Ordered new class C 28ft, campsite length issues???

[DAS26miles]

We camped almost anywhere with our 22ft Minnie . Now that we ordered a new 28ft we are concerned about fitting into our favorite spots in National and State parks. Example, our favorite spot in Yosemite Upper Pines has a 24ft length. I guess we can just back up to the stops and have the clearance needed up front at the road. The door on our Minnie is behind the rear axle and the new one is in front so it will still be on the pad. Do any of you out there with a 28ft or larger fudge a little when making the reservations?
Another new issue is trees as we will have to slide-outs on opposite sides.

[zachcycles]

A couple months back I decided to move on from my 23'(26 bumper to bumper) '95 Jamboree. I stay almost exclusively at Forest Service and National Park camps with many small spots. I gotta tell ya the angst of going longer about killed me. Three weeks ago I picked up my 26'(29 bumper to bumper) '14 Thor with small slide out and rear walk around queen bed. With two Standard Poodles (think Travels With Charley) the extra room pushed me over. I've had it out a few times now and have to say the extra feet are not much of a problem. Takes a bit more diligence on tight corners and a bit more fidgeting for some sites with odd approaches but overall... no problems. Once I did back about a foot over the rear stops at the edge of pavement but nobody cared. Grocery store parking lots are a bit more of a white knuckle thing but really not so bad as I had thought. Actually this rig is taller than the old one and that extra height has taken more diligence and been a bigger problem than the length.

~Z

[rvten]

We are 29'. Have had no parking problem in any RV Parks.

[robertbenita]

If you know the sites, nothing wrong with adjusting the length a little bit for a reservation. But know the sites because I saw someone turned away without refund and it looked ugly. A 28 ft is a nice size to fit lots of campgrounds! Good luck!

[RambleOnNW]

Ours is horizontal too. Perhaps there is concern about feeding a heavy use like the furnace when cold. I do remember from our tent camping days that the propane bottle feeding our lantern had reduced pressure when getting empty.

[pnichols]

Also ... vapor pressure inside any propane tank not only depends upon temperature ... it depends upon the area of the surface of the remaining liquid in the tank.

What this means is a vertical tank of any given diameter and height and with any given amount of liquid propane in it will have less internal vapor pressure most of the time than a horizontal tank of the same given diameter and length with the same amount of liquid propane in it.

Our RV's 18 gallon propane tank is a horizontal one .... so it can probably be used way down to a fairly low level.

[RambleOnNW]

We have rented 24 to 32 footers and bought a 28 footer. We can jam it most anywhere. We have driven it long enough that it feels like a 24 footer use to. Now are you happy?

[DAS26miles]

Really, what does propane have to do with my topic?

[RambleOnNW]

My propane gauge shows the top 1/4 and bottom 1/4 as red. The top 1/4 is for propane gas expansion space, and the bottom 1/4 red is a warning that sufficient vapor pressure may not be generated at that level, particularly at cold termperatures. We never get anywhere near 1/4 between fills so not a problem.

[mlts22]

Generally a propane tank only will fill up 3/4 of the way, because propane requires space for vapor pressure.

Of course, an Extend-A-Stay device does help, but then the problem moves to safely carrying propane cylinders.

[pnichols]

RambleOnNW wrote:
Our propane tank is 18 gallons also, however the first 1/4 is not usable, ...

Huh :h

Please explain.

Usability of the top 1/4 I know about .... never heard of the bottom 1/4 usability issue:

Temperature dependent?

Liquid gas surface area dependent?

Something to do with if you have a propane powered built-in generator?

Even if what you say about the first/bottom 1/4 is true .... it's better to shop for an RV with an "18 gallon" tank instead of a "10 or 12 or 14 gallon" tank!

I wish ours had a 23 gallon propane tank in it .... there's room for it .... Winnie could have installed one.

[DaHose]

Seeing folks talking about waste water storage, I am tempted to buy a 20 gallon dump tank and strapping it to the back of old Mabel. Our grey water fills up quick, but the black doesn't. I plan to get a macerator for dumping. That would allow me to pump grey water into the black tank. Even then, having an external we could use to transfer when staying at water/power only sites might be nice.

Jose

[RambleOnNW]

pnichols wrote:

falconbrother wrote:
We are looking at moving to a class C but, I hope we can find one with big enough black and grey tanks.

...

- Our propane tank is 18 gallons.

...

Our propane tank is 18 gallons also, however the first 1/4 is not usable, and the top 1/4 is not usable for propane gas expansion space, so it is really a 9 usable gallon tank.

[wbwood]

wbwood wrote:
Our is listed as a 31' model but it's actuall 32'7". We always say 33'......but if staying in the type of parks you mentioned, we will look at pictures of the sites and make sure there is nothing being the pasd or stops that will prevent the motorhome from backing up. You also need to look at the height of the stops or curb. In the below picture is our motorhome at a park on the B,lue ridge parkway. As you can see it is extending over the curb. WE might of fit in the spacewithout going over the curb, but we would of been right at the narrow road and did not want that. Use the internet and it's pictures. It's almost a necessity.

Just checked and the Reserve America listed this site (E12 - Julian Price park) as having a 24' maximum vehicle size. Just for reference. As I mentioned. Our rig is about 33' long.

[PSW]

We selected our 2350 Phoenix Cruiser because we normally boondock. We can do any switchback we encounter if we go slow and easy. A couple of our favorite spaces in NF campgrounds we go to pretty well max out with our rig. We tow the Jeep and sometimes park it elsewhere in the campground. Not often, but an option. The corner bed is a hassle but works. The bath is adequate. The couch is two independently articulated side by side loungers that go from straight up to flat out by pushing a button. Our black tank is 35 gallons which is about the largest we could find on a small rig.

All that said, a little extra room for camping a week at a time would be nice, but we just don't think it is necessary. We came from a couple of decades in the Land of B Class and so this thing seems huge. It is all perspective and how you are going to use the rig. Our separate reclining chair give us plenty of seating options for reading, relaxing, eating or watching TV. Putting up the table for eating takes less than two minutes. We would love to have a dinette but no room in the inn. Besides, we eat mostly outside anyway. That is why we are in the woods and great outdoors....enjoy.

Parking wise, we can park about anywhere the FexEx or UPS can park one of their Sprinters (our PC is on a Ford) and driving and turning radius wise on the 350 chassis is a breeze. We are very pleased.

We travel only as a couple with our doggie. If we had a 40 foot DP it would be the same, so each RVer has to own 2 or 3 rigs to find most exactly what they want. By then, you are older and your lifestyle and camping style changes!

That is a good thing. You get to do 'er all over again and have new experiences!!! That way we don't set home and become old goats and goatesses like lots of our friends have chosen to do when health problems are not a concern to them.

Thirty-three years of monkeying with motor homes and camper vans and we still enjoy them!!