getting a 36 ft tt

[Deuce222]

any limitations or problems I might run across with national parks? am I going to be strictly limited to private campground due to length? And no, if so, doesn't bother me just want to know. We getting the floor plan and size we are most comfortable with and will adapt to campsite availability, private or public, just want to know to plan better.

[Deuce222]

thanks for all the input... all valuable in helping me out.

[Horsedoc]

I just saw that it is a trailer you are getting. That is big! Actually it is very big for just two people. There are some sites in Yellowstone that will work for you, but none with service since Fishing Bridge is out of service currently. There are many state parks here in Georgia that accommodate big rig motorhomes with sites 50 or more feet long and then space to park the tow truck.
At one time we had a 30 ft trailer and it was very adequate room for tow of us.
Buy what you are comfortable with, but like others said, there may be limited sites in some placee

[sgfrye]

Our current TT is 37ft bumper to bumper. our previous TT was 33ft. we have not stayed in national parks but have stayed in many state parks, private campgrounds, and koas. never had a problem with site lengths but i always plan ahead and make reservations far in advance. if camping weather was always perfect i would love to have a 20ft camper. other than sleeping and bathing most time would be spent outside.just DW and 4 small dogs on our trips. we glamp 12 months a year so when its cold, extra hot, or raining its nice to have 3 slides and space to relax in. not sure if your towing vehicle is gas or diesel but if its gas like our ford f250 gas stations can be a challenge. on longer trips i scout ahead on google earth for larger truck stops. never ran out of gas because i couldn't fit. gotta have alot of room to backup a 37ft TT properly but with experience its not that bad. wife and rear view camera help.

[Veebyes]

The problem is that if you have a significant drop off behind the site pad you cant lower the rear jacks if you take the wheels to the back of the pad. Always good to carry some wooden blocks for such situations.

Not a problem with a 5er. Let the back hang into space & not bother with the jacks.

With either type going over 30' begins to be a problem. Past 35' it starts to be a big problem & rapidly gets worse from there.

[bikendan]

Bottom line is that your choices will be more limited than if you have a trailer 30' or less.
Sites large enough for a 36' trailer are less common in national and state park campgrounds, especially in California.

[colliehauler]

While not a 36' trailer I have a 34' trailer. What you run into as well that nobody has mentioned is long trailers don't handle deep dips without dragging that limits remote places as well. It all depends on how you plan to use it and where you plan to go. A small TT will ALWAYS have more options for sites and accessibility. It's always a tradeoff between room and accessibility.

[MURPHY55347]

36ft is a huge trailer. I know times have changed but as a kid we were a family of 6 and had an 18ft trailer. We thought that was big, We did bring a tent for a couple of the kids. As someone has already stated you would probably fit fine in most sites but the access roads are usually quite narrow and full of brush. Doesn't leave a lot of room to maneuver.

[wanderingdawgs]

Every national park, state park, and federal park has different site sizes. When you make reservations in federal parks you can view a list of all the available sites. The site size is displayed so you can figure out if are any where you will fit. Many state parks also show the size. We camp in a 35 foot fifth wheel and have camped in many state and Corps of Engineers parks without any problems. When I am in doubt about a site, I call the park directly. We have camped in a few national parks including Zion and Everglades.

Good luck! Happy trails!

[Ralph_Cramden]

If you're worried about length before you even buy it that should tell you something. I dont know why anyone would need 36' of trailer but whatever floats your boat. I know a lot of people with 3 or 4 kids that get by just fine with much smaller rigs.

[goducks10]

rr2254545 wrote:
There are 49 National parks in the lower 48 8 have full hookup camp sites, 8 have electric campsites and 33 have no camping
We have camped at 4 or the 8 full hookup camp sites, Yellowstone, Tetons, Grand Canyon and Big Bend in our 37 ft motor home
National parks therefore to me are not a issue

A 37' MH is way shorter than a 36' TT and 20' truck. Thats 56'. Even if you had a toad it's still shorter and you can cram a toad in anywhere.
Can't really compare the two IMO.

[agesilaus]

Let me suggest this. Go to the government reservation site, https://www.reserveamerica.com/. And check the CG in the parks you are interested in. Do some research and eliminate all these opinions. Or http://www.campgroundreviews.com/ might help. Or check the park sites like this for Fruita CG: https://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/fruitacampground.htm which shows they can take large rv's

[jmtandem]

any limitations or problems I might run across with national parks? am I going to be strictly limited to private campground due to length? And no, if so, doesn't bother me just want to know. We getting the floor plan and size we are most comfortable with and will adapt to campsite availability, private or public, just want to know to plan better.

If getting into National Parks is a priority go smaller. If not, as you tend to indicate, then get the 36 footer.

[agesilaus]

JUst because you camped at four NP that does not mean that the 60 other NP sites and the large number of NM sites are all accessible. Some are some are not. Yellowstone is Fishing Bridge is a big exception since that is basically a big open field. We have also camped there several times plus Bryce, Lassen, GSMNP, GCNP and Big Bend. And we had a 34 ft fiver at the time. Yosemite has one CG in the valley that has 6 or 8 IIRC sites out of 100 or so that are big rig accessible.

And any of the big parks fill up rapidly after the reservation period starts. If you haven't reserved a spot for this summer forget about it. GCNP south rim may be an exception I don't know for sure.

So you need to plan way ahead if you want to camp inside parks. And in some cases even getting a commercial CG spot outside some parks is difficult. Yellowstone for example.

[mdcamping]

rr2254545 wrote:

mdcamping wrote:

rr2254545 wrote:
We have camped at 4 or the 8 full hookup camp sites, Yellowstone, Tetons, Grand Canyon and Big Bend in our 37 ft motor home National parks therefore to me are not a issue

Somewhat off subject, just curious coming from the east coast how easy were those sites to book?

Thanks
Mike

I book way in advance so I can not really tell you how far out they actually fill up

Yes lately I have had to book hours/minutes or even seconds when the reservation service opens on some of our more popular destination areas here on the east coast. Me thinks this will not change when I start booking out west

Mike