I went with a 40' DP, and a pair of handicap people, they where older couple and I have bad knees. We towed their Jeep, and got in for free.
If you show the perminate handicap card at the entrance gate, you get a disabled pass for free admission to all Federal parks, and even can be used on some trails where a "Forest use fee" is in place to charge those who are using the Federal park roads and parking areas. It also provides 1/2 price camping.
I pulled into the first site that looked 40' long, and unhitched the Jeep, went looking for a site large enough to park both Jeep and RV. DId not find one, so parked the Jeep nearby in it's own site, and paid for both sites for 3 nights. Was not to bad, I used my 1/2 price card, he used his to pay for the RV site. We even set up a tent in the other site, kept his dog over there, adjacent to our site, and we where also very close to the restrooms. We had to drive separate to the group area to hitch up the Jeep to the RV. It was the weekend after July 4, and there where a lot of open spaces early on Friday, we spent Friday and Saturday nights, then went home on Sunday. Stopped at a local farm to pick up some peaches on the way home, they where great, should have bought two cases, at $20 per case. I ended up with a large bag for $10, my buddy bought a case of white peaches for $20. No farmer at this stand, just a box to put the money in on the honor system. The farm was between 180 and highway 99, I was making my way back to the freeway, without going all the way to Clovis, to save a lot of miles. I lived in Orange County at the time, so it was shorter that way.
By the way only take highway 180 into and out of the park. Use the engine exhaust brake a lot coming down the mountain. Pull over if you have more than 6 cars following you, so they can move along a little faster. I had to switch between 4th and 3rd sometimes, due to the curves in the road, so the engine brake did most of the braking.
It works in stages. Need a little braking, shift manually to 5.
Need a little more? Shift to 4.
More? Turn on the engine brake, and it will shift to 4 when the RV is slow enough (like below 65 MPG) but if you already manually are in 4, it will not keep shifting back up to 6 when you give it a little gas or turn off the brake for a short straight section.
If the road signs say 35 MPH curve, then slow with the service brakes to about 35 before entering the curve, and shift manually to gear 3. This will keep the engine brakes working more than the service brakes.
On the uphil, the engine tended to warm up a bit. I think that the radiator should be washed really well, to prevent this. Use some simple green, spray it on, let it sit a bit, then wash off with a garden hose, until the water runs clear. The radiators tend to pick up a lot of dirt in part because of the rear tires and any oil mist in the air makes the dirt sticky.
I had a back up plan, in case all the campgrounds are full. Drive to Hume Lake, past the city (where you can buy really expensive gasoline, but not diesel) and then go about 1.1 miles, start looking for a parking area on the right as you go up the hill, just before a short downhill section. It is a un-designated parking area, for overflow camping. I fit my 30' Bounder in there fine, considered it for the 40' DP, but was happy to find a place in the main camping area, much closer to the General Forest and other sites.
You might also consider going to see the Chicago Stump, it has a story of it's own, and is a short walk from the parking area. You would need a toad for this side trip. The stump is over 10' across, and they cut down the tree for showing it off at the Chicago fair in the 1880's. Yet someone said "It is a hoax" and the guy could not convince anyone the tree was real, and that the 15' diameter section of the tree had been cut down, sliced into several peices, and shipped with wagons, to a rail yard in Sanger, then to Chicago. And he also had pictures for sale.
You can google Chicago Stump for the full story. That area used to have dozens of trees over 15' in diameter, most cut down to make railroad ties, or house lumber. Sadly many trees fell apart after falling some 250' to the solid forest floor, breaking up into splinters.
If you will not have a car, you can still take the RV to the General Grant area, and walk around some huge trees. Some are over 200' tall, one is fallen down, and has a section carved out of it, where they taught school back in the 1890's.
Fred.
Money can't buy happiness but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a
Porsche or Country Coach!
If there's a WILL, I want to be in it!
I havn't been everywhere, but it's on my list.
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