Size

[Timandrick]

Good afternoon. I'm interested in hearing form Class A owners of 45 footers. Are you happy with the size? Do you have troubles finding places to stay? Do you wish you bought a smaller unit? Go!!!!!! 🙂

[ferndaleflyer]

I have been going backwards--went from 45ft to 40ft to 36ft and only difference I see is our 45 Dynasty and 40 Winne had a lot more stuff than this 36ft Monaco. I routinely tow a 32ft race car trailer and to me is the big difference in parking at the race track. Been all over the country and never found a park I could not fit in after I told them how long I was---77ft takes a lot of room and now we are down to 68ft. I really think a loaded up 40 is a real nice compromise.

[wa8yxm]

Mine is 38 foot (Gassser) and there are many places where the park map says I won't fit.. Like the spot I'm sitting in as I type this (28 feet) turns out I have a 28 foot wheel base (Front to rear) so I'm good with a foot to spare on this site The back end is hanging a bit off the back end of the site.

I backed on part way. Dropped a 4x4 about a foot from the edge.. Backed till I felt the 4x4.. Pulled ahead about an inch and parked. Use a ladder to hook up the Ham Radio Long wire to the KAT-1 tuner on the rear (Well not on this site but a few I park on I've needed the ladder) Long way up to the connection.

[RLS7201]

The state parks on the left coast do have length restrictions.
Some CA. state parks limit to 30'. My 33' Bounder has as a decal under the drivers window that says "30W". I have not been denied entrance to 30' limited parks. I guess they just assume my length is 30'?

Richard

[et2]

Yes,no. Have always gone bigger. No regrets.

[Racklefratz]

Lwiddis wrote:
Places we can’t go, Rack? Same thing I said scouting Hartley Springs USFS CG in the Inyo National Forest...no way for my 43 foot total TV and TT...until I arrived and found six 45 foot MHs, some with toads.

It's worth noting that I never said you wouldn't be able to get into Hartley Springs CG. While anecdotes can be interesting, they're often not that useful. Bring your "I can get in anywhere" attitude to many TX state parks, and you'll be in for an unpleasant surprise.

TX designed most of its state parks decades ago, when RVs were much shorter, and hasn't updated many of them, and the same applies in many other locales. Consequently, there are still many campgrounds with narrow roads, sharp corners that are difficult to impossible for long RVs to make, and campsites way too short for longer rigs.

Someone mentioned height awareness, and that's a valid concern as well. Ours measures 13'6" from the ground to the tops of the rooftop antennas, and I don't want to be trimming tree branches with them.

A case in point is Goose Island State Park in Rockport, TX. It has waterfront campsites on Copano Bay which we enjoyed many times in the 90s. Now, lack of maintenance has resulted in numerous untrimmed low tree branches over the road leading to the park such that we don't go there anymore.

I don't doubt your experience at Inyo. Please don't doubt mine here in TX, and many other places we've traveled. The reality is that with many longer/higher RVs, there will be places you just have to pass up, and when we bought ours, it was a decision we made with our eyes wide open.

[Two_Jayhawks]

I believe we are 43'11" and heck no we have never had difficulty finding a place that will fit us. We also love the state parks as many have sites large enough. Like others our first priority was choosing the rig we want to exist in and never gave a thought to where it wouldn't fit. We have hopes to eventually 1/2 time in this rig.

[Ivylog]

Welcome to the forums and you have started with a question that will get all kinds of answers, even from those that have never owned a big rig. Granted I put mine where most would not try as we are not Resort types...prefer public CGs and by the stares we get I know we are in the minority. Yes, I have some scratches to prove it.

If you look at my signature you can tell my opinion, but some history first: 16 years ago I bought a used 36' DP because of people on here saying 36' was the max for public CGs... NP, SP, USFS, BLM, COE CGs. Did not take long to realize that is not true, especially out West. Traded for a 40' DP and then (not many years later) to our 42' four slides. I now suggest you buy more RV than you think you need... ONE TIME as trading costs $$$$.

I agree with Bill S that in CA it's difficult to find sites big enough (would add the NE too), but even 36' can be difficult. Sure it's harder BUT not impossible to find sites big enough. He must have a toad that's 5' long so it will fit in the 45' site with his 40' MH, 5' is not going to make much difference in finding sites. It was easy to shrink my 42' to 40' in Yellowstone BUT 45' to 40' might be a problem.

14 years ago and before smart phones and good cell coverage it was a lot harder finding information about sites for a big rig in advance. I have found, even when a USFS CG says 30' max, I always find a couple sites that are big enough for our 42', but DO NOT show up Friday hoping they will be empty. Show up late Sunday or Monday and there's a good chance they will be empty as the working folks have left.

After the first year with a 42' I can say I never hit another curb BUT recently with our "new" 45' I've hit several. Hopefully it will not take a year to stop hitting them. Fortunately I'm able to backup (click on "How I tow" below) so I'm able to make 2 point turns where you backup a little to complete the turn. This increases where I can get without unhooking the toad.

As half timers and snow-birders, the livability for the three months that we spend in SE Fla is more important than the extra effort it takes to find sites big enough the other 3 months. I would think the livability for Full timers is even more important.

With only one post it's hard to know what the OPs plans are and usage requirements but he is way ahead of where I was when I first asked for input 14 years ago.

[ricklord2001]

I have owned 3 rv's the last being a high end almost 44'. I felt that it was great for major highway driving and when we were in our campground. But it seemed most times when I got off the major highways on a "spur of the moment" type event I'd get in trouble. (I also towed a jeep so couldn't really back up).
As a result we'd miss a lot of stuff that we'd see driving and would of gotten off to visit and see if I wasn't worried about potential problems, like branches scraping the sides, not being able to turn around etc. These rigs are also taller mine was 13' tall and in my opinion/experience you really need to know about where you're going and stick to the plan. I sold mine and currently am looking at much smaller rigs. Also if you run into any problems that require towing or repairs it becomes a whole different nightmare. With the big rigs usually come with lots of conveniences and they also of a tendency to have problems resulting in you having to fix them or trying to get into a shop for rv repairs, which is a whole other thread. Just my 2 cents and experience

[Bill_Satellite]

We have a 40' RV and have been looking to move to 45'. However, we recently did some camping along the CA coast and realized that our favorite camping places would not accommodate a 45' coach and not being able to travel to our favorite places is an unacceptable option. We DO like primitive camping such as Rincon Parkway near Ventura. The sites are 45' long. So, what do you plan to do with your toad? We like many of the beach campsites and 40' give you many more options. We HATE the "resorts" that cater to the super high end RVers and they tend to be occupied by a high percentage of overly rich, overly "it's all about me" kind of folks. You are not me so YMMV, but I don't see us ever moving to a 45'. We are just looking for the exact right 40' to continue the dream we have been living for the last 21 years.

[Lwiddis]

Places we can’t go, Rack? Same thing I said scouting Hartley Springs USFS CG in the Inyo National Forest...no way for my 43 foot total TV and TT...until I arrived and found six 45 foot MHs, some with toads.

[Racklefratz]

Ours is 43' long - not your "45'" specification, but close enough.

Places we can't go? Sure - lots of 'em. But we're not in to primitive camping, anyway.

At the end of the day, the amenities we enjoy far surpass any compromises we have to make in terms of where we can stay. Whole thing's a trade-off situation - it's based on personal tastes and preferences.