Can anyone tell DW "size really doesn't matter"?

[PJL]

We have been full timing in a 39' 4 slide 5th wheel for about 18 months. Had never even tent camped before. This was a trial to see if we enjoyed the lifestyle. Mission accomplished! Only negative to date is wife hates driving the truck when not towing. We are looking at diesel pushers. Cannot see us being comfortable in a rig much smaller than 38-40' for our full time lifestyle (no home base - everything we own is with us). Question is - If we go up to a 45' DP, will we be that much more limited in RV park options than in a 38-40' DP? Understand, we typically like to go to state, national, and COE parks, as our interests are more outdoors oriented versus visiting cities. We are already somewhat limited in places of our liking that will fit our current 5th wheel. When searching sites like Allstays, several of the parks tend to say 40' length limit. (I know, many of these places also have 35' limits, but we haven't found a floor plan of that size we can envision full-timing in. Didn't know if there are many 45' DP owners out there that have regular success when calling these places and finding out they really fit simply by backing the rig into a space and overhanging the back end off the parking area? I don't often see 45" rigs in the parks we have frequented to date, but that may simply be a function 45' rigs being a small % of total RV's and typical 45' owners simply preferring resort parks or visiting cities. My wife wants smaller to maximize park availability, but we both want bigger for full-time living conveniences. Any 45' owners out there wishing they had limited themselves to 40' for this or other reasons? Thanks - and sorry for being long winded.

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by PJL

We have been full timing in a 39' 4 slide 5th wheel for about 18 months. Had never even tent camped before. This was a trial to see if we enjoyed the lifestyle. Mission accomplished! Only negative to date is wife hates driving the truck when not towing. We are looking at diesel pushers. Cannot see us being comfortable in a rig much smaller than 38-40' for our full time lifestyle (no home base - everything we own is with us). Question is - If we go up to a 45' DP, will we be that much more limited in RV park options than in a 38-40' DP? Understand, we typically like to go to state, national, and COE parks, as our interests are more outdoors oriented versus visiting cities. We are already somewhat limited in places of our liking that will fit our current 5th wheel. When searching sites like Allstays, several of the parks tend to say 40' length limit. (I know, many of these places also have 35' limits, but we haven't found a floor plan of that size we can envision full-timing in. Didn't know if there are many 45' DP owners out there that have regular success when calling these places and finding out they really fit simply by backing the rig into a space and overhanging the back end off the parking area? I don't often see 45" rigs in the parks we have frequented to date, but that may simply be a function 45' rigs being a small % of total RV's and typical 45' owners simply preferring resort parks or visiting cities. My wife wants smaller to maximize park availability, but we both want bigger for full-time living conveniences. Any 45' owners out there wishing they had limited themselves to 40' for this or other reasons? Thanks - and sorry for being long winded.

You already have a pretty big RV to maneuver through a campground & back into a site. Granted, you currently have a hinge in the middle that you'll lose. We full time in a 40', tag axle DP and I really consider 40-42' to be the sweet spot in the maneuverability vs living space trade off. That size coach should be fine accessing sites that you typically stay on now. After 8 years in our coach, I would pick it again.

Good luck & safe travels.


Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

[pumper9x9]

Dear Wife of PJL, It's OK to get a smaller coach. Bigger is not necessarily better.
We're in a 36' with 2 slides. It has all the room comfort and storage we need. It has an independent front suspension and a tight turning radius and we rarely get skunked on camp sites because of size. We have found that much of the stuff we carried we hardly ever use so we got rid of the stuff that we don't use for the most part and have plenty of space. That being said I've seen some 45' with tags get into some pretty tight places but when the site is too short and the coach is too long you're out of luck.
Good Luck

[hal1phx]

When we were shopping and sharing some our finds with my brother, my sister-in-law reminded us of the limitations at the campgrounds they frequent. They are weekend warriors and love the back in the woods lakes and streams for fishing. We had to remind her we were shopping for our new home, not a camper.
Tho we always look for campgrounds/RV parks that have that "campground" feel, we do have to be very careful we can get in and out without too much trouble. And yeah, we have been in places that were pretty challenging. But our basic objective is to find places that keep us on paved roads and not too far off the beatin path. But that's just us.
You need to find the unit that will meet all of your requirements, including parking limitations that work for you. Each of us have different priorities.
Good luck with your search .... hope you find just the right one .....

[Triker56]

If we go up to a 45' DP, will we be that much more limited in RV park options than in a 38-40' DP?

You may be able to get a 45' in the same camping spot as a 38-40'.
But your toad will probably not fit and may have to park it a distance away.
Most do have a visitors parking lot to use.

[Tha_Rooster]

If you are the kind of people that likes to hit flea markets and yard sales go small if you like to get where your going and not trip over each other 40ft is a good size.

[SteveLevin]

And here I was going to say... a man is measured by the length of his chassis...

I will say, though, that looking forward, more and more parks are adapting to the longer RVs, so over time it will be less of an issue. But I also think that at 40' there are plenty of good floorplans, so there's not a NEED to go 45'

Steve

[lenny-shawna]

Originally Posted by PJL

We have been full timing in a 39' 4 slide 5th wheel for about 18 months. Had never even tent camped before. This was a trial to see if we enjoyed the lifestyle. Mission accomplished! Only negative to date is wife hates driving the truck when not towing. We are looking at diesel pushers. Cannot see us being comfortable in a rig much smaller than 38-40' for our full time lifestyle (no home base - everything we own is with us). Question is - If we go up to a 45' DP, will we be that much more limited in RV park options than in a 38-40' DP? Understand, we typically like to go to state, national, and COE parks, as our interests are more outdoors oriented versus visiting cities. We are already somewhat limited in places of our liking that will fit our current 5th wheel. When searching sites like Allstays, several of the parks tend to say 40' length limit. (I know, many of these places also have 35' limits, but we haven't found a floor plan of that size we can envision full-timing in. Didn't know if there are many 45' DP owners out there that have regular success when calling these places and finding out they really fit simply by backing the rig into a space and overhanging the back end off the parking area? I don't often see 45" rigs in the parks we have frequented to date, but that may simply be a function 45' rigs being a small % of total RV's and typical 45' owners simply preferring resort parks or visiting cities. My wife wants smaller to maximize park availability, but we both want bigger for full-time living conveniences. Any 45' owners out there wishing they had limited themselves to 40' for this or other reasons? Thanks - and sorry for being long winded.

Prior to my current RV we had a 40' 5th wheel toy hauler with an F450 as tow vehicle. Enjoyed it for many years but couldn't wait till we were able to buy a coach we could drive.
After 2 years of research and looking which included camping for weekends at Lazy Days in Tampa we finally found what we wanted.
We thought the layout and size of the Winnebago Tour 43' Tag with Aqua-Hot satisfied our needs. We have not been disappointed. It was a great choice as the layout, storage, towing ability amongst other things fit our lifestyle. We also have a much easier time getting into parks than with the 5th as we simple drop the Toad.
Make sure layout fits you and good luck

[Cat320]

If you look closely at lengths, a 40' coach is usually 40'11'' (that's what our last one was) and a 42' coach is usually 42'11." So moving to a 45' coach is really only 2' longer than the 42'er.

[Melmoses]

Although the National and State parks are adjusting to bigger rv's, there are still many that can't handle longer rigs. I have a 40' and can squeeze in a few of our favorites but have to park the Jeep somewhere else. I would look at your favorite places or ones you want to visit and check out max length. The roads can be a limiting factor with too tight a turn.

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by Cat320

If you look closely at lengths, a 40' coach is usually 40'11'' (that's what our last one was) and a 42' coach is usually 42'11." So moving to a 45' coach is really only 2' longer than the 42'er.

Very good point. It highlights an important consideration. Rather than select a not to exceed length, it might be more prudent to decide on a size range and then select the all important floorplan within that range.

Manufacturers take a lot of liberties with the advertised and the actual length. My particular coach measures 39' 10". A sister coach was built, same advertised length and year but the actual measurement was 40' 10". If you look through the specifications page from many coach builders I will notice the same practice. Other important measurements are width & height. Most will be approx 102" wide but height may vary. You need to e very aware of height to the top of your highest component. Start noticing overpass height signs.




Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

[Dutch Star Don]

You may want to compromise with something in between. In the 38'-40' range, without a tag and packed for full timing, will MOST likely have the coach loaded to the max. If you buy with a tag in that length to support the weight, you won't have much storage.

The 42' coaches give you the storage of a 40' (without a tag), but also gives you the added axle to carry the extra weight of full timing. Sneaking a 42' (or realistically a 42'10") into a 40' site will be easier than putting a 45' in there.

A full timer in a 45' Monaco, who regularly posts on another site, says they don't have a lot of issues with the length, but often have to compromise by parking in a private campground with larger sites, near the wilderness area they want to visit. An example would be that they don't fit into the Fishing Bridge Campground in the center of Yellowstone, so they stay at the big rig friendly campground of Grizzly, near the west entrance.

[Finally Time]

If you are planning on traveling in California, motor homes also known as "housecars," over 40 feet are restricted from travel on many roads. Here are a couple of quotes from the RV Handbook and Dept of Transportation web site.


RV Lengths
Many highways either restrict or recommend non-use for vehicles over a certain length.
California Vehicle Code §35400 restricts the operation of housecars over 40 feet to only specified highways and within one mile on either side of those highways for access to fuel,
food, or lodging. These highways include, but are not always limited to, the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways and all state routes. For exceptions to this list, visit the Caltrans website at: California Department of Transportation..

ACCESS ROUTES45' Motorhomes (Greater than 40' up to 45')

The following sources illustrate the routes that allow 45' motorhomes:
On-Line Map: See the on-line map at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/trucks/bus-motorhome/45-bus-map.htm. Click on the red numbers to open each regional map. The green routes allow 45' motorhomes and the red routes prohibit them.
Stopping for Services: 45' motorhomes may exit the designated route for fuel, food, and lodging provided the access is signed and the service is within one road mile of the "identified" exit. The exit must be signed to show that the service route has been evaluated and approved by State and local engineers. This "Service Access" sign shows an "S" on the back of a truck, as illustrated below. These signs were intended for large trucks, and are located primarily on the interstates. For more information on service access, see the web page Service Access Routes.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Since you already have 40 ft and the wife wants more space, I cannot see you downsizing at all. So the choice boils down to 40 ft, 42-43 ft, or 45 ft (those are the common sizes in that range). You can get 40-41 ft without a tag axle, the others will have tags. The 40 will go anywhere you now go, the others will curtail your choices slighltly more. Maybe a fair amount more, in the case of the 45's.

You probably now sometimes have to park the truck in an inconvenient place or manner; the same will apply to the toad when you get a long coach. Toad should be 4-6 ft shorter, though, and more maneuverable as well.

And last, "If Mama ain't happy, ain't NOBODY gonna be happy".