Community Forums

momdoc · 01-14-2018, 05:16 AM

We are upgrading from 25 feet to 39feet and having camped at many parks over the last year we found very few that we could not do in the new coach.

Sandy Swede · 01-14-2018, 05:43 AM

Reading your post seems to indicate that extended stays during the winter in southern climes will be more likely than visits to state and national parks. A 38' - 40' coach for you two and perhaps a furry friend or two will be the sweet spot for livability not to mention, driveability. If you decide to visit the parks and can't find a site long enough, you can usually find a private RV park nearby and drive in with your toad. There are some parks where you will not want to or can't drive in easily anyway. Arches NP or Garden of the Gods come to mind.

I think you are approaching the MH quest correctly, focusing on how you intend to use the RV first.

Always time for the Brand Wars later.

fottip · 01-14-2018, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MisterT

... most 45' owners will tell you that you can go where ever you want to.

They might. But that's not how it is in the real world, in terms of specific RV parks. Ours is 43' long, and I'm acutely aware that there are parks I can't or won't go to.

As an example, we like Texas state parks, but many of them were designed decades ago, when the norm was smaller travel trailers, which were shorter and didn't require the width we need today with our slides. Many of these parks simply have not been upgraded, and their spaces are just not long or wide enough for our RV. In addition, a large percentage of them haven't upgraded to 50A electric service either, meaning we can't run our 3 ACs, a necessity in Texas summer heat in a 43' coach. This same scenario plays out in lots of other locales, both state and private RV parks.

I'd still go large if I had the decision to make again now, because we don't like the forced "population density" a small RV dictates. But the take-away is when someone says the larger rigs can "go anywhere", take it with a big grain of salt. That's wishful thinking - there are trade-offs.

Dan McMartin · 01-14-2018, 11:03 AM

Here's my two cents...

Most owners of longer coaches will tell you they can go anywhere they want. True because I suspect they already know they can't fit in some places and don't even try.

Bottom line, shorter coaches can get into more campgrounds and parks than longer ones. Period! The questions are how many and do you care? If you're just as happy at an RV park outside Yosemite with full hookups and a swimming pool as you would be inside the park (and for not much more money I might add), what do you care if your rig fits? It's really an individual thing.

Lastly, floor plan is king. Getting length for the sake of length won't make a terrible floor plan more livable. I'd rather live in our 32 foot Bay Star, for instance, than a longer Canyon Star. We don't like the floor plans and a little bit of elbow room won't make us like them.

Figure out where you think you want to camp, see if those places preclude longer coaches and then decided on a max length. Then go shopping and enjoy.

fottip · 01-14-2018, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan McMartin

Figure out where you think you want to camp, see if those places preclude longer coaches and then decided on a max length. Then go shopping and enjoy.

"Catch-22", at least for us. "Enjoy" wouldn't happen if we compromised on coach length so we'd fit into short campsites, .

ernest917 · 01-14-2018, 12:48 PM

We have a 40 footer and have NEVER had a problem in either SP's OR NP's.... Granted, there might a little more planning required to get ur perfect site but the extra space in ur rig makes it worth the effort.

We've stayed in the Teton's NP, Yellowstone NP, and others NP's.... In addition, we've stayed in SP's across the US with no problem....

We plan on going "full time" in our 40 footer this July and I can guarantee you we WILL be in all types of CG's across this wonderful country....

Crasher · 01-14-2018, 01:00 PM

Not all State Parks have limited length sites. We have stayed in a county park in WI on a 6000 acre lake with the water less than 40' from the front of the coach with 50 amp hookup. Each October we meet 12-14 other friends in Sand Hollow State Park in Hurricane, UT for two weeks of rock crawling with our Jeeps. I'm 68' long with my trailer and my son is 76' long. We all have full 50 amp hookups, on 70'-100' asphalt pads. We've also stayed in older parks in CO that are building 80-100' pads to accommodate the larger rigs. We have stayed in a very old park in Aurora, CO right in the city that only had 40' sites, but they gave us two sites back to back for the price of one so we could park our 70'+ rigs without unhooking. My point is that do not pick a coach length for that time or two you might not be able get into a park. Unless they are full, most will accommodate you. We started with a 32' Southwind and now have a 43' Bus. We will never go back to a shorter coach. A tag coach of any brand will give you the most versatility in storage and load capacity plus the best ride. Plus when you get 2-3 days of cold rainy weather, you will appreciate the extra room. Pick a floorplan you like in any size you like and enjoy the ride.

fottip · 01-14-2018, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crasher

Not all State Parks have limited length sites. We have stayed in a county park in WI ... We've also stayed in older parks in CO that are building 80-100' pads to accommodate the larger rigs..... We started with a 32' Southwind and now have a 43' Bus. We will never go back to a shorter coach. A tag coach of any brand will give you the most versatility in storage and load capacity plus the best ride. Plus when you get 2-3 days of cold rainy weather, you will appreciate the extra room. Pick a floorplan you like in any size you like and enjoy the ride.

We own a 2012 bus same as your floorplan. Completely agree, get the floorplan/size you're comfortable with, and go with it. There will be some places you CAN'T go, that's for sure, but don't compromise on floorplan OR length just to fit into some campsite size - big mistake.

I will say that my earlier post is accurate regarding TEXAS state parks, and lots of private RV parks in our state. If the small campsites don't get you, the low trees will. That's not to say there are NO places we can go, obviously, but lots of them are problematic.

I envy you that you have RVing opportunities up there with spacious accommodations. We're not that lucky here in Texas. Been doing this nearly 25 years here, and big rig accommodations are sparse, relative to the total number of places that advertise as being "RV Parks".

tropical36 · 01-14-2018, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bahamaniac

The longer the coach the fewer available spots in the big parks. You MUST make reservations with a larger unit way in advance. Very doable, but planning is required.

Since 2004 and visiting all of the lower 48, including state and NP's, I can count the reservations, we've made, on one hand. No, not all 40ft, but large.
Try running up the CA coastline in summer with the kids out of school and with no reservations. Quite a challenge indeed, but not because of length.

FatChance · 01-14-2018, 04:11 PM

It makes a big difference where you are. SPs out east in the small states are different than those here in the west.

BillJinOR · 01-14-2018, 04:19 PM

I am 41’ and pull a 25’ cargo/ car hauler. Two years so far full time .. I go wherever We want BUT! I can stay in any area we want, not any park ! . We generally don’t make reservations other than the days before or day of with no problems. But it requires some effort. Never been in a Walmart unless I wanted to be
Keep in mind holidays busy weekends etc do require some planning
. Our comprise is we don’t need to stay in the national park etc but close... it works for us as we aren’t “camping”