Reality of RV length restrictions?

[kamenkat]

Wife and I are planning to buy a fifth wheel and full time RV in about 5 years. Its been our plan to hit the road and visit every National Park in the US. We realize a couple may not be doable. Our question to full timers is this, what is reality of RV length and places to camp? We've been camping for years so we know the routine, but not with this kind of length. We are used to camping in state parks, national parks, state forest etc. Places that have trees, some kind of privacy...nature. We're gonna have a 36' fifth wheel and 20+' truck...so over 50' total. (this is a correction. my ealier post said 12' truck) With a rig of this size, how hard is it to find a decent place to camp? Are you limited to KOA and Yogi Bear campgrounds?

[kamenkat]

Lwiddis wrote:
What kind of twelve foot truck do you have?

should have been more specific. total length of truck is more like 21'. never really measured it. it looks like some parks "restictions" are combined. RV plus truck.

[agesilaus]

Including COE parks grossly skews the data set. Many sites in those newer parks are very long. 75 feet is not unusual. I suspect they are intended for folks with boats. But if you look at NPS and USFS parks you will find that most sites are shorter. And while COE parks are great for camping they mostly lack natural wonders, good hiking trails, mountains and other things people travel to see.

[MitchF150]

My wifes 2003 RAV 4 is more than 12 feet long... 🙂 I'm sure you meant 21 feet... 🙂

Anyway, from what I've seen in some of the older National Park camp grounds, they are not really setup for large RV's. Just driving thru the park itself can be rough with some of the tight corners and trees all over the place.

State parks are better setup for larger RV's and will have at least electric hookups in most of them.. Well, at least in WA state.. OR state parks are pretty good too.

But, if you want to boondock and 'be with nature' in the National Parks, a 36' 5th wheel will limit you some. Not saying you can't do what you want to do.. Just that you'll have to be mindful of the parks you wish to visit..

Good luck! Mitch

[BarbaraOK]

We thought when we started we would be using state and federal campgrounds. Most states are impossible to get into in the summer on the weekends, and also charge extra for a MH pulling a car unless you buy an annual pass. Plus, since most states are hurting it costs as much, if not more, than staying at a private campground. There are a few state parks in the west that we like on the shoulders (before Memorial Day and after Labor Day) and they all tend to be old COE parks. Absolutely love COE parks, always have space for all sizes of vehicles and the Corps knows how to build them. Plus they only allow 6 month out reservations and we have utilized them all over the midwest. National Parks are all reserved the day after New Years for most weeks between Memorial Day and Labor Day. So we went with membership parks and have saved money and enjoyed ourselves for years. Yes, we are outside of most National Parks, so we do day trips and come back to our $0 - $10 a night site. Works well for us.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

Amazing data - Thank you

But the data is incomplete.

The Vermont COE Park was reserve able through reserveamerica/recreation.gov. We reserved an E/W site and stayed there in Aug 2015.

Louisiana has several federal campgrounds, but Beaver Dam campground on Caney Lake north of Minden, a few miles from I-20 is the only one with reserve able sites. Most of them are able to handle very large RVs.

The COE has one CG with 50amp/water sites in that area - Tom Merrill near the Bodcau Bayou Dam (only holds water during floods) about 20 sites last time I walked through it.

There are several boondocking sites between there up to the Arkansas border on Bodcau (also called Bodcaw). Grew up in that area.

[TechWriter]

agesilaus wrote:
State parks...maybe but certainly not federal. Show us where you got that number from.

Federal Park Data 2014

[agesilaus]

State parks...maybe but certainly not federal. Show us where you got that number from.

[TechWriter]

kamenkat wrote:
Our question to full timers is this, what is reality of RV length and places to camp? We're gonna have a 36' fifth wheel and 12' truck...so 50' total.

While the majority of state and federal parks have spots that are at least 40' long, 50' will probably prove challenging.

[Lwiddis]

What kind of twelve foot truck do you have?

[Lantley]

wapiticountry wrote:
No matter what size camping unit you choose, there will be some places it will be too big to get into. Heck, I have a favorite fishing lake I am not man enough to carry a sleeping bag and a one man tent up the trail to reach it. So we camp at the bottom of the cliff and climb up in the morning leaving the tents, stove and cooler behind. You do the same thing with any RV, if you can't fit in one location you stay in the nearest one you do and go from there.

I agree with the above. You will never fit into every site at every CG. You have to pick your poison.
Do you want ample living space 24/7/365. Or do you want more camp site availability?

[time2roll]

Get the RV you like and make the best of it. You will find a few secluded wooded sites and for a few you will be at Yogi.
Either way will be a compromise.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

The reality is that there is no consistency.

In general, the larger the rig, the more places you cannot take it.

No way we can get our 36' TT into Mount Rainer NP campgrounds. Personally, I think I can, having walked the main two CG when they were closed. But I've been told on this forum and at the park that my TT would be stopped at the entrance, measured, and I would be turned around and sent out of the park.

Ok, there are several alternates in that area, and we enjoyed several day visits to the park during ouf time in that area.

Many full-timers prefer to stay outside the parks in order to have full-hook up facilities. We stayed outside Yosemite due to lack of available spots in the park.

Two friends contacted the folks at Yellowstone 18 months ahead of their planned visit, and were able to work out a nice 2 week stay, dry camping in their 44' tag axle motorhome, in the Bridge Bay CG.

We had two weeks notice before our route changes made a short visit to Yellowstone possible, so we stayed in West Yellowstone.

The places were worth the trips, flexibility is the key, and for really popular parks, try to plan far ahead.

[wapiticountry]

No matter what size camping unit you choose, there will be some places it will be too big to get into. Heck, I have a favorite fishing lake I am not man enough to carry a sleeping bag and a one man tent up the trail to reach it. So we camp at the bottom of the cliff and climb up in the morning leaving the tents, stove and cooler behind. You do the same thing with any RV, if you can't fit in one location you stay in the nearest one you do and go from there.

[agesilaus]

I doubt you have a 12 ft truck, mine is 23 ft. But as noted above that is probably not a big issue except for your turning radius. There are some NPS and USNF cg that you will be able to get into but more that you will not fit in. We had a 35ft fiver.