38.5 foot too big to take cross country?

[jts140]

We are about to purchase a 36 Montana, which is actually 38.5'. We plan to travel the nation. Worried about it being too big.. Would like to stay in national parks if available, but not opposed to private rv parks. Anyone out there with similar size that could give some advice..
Thanks

[SandSOrrell]

I pull a 37' fiver. I have numerous friends who are pulling 39 and 40' rigs. My TV and fiver on the road measures about 57' TV front bumper to fiver rear bumper. There are lots of back-ins that I would not be able to get into. But I always try to find pull-throughs. The comments about NPs and SPs are pretty much right on. When you call for a reservation you can inquire about what size rigs are acceptable. We tend to stay in private parks and lots of them are "big rig friendly". When making a reservation I always tell them what my coach size is and what my overall length is. Got about 15,000 miles on my 2013 setup and only once that I can remember was I told they could not handle me. So as someone has already said - go for it and enjoy your new rig!

[Veebyes]

We are just <36' pin to bumper, 55' LOA on the road. There are plenty state & NPs where the extra 3' would make the difference between doable & not. Often we are backed in, wheels up to the end of the site pad & the back hanging off into space, way too high to the ground to use the stabilizers. A bit of jiggle & shake does not bother us so we can use these sites that we would otherwise be too big for.

If you are one who wants to make the trailer as stable as a house, you will be severely limited in SPs & NPs with your 39'. Then there are the parks which do have a few sites suitable for long rigs but all too often a class B or a C has taken them, especially in a 'pick your own site' park.

It is a case of bigger is not necessarily better. There is a tipping point where cg options greatly diminish.

[Tin_Pusher]

Too big? Well yeah, all the full-timers have Scamps and R-pods 🙂

[ependydad]

Basically what the others said. At 42' fifth wheel and a crew cab/long bed truck, we're about 59' tip to tail. We generally stay in private parks and I call ahead to most locations unless their site advertises "big rig friendly".

And, as someone else said- the book or subscription to Big Rigs Best Bets is a great deal and very helpful. It's not always my style of camping (usually more open than I prefer)- it's really nice for driving down the road and randomly picking a place.

[Michelle_S]

Agree with everyone, just plan ahead. More and more parks, state, fed, and private list the length of site on their web sites. Granted you will not be able to fit into every site, but most will have some where you'll fit if they're avail. We're planning to go from Fla to Alaska, down the West Coast, do the Western Parks, the Big Balloon Fest and return to FLA next summer and we're 41 feet.

[WeBeFulltimers]

Sorry but you're .5 feet too long. Just kidding...Go for it!

[Georgew48]

Mine is 43 ft and we take it ever where. Never not been able to find a spot close to where we want to be.

[skipnchar]

There is about a million trailers that length and longer traveling the highways every day. Just need the right tow vehicle and adequate driving skills

[bucky]

My MIL and her husband drug that same Montana all over the place with a 06
D/A 2500 shortbed. Maine to Florida to California and back. She is still in love with Sedona. They agreed they were getting too old to keep going, but they had a heck of a time before they quit. I say go for it.

[Dutch___Di]

We have a 38'Carriage and have been fulltiming for 17 years. We have found only a very few places we couldn't get into. Hugs, Di

[mike2wheels]

We're 39 feet and previously owned a 37-foot motorhome. We've found that most state parks do not have space for that. It's a little better at the national park level, but not much. We seldom find an open space in a national park, so we generally stay in private parks.

[n7bsn]

Actually there are quite a number of National Park campgrounds you would not fit in. Most of the time there will be a private campground outside the park where you can

[Dennis_M_M]

The Heavy Haulers Resource Guide has a map of big rig parks.

[MrVan]

We have pulled a 38' 5th wheel in the Western States w/o a problem. Haven't run into too many places that can't handle that length. Just plan ahead and you might want to get a book to help called "Big Rig" for campsites that can handle the bigger RV's.

[MTPockets1]

We're 35 ft and been from Washington State to Florida and everything in between. Never had a problem. Just pay attention & plan ahead to avoid space length limits. We always check ahead on Internet & web sites to make sure. On occasion we call ahead. You could run into an issue if you just stop in cold.