the # of sites that size will be limited.

Most commercial RV parks in the west can take you. But like the other person already said, many state and national parks may not be able to. I bought a 35 footer specifically because I didn't want to be limited too much on parks that I can go to. However, it's been my experience that most any place that let me in with a 35 footer, would have also let me in with a 40 footer. The three most common limits that I have seen are 28 foot and under, 40 foot and under, and over 40 foot allowed. So a 40 footer will get into places that a 27 to 39 footer also would.

Our coach is 45' and with toad we are right at 65'. We've traveled to almost every state in the country over the past 6 years. We've stayed in State, Federal, COE parks as well as privately owned ones. The only place we've never "camped" has been at a WalMart. That said, we've never had an issue finding accommodations...one campground in Topeka even moved some of their equipment so we would have plenty of room. There are some campgrounds on the beach in California that wouldn't accommodate us such as Doheny State Beach Park, but their length limit is 28' !We heard all the scare stories too and that's all they are..unfounded scare stories that keep getting bantered about. Most likely you'll lose maybe 10% of the campgrounds, but to me that's no big loss. If you look at the RPI websites, most list 40' as max. We've been members of RPI for over 15 years and have never been denied a spot at any of their campgrounds....Dennis

Executive wrote:Our coach is 45' and with toad we are right at 65'. We've traveled to almost every state in the country over the past 6 years. We've stayed in State, Federal, COE parks as well as privately owned ones. The only place we've never "camped" has been at a WalMart. That said, we've never had an issue finding accommodations...one campground in Topeka even moved some of their equipment so we would have plenty of room. There are some campgrounds on the beach in California that wouldn't accommodate us such as Doheny State Beach Park, but their length limit is 28' !We heard all the scare stories too and that's all they are..unfounded scare stories that keep getting bantered about. Most likely you'll lose maybe 10% of the campgrounds, but to me that's no big loss. If you look at the RPI websites, most list 40' as max. We've been members of RPI for over 15 years and have never been denied a spot at any of their campgrounds....DennisDennis has it correct - so in a word IMHO .... NO.

Busskipper wrote:Executive wrote:Our coach is 45' and with toad we are right at 65'. We've traveled to almost every state in the country over the past 6 years. We've stayed in State, Federal, COE parks as well as privately owned ones. The only place we've never "camped" has been at a WalMart. That said, we've never had an issue finding accommodations...one campground in Topeka even moved some of their equipment so we would have plenty of room. There are some campgrounds on the beach in California that wouldn't accommodate us such as Doheny State Beach Park, but their length limit is 28' !We heard all the scare stories too and that's all they are..unfounded scare stories that keep getting bantered about. Most likely you'll lose maybe 10% of the campgrounds, but to me that's no big loss. If you look at the RPI websites, most list 40' as max. We've been members of RPI for over 15 years and have never been denied a spot at any of their campgrounds....DennisDennis has it correct - so in a word IMHO .... NO.I agree with both. We've also been all around the country and Canada with no issues.

40' Length Motorhome to big for most campground's?

28 Replies

JimM68
Explorer
Apr 01, 2015
We don't have trouble finding places to camp.
TechWriter
Explorer
Apr 01, 2015
Bionic Man wrote:

Speaking of my home state (Colorado), I would say you may lose 20% of the state campground sites due to size. However, that number is inverse when you are talking about the federal campgrounds in the mountains. You MIGHT have access to 20% of those sites.

On average, about 48% of the sites in State Campgrounds and 52% of the sites in Federal Campgrounds are at least 40 feet.

Over 60% of Colorado State Campgrounds have 40 foot sites.
obgraham
Explorer
Apr 01, 2015
My experiences are somewhat different than the big-rig folks here. Running in a 38 foot DP for 8 years, certainly I could find somewhere to park up wherever I traveled.

But there's no doubt that there are a lot of CG's, mostly non-hookup types (state parks, etc) where my rig couldn't possibly fit -- either not into the spaces or unable to negotiate all the CG roads. Sure, there's usually someplace to stay -- but it may not be the one you want.
DSDP_Don
Explorer
Apr 01, 2015
We went from a 36' Monaco Diplomat (actually 37') to our 40' Dutch Star (a true 40'). We never had issues with the 36' Diplomat while free lance camping around the southwest. We go to Yosemite every year at Thanksgiving and know that only about 10% of the sites are big enough, so we always had reservations. Our 40' fits into those same sites.

This year we booked Fishing Bridge at Yellowstone. They advertise their sites as three different sizes, the largest being 40' and under. This was probably the first time we had difficulty finding a site. We booked early and got the last 40' and under site in May.

So far no big issues, but I'm learning that many non campers running reservation desks or answering the phone seem to have issues when you say forty something. Lately, I've been telling them it's a 39 footer....which is true....its a 39 foot 12 inch coach! Mine has a tag axle which makes it look bigger than it is.
Tom_Barb
Explorer II
Apr 01, 2015
I've only found 1 place that we wouldn't fit. the camp ground wanted us to park in a spot that the road to was just too narrow to drive on and make the corners.
dahkota
Explorer
Apr 01, 2015
We are in California right now. We are 34'3". Many of the state parks list their sites as 31' and under. Many of the national park campgrounds here have very limited sites for 35' and over if any. With private parks we have much better luck.

The main problem that we have run into with public parks in California is that, if they have sites for 33' and over rigs, they are usually either reserved or, if first come first serve, taken.

But, we see many, many 40'+ rigs out here on the road. They must be staying somewhere. My bet is private parks mostly.
tropical36
Explorer
Apr 01, 2015
fishhogg wrote:
Is a 40' length Motorhome going to be limited in many campground's?

I've never been in a CG or RV park, where there weren't rigs that were much larger than ours and this includes state and NP's.
You may have to lie a little about your size and by doing so, you'll find that you can fit in, where most say you can't.
rr2254545
Explorer
Apr 01, 2015
amandasgramma wrote:
Many of the state owned parks in Oregon won't be long enough. We DID put a 36 ft MH in a 30 foot spot (it WAS big enough) at a lake. However, we lived nearby so we scoped it out the day before. :) I wouldn't recommend PLANNING on just dropping in to any campground in Oregon with a long rig.

I have camped in many Oregon State Parks including 7 weeks last winter on the coast.

I did a search for an arrival 4/15/15 for 2 nights in a 40 ft site and got the following results
Beverly Beach 70 site available
Bullards Beach 41 sites available
Ft Stevens 233 sites available

I agree about having reservations but a forty is no problem
ferndaleflyer
Explorer III
Apr 01, 2015
Not once have I been turned away with either the 38ft or the 45. Both towing a trailer which ends up about 70+ft. Call ahead and like said above the site might fit but getting to it could be "iffy".
amandasgramma
Explorer
Apr 01, 2015
Many of the state owned parks in Oregon won't be long enough. We DID put a 36 ft MH in a 30 foot spot (it WAS big enough) at a lake. However, we lived nearby so we scoped it out the day before. :) I wouldn't recommend PLANNING on just dropping in to any campground in Oregon with a long rig.

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40' Length Motorhome to big for most campground's?

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