Size ristrictions at state/federal parks

[Rqtpis2]

I am in the process of looking to purchase a Class A motor home for retirement in a few years.I know there are size restrictions for state parks/ federal parks. For instance can I buy a 40' motor home and tow my Prius and disconnect Prius before i go to state parks and still be in the guide lines for a 40' site.What kind of size issues will I run into? Or do state parks offer additional parking for your tow vehicles? I have not yet determined what size motor home i will be purchasing.I will be towing a Toyota Prius with me and will be living in Motor home full time. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[tempforce]

a 32' trailer is a pain to park in oregon state campgrounds. parking tow vehicle in a different location. private parks usually have room for slides. most state parks don't have room to extend them.. a 30-35' mh without a toad shouldn't be a problem in the larger parks, but in older campgrounds that will be a challenge...

[Mr__Pinky]

Maximum length in Yosemite Nat'l Park is 35 ft., although they will bend just a little if you're nice

[H___E]

We had a 36' trailer for 9 years and only once had a problem in a Kentucky state park. We spent several months at a time with it. We now have a 40' MH. It is a lot more comfortable and so far we have not had an issue finding a spot to park it.Plan ahead. MOST IMPORTANT Pay attention to ivylog's post-he is spot on. Wife's is tickled to death with the washer & dryer in the coach.

[Ivylog]

As half timers in a 42’ for 14 years and now another 2 in a 45’... 40’ is NOT too big in retirement. Over those 16 years we have gone West 8 summers for several months staying mainly in public CGs without reservations. I would not have gone from 42’ to 45’ if finding sites big enough was a major problem... it’s gotten easier as more information is on the internet today than 16 years ago. In those 8 summers I cannot remember not getting into my first or 2nd choice until this past summer in Moab. Could have dispersed camped running the generator 24/7 (95 degrees in later Sept) so headed to 10,000’ in CO 4 hours away. Had frost the next morning.

The advantage of a big rig is how well you can dry camp for 7 days and 10+ if you conserve water. We put more miles on the car than the MH as it becomes the base camp and the car gets us to places the MH could not. You do not go into a CG hoping to find a site big enough on Friday, but on Sunday or Monday it’s not a problem. One of our favorite USFS CG in the Tetons has 30’ max. Not sure who comes up with the lengths... OH, they are government employees.

Buy more MH than you think you need... One Time because I started with a 36’ because of comments like some of the above that have never done it in a big MH.

[dedmiston]

I pull a 44.5' fifth wheel with a long bed 1 ton pickup. We're a very long rig. When we first started out, our length was pretty daunting and we were very limited. After years with this setup and many nights on the road, my wife and I don't get very nervous anymore. If we hadn't spent so many months on the road together in the past year, we would both still be sweating bullets driving around town and trying to get to camp.

I wouldn't recommend this setup to very many people because size totally matters, but experience and an incredible partner will solve a lot of the tense moments. On the other hand, our experience has also taught us which parts of town to avoid and which camps to cross off our list.

We also found that one of the smartest things you can do is get to camp early (not "early" check in, but early in the afternoon). Parking our rig in a fairly empty park is very different than parking with neighbors on both sides of you.

A couple months ago we got to a little county park on the coast and we got there late (just as the sun was setting). The place was packed already and we didn't have any maneuver room on either side of the road with people's bumpers crossing the lines etc. It took about twenty minutes for my wife and I to finally drop anchor and we couldn't have done it without so much practice. Practically everyone in that camp stopped by during the weekend to shake my hand and shake their heads and laugh. That's not relaxing though and it's really the opposite of why we camp. I hope we don't ever do that again.

[Veebyes]

40' is beeg no matter where you wan to put it.

Shear size aside it varies all over the place. We have yet to find a SP that has a 30' limitation that we can't get our 34' selves into. The limit is often pad length only. We don't care much if we hang out the back & can't use the stabilizers if the site slopes off.

Also, as mentioned, much depends on the spotter & skill of the driver. We have gotten ourselves into sites that others much smaller have given up on. I credit my excellent spotter & her communication skills, without the need of any drama for this. No rear cameras for us.

If getting into SPs & NPs is important to you have a rethink on how big is big enough. We have a 34' 5er & not a 38' 5er because of the huge drop in site possibilities once you get past 35' or so.

The bigger ones don't seem to have much more than the smaller ones other than more floor space. We don't square dance in ours so all that acreage is not needed.

Bottom line. Size matters.

[magnusfide]

I agree with the others. 40' is really a lot of motorhome and probably more than you need. Like you said it will limit you in the parks and campgrounds that are available to you. You could get plenty of room in a 30' motorhome and be able to get into more parks. We have a Phoenix Cruiser we really enjoy and the quality is great.

Ordering a new one is probably not an option until the COVID-19 situation is under control. I've seen a bunch of RV dealers are closed too because of the stay in place guidelines. Here's a used Phoenix Cruiser 3100 (only 30 feet) on RVtrader (click LINK). You might find it meets your needs. LINK.

[rgatijnet1]

As someone who has traveled for many years in an RV and I can say that many of the State and National Parks DO have restrictions as to the length on a rig. This does not mean that a 40' rig cannot fit WITHIN the park, I am just saying that you may not be able to use a specific site or there may not be a site that is left where your 40' rig will fit. If you use RESERVEAMERICA.COM to find your site, you will see the length of the rigs that will fit on each specific parking site, as well as it's location within the park. Here is an example: Westmoreland State Park.
If you set out and plan to stay at State and National Parks, especially during the peak season, and expect to get in to every park with your 40' rig, you will occasionally be disappointed. As you can see from the example at Westmorland, the maximum length goes from 19' to 47'. Here is another example in Florida: Florida Caverns State Park. Out of 33 RV sites, 8 will accept a 40' rig. Most are for 30' back-in rigs. Chances are, unless you make reservations well in advance, during the Winter months you may not be able to use that State Park with a 40' rig.
I should have added the obvious........when booking a site, especially during the Winter months, and someone has a 30' rig and all of the 30' sites are taken, they will just book a 40' site. In other words, first come first serve. I haven't seen a State or National Park yet that will restrict 40' sites to just 40' rigs. Anything smaller will be accepted.

[ItsyRV]

Rqtpis2 wrote:
What kind of size issues will I run into?

There are two issues, one is the size limit and the other is the size availability.

Size limits isn't a sky-is-falling issue as many federal, state, regional and private campgrounds can accommodate an RV over 40 feet. Way too much emphasis and discord surrounds the issue of maximum length spots in parks when reality is the list of those who can't accommodate a large RV is small compared to campgrounds that can accommodate large RV's So, the issue of being prevented for accessing federal, state, regional or private campgrounds based solely on length is a rather misleading argument at best.

Now, the issue many refuse to discus is actual availability. Although a campground can accommodate a large RV, those spots may not be available for use when you want to sue them. Plain old common sense tell you that the more limitations you have on a reservation, the less opportunities you have for that reservation. This is not if a large RV can get into a campground but if the campground has availability for that large size compared to a smaller size availability.

What a lot of the larger RVers fail to admit is that a small RV can occupy a spot made for a large RV while it's not so easy for a large RV to occupy a spot designed for a small RV. If a place has various size spots, any person with brain cells firing will admit that the the odds of availability goes down as you exceed the maximum size limits of those various spots. It's not rocket science; just common sense. Now I know that most simply limit their discussion to only those places that can accommodate and forget or ignore those who can't. So, in their book, they have no issues cause they wont even try those that can't accommodate their size to begin with.

My advice is just get the RV that suit you needs first and foremost. Afterwards, just remember that trip planning may just mean a couple extra steps as you know that size will play a factor, but it isn't an end-of-days type scenario. Be flexible and you'll be alright.

[d_denver]

I've seen measuring lines at the entry of some California and Utah parks measuring you to make sure your the proper length.

[enblethen]

The expertise of the driver and spotter must also be considered. More experience is beneficial.

[BUB1988]

We have a 39' RV and never had an issue at any of the Parks. That is not to say you need to do you homework to be sure you can fit. As others have said most of these parks were built many, many years ago before large camping units. Some parks may only list a few 40' sites and is why you need to research the parks. I would also agree most of the times the issue isn't the size of the site but the narrow roads and trees. We also have not had any issue with our toad, which we flat tow. If you dolly that could be an issue.

[way2roll]

Following this post as next year we will begin full timing and plan to tour the US - many spots for State and National parks. We want as much floor space as possible without too many restrictions to visit places we want to see. Thinking a 36-38' MH is the sweet spot for us so it's good to hear this shouldn't really be an issue.

[Twomed]

X2....43'...300k...20th year...!