Forum Discussion

rvshrinker's avatar
rvshrinker
Explorer III
May 01, 2017

how is a trailer length measured?

I'm looking at TTs and find many that have interior floor lengths of 21, 22 etc feet but then it seems you have to add 4-5 feet for the hitch and the rear bumper or ladder. Then that often takes these trailers over 27 feet, which is the limit for some national park campgrounds.

How is a travel trailer length measured? What about a fifth wheel?

Related question about length: AAA says that Alabama limits trailer length to 28'6". Is that right? It seems so many trailers would be ilegal there. Do full timers just avoid Alabama?

11 Replies

Show More
  • DutchmenSport's avatar
    DutchmenSport
    Explorer
    May 01, 2017
    Unfortunately, there is no single answer. It seems every manufacturer has their own method to their own madness. Some go by inside space (and even that's awkward as some front camps are curved, and some go by actual length (hitch to bumper), and some just never make any sense.

    The best you can do is find the make and model you are interested in, then go to the nearest dealer with a tape measure to get the true bumper to hitch length. Apart from this, I don't know of any other way to figure it out. Manufacturers post their lengths for a reason, but rarely does anyone actually understand the reason.

    Good luck.

About RV Newbies

4,032 PostsLatest Activity: Jul 26, 2025