Community Forums

risenhart · 04-24-2013, 02:43 PM

Hi, I am a new member and about to buy my first TT. We are newly retired and want to visit every National Park. We are looking at 24' to 28' units and want to know if there are size limits in Parks we should be aware of? I have a 2010 3/4 ton Suburban so I should be able to pull anything in that size.

Doggy Daddy · 04-24-2013, 03:17 PM

Each Park has its' own restrictions; EXAMPLE: Campground & Campsite Information - Yosemite National Park

risenhart · 04-24-2013, 03:39 PM

Thanks for the link. I see from searching several parks that it varies "all over the map" and each park has its own way of documenting it. I assume there is no global list so I will have to dig into several and develop a trend so I can be confident of not sizing my self out. Thanks for the help.
Dick

dagmandt · 04-24-2013, 08:11 PM

From our research my wife and I decided that no longer than 30' would get us into most parks. When you get over 30' you start to really reduce your options.

DaveTN · 04-25-2013, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by risenhart

Hi, I am a new member and about to buy my first TT. We are newly retired and want to visit every National Park. We are looking at 24' to 28' units and want to know if there are size limits in Parks we should be aware of? I have a 2010 3/4 ton Suburban so I should be able to pull anything in that size.

Just remember a suburban is around 17-18 feet, add 3 for the hitch, then say 25 feet for the trailer, now you are 45 feet long! Longer than almost all motorhomes.

vermilye · 04-25-2013, 09:32 AM

The larger the trailer, the fewer campgrounds and individual sites you will fit in. While a 28' trailer will fit in most national parks, you may find the available sites limited.

Since many of the national and state parks use Reserve America for their reserved sites, it is a useful place to check site sizes. Just remember that Reserve America usually does not list the first come sites - even if the park is filled on Reserve America, there may be sites available if you arrive early.

Wire Wrat · 04-25-2013, 08:27 PM

Dave Tn is correct, I reserved a spot at Pensacola, Florida Fort Pickens. told them that I had a 23' travel trailer. I failed to mention that I was pulling it with a Toyota tundra. Total length of the rig is 45'. I almost did not get the trailer into the spot. I then had to park in the overflow area because there was no room for the tow vehicle.

Tom3205 · 04-26-2013, 08:35 AM

Hey. That campground at Fort Pickens has really short pads. Almost all towing units have to park sideways across the front of the trailer, or in the overflow area.Why ??? There is plenty of room behind the pads. Why are the pads so short ??. The campground is otherwise beautiful. Lots of Ospreys fling around. Free fishing pier at the Fort. Beautiful sand beach. We parked in lot "C". Don't know about the length of pads in other lots.

Dave1956 · 04-26-2013, 08:20 PM

I have camped in many national Parks around the country with 26-33 feet trailers behind a dodge Ram 2500. We recently went back to a 30 foot trailer to enable us to get into more sites. Smaller is better for National Parks but you must also find a floor plan that you will be happy with and it meets your needs.

I would try to stay under 30 feet and you will probably do pretty well most of the time. Also, around many of the National Parks you will find BLM and Nat. Forest lands that have camping so you often have some options.

risenhart · 04-27-2013, 03:33 PM

We thank all of you for the advice!

Sue and I, after much head scratching and looking, agreed that 27' would be our maximum. We found a used 2009 Jayco Eagle Super Lite 256 RKS that was "25 foot". Is is perfect. We bought it and now realize it is really 28' 8". So we broke our agreement but have stayed beneath the 30' magic number. We'll let everyone know how it goes, the learning now begins!

Dick and Sue

Groovy · 04-27-2013, 08:35 PM

We went to a lot of national parks with a 27' TT and we were fine. Just take your time, and if it gets tight have one of you drive while the other spots.

We use little hand-held GMRS radios so we can talk to each other easily (and nicely) when we're in dicey parking situations...