30' Travel Trailer State/County Parks

[arosenau]

We are moving up from our popup and want to get a Travel Trailer. We are considering a 30' trailer but i'm a little hesitant that it might be too long in state and county parks. Can anyone comment on this? We would mainly be camping in the midwest, (Minnesota, Dakotas, Wisconsin) I'm not too worried about pulling it down the road, I pull my 24 foot snowmobile trailer just fine, its just getting it in the park and positioned in its spot that worries me.

Thanks for your input.

[Mark_and_Linda]

Our Puma is 30 ft from the tip of the hitch to the spare tire...I have never had a problem in the parks we have been too in TN. When in doubt, call ahead and ask the campground. A few years ago when we were camping at an Army Corps campground I seen a 5th Wheel with 5 slides trying to get into a spot beside us...it didn't work out well. Some of the parks have not been upgraded to take the bigger rigs. They should have asked when they pulled in if they could get into the spot.

[FloridaReLoaded]

You can fit into any Florida state park with a 30ft trailer

[edroun]

I have a 39 ft 5th wheel and have no issues going to State Parks in MN.

[mordecai81]

Our TT is a short 20 ft. so we can get into almost any site. There are some sites in state parks in MN that if the rig was 10 ft longer I know we wouldn't be able to back into, even though the pad length would be adequate. The issue usually is trees lining the campground roads. If you can be flexible and not terribly disappointed by the occasional inaccessible site then get the floor plan that works for you and enjoy. We pop-upped for years and are enjoying our first hardside.

[arosenau]

wow, so many good responses and suggestions. Thank you everyone for your input. I will defiantly look more closely at intended camping sites before making a decision.

I was also surprised to learn that that is no "standard" in how to measure, box size verses trailer size. In my mind the only measurement I care about is bumper to ball.

[rbpru]

There is no definitive answer to you question.

Almost all KOA type campground have no issues with longer TTs and as mentioned, Reserve America often was campsite size.

State Parks can be an issue because, even though they can accommodate some larger unit, the number of these spaces is sometimes limited. Also many of the State and Federal park spaces, are reserved on line, months before the tourist season starts.

Out West we did have issues with some old park even with our 25 footer and many of the State Parks were geared mostly for tents with RV space booked previously on line as stated before.

We have also found that terms like "slight grade" to define a campsite, has far different meaning in different parts of the country.

However, I believe that floor plan trumps all other issues, assuming you can pull it and afford it.

If you are undecided, rent a at TT the size you think you want and tow it for a week or so. You will answer a lot of questions.

[stickdog]

We fulltime and have a 36ft fifthwheel and have stayed in state parks Wi, IL, KY, TN, GA, FL, AL, OH, PA, NC WV, OR, IA, LA, MO.

[BarneyS]

We have had our 30 footer for almost 13 years and in our travels around the country have never had a single problem finding a campsite to fit into. Have to be careful in some of the parks roads however. Some turns are really tight with trees close to the road, however we still made it around but took some "doing" in a couple of instances.
Barney

[ScottG]

Since we don't know where you are, it's hard to say.
30 feet would only keep you out of a very few sites in Washington. Probably less than 5%.
To that end, we just bought a 34'.

[eichacsj]

How good is your backing skills, you will get in predicaments that it may be tight, but know matter what TT you get you should know your backing limits.

Look up the majority of the parks you like to go to and see what they say is allowed/acceptable. Also Google Earth, it could help you, I use it to make sure I can fit and if there are ways to turn around.

[Terryallan]

arosenau wrote:
We are moving up from our popup and want to get a Travel Trailer. We are considering a 30' trailer but i'm a little hesitant that it might be too long in state and county parks. Can anyone comment on this? We would mainly be camping in the midwest, (Minnesota, Dakotas, Wisconsin) I'm not too worried about pulling it down the road, I pull my 24 foot snowmobile trailer just fine, its just getting it in the park and positioned in its spot that worries me.

Thanks for your input.

so you have been popup camping. In your travels, you have prolly seen the campgrounds you want to visit. Did it look like there would be a problem with the sites you want to use?

Honestly. There are a myriad of campsites that you could use in the popup that you won't be able to use with a 30' TT. We are going thru the same thing. We like to camp on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There are VERY few campsites in the CGs we like that we can get our 30' TT in. Have to pick, and choose very carefully.

[Campfire_Time]

You can verify pad length for WI state parks on Reserve America. Most of the parks have some sites that can accommodate a 30' trailer. I see big 5vers in WI SPs a lot.

[kerrlakeRoo]

If you are comfortable on the road I would think you would be comfortable in the parks unless there is something like a vision issue that makes backing an issue.
Maybe a couple of trips to one with your snow machine trailer to deal with backing in would be in order as a confidence builder.

[LIKE2BUILD]

arosenau wrote:
We are considering a 30' trailer but i'm a little hesitant that it might be too long in state and county parks. Can anyone comment on this? We would mainly be camping in the midwest, (Minnesota, Dakotas, Wisconsin)

I used to have a TT that was 34' ball to bumper. I was able to get into all my usual state parks in IL no problem.

[colliehauler]

There are some old parks that have shorter sites but most should be able to accommodate a 30 foot trailer. I have always been told 24 to 26 foot is the best length for small parks. I would look up some of the places you want to go to see if they can accommodate the length.