Background: We're a family of four, well versed in road tripping in the US and Canada (a total of more than 10 months on the road in two separate long road trips). Currently planning for the summer of 2015. The general plan: Seattle to Alaska and back (10 weeks).I am the designated driver :C . I've driven all over the place, including some of the more challenging mountain passes of the West, but this was all in a minivan. I've never driven an RV in my life, but we do have this fantasy/plan to buy an RV when we retire and travel some more in North and Central/South America (probably 10-15 years from today), so I'm looking forward to finally experiencing driving and living in an RV. For the long term "plantasy" I have my sights set on a truck and a 5th wheeler. For now however, we're going to rent, and the only thing we can rent is a motorhome. I'm thinking 23-28 feet class C motorhome should be within our budget. And now, to my current question. I was thinking of starting our trip with a visit to Mount Rainier. We've already visited Washington and spent time in Olympic NP and other wonderful places, but never in Rainier. Looking at the park map, looks like the Wonderland Trail (park road) is a winding road with lots of switchbacks. I would absolutely relish driving this in a minivan, but I'm not at all sure about a motorhome? What's mountain driving like with a motorhome of this size? Should I skip it and wait for when I've had more experience driving it?

National Park Service is very good about warnings of which roads should not be driven by RVs. All I could find is this about SUNRISE ROAD^^^Estimated to open July 3, weather dependent.For safety reasons, bicycling and hiking on the road prior to its opening to vehicles is allowed only when the road crew is not working on the road. Please check the signs on the gate before heading up the road.Note: Due to the steep, narrow, and winding nature of the Sunrise Road, it is recommended that RVs and vehicles with trailers longer than 25 ft. LOA not travel up the Sunrise Road beyond the White River Campground intersection.^^^This is Rainier's park homepage

I drove our 24' class C pulling a 10' cargo trailer (38' combined) to Ranier 3 years ago. It was a little tight in spots but doable. The park speed limit is 35mph in most places making it easier. Had a little bit of a nail bitter on 706 past Paradise going toward White River campground as they had half of the narrow road torn up and I swear when we had to pass within inches of construction equipment on the canyon side my outside dual was hanging off the road (wife assured me it wasn't. It must have been a couple thousand feet drop off at that point. Dropped the trailer at the White River campground and took the MH up the road to Sunrise. Didn't have any problems but I am sure glad I dropped the trailer. Can't wait to do it all over again someday. Hope this helps, Jeff.

Hi and Welcome! You might not want to hear my opinion, but here goes. I remember a sales rep telling me once that driving a 27 foot Class C RV was just like driving a car. It's not. RVs are longer, wider, taller, and heavier than most cars and vans. You need to be concerned with rear-end swing anytime you are in close quarters, like gassing up and in some parking lots/campgrounds. With your driving experience in vans, I think you would be OK starting out on Interstate highways or highways that are two lane, but well maintained. My recommendation is that you spend a few days driving the rental on highways and parking it in campgrounds to get the "feel" of the unit. Once you are fairly comfortable driving the RV around on "normal" roads, then you can advance to the more challenging mountain switchback/steep hill type roads. BTW, our family of four likes our 27 foot RV. Anything smaller could be a tight fit for your family and would likely have less storage space. Best wishes for a successful RV vacation next year.Bob

I can't think of any roads in MRNP that would give a 27' C too much trouble but you may want to double check the research that you've done- the Wonderland Trail is not a road, but a rather challenging hiking trail.

We toured Mt Rainier in a 24ft long x 8.5ft wide motorhome. We were not towing anything. No problems navigating the roads. We spend the night in Cougar Rock campground. There was no moon and it was very very dark. Great for star gazing...We made sure that we got to Paradise Lodge early in the morning because the parking lot fills up fast and you can't stop if the lot is full. You could make a loop through Mt Rainier NP, then up through the North Cascades NP checking out some of the interesting little towns like Leavenworth, Lake Chelan, or Okanogan along the way.Enjoy.

Driving a 27ft Class C in Mount Rainier NP | Good Sam Community

Rolin
Explorer
Jun 12, 2014
We toured Mt Rainier in a 24ft long x 8.5ft wide motorhome. We were not towing anything. No problems navigating the roads. We spend the night in Cougar Rock campground. There was no moon and it was very very dark. Great for star gazing...

We made sure that we got to Paradise Lodge early in the morning because the parking lot fills up fast and you can't stop if the lot is full.

You could make a loop through Mt Rainier NP, then up through the North Cascades NP checking out some of the interesting little towns like Leavenworth, Lake Chelan, or Okanogan along the way.

Enjoy.
rjstractor
Nomad
Jun 12, 2014
I can't think of any roads in MRNP that would give a 27' C too much trouble but you may want to double check the research that you've done- the Wonderland Trail is not a road, but a rather challenging hiking trail.
PghBob
Explorer
Jun 12, 2014
Hi and Welcome! You might not want to hear my opinion, but here goes. I remember a sales rep telling me once that driving a 27 foot Class C RV was just like driving a car. It's not. RVs are longer, wider, taller, and heavier than most cars and vans. You need to be concerned with rear-end swing anytime you are in close quarters, like gassing up and in some parking lots/campgrounds. With your driving experience in vans, I think you would be OK starting out on Interstate highways or highways that are two lane, but well maintained. My recommendation is that you spend a few days driving the rental on highways and parking it in campgrounds to get the "feel" of the unit. Once you are fairly comfortable driving the RV around on "normal" roads, then you can advance to the more challenging mountain switchback/steep hill type roads. BTW, our family of four likes our 27 foot RV. Anything smaller could be a tight fit for your family and would likely have less storage space. Best wishes for a successful RV vacation next year.

Bob
scroller95969
Explorer
Jun 12, 2014
I drove our 24' class C pulling a 10' cargo trailer (38' combined) to Ranier 3 years ago. It was a little tight in spots but doable. The park speed limit is 35mph in most places making it easier. Had a little bit of a nail bitter on 706 past Paradise going toward White River campground as they had half of the narrow road torn up and I swear when we had to pass within inches of construction equipment on the canyon side my outside dual was hanging off the road (wife assured me it wasn't. It must have been a couple thousand feet drop off at that point. Dropped the trailer at the White River campground and took the MH up the road to Sunrise. Didn't have any problems but I am sure glad I dropped the trailer. Can't wait to do it all over again someday. Hope this helps, Jeff.
j-d
Explorer II
Jun 12, 2014
National Park Service is very good about warnings of which roads should not be driven by RVs. All I could find is this about SUNRISE ROAD
^^^
Estimated to open July 3, weather dependent.
For safety reasons, bicycling and hiking on the road prior to its opening to vehicles is allowed only when the road crew is not working on the road. Please check the signs on the gate before heading up the road.
Note: Due to the steep, narrow, and winding nature of the Sunrise Road, it is recommended that RVs and vehicles with trailers longer than 25 ft. LOA not travel up the Sunrise Road beyond the White River Campground intersection.
^^^
This is Rainier's park homepage

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Driving a 27ft Class C in Mount Rainier NP

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