Reserving Space

Most of the online reservation systems will give you a selection based on the entered length of your trailer - that's good. You can park elsewhere if needed. Also, many sites don't have trees immediately behind them, so you can hang over the back of the site too. Even with my short trailer, it's not unusual to have to park the minivan sideways in front of it.

I use the reservations systems exclusively and I have yet to find one that does not use the RV only for the length of the site. Some of them give you the site length and driveway/overall length and width and include a picture of the site

Spey Rod wrote:
Thanks! I was unsure so I called Oregon State Parks and asked. The gal said with emphases, "You have to reserve for the full length of the truck and trailer. You may not be able to detach the truck!"

We volunteer for the Oregon Parks Dept and the Host site we are at this month is not long enough to park SUV except from side to side of the site, kind of angled so it fits. Think that is what they were talking of ..

BUT there are sites which are not wide enuff either and having a site long enough to pull SUV into the size backed up to the TT does allow us to hitch-up more easily in the a.m. before pulling out, else we have to sorta block the road when we hitch up in readiness to pulling out. So it does matter how long your rig is.

Our TT came out of the factory advertised as 28 ft., however with the 3 ft. tongue - this makes it a 31 or 32 ft. length for sites. Some rv parks allow for this and others don't .. had one park try to put us in a 27 ft. depth site. Didn't work, so had to move to a 40 ft. length site.

So through the years we have learned to add that 3-3.5 ft onto the plated length of the TT when reserving a site either in a state park/campground or private rv park.

Spey Rod wrote:
I am a complete novice when it comes to reserving camp sites online. The TT we bought is a North Trail 31BHDD. Printed OAL is 35' and our truck is 19' totaling 54'. I am assuming I have to add length for the hitch as well so we'll call it 55' for a round number.

When you reserve a site do you always reserve a 55'+ site? I am finding that in some campgrounds those sites are hard to come by.

On a side note, Some of these reservation systems suck. I am trying to reserve at Mazama Campground at Crater Lake. I don't care when as I have a lot of flexibility. Yet I can't search for available sites regardless of date./end rant/

I just went over to Mazama Village Campground, at Crater Lake, OR, and made a reservation for AUG. 28th, chosen as an arbitrary date. Went through fine until payment page when I stopped entering info.

The website I used was:

http://www.craterlakelodges.com/lodging/reservations/

Hoping this helps some.

When you reserve you should be asked the length of you RV. The tow vehicle will be parked beside or in some other location.

Spey Rod wrote:
I am a complete novice when it comes to reserving camp sites online. The TT we bought is a North Trail 31BHDD. Printed OAL is 35' and our truck is 19' totaling 54'. I am assuming I have to add length for the hitch as well so we'll call it 55' for a round number.

When you reserve a site do you always reserve a 55'+ site? I am finding that in some campgrounds those sites are hard to come by.

On a side note, Some of these reservation systems suck. I am trying to reserve at Mazama Campground at Crater Lake. I don't care when as I have a lot of flexibility. Yet I can't search for available sites regardless of date./end rant/

Don't worry about the added length of your TV unless you don't intend to disconnect. If you intend to stay hooked up for an overnight stay, add in the TV length.

If you look at most Oregon State parks for online reservations you will be able to see a basic photo of the site. Many have space beyond the concrete bumper allowing you to hang the tail over. My 5er is 33' plus the truck. I search for a minimum 45' site and have no issues. On shorter ones I always look at the photos if there.

And yes, the online reservation systems are a pain to work with until you learn how they work. One thing to remember is that many of them will post campsites as "not available" during the closed season, but if you change the date of your trip to when the season opens the sites will become available. To me, it would be more logical to state "season closed" when the season is, well, closed.

Also, feel free to ask about campgrounds in these forums. I've gotten great advice and ideas for our camping trips from Open Roads!

Thanks! I was unsure so I called Oregon State Parks and asked. The gal said with emphases, "You have to reserve for the full length of the truck and trailer. You may not be able to detach the truck!"

TucsonJim wrote:
For Campgrounds, I only consider the length of the trailer. I can park my truck somewhere else if need be. I've never ran into a problem using this method, and 99.9% of the time I can park the truck beside the RV.

+1

Most campgrounds, when and if they ask for the length of your "camper", they just want the length of the TT, NOT including the truck. UNLESS, you are looking for a "pull through" campsite where you can keep the TT hooked up overnight to the truck, then you give your overall length of TT+truck.