Some questions on National Park sites

[Acei]

My DW and I would like to start full-timing in the future. We expect to do lots of hiking during the day and some work during the evening/night. We MUCH prefer to camp in less open spaces that feature its own picnic tables and fire pits. We are not really interested in RV parks in an open area full of RVs that look like parking lots. My DW loves burning firewood in private sites. Our plan is to visit all National Parks and sleep within the parks, even if there are no hookups. I do understand that most of the sites are built long time ago and are not RV friendly.

I went to the top 10 most popular National Park websites and found out that they have certain thresh holds on the RV lengths - at 25ft, 30ft, 35ft then 40ft+. Hence, I am making an assumption that by staying below 25ft, I'm opening myself with many options.

Given this, which setup would be most friendly for our desired plan?

- 1T SRW truck pulling a 25ft FW
- 25ft B+ pulling a 20ft trailer
- 35ft Class A MH pulling a crossover vehicle

Remember, privacy is high up on our priority list. Do they let any of the above setup camp on sites that are designed for tent camping with decent privacy?

Your feedback are much appreciated from those who are experienced in camping at National Parks!

[pugslyyy]

Sounds to me like you want to do dispersed camping / boondocking. That's what we do most of the time.

For remote camping a TC is absolutely the way to go.

[Acei]

Just to be clear, when I say privacy it would be nice to be in a middle of no where but I do realize that I won't get that in the National Parks. What I don't want, is a parking lot full of RVs with almost nothing in between.

In Ontario, we have many provincial and national parks where the sites are big enough to accommodate small RVs while there are enough trees in between that you get some privacy. These are designated for both tents and smaller RVs. You will see fires burning in all directions during the night and you will hear people talk loud during the day/evening. Does this exist in USA national parks? I've never been in one unfortunately.

What does a 25ft RV site look like in USA national parks?

[agesilaus]

In general you will NOT be able to camp in tent only CG no matter how short your trailer is. However you should look into Boondocking--free camping mainly in National Forests and BLM lands. The Feds call it Distributed Camping. If you want that isolated feeling that's the way to go. And a Truck Camper is probably the best way to camp in those area tho people use all sorts of RV's to do it. Try the Boondocking forum here for more info.

[NanciL]

In the Everglades National Park there is a camp ground called Long Pine Key that might be acceptable to you.
it was originally made for tenters, and there are many spots that are isolated from others.
There are lots of good hiking trails, but all of them are flat.
Go there in the winter and still bring deet spray with you.
For sitting around the camp fire, get a thermocell. They are fantastic for the mosquitoes and no-seeums.

What ever you do, don't go to the Flamingo camp ground. As much as we like it for our kayaking, it is just what you don't want.

Jack L

[Thunder_Mountai]

Thunder Mountain wrote:
Remember, privacy is high up on our priority list. Do they let any of the above setup camp on sites that are designed for tent camping with decent privacy?

Not sure about you definition of "privacy." Privacy is not something you will find in any NP campgrounds especially during prime season. Some Parks are better than others. Picking spots on the apex of a loop can help. But you will always be within earshot and visually close to your fellow campers. But in our experience NP campgrounds are always better than commercial campgrounds whose motto is "we pack 'em in."

Tent site are tent sites in NP. You will not be allowed to put an RV on them. Tent sites are usually a parking space with a designated spot for the tent separated by some sort of barrier.

Many NPs are bordered by other Federally administered land such as National Forest or BLM. Designated campgrounds in these places will not be private during season. BLM dispersed camping areas would offer the best privacy.

Best suggestion is to plan your trips when school is in session.

[colliehauler]

I agree with what Kohldad said, (The shorter you are the more campsites you will be able to choose from.)

I thought I was short enough at 26' until I went to a remote lake. The largest spot would fit a TC, Pop Up, or TT under 20'.

[kohldad]

The shorter you are, the more campsites you will be able to choose from. One of the reasons we love moving down from a 35' FW with kids to our TC without them.

The 35' MH would be bottom on my list since it will limit you to larger roads during the travels. Prevents you from exploring the backroads between the NPs.

Issue with the B+ is they are usually pretty well maxed out weight wise and don't have a lot of towing capacity left. So if you plan on putting a car or a lot of weight in the 20' trailer, you will be lacking power, especially once you start gaining altitude. Another issue I see with a B+ is that is your only transportation unless you plan on putting a motorcycle or smart car in the trailer. Then you have the problem of length when trying to park the car on the same site as the B+ and trailer.

With a 25' FW, you should be able to keep the truck down to a 1/2 ton without issue. Especially if you are a light packer. While it would limit a few places, I would go with a 30' FW and 3/4 or 1 ton truck. This would get you in 90% of the parks which would take you a very long time to explore.

The only exception I have come across with tent sites is with a TC since the foot print is about the same as a truck. This is especially true if you are actually tent camping at a walk in site. Would have a problem with any trailer at these type sites since the parking areas are designed for cars or trucks without trailers.

One option you didn't list is a TC on a 1 ton. At 18-20' with the bed over the cab, not much shorter than the 25' FW and more space than a typical 25' B+. You could still pull the trailer but have the added advantage of dropping the trailer and TC in the campground so just having the empty truck to run around in.

My wife has fallen in love with our TC travel style of exploring all day as we travel and then finding a spot at the end of the day to spend the night. Since we don't have a trailer, we don't have to worry about the road ending as we just turn around. We also don't have to worry about bathroom or restaurants as we always have them with us. And we never have to double back to get to the campsite for the night as it is always where we stop. Sometimes this is the end of the road, sometimes just the parking area for a trail, once in a great while the Walmart parking lot after re-stocking, or that little itty bitty NF campground that is used so little moss almost completely covers the road.

Each unit has it's advantages and drawbacks. The smaller you are the less you can carry but the more places you get to go. The larger you are the more comforts you can take with you but the harder it is to get around between destinations.

So two questions to ask yourself:
1) How much junk/conveniences do I really need
2) Is it all about the destination or is the journey just as important?