Down sides to being a TT Camper?

[Blanco1]

I never gave it much thought till I'm getting closer to buying a TT?

How often do camp grounds that have a limited RV spot have an issues with the truck?

Do most allow you to park for free elsewhere?

I've gone to a few that have a double wide Camp spot & no issues...

But what if its a smaller spot that only fits the trailer & do some of them charge you twice to take another spot to park your truck?
OR????

[rbpru]

Problems are what you make of them. I got a note from a park rangers not to park off the pavement. So I parked on the pavement. I have had a few spots out West where I had to park on the dirt.

I have never had a spot that would not accommodate the TV one way or the other. I have been at parks where a second vehicles had to park elsewhere. I was in a gated community which restricted street parking to three days with prior notice.

The biggest issues we find are the parks the stack RVs in like sardines or try to accommodate large vehicles that barely fit. Fortunately these are usually stop over spots on the way to somewhere else.

None of these inconveniences compare to paddling against wind and white cap waves for hours to get the kids back to the camp. 🙂

[jerryjay11]

I don't see any "downside" of owning a TT. The rule here is to plan your trip, select your campsite, bring lots of food and beer, and enjoy. It isn't rocket science.

[2_Retired]

We have enjoyed over 40 years of RVing, from a pop up all the way through to our current MH. Most campgrounds expect the use of a tow vehicle and you park at your site. When making a reservation, simply explain the length of your RV and what type it is (TT, MH, etc). If making reservations through Reserve America or on line in any way, the length of the site has almost always been listed (a 25' site means what it says (you wouldn't fit!). A 40' site the same. Often they will list maximum length of RV allowed on site, taking into consideration the reality that you have to tow it to get it there!!! In all of our years, there was only once we couldn't park our 2nd vehicle (tow or toad) on our site, and that was because they had messed up our reservation and had to put us on one we did not request (nice discount because of they mistake too!). Of course, in most sites you will not be able to stay hooked up. Generally sites are not designed for that, unless advertised as such. Your worry is not necessary on this issue - at least in our experience.

[naturist]

Blanco1 wrote:
What is the general State park Camp RV size that limits us out of those areas?

I've never heard of a "general State park . . . size" rule. Every campground I've ever been in, regardless of private, State, or Federal, has it's own size limits, always based upon the lengths of the sites at hand. Sometimes it's the site itself that determines how big the rig can be, sometimes it's the trees beside the roadway to the site, but always it's determined on an individual basis.

The simple fact is that you can't park a 40 footer on a site that is only 28 feet long. And for some reason that eludes me, the bulldozer operators of the land seem bent on shoving the dirt around willy-nilly, so that campgrounds vary all over the map. Every one of them is different. What's more, The Powers That Be will refuse to allow you to attempt to stuff that 40 footer into that 28 foot site.

I've also never had a campground tell me I had to buy the adjacent site to park my tow vehicle, unless, of course, I insisted on parking it on that site. The ones that had sites too short for my TT and TV, also had parking lots nearby, and directed me to park there, no extra charge. But then I'll also admit I haven't camped at every campground in North America.

[RDMueller]

We have a 30’ TT and have frequently stayed in State Parks and National Parks where the spot is advertised as right at 30’ or slightly more and never had a problem being able to find space for the truck in the site. Sometimes I have to park the truck sideways, sometimes alongside, but it always seems to work out.

[gmw_photos]

Some of the places I have stayed here in Arizona require that the truck be un-hitched. Space is essentially long enough for a 40' or so fifth wheel for instance. Where I am at now, some of the folks have their truck parked across the road from where the trailer is.

I stayed in a CG one time that had a very short site that accommodated my 20' travel trailer, and that was it, so I disconnected the truck for the night.

I can't imagine a park that would charge extra for a space to park the tow vehicle.

[SoundGuy]

GordonThree wrote:
In Michigan, most state parks have adapted to handle the HUGE rv's that seem popular today. 40+ foot fifth wheels and motorhomes. Not every site, but most will handle pretty much anything.

And just across the lake here in Ontario exactly the opposite would be the case where the longer the rig the tougher it will be to place on an Ontario provincial park campsite. Living and camping here I can think of countless sites on which one would have great difficulty parking anything longer than 25' coupler to bumper plus the truck that tows it. We've also camped in many US states and when we're talking state parks, COEs, national parks, etc we found the shorter the trailer the easier it will be to park both it and the truck on site, though sometimes that requires parking the truck laterally across the entrance to the site in order to clear the campground road.

[GrandpaKip]

We’ve never had a problem parking the truck on our site, whether state, national, local or private. Had to turn kinda sideways a couple of times. Most of the time, the campground wants to know the size of the camper. Ours is a 21’ box and I always tell them 26’.

[Tvov]

Our TT is on the smallish side, 21 feet, but still at some tight private campgrounds we park our truck sideways across the front of the campsite. If we left the truck in front of the TT straight, it would partly be in the road.

When choosing campsites online (similar to what Valhalla posted), don't choose a site marked as being for a smaller camper just so you can get into the campground. I always try to get sites marked for larger campers (like 25 foot or more) as it gives us more room. Most campground websites say something like "up to 30 foot camper" - so if you are shorter, go ahead and rent that site.

Also, most campgrounds we've been to usually have a visitor parking lot or extra vehicle parking lot where you can park a second vehicle, or your tow vehicle if you really don't have room on the campsite.

[MFL]

MitchF150 wrote:

Blanco1 wrote:
Thanks for the cool pics!
Looks like awesome fun!

I actually have a TON more pics of my camp sites with the NEW truck, but just have not posted them on that stupid photobucket site... ha, ha.. these are probably 6+ years ago.. But, we still go to those same State Park sites and the only diff is the newer truck... 🙂

Love the 13 F150!

Mitch

Pictures are nice Mitch! If you just go to rv.net photo post, it is really simple. Just click on select, go to your pic, click, it auto uploads, gives you a url to copy, and you just need to paste it on your post.

Jerry

[Crabbypatty]

Specifically selected a TT with kids, so we can disconnect and explore adventure. I have never been in an rv park that requires you to separate. Always park on site. Have owned a TT for 14 years and its our "second home" for 30 -40 nights a year.

[trailer_newbe]

We have a 28’ with an overall length of 33.5’ and tow with a Tundra CrewMax. So far the State Parks have never been an issue. Plenty of room to un-hitch and park. Our experance with private parks isn’t the same. Your neighbor is much closer, and most of the time my truck had to be parked along side.

When it comes to RV’s keep in mind the insurance is sometimes astronomical compared to an TT. The finance lady at Camping World told me many people are ready to buy an RV until they find out how much the insurance is. I’ve also been in some private parks where slots for large RV’s are very limited.

[valhalla360]

Usually, they account for the truck when giving you a site.

If they only have a site for a 20' trailer and you show up with a 40' monster, they are probably not going to give you the site (plus it's often difficult to get the trailer into such a tiny site anyway).

Of course, if your logic is to get a MH with a TOAD, for a simlar size overall, you have the same issue of where to put the car.

[GordonThree]

Can't speak to California but...

In Michigan, most state parks have adapted to handle the HUGE rv's that seem popular today. 40+ foot fifth wheels and motorhomes. Not every site, but most will handle pretty much anything.

In Utah, the several state parks I'm familiar with are generally the same, with sites to handle the huge beasts and humble small rigs.

Federal parks in general are much more restrictive. You'd want to plan well a visit with any sort of beast motorhome or trailer. There could be issues making tight turns inside the campground, as well as not having a place to park the tow
or towed vehicle.

Travel bloggers / eBeggers Less Junk More Journey recently reported being blocked in their site by another camper while staying at Joshua Tree National Park despite renting two sites. They travel in an extended van and a large Airstream. I didn't finish watching the video, as I don't like phony attempts at drama to increase ratings.

[Blanco1]

What is the general State park Camp RV size that limits us out of those areas?