Does size matter?

atreis wrote:
As others have said - you'll be able to find sites at just about any length, but will have a lot more options the shorter you are.

As for bears, there are times and places where soft-sided campers aren't permitted but it's pretty rare. We opted for a hybrid that we can also turtle in when necessary (use closed up). Space is tight when it's closed up, but it still works.

Nicely said and very true. You will hear folks who have very large trailers tell you that they have never been denied a place "where they wanted to camp." That last part is the kicker. I can tell you from years of experience that when you go larger, you do lose options. Some large national or state parks in our state will post lengths of 30 are OK but when you start looking at actual sites there might be only a very few for the larger trailers.

With our tent trailer we could go anywhere. With our 21ft hybrid almost anywhere and now with our 25 ft trailer there are still a lot of possibilities for us, but not as many as before.

If you are going to stay with your trailer for 15 years, I would suggest you get a hard sided trailer and not a hybrid or tent trailer. 25 is a great size for us but there are just the two of us.

Good luck

Often our issue is not the length of the TT that fits in the site, it's the fact that the TV doesn't fit on the site so you have to park on the road or in some other empty area.

Sometimes when I get to a CG the TV from another site is blocking access or making it very difficult for me to back my rig into the site. And CG roads are sometimes narrow enough without having to contend with big pickup trucks lining the road.

RinconVTR wrote:

arwenmark wrote:
I have a quesiton on this subject. When they say under 30' do they mean ball to bumper or the box itself? I am buying a 27 foot but with the tongue part it is just over 30' would that be acceptable in 30' and under sites?

The trailers "box" or "bed" determines the trailer size.

Ball to bumper is simply overall length, not used to advertise or state the size of the trailer.

From the manufacturer's perspective perhaps.

But a campground manager trying to fit your rig into a campsite doesn't care what the "box" size is. They need to know the hitch to bumper "real world" length of the trailer.

arwenmark wrote:
I have a quesiton on this subject. When they say under 30' do they mean ball to bumper or the box itself? I am buying a 27 foot but with the tongue part it is just over 30' would that be acceptable in 30' and under sites?

For campgrounds, the max length is usually the total length of the trailer (ball to bumper) not the dealer's advertised length.

If the campground says a 27ft is the biggest that will fit, and your trailer is just over 30ft ball to bumper, then you could find that you are sticking out into the road. You might be able to angle the trailer, detach the TV, and angle it the other way to gain that needed couple feet, but if it's a narrow spur/pad, that might not work.

I suppose our trailer might be considered a 25 ft. unit. However it is 26 feet, 2 inches bumper to ball.

When the DW and I were looking at TTs, I carried a 20 ft. tape. There is virtually no relationship between the size of the trailer bumper to ball and the model number.

arwenmark wrote:
I have a quesiton on this subject. When they say under 30' do they mean ball to bumper or the box itself? I am buying a 27 foot but with the tongue part it is just over 30' would that be acceptable in 30' and under sites?

The trailers "box" or "bed" determines the trailer size.

Ball to bumper is simply overall length, not used to advertise or state the size of the trailer.

I have a quesiton on this subject. When they say under 30' do they mean ball to bumper or the box itself? I am buying a 27 foot but with the tongue part it is just over 30' would that be acceptable in 30' and under sites?

We have kept our TT at 24' and resisted bigger options as long as we are traveling often. The smaller units are easier to deal with on the road, and you'll often find the better campsites with "smaller" TT's. We've been in a few very tight CG's in Wisconsin, that made our 24' look huge and out of place. The CG sites for larger units are often...wide open...dry...and boring.

When we travel less often and shorter distances, leaving it parked on our land "up north" most often, a larger TT will absolutely be in order. Until then, I love the high mobility, fully featured, low to mid 20 foot TT's out there.

We took two major trips this year, the Everglades and Glacier Nation Park in western Montana.

In Florida, we stayed at a few State and private CGs and had no problems with our 25 ft. Dutchman. However the first question from the CG was “How big is your rig”. This was in February/March so I suppose it was near the peak season. There is definitely limited spaces for the bigger rigs but they could “plug” us into almost any available spot.

Coming down through KY, TN and GA we had no problems except finding an open CG open in winter.

Our trip to Glacier National Park was a bit more problematical. Again we were at the height of the season ( July/August) and the National Park CG sights suitable for RVs are by reservation. You can check in to see if the reservation was filled and camp that day if it is open but there are no guarantees that the party that reserved the spot would not show up a day late.

Outside the Park, CG space on the eastern side is at a premium and we found our 25 footer wedge between two Motor Coaches. We had to position our TT so we could open our door when the MC’s slides were out. Even though we had reserved 4 day in advance, the CG put us and a few other TT in with the Big Boys so to speak.

The CGs outside the western side of the Park were much better and less crowded. The lesson we learned is; during the peak season you not only have to reserve in advance, you have to have a understanding of the size of the spot you have reserved. When it gets busy, they will pack them in.

We drove through the National Park CGs and they are rustic, one has to check to see if the campground you wish to reserve can even accommodate your size TT.

Interestingly enough, those CGs that are the most remote and deepest into the wilderness, are only accessible by foot and accommodate tents. Either you are afraid of bears or you are not.

So plan well and check into details.

You here (It will fit where we want to camp) and that is the key. Where do you want to camp? I have a 26' TT and went to 2 campgrounds last summer that I was to large for. They were old campgrounds in very scenic areas (lake shore). They were geared for popups and truck campers or under 20' TT. There was another campground in the area that you could park a 5th wheel but not anywhere near as scenic.

How you use it is as important as well. Some only use the camper for a quick meal and to sleep spending most of there time outside. Others are just the opposite.

It's impossible for any of us to tell what's right for you. That's why they make everything from tiny campers to 43' 5th wheels (size of a semi with truck).
Remember you have to drive the rig as well to the destination and what are you comfortable with?