Cross Country Trip - What length Class C???

[Udetective]

So I'm purchasing my first Class C rv for a cross country trip in the summer. I was all set on getting one approx 25' long. However, I'm second guess myself and thinking it would be nice to go a little bigger. The big question, does a shorter RV play nicer in the National Parks? Or does that 5' not really matter? Thanks in advance for any info!

[Udetective]

Thank you EVERYONE!! What great info from everyone. I'm still undecided lol might be what I get the best deal on 🙂 happy traveling.

[ron_dittmer]

Sully2 wrote:

j-d wrote:
This Vehicle Length Limits Page is titled "Sequoia & Kings Canyon"

Thats why the wife and I always had a Jeep toad with us...unook and go wandering.....

Like you, we always tow our 4x4 so we can go anywhere, and we do freely go anywhere. Once we did not take the Jeep along and regretted it. The only time I would leave the Jeep home now would be if driving to Alaska.

[ron_dittmer]

When sightseeing anywhere/everywhere, but especially in the national parks, once you exceed 21 feet, you don't fit in an automobile parking spot. At that point, you will miss out on some pull-offs during peak season. If touring when the kids are in school, the population in the parks dwindle and so the parking problem greatly diminishes.

Exceeding 30 feet can get tricky in some NP camp grounds. Their narrow winding campground roads with trees at the edges of the pavement need to be taken with care or you'll kiss a tree. Then there are some campsites that won't work with a 30 footer. Again during the slow season you can afford to pass them by.

During peak season, good luck to us all. Extra prayers needed for the longer rigs. The popular national parks get swamped at peak season. Parks like Yosemite for example gets inundated with people who live near by in the Los Angeles area.

If you are real good at planning and sticking to it in a motor home, reservations are wise to get. But you need to play the "reservation game" where camp grounds at peak season get booked within the first day the ticket office opens for the year.

We always travel without reservations and stay in the secondary camp grounds or even in a nearby national forest. Rarely will we stay in a private campground near a national park. Once in a while it works better than staying in the park, like outside Acadia NP at Hadley's Point Campground for example.

[bigskygrizzlybe]

I live in Ohio and have been Yellowstone and Glacier many times. Just my wife and I and pooch. Have a 24 foot with 6 foot slide that turns the sofa into bed. No problems, but the older I get, it would sure be nice not to have to crawl over wife a couple of times a night to go to bathroom. If I had to do it again, I would go with queen bed in rear. 4 or 5 feet not much difference on roads or in parks.

[Sully2]

j-d wrote:
This Vehicle Length Limits Page is titled "Sequoia & Kings Canyon"

Thats why the wife and I always had a Jeep toad with us...unook and go wandering.....

[winnietrey]

In my humble opinion, Yes a 24ft does play much nicer. We have had a 24ft for 13 years, and 65K miles, been all over the western US and Alaska and Canada. No toad.

It is not the actual camping that is the problem with a larger rig, it, is the sightseeing part that is a problem.

Lets say you want to stop at a roadside attraction, or a store, or restaurant or even leave your campsite to see something in a National Park. The smaller you are the easier it is to find parking.

Do you Plan to have a toad? That will make a big difference. And what is it you want to do? Are you a road tripper like us, stay a night or three and move on seeing things along the way? Or do you want to go to one place, stay for a week or more and satellite out with a toad?

If the former go smaller, if the latter go larger

[j-d]

This Vehicle Length Limits Page is titled "Sequoia & Kings Canyon"

[Sully2]

27-29 footer...depending on the interior layout

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

j-d wrote:
Driving cross country, no differences till you try to park at some tight place, and even then you'll probably find the 30-ft range doesn't cause more trouble than the 25-ft range. This from owning a 24 and a 31.

Using state/national parks as an example, here's my list, easier on top, tougher on bottom:

Driving into the park
Driving to the campground
Parking on campsites
Driving within the park sightseeing
Parking within the park at lookouts/points of interest while sightseeing

Ths length limit on Going to the Sun Highway is pretty short. Like a Class B. Can't be over 21' long, 8' wide, 10' high. That eliminates pretty much all Class C's.

Good list! If I remember correctly, King's Canyon Nat'l Park (and maybe Sequoia?) had 22' limits for many of the sightseeing roads through the parks - and I think it was the east entrance into Yosemite that had Ed and I saying "EEEKS - glad we're not in the motorhome" due to narrow, twisty, mountain-walled roads?

[_en_Plain_Air_]

Try reversing the thinking. What is the smallest (therefore, most convenient to drive and navigate) vehicle that you can comfortable live in without a daily firedrill to re-configure (ie turning sofas into beds etc), that also has the cargo carrying capacity to take what you would want for a long trip. We chose a 27' Class C unit with a rear twin/king bedroom, and a real dinette. We sleep in the back and store 'stuff' and gear in the over cab bunk. We spent a total of 13 months on long trips over the last 2 years and are confident our choice was good for us. We are nimble, wholly self-contained, and we love our little house. Would not want to be any longer, and we don't need the length. It's a personal decision, but do consider what you 'need' vs the many bells and whistles that really aren't necessary for a simple life on the road.

[suprz]

My theory was to go bigger at first... Then if you don't like it, you can trade down.. Which is always easier than trading up. We have a 31 ft class c and have driven it cross country twice in 2 years. Never had a problem. You just have to know your limitations...??

[Photomike]

Some great posts so far, let me share my experience.

I came from a TCer to a 19' Class C. Length is great and I love it, can back it in and out of so many places with ease I can take it to work, the store and maneuver down roads without worrying about if I need to turn around.

Problem for me is width, I do not have the ability to use it in narrow parking spots so in the peak season I still have to park in RV spots. With the TCer I only had the width of the truck to worry about, the class C is a lot wider in the rear. Makes for parking a little harder as you will take up the ENTIRE width of any standard parking places and maneuvering around obstacles is harder.

Can you do it - yes! Is it fun in busy places - not really but I don't go to a lot of these places. Would I go for a short RV if I was like most people and used it for camping for weeks at a time in just the summer - no, I would get it a bit longer for the extra benefits that you have with the extra length and either take the tours or haul along a car/motor bike or bicycles.

[mda]

The walk around queen bed is worth the few extra feet. If you are going to the National Parks during the "busy" season, parking is a bear regardless of what length RV you have. Best way to see Going to the Sun Highway is on the Red Bus Tour. Leave the driving to some else. Many National Parks have tours, which take the stress out of visiting the attractions.

[j-d]

Driving cross country, no differences till you try to park at some tight place, and even then you'll probably find the 30-ft range doesn't cause more trouble than the 25-ft range. This from owning a 24 and a 31.

Using state/national parks as an example, here's my list, easier on top, tougher on bottom:

Driving into the park
Driving to the campground
Parking on campsites
Driving within the park sightseeing
Parking within the park at lookouts/points of interest while sightseeing

Ths length limit on Going to the Sun Highway is pretty short. Like a Class B. Can't be over 21' long, 8' wide, 10' high. That eliminates pretty much all Class C's.