Campground lenghts

Generally speaking it is the length of the pad. Whether you can back into or park on thst pad is up to your best guess. Do not expect that you will be able to park off the pad. Many places forbid it.

The max RV length listings can be deceiving at some parks because they're based on the road access restrictions rather than the actual site length. We were on one site with a 35' max listed for instance, but the site itself was about 75' deep. The dirt road in though was very narrow, and getting our 34' coach into the site was pretty tight.

Generally you can figure it as being the maximum length for the RV itself, absent a tow vehicle. Generally there will be someplace available to park the tow vehicle separately, though it may not be at your campsite. The best way to know for sure is to call the specific campground (or at least scrutinize pictures of the sites, if those are available).

Sometimes the lengths given are due to access road restrictions, as was mentioned. Sometimes they seem to be assigned at random. Sometimes they're very accurate and precise and admit to no extra leeway.

There is no universally recognized rule about site lengths. When it comes to accepting tow and towed vehicles, what works great for some people is unacceptable to others. Call the park and ask especially if you need to stay connected or have special requirements.

westernrvparkowner wrote:
There is no universally recognized rule about site lengths. When it comes to accepting tow and towed vehicles, what works great for some people is unacceptable to others. Call the park and ask especially if you need to stay connected or have special requirements.

This. I volunteer at an NFS campground with a section that puts a limit of 28 feet on rigs. This is due to the access road, not the site length. In fact, there several sites in there long enough to accommodate rigs longer than legal on the highway, you just could never get to the site, or for that matter out again if you did make it in.

Pad length would suggest total length of tv/rv/toad is the reason for a given limit. Access road would suggest articulation (ie, a hitch, in the middle) would mean the length of the longest piece would be the reason.

This really is one of those cases where there are no standards, some parks will put limits on access length at some arbitrary number, others will give exact measurements of each RV site. Some may be set up to allow for rear overhang off the pavement, others may have a retaining wall built at the rear edge of the pavement... My motorhome is 29'5" bumper to bumper, and I have been in "30 ft" spaces in National Parks that required shoe horning to get into, and where my front corner was so close to the road that I put out an orange cone. Conversely I have been to other places where I have booked a 30 or 35 ft space to end up in a space where a 45 ft coach with a TOAD would easily fit.

As stated they vary wildly. Most site give enough room for the RV and the Toad across the front, alongside or in the RV area. Best to ask if you are concerned.

catkins wrote:
As stated they vary wildly. Most site give enough room for the RV and the Toad across the front, alongside or in the RV area. Best to ask if you are concerned.

TTs, 5th wheels and popups are RVs too and don't have Toads.

bikendan wrote:

catkins wrote:
As stated they vary wildly. Most site give enough room for the RV and the Toad across the front, alongside or in the RV area. Best to ask if you are concerned.

TTs, 5th wheels and popups are RVs too and don't have Toads.

Then substitute the word 'toad' for 'truck'. Either you would be parking the vehicle.

We volunteered for national and state parks and no, there's no standard for the stated size. At one park early morning we assigned the reservations coming in that day to a site. We'd start with the stack of big RVs and assign the biggest site and worked our way down. We immediately noticed that we saw a lot more big sites while walking the campground than were shown on the chart we used for assigned sites. That chart had been used for many years.

So we offered to do a new chart. We inspected each site for obstructions and length of the parking pad. Since we had a 40' motorhome ourselves and previously had a 5th wheel and travel trailer, we knew how much room each one would need along with a vehicle to fit on the sites. We found a LOT more big sites that weren't marked as such on the old chart. The rangers were amazed at the increase.

While traveling, we ourselves, always found sites we'd fit that weren't marked as such. We didn't make reservations so when we arrived at a campground (mostly public ones) we could choose our own sites.

I have also found that the length of sites listed on web sites can be misleading.

One SP that I wanted to stop at listed all sites as 25 feet. By calling the ranger station, I was able to find out that several sites would accommodate a 40 foot rig. They gave me the site numbers of the larger sites and I made the reservation on line, however, when reserve America asked how big my rig was, I answered 25 feet.