Forum Discussion

Hammerboy's avatar
Hammerboy
Explorer
Mar 07, 2017

Lot sizes

A couple of weekends ago when we had beautiful weather, I took a ride up to on of our favorite camping spots, Ludington state park in Michigan (surprised how busy it was!). While there, I walked through the camping loops and deliberately evaluated campsites (which was kind of cool when nobody was there camping). I was walking with my phone in hand logged into the state park website looking at site descriptions while standing at the campsites. I paced off about a dozen lots, but was amazed at the inconsistencies based on the described unit sizes that would fit. Some were pretty accurate and most I think were way off in fact there is a lot of 20-25' ones I could fit on. The problem with this park is if I punch in 30 or 35' it eliminates 75% of the sites, smaller the unit the more sites obviously open up. It's also a very popular park that's hard to get into.

My unit is 34' bumper to front of cap on my fifth. I typically will punch in 30' max length when looking online and its usually a safe bet I'll fit. I think the next time I'm walking the loops I will bring campground maps with me and circle the ones that I know I can fit on/make notes. I feel I would be missing out on too many potential lots by way of the official site description.

Do any of you have maps of your favorite places highlighted and marked up?

Dan
Seeking Advice
  • Johno02's avatar
    Johno02
    Explorer
    Mar 07, 2017
    Thought about it when we first got started, really good idea, but it didn't last long though. Now we just remember the places and sites tht we DON'T want. Much easier.
  • Mfan's avatar
    Mfan
    Explorer
    Mar 08, 2017
    When we camped michigan state parks, we always walked the park with map in hand. I would put my trailer length in as whatever they said would fit.

    The drawback is having to visit beforehand.
  • korbe's avatar
    korbe
    Explorer
    Mar 08, 2017
    I see space depth descriptions that indicate what length rig would fit. The confusion starts right there. I wish they would just say the depth and width of the site parking area and leave it at that. Let us make the decision if we can fit or not.
  • troubledwaters's avatar
    troubledwaters
    Explorer III
    Mar 08, 2017
    I have noticed that sometimes the trees on the site may be the limiting factor, as in You can't get the awning or the slide out out if the trailer is too long.
  • Lantley's avatar
    Lantley
    Nomad
    Mar 08, 2017
    troubledwaters wrote:
    I have noticed that sometimes the trees on the site may be the limiting factor, as in You can't get the awning or the slide out out if the trailer is too long.


    Beware of limiting factors. Turns getting to the site etc.
    Also consider there maybe parked cars and other obstacles to deal with that may not be present during an off season tour.

    I agree you can often fit into more sites if you scout the CG first
    just be sure you consider all the potential pitfalls that may not be obvious
  • Hammerboy's avatar
    Hammerboy
    Explorer
    Mar 08, 2017
    Lantley wrote:
    troubledwaters wrote:
    I have noticed that sometimes the trees on the site may be the limiting factor, as in You can't get the awning or the slide out out if the trailer is too long.


    Beware of limiting factors. Turns getting to the site etc.
    Also consider there maybe parked cars and other obstacles to deal with that may not be present during an off season tour.

    I agree you can often fit into more sites if you scout the CG first
    just be sure you consider all the potential pitfalls that may not be obvious


    This is very true, I noticed some very nice sites that would be difficult just to get to. Looking at the sites in person gives you much better perspective of the way in, trees, slope, etc. vs what the pictures and description show online. This is why I think having marked up maps would be useful as I know we can't get our favorite lots every year

    Dan
  • 2gypsies1's avatar
    2gypsies1
    Explorer III
    Mar 08, 2017
    We've always kept a list of campgrounds (public) that we would return. From 16 years of full-timing I have a document on the computer that's 300+ pages, including boondocking spots. It includes lots of information about the campground. When we got to campgrounds, we'd walk the park and make note of the sites our 40' would fit. Our list never failed us in getting the best sites at times.

    We volunteered at Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Park and assigned sites in the morning to reservations coming in matching a site to the RV size. We found there weren't many for big rigs. We offered to walk the sites and make a new chart of what size RV would fit into the sites. The rangers were amazed that we found many more big rig sites than on their old list and our new list was taking into account access and trees.
  • nineoaks2004's avatar
    nineoaks2004
    Explorer
    Mar 08, 2017
    I have maps of all the campgrounds we usually camp at,(mostly State Parks) with our favorites circled..
    and notes about the parks on the maps. Works good for us, we have folders for the camp grounds we like with brochures, notes etc. We pull this before a trip and decide where to go and when to go. (We usually try to go during the week as it is less noisy for us)
  • down_home's avatar
    down_home
    Explorer II
    Mar 08, 2017
    A lot of State Parks and County Parks were laid out when RVing was young and the units smaller and many many now have the utilities if any on the wrong side for us.
    Many authorities over state and county RV facilities operate on the idea of most of the County Residents or State Resident have small units. If they expand the size of lots it cost money, and they will be invaded with the large Rvs that should go to private RV Parks since they can afford it. There are some on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan that prohibit RVers or anyone else using the county parks other than Residents. We were looking for access to the beach and base to do some fishing from shore.

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