Community Forums

tholtman · 08-27-2015, 09:26 PM

Looking at buying a new coach and narrowing in on two floor plans. One is 33' and the other is 36'. I've seen some parks have length limitations for certain sites/areas. Would either of these lengths make a difference or are those limitations more for the larger coaches (40+)?

Mr_D · 08-27-2015, 09:35 PM

The longer the more limiting but 33' to 36' probably not much difference in where you can park. Biggest would be going from 40' to 45' like we did.

stuhly · 08-27-2015, 09:38 PM

If you are spending a lot of time in it you would like the bigger unit.

ecurb74 · 08-27-2015, 09:47 PM

In the grand scheme of things three feet isn't going to make that much difference getting into a camp sight. That's about the length from your nose to your outstretched fingertips. Yes, once you get to about 40' it starts getting a little more tight. We have a 40' and have been to several state and Corps of Engineer campgrounds with no problem. We previously had a 32'.

With that said, those three feet inside seems to make a lot of difference. 3'deep X 8' wide X 10' tall gives you a lot more storage and living area. Plus a longer wheelbase usually mean a better ride.

Bruce & Teresa
2000 Foretravel U320 4010
Cummins ISM 450hp
Allison HD4060R 6 Spd W/Retarder

2 Stroker · 08-27-2015, 09:47 PM

I wanted a 36' and my wife said, what's 4' so we have a 40'

But we have had no problems getting in places but we don't came at state parks.
2 stroker

PeaceOwl · 08-27-2015, 10:00 PM

Take a little time to look over the places you plan on visiting, if you plan on RV parks only then you should be ok at any size. We went from 26 to 35 ft. And love the extra room, basically giving a lot more comfort.

Although we miss the small rv's ability to fit anywhere, easier to park, etc., we also havnt a problem along the coast in California with 35ft.,where some sites are limited to how many longer RVs they can handle. Some of the state parks are limited to 35 ft. You just have to plan better and book ahead of time.

Mr_D · 08-27-2015, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2 Stroker

I wanted a 36' and my wife said, what's 4' so we have a 40'

But we have had no problems getting in places but we don't camp at state parks.
2 stroker

That's how we got the 45' but it was me that said "what's an add'l 5'?"!

Shaky · 08-28-2015, 04:09 AM

Our 36 foot Pace Arrow has the ideal floor plan for the wife and I. Any shorter and it just wouldn't work. It's all about floor plan and storage space IMHO. We've had no problems with not being able to get into a oark... Yet,

'

Okiedoke · 08-28-2015, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tholtman

Looking at buying a new coach and narrowing in on two floor plans. One is 33' and the other is 36'. I've seen some parks have length limitations for certain sites/areas. Would either of these lengths make a difference or are those limitations more for the larger coaches (40+)?

Yes, bigger is better AND can be limiting. We are 33' and on a state park campsite now where we couldn't fit unless the coach was angled quite a bit. There are some other sites that are longer, but they are not as desirable. This has only happened a handful of times over the years, and we primarily stay in public parks. If you aren't particular about your campsite, a few feet will rarely matter in public parks. And if you stay at private RV parks, a 33' or 36' coach will not make a bit of difference.

Also, the are occasions when maneuvering that I am glad the coach is not three feet longer. But I guess drivers of any sized RV could say that.

Waiter21 · 08-28-2015, 05:31 AM

We had a 21ft class C (Toyhouse) I could put it almost anywhere you could put a full size car.

When we upgraded to a 30 ft class A. This closed a lot of doors, it was an entirely different ball game as far as where I could put it. I suspect going from 30 to 40 would probably close a few more doors, but I don't think it would be significant.

RLBCCB · 08-28-2015, 05:43 AM

There is another side to the size rig you purchase. Can you fit into a camp site, probably but how much closer are you going to to be to your neighbor? A 40' 5th wheel came in behind us yesterday. Once they got the 40' plus the truck backed in far enough for them to be able to park out of the roadway, I was about 6' away. A 36 footer would have put them a more desirable distance away. Only point to this is you may want to consider this also when looking at rig lengths and where you camp.

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Tireman1 · 08-28-2015, 05:59 AM

Bigger is better.

JohnBoyToo · 08-28-2015, 06:13 AM

We come from a 41 ft 5'er and 20' crew cab truck, so the 43-44' coach and toad are not much longer, but we've had more issues getting TO the site than getting into the site...
and, so far, the motorhome is much, MUCH easier to fit in those tight places

But, the trends I see are that the regions you camp in are more of a limitation than the rig you have...

In the northeast it seems some say they have trouble fitting with large rv's, but not so much in the south or midwest...
Maybe sites are just larger or there's less whining from those in the south and west ??? (kidding of course

)

It is infinitely more important to get a floor plan you like than the length. good luck on your decision and buy your 3rd rv, first !

Betr2Trvl · 08-28-2015, 07:56 AM

Anther consideration on length regards your storage options........

In our case, we "fit" into a 30' space in our very nice covered storage facility. If we were any longer, we'd be in an outside space with no power, and on a very long waiting list for one of the longer covered storage sites........ I'm actually on that list too, as those have dedicated 30amp power, but at least I am covered with shared 20amp service that keeps my batteries charged.