Length, wheelbase, state RV parks.

[imjustdave]

Hello everyone.

Wife and I currently own a Jayco 5th 30.5 BHS to be exact. measure out to 32 feet. Anyways the kid has moved out and the lightening storm of last year has mad it impossible for the dogs to sleep in the bunk house so as great as our BHS is the 4 bunks are literally storage now.

So we have been looking for another 5th wheel.

Our friends have a brand new Montana 4 slide rear bunk house measure out at 38 feet. "they have kids still" and tow with a older Ford.

Anyways we like to camp in state parks, specifically WA as that is where we live. The sites have "trees" vegetation, privacy ETC which really makes nice and fun to camp at VS private camping places which seem more like a parking lot with row after row of asphalt pads.

So as nice as our friends new Montana is, it is impossible for him to park the beast. Yes I have to wiggle mine around some but his seems like he needs a foot ball field of space to park. The site for him last weekend was literally the biggest in the park, and had a pull thru site in front that he had to use in order for him to get it in the site.

He drives a 12 car hauler for work, and I used to drive over the road so we are both used to big rigs.

Is the 6 foot of difference really that much?
We haven't measured the wheelbase.
Do Fords really have that bad of a turning radius? I think it is a 99 Ford SRW F350 4 door, 4x4? I have a 06 dodge DRW, 4 door 4x4.

I would like a nice "amenities" trailer but I'm a little gun shy right now that I will buy something too big to fit in the parks we prefer to visit. Seems like nice option also = longer.
Looked at a Grand Design last week seemed like nicely built, Jayco is another line I would be interested in.

So is the 6 feet really that much? when trying to park?
Are the trucks playing a role here?
Ideas?
Trailer ideas?

[Stefonius]

TakingThe5th wrote:

imjustdave wrote:
Does anyone happen to have the turning radius of a 99 ford 350 4 door 4x4. My google searches haven't turned up much.

Now that I think about it my truck does turn a lot better then my friends Ford. I do recall flipping a U where he had to do a 3 point turn around.

Well the hunt is still on... no rush at this point.

I can say that the turning radius of a 2002 F350 CC DRW 4x4 is about 5.5 feet longer then that of a 2005 F350 CC DRW 4x4. I did that test on my driveway awhile back.

I understand that the F450 sometimes has a tighter turning radius then a comparable F350. I don't know if that's actually true but I do know it sure sounds odd.

Edited

It is absolutely true. DRW trucks used hub spacers to move the front wheels outboard. This cuts the turning circle down by almost 10 feet over a comparably sized SRW Ford P/U.

[MTPockets1]

jamarynn1 wrote:
We have a 38' fifth wheel and we've found we can get into just about anyplace, as long as we can inch back and forth about a hundred times and can put up with the 8 other campers who wander over and yell "CUT TO THE RIGHT!....TO THE RIGHT!!.....TO THE RIGHT!!!.....CUT TO THE LEFT..NO, CUT TO THE RIGHT!!!!..BACK UP TWO FEET....NOW PULL FORWARD.....ad nauseum" until they get bored and go back to their sites.

Was that you?

[TakingThe5th]

imjustdave wrote:
Does anyone happen to have the turning radius of a 99 ford 350 4 door 4x4. My google searches haven't turned up much.

Now that I think about it my truck does turn a lot better then my friends Ford. I do recall flipping a U where he had to do a 3 point turn around.

Well the hunt is still on... no rush at this point.

I can say that the turning radius of a 2002 F350 CC DRW 4x4 is about 5.5 feet longer then that of a 2005 F350 CC DRW 4x4. I did that test on my driveway awhile back.

I understand that the F450 sometimes has a tighter turning radius then a comparable F350. I don't know if that's actually true but I do know it sure sounds odd.

Edited

[jamarynn1]

We have a 38' fifth wheel and we've found we can get into just about anyplace, as long as we can inch back and forth about a hundred times and can put up with the 8 other campers who wander over and yell "CUT TO THE RIGHT!....TO THE RIGHT!!.....TO THE RIGHT!!!.....CUT TO THE LEFT..NO, CUT TO THE RIGHT!!!!..BACK UP TWO FEET....NOW PULL FORWARD.....ad nauseum" until they get bored and go back to their sites.

[imjustdave]

Does anyone happen to have the turning radius of a 99 ford 350 4 door 4x4. My google searches haven't turned up much.

Now that I think about it my truck does turn a lot better then my friends Ford. I do recall flipping a U where he had to do a 3 point turn around.

Well the hunt is still on... no rush at this point.

[Stefonius]

NWKomfort350 wrote:
So the best reason to buy an 05 ford 6.0 is turning radius.. :B

Well, that and the Ford Integrated Brake Controller.
The turning circle for a 2005 F250 crew cab short bed is 51.6 feet. In 2003, the same truck has a turning circle of 56.8 feet.

Also, the 6.0 is much quieter than the 7.3. Even more so when it's broken and not running. :B

[NWKomfort350]

So the best reason to buy an 05 ford 6.0 is turning radius.. :B

[Stefonius]

As others have mentioned, the truck will definitely be a limiting factor. Ford SD pickups from '99-'04 have the turning radius of aircraft carriers, especially the SRW versions. Duallys are a bit better, as the front wheels are pushed outwards by spacers. In 2005, Ford switched the front end to coil springs, which allowed for a much greater steering angle.

[avvidclif1]

A 16' wide park road with deep bar ditches (can't leave pavement), a site that is narrow, and at 90 deg to road. Sure makes for a fun time with about anything, especially an over 30' 5er. Not naming any particular park, GRIN.

But it can be done, just go slow and have a good spotter.

[Seattle_Lion]

We are in Washington and visited a fair number of state parks. They were all modern and showed signs of recent improvements. We had a TT that measured 30' from tail to tongue. We had a F150 crew cab short bed. So we were at at least 50' long. We had no problems getting in or out of any sites. We were completely new at this too. We traded up to a 37' Bighorn 5ver and a F350 short bed, crew cab. I estimate we are about 55' now, maybe a bit less. I realize that this is an increase. When you reserve sites in WA, the parks rate each site for RV size. Every site we have booked claims to be good for extra large RV's. Based on our trips last year, it looks to me like we will be ok. We have one trip planned to an Oregon state park that could be problematic. We may change to the Mill Casino RV park instead. That park can handle everything easily.

[TakingThe5th]

NWKomfort350 wrote:
I think the turning radius of truck involved also makes a difference. I have an 02 F350 SRW, and I would guess a school bus has a better turning radius than my Ford. It is terrible. You could do a quick google to compare your turning radius to your friends Ford.

My F350 does not have the twin I-beam suspension and has a better turning radius. I believe they changed the front suspension in 2005.

I can usually get into a 34 foot or larger site. My "trick" is to go slow and be precise. I often have to pull forward a little to straighten up from the turn but the key is not to be pulling back and forth repeatedly because it's backed in wrong-long 5ers just don't move over very well in small places. If you backed in wrong, figure it out-pull out-and back it in the right way. But you probably know that better then me.

Sorry for the edit - having a problem I haven't figured out yet.

* * Edited * *

[MTPockets1]

We've travelled from FL to CA to WA and prefer state parks. We do plan ahead but rarely have any problems backing into sites. We find that in most state parks, a 35 ft site is the pad or pavement length; still room to overhang the rear. On the rare occasion the web site seems there may be a problem, we just find an alternate location; but never a problem.

[azdryheat]

If you make it to AZ, the state parks have nice long spaces and really are 'big rig' friendly.

[Gsport]

Good choice on the Grand Design.. I've got a 39' GD Solitude. Moved up from a 32' to a 36' and now to our 39' Solitude. With each move up, we limited ourselves where we could park. Once you get parked you'll love that you went bigger..