Does a 22 foot B+ fit in a regular parking spot?

vacuumbed wrote:
Hey guys,
I thought about going to a B+ from a regular B van and was wondering if it would fit in a regular parking spot like at the grocery store... I'm looking at a Gulfstream BTouring.

Thanks in advance.

Our dear old coach has an 8' wide body plus mirrors and is 23 feet long. We very seldom have any problem in open lots. We often park in the outer lot so our dog does not feel she has to stand guard. On occasion, I have parallel parked it at the curb and been inside (just) the lines, but that is not common.

Matt

This is a good thread, as my biggest complaint about my rig setup is that it is too big for just hopping in and going to another town for a weekend. I have a lot of notes on a class "B" Transit build, but a truck camper or a short "C" is a decent alternative.

vacuumbed wrote:
Thanks for writing me everyone, sounds like the B+ is very doable and easy to drive. Believe it or not, I can take my B van through certain fast food drive thru's. I think this is one option I will lose with a B+.

True on all counts. Like others, we usually park on the emptier perimeter and take up two spaces well-situated for backing up when we leave, not so much for width but to angle across them to tuck in more length. And yes, most drive-thrus are out. But hey, more exercise!

We started with an old army tent, bought VW Westphalia camper conversion with two little kids, then bought a new 1972 Dodge Maxi-Van "Family Wagon" bubble top conversion ( rudimentary amenities but easy to park and most versatile vehicle ever owned). Not knowing any better, we made hundreds of local camping trips and a number of cross country tours. Later we bought an old used 23 foot class C money pot and after that a new 27 foot Tioga 26Q.I have often thought that I'd like something like a Road Trek again, but converting this into that and submarine-like elbow room, along with aging and arthritis along with high cost disuaded us. Our 2004 Tioga 26Q with rear bedroom and huge storage compartment seems to be the best compromise for us despite some parking problems and my walking difficulties.

vacuumbed wrote:
Hey guys,
I thought about going to a B+ from a regular B van and was wondering if it would fit in a regular parking spot like at the grocery store... I'm looking at a Gulfstream BTouring.

Thanks in advance.

our rig will be same as yours. while it may fit within rhe boundaries, it Is usually a squeeze and we look for open spots away from crowded area of lot and walk.

We owned a 190P Roadtrek Class B for years and swapped for a BT Cruiser. We found the BT Cruiser to be much more comfortable for extended camping, of course, but at that time in our lives we were more into touring than camping for more than a couple of days. After a few years, we sold the BT Cruiser and went to a Roadtrek 210P. We toured some, camped for a week at a time in this larger B (compared to a 190). Now, we are back to a small C aka a B+, which is probably comparable to your BT Cruiser. That is because, now fully retired, we may spend a couple of weeks at a single place compared to a couple of days in the earlier years.

As I recall, the BT Cruiser is a full 96 inches wide and ours was about 24 feet long.

We always had to park both the Roadtrek 210 and the BTC and now the Phoenix Cruiser at the edge of the lots. The RT 190 could be parked just about anywhere we wanted to park it.

The summary and the truth: you will give up driveability, flexibility and mileage when you go from a B to a C. What you will get is a dry bath, room to really stand up and comfort that allows a couple of rainy days to seem tolerable compared to being canned in a B. It is all about how you will use the RV and how much comfort compared to convenience and parkability is worth.

I own a Navion iQG which is 25'. My previous RV was a "B". With both I usally park in the parking lots where I can use two spots so I can pull through and exit forward. This way I fit and I get more exercise.:)
Also, some might call my "C" a "B+" but I believe there is no such thing as a "B+"!

Bruce NY
13NiQG25'5"

Thanks for writing me everyone, sounds like the B+ is very doable and easy to drive. Believe it or not, I can take my B van through certain fast food drive thru's. I think this is one option I will lose with a B+.

What's a regular parking spot depends on where you are.

I drive a 19 foot full-size van in a part of the country where half the population is driving crew cab pickups, and though I find some spaces tight on width (van has big swinging front doors) most spaces are long enough. Turning circle on the van is kind of wide.

But I've lived several years in Chicago, and there it is kind of hard to find a space to fit a van. Particularly parallel parking, and the size of spaces inside the parking structures. Its probably not so bad out in the suburbs where popularity of SUVs has redefined what is a standard size.

Most recent experience has been in the Detroit area. Shopping malls are fine when lots are not full, and major supermarkets usually have big enough lots that you can find empty areas where I don't crowd people to much, though spaces tend to be marked kind of narrow for vans, and full-size trucks or large SUVs.

Strip malls and restaurants in Detroit and the near suburbs are more of a problem. It's like Chicago, where spaces are small, aisles are narrow, to make the greatest number of spaces in the least area. When I find a space I can slot into, it usually takes two or three passes to get the van straight in and centered, and then it sticks out an extra foot or foot and a half into that narrow traffic aisle. An extended van, a long bed crew cab, anything else 21-22 feet long will stick out that much further. Some suburbs with angle parking on the street, they will ticket if you stick out into the traffic lane.

So it is a lot different in Detroit than in Oklahoma. What it is like in SLC, I don't know. You are familiar with what parking is like there, and that might be why you are asking the question.

Sort of..... It's like my F250 crew cab with an 8' bed which makes me a little over 22' with the ball on the trailer hitch installed.

Part of getting it to fit will be how wide the parking spaces are and how much room there is between the parking lanes - is there enough room to turn the B+ into the parking space and get it in there straight?

I usually park out a ways and try to park where I can pull though the first space into the second one so that I pull out forward instead of backing out of the space when I leave.

Go rent a U-Haul of the same length and take it to the parking lot to see how it parks.

My truck is my daily driver and I have no plans to go to something smaller.

Bill