Trailer length restrictions

Thanks again for the follow up posts and the wealth of information.

Along the West Coast some reservations, aside from length, would have width restrictions with questions about slides.

To my mind, complying with the restrictions is essential specially this summer when public campsites are mostly fully booked. You don't want to cheat with putting in the wrong dimensions to get the spot, only to find out you won't fit and then having to leave with only Walmart as prospect to spend the night, lol.

sgfrye wrote:

carringb wrote:
The only real limit is whether you can make it fit. The measurements are typically curb to street, so you can usuallybe a little longer since there's often some clear space behind the curb.

My trailer is 38' overall. When booking I always looks at pics when available, to make sure the table or fire pit isn't directly behind the curb. Or trees. I've been in space spec'd as 24'. I make it work, and it can take a little extra time to squeeze it into said site.

our TT is 38ft also, never had a problem finding a spot in va, nc and sc state parks. it does take some planning ahead for sites large enough. but as busy as these parks are, unless its winter time. you need to plan and make reservations anyway. campsitephotos.com is a good site for site photos as well as individual park websites.

Campsitephotos.com and some of those other websites / apps can be essentially worthless. They're not always up to date. Where we host some sites were upgraded to FHU 3 years ago, and a lot of the 150 electric only sites were reconfigured in 2014 changing lengths and orientations. The info on campsite photos and RVparky is pre 2010 and nowhere near accurate.

I don't think any of the parks in Mo. have any restrictions before, I make my reservation I google the park I'm looking for and get the driveway measurement. My trailer is 31ft. with the rear slide out and the measurement for the whole rig is 48' I tell the person that is taking my reservation that my rig is 50' I have never been questioned on it also I make sure they site is at least 50'. that way I can park with the trailer. This seems to work with both the Corp. of Eng. and in Mo. and Ill. and with the Mo. state parks.

If making reservations, the site will have a length on it. That's the length of the site, the overall length.

Pretty cut and dry from my perspective.

It would be odd to state a max length "trailer" that would fit, because there's a hundred different length tow vehicle lengths, so then the max trailer length becomes meaningless.

carringb wrote:
The only real limit is whether you can make it fit. The measurements are typically curb to street, so you can usuallybe a little longer since there's often some clear space behind the curb.

My trailer is 38' overall. When booking I always looks at pics when available, to make sure the table or fire pit isn't directly behind the curb. Or trees. I've been in space spec'd as 24'. I make it work, and it can take a little extra time to squeeze it into said site.

our TT is 38ft also, never had a problem finding a spot in va, nc and sc state parks. it does take some planning ahead for sites large enough. but as busy as these parks are, unless its winter time. you need to plan and make reservations anyway. campsitephotos.com is a good site for site photos as well as individual park websites.

I agree with you all, the final reckoning is if you could fit.

Except if the ranger or camp host pre-empt you into even trying. Or, the reservation system sets a very conservative number and requires you to put in the size of your rig and thus disqualifies you to make the reservations because yours didn't make the number.

That's the case for my question. National Park reservations would specify that RV had to be 24' but has lower number for trailer at 18' (and added the question whether that 18 is the cab or the whole length to the hitch).

Thanks all for your responses.

I've run into Ktmrfs number 2 before. The obstacles a boulder and tree made it impossible to back into a site even though the site was long enough. Some older campgrounds look more like tent spots with electric that a pop-up was all that would fit. It just depends on the campground.

You could always do some reconnaissance in the truck to see if you could fit.

If I'm in doubt I call and talk to a camp host to discuss. What I've found is that any of the following can restrict access.

I have found no consistency is length limit limitations or what limits the length.

1) road to narrow and to sharp of turns to navigate. The worst case, something I NEVER want to experience first hand, but have been through campgrounds in my truck that would have been really bad had the trailer been hooked up.

2) road to narrow to get backed in even though sites are plenty long enough. often coupled with older sites with back in sites at a 90 degree angle rather than a shallow angle. 90 degree back in angle, narrow site, narrow road= tough or impossible job to get backed in.

3) sites easy to get into but clearly to short.

I've been to places that said nothing over 24 ft and I regularly visit and have plenty of sites I can get my 32Ft trailer into.

The only real limit is whether you can make it fit. The measurements are typically curb to street, so you can usuallybe a little longer since there's often some clear space behind the curb.

My trailer is 38' overall. When booking I always looks at pics when available, to make sure the table or fire pit isn't directly behind the curb. Or trees. I've been in space spec'd as 24'. I make it work, and it can take a little extra time to squeeze it into said site.

in Ontario provincial parks ive always gone with the model. I treated my prowler 19E as a 19 foot even though she was more like 23-24. My current flagstaff is a 24" model and it fit on their 18 food site last may (booked sight for the prowler then upgraded) ranger had no issue when I called to explain the issue. road in was a bit tight but no big deal.