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????

[BizmarksMom]

I primarily boondock and camp in primitive FS sites. (Yes, my trailer goes down gravel and dirt roads) Parking the truck has not been an issue. Sometimes I have to angle the truck in front of the trailer, sometimes I have to park alongside my trailer. Unless I'm pulling into an RV park to service my tanks and get fresh water, I always expect to have to unhitch the truck. The whole point is to use the trailer as base camp, anyway, so it isn't any big deal.

[Passin_Thru]

You will find 99% of the CGs have room for your TV, in front, beside, in back or crossways to the front or rear. Most people are very pleasant to deal with. Google some CGs on Google Maps and look at the room.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Candy+Hill+Campground/@39.1861631,-78.2033849,37m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x89b5edd9c6d8f009:0x343bad30180d8fad!8m2!3d39.1864612!4d-78.2041302

[deltabravo]

Blanco1 wrote:
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?

If you use two campsites, you will get charged for two.

[goducks10]

TurnThePage wrote:

Blanco1 wrote:

For example, to go grocery shopping with the trailer hooked up would make finding a place to park challenging.

In my experience that's not a problem once you're out of the heavily populated areas. Get ready to walk a ways though.

x2. Most larger grocery stores have big parking lots.

[Blanco1]

Jackfate wrote:
To the original poster
Go to reserve America and attempt to book a site. They tell you the site length & most have pictures of the site. Where this get a bit complicated is your total length vs site length. My example is my truck & TT is almost 55’ but my TT alone is called a 28’ and is actually almost 33’ ball to bumper. We generally find looking for 30’ or more site length. Another factor you need to consider is a site map and you need to see if you can make the angles nessary to park the TT. We have a crew cab 4x4 with a 8’ bed it doesn’t maneuver well . And book 6 months in advance

Good luck

Thanks, we always use the "ALLSTAYS" App & the camping world huge guide book & start thinking about the area we want & look up places near there & call for availability.

[Blanco1]

Jbrowland wrote:
I also live in Los Angelos. It can be a major issue in California. I just moved to a 23 foot TT from a 25 foot class C. I have almost completely changed how I travel. Now I sit in one place longer with the TT and I stay outside of the parks and drive in with my truck. The class C was better for travelling from A to B and bathroom breaks and quick in and out and for state and national parks and boon-docking and dry camping. The TT not so much. The TT is better once I get there. If you are going to move around a lot, especially in California, you may want to take a closer look at a class C or the like. State and National Parks in Cali tend to be surrounded by dramatic landscape that can put severe limits on length and maneuverability inside a campground with the truck and RV. That said, most places have overflow parking for your truck if you need it.

Thanks, yeah I've been thinking about that & might just have to stay further from the sites & set up camp & then disconnect & drive the truck alone.

Just the fact that I can leave my camping spot intack with my chairs & rug & table next to our trailer seems worth it.

Pack it all up to go see things is a PITA!

[Blanco1]

falconbrother wrote:
It all depends on what you want to do. We have pretty much had at least one of every kind of RV, other than a class C. Before the TT we had a class A motorhome. Those are truly self-contained. But, the yearly maintenance is no joke. We like to go hook up in a campground and chill, or at a dog show with hookups. So, we very much prefer the travel trailer. The downside would only exist where we had no hookups and wanted AC and 110 volt power. I see people using portable generators all the time (at dog shows) with their travel trailers where there is no shore power. It's not preferred because you have to fill it up every few hours and people like to use those contractor grade generators, not that anyone seems to care at the dog shows. Nevertheless, the best case scenario is that the generator is running on fumes every 7 hours. On the motorhome we could go for a few days with a full tank of gas before it hit the magic level in the tank and starved the generator out, which never happened. Other than than, I'll take a travel trailer for the extra usable room and the ease of ownership/low relative maintenance.

I have the Geni issue covered, thank you for pointing it out.

I find that strange how truck camper have a Geni commonly & how trailers even 5th wheels don't?

I'm selling my truck Camper & might even take the Geni out of it as a back up.

It's a 3.8 Onan.

[TurnThePage]

Blanco1 wrote:

For example, to go grocery shopping with the trailer hooked up would make finding a place to park challenging.

In my experience that's not a problem once you're out of the heavily populated areas. Get ready to walk a ways though.

[Blanco1]

Dirtpig wrote:
Coming from a truck camper I would say a TT has some big disadvantages but also some advantages!

Pros -

Interior space and storage
Ease of hitching and unhitching (<5min) easier freedom to use vehicle
Use of truck box for stuff, firewood etc.

Cons - (vs a truck camper in my case)

Overall length makes some wilderness campsites simply inaccessible
Lost ability to tow a boat / quad/dirt bike trailer. Though there are ways around this.
Ease of travelling isn’t in same league as a TC
Long term durability ripping down gravel roads unknown.
No ability to stealth camp.

With our family of 4 the space and storage advantage outweighs all the cons but once our boys are old enough that they wish to tent it or stay home we will once again upgrade to a truck camper.

All points I'm swapping to a TC.
You forgot to mention the pro of not having to pack up my camping spot to go sightseeing.

I can leave the TC locked up & go into town or wherever in a smaller package than my huge Lance 900 on my trucks back.

Yes the whole boat & such things have come to mind.

I'm thinking of a dingy or kayak or things like that for fishing & a buggy rack on the bed or Etc.

Thanks for your input.

The much needed freedom & floor space will be very rewarding being we camp with a 100 lb dog.

[Blanco1]

rbpru wrote:
If you do not own a TT then rent one for a week or so on the road. You will learn, in short order, about what you like and do not like about pulling one of these barns down the road.

10 mpg, crosswind buffets, 250 mile days, 55 to 65 mph are the things you will notice more then the size of the campsites. You will learn about the abilities of your tow vehicle and a bit about what is the "right size" TT for you.

When your are done, you give it back and reflex on what you want and do not want in a TT. That is what we did.

Later we choose a 25 ft. TT with a bed you can exit without crawling over your spouse, a large bath, pantry and linen space, we gave up extra sleeping space because it is just the two of us. Our TT is small enough to wind through city streets to find shops etc. or pull into the back of a bank parking lot for a quick lunch.

The biggest drawback is also its greatest asset. It is so convenient you lose the feeling of camping. Of course this is not an issue if you do not like the sound of wind on canvas with critters scurrying around at night.

I've been a teamster for 15 years & before that was non-union & pulled trailers for about 7-8 years & before that, I drove freight in 18 wheelers for a few years.

So I'm pretty comfy with a large verity of trailers & trucks of various sizes.

I drove an 18 Wheeled HoneyWagon for about 8 & 1/2 years that was 75' long.
That's 10 feet over legal length in the state of Ca.

[Blanco1]

Lwiddis wrote:
Yes, some California state parks have short TT limits but the restrictions are online. Stop worrying.

Who said I was worried?
It's called research!

& by the way, I live in Los Angeles, Ca!

[Blanco1]

pasusan wrote:

Down sides to being a TT Camper?

Not being able to pull off the road when you see something interesting along the way - like an attraction or a farmer's stand...

That's why we got our B, but we still use our trailer for longer trips.


As far as parking in a spot at a CG we've never had any problems with our trailer and truck. They usually have extra car parking - I suppose if your trailer takes up the whole spot you could park there.

That has crossed my mind.
For example, to go grocery shopping with the trailer hooked up would make finding a place to park challenging.

[Jackfate]

To the original poster
Go to reserve America and attempt to book a site. They tell you the site length & most have pictures of the site. Where this get a bit complicated is your total length vs site length. My example is my truck & TT is almost 55’ but my TT alone is called a 28’ and is actually almost 33’ ball to bumper. We generally find looking for 30’ or more site length. Another factor you need to consider is a site map and you need to see if you can make the angles nessary to park the TT. We have a crew cab 4x4 with a 8’ bed it doesn’t maneuver well . And book 6 months in advance

Good luck

[DustyR]

rbpru wrote:
If you do not own a TT then rent one for a week or so on the road. You will learn, in short order, about what you like and do not like about pulling one of these barns down the road.

10 mpg, crosswind buffets, 250 mile days, 55 to 65 mph are the things you will notice more then the size of the campsites. You will learn about the abilities of your tow vehicle and a bit about what is the "right size" TT for you.

When your are done, you give it back and reflex on what you want and do not want in a TT. That is what we did.

Later we choose a 25 ft. TT with a bed you can exit without crawling over your spouse, a large bath, pantry and linen space, we gave up extra sleeping space because it is just the two of us. Our TT is small enough to wind through city streets to find shops etc. or pull into the back of a bank parking lot for a quick lunch.

The biggest drawback is also its greatest asset. It is so convenient you lose the feeling of camping. Of course this is not an issue if you do not like the sound of wind on canvas with critters scurrying around at night.

X-2

This is great advice.

I have a 32 TT (pic in sig) and I can fully park it in a 50' state park site without encroaching on the road. I usually check the size of the CG site, and that makes my decision for me. Should I be too long, I ask about a overflow site, I can usually get into about any park that has space available.