Downsized From a 45'/43' to a 40' and Why

[Tom and Patty]

Patty and I are searching for our final motorhome for retirement. We will fulltime or mostly full time. We also plan to do some boondocking...BLM, /Quartzsite and NF.

We are looking at 43' and 45'. We have talked with some friends who have valid points regarding campgrounds, who downsized to a 40'.
Let's hear yours.


Thank you

[hrw]

I can't imagine downsizing just to get into certain parks. If that is the real reason you should go all the way down to 36 or less. The wheel base changes a little and weight is certainly less as you get down to 40. If you want the room inside do not settle for less. If smaller works, you will know. I am so happy with the full size, heavy weight unit. Cross winds, icy roads etc, nothing beats it.

[Ivylog]

Weight police, speed police, spelling police or should it be auto correct police???
And then there is the size police...36' max for public CGs. I made the mistake of believing that 17 years ago and as you can see below I've gone to the max...45' and we are half timers that boondock often during the summer. Sure it's harder with a big rig to find sites big enough, BUT it's not impossible. It's a lot easier now than 14 years ago with the world in your hand...a smart phone and with better cell coverage now. As a no reservations type, I quadruple my odds of finding a site big enough by not showing up on Friday... Sunday evening or Monday when the working folks have gone home. Recently went into South Lake Tahoe on Labor Day without reservations and found a site at our first choice (a public CG) BUT on Monday, not Friday.

If you are only weekend campers you do not need the CCC, big tanks, 4 slides, W/Dryer, of a big rig. If able to use more than 100 days/year I now say, "Buy more MH than you think you need, ONE TIME...NOT like me." For most, I'd say 45' may be to long as it's easy to shrink a 42' to 40' for many CGs...rarely is there an option for sites over 40' when searching public CGs.

[timjet]

I am so glad we got our 40 footer and didn't go larger. I sometimes feel a slightly smaller DP would have accommodated us a little better.

BUT the reason is where we camp. We like state parks the best. Reserve American, the reservation system for many state parks has a limit of 40 ft. That doesn't mean you can't get a larger unit in, but that is the largest size on their reservation system. Booking a 40 ft site and showing up in a 45 footer doesn't mean you won't be able to get it in, but you are taking a chance that you can't get it in.

Recreation.gov is the reservation system for Federal parks and again if my memory serves me right has a max size of 40'. Many National parks generally won't accommodate many 40 foot or larger units and is probably why the reservation system has a 40' limit, but private CG nearby probably will accommodate a larger unit.

Private CG generally will accommodate larger units but if you don't have a reservation and are trying to get in a popular area, you're larger unit will be more difficult to accommodate.

I generally book reservations months in advance for popular areas with our 40 footer. I've found that we have a much better chance of staying in a nicer place, either a public or private CG by doing so.

Just so you know, most of the public parks we stay at, state parks, national forests, national parks (only one), and Corps of Engineer CG, I've noticed we are generally the largest coach in the CG. I always book 40 ft sites and if none are available I look elsewhere.

For the beauty of camping, no private park has come close to the public parks. It's why I'm glad we don't have anything larger.


We spent 2.5 months continuously on our coach last year and 4 months this year.

[PanJH]

We currently have a 43'- it can be a pain finding a place that will accomodate us at times. As a result, we usually make reservations pretty far in advance. Next time around, I'm leaning toward a 30-33', but it will be hard giving up the xtra space and bath and 1/2 . We've had 27' and 37' Class A's too. WIth the little one, we basically winged it most all of the time as we were pretty certain we would find a place that would work at the end of the day.

[Smitty77]

No right or wrong on this! And good comments mentioned above.

IMO, once you get to 40' range, very minor impact by going bigger to 43 - 45' coaches. No question that their will be less opportunities to get into some campgrounds with a 43-45' coach. But, 40's also take time to locate sites for - so just a bit more effort and possible restrictions going bigger.

I'd focus more on what you two feel you want? Full timing is a blast (Though admittedly, we are what I jokingly call Permanent Part Time Full Timers - going out and traveling two trips a year, for a total of 7-8 months.) Depending on specific coach choose, you should find that you get three full bays of storage in a 45' and most 43' too. We only considered units with Tag's, I mention this because their are many 40' coaches without Tags, and many with Tag's. But my comments about 40 vs 43-45' coaches, are for Tag coaches. Our 40', has 2 1/2 bays of storage. With raised rail, we do have lots of room, and we do have two 2-way-slide-trays in our bigger bays. I admit, their are times when I'd have liked the full third size bay storage. (Full timing, you carry with you what you have...).

As mentioned already, you'll develop a method of travel that works for you. And good chance your approach to travel planning will change as time goes by. (We found our first few years, we'd stay for a week or maybe even stretch it out to two weeks - as we hit different locations. Now we find we consider two weeks a minimum, and often book a full month. We found that two weeks gave us enough time to get to more fully check out an area. Area's that we like and revisit, are ones we'll book a full month. Also usually get price breaks with week and or month stays.)

We've been in many of the beautiful national parks, state parks too. And yes, their are some where we stay outside of the parks, and travel in via out Toad - and that works out OK too. We had no problems on our trip to Alaska. IMO, very few of the locations we've visited, would have been restricted by a coach larger then 40'. Off the top of my head, only Madison Campground inside of Yellowstone, would not accommodate coaches larger then 40'. But that's also a good example, of a park that by staying in say West Yellowstone, we'd have enjoyed ourselves just as much with Toad traveling inside.

Downsizing for us? Well very possibly might in 10+ years, go down into a smaller coach. More for localized camping, once we stop our longer yearly travels.

I'd suggest you two come up with a list of Must Have's and Nice to Have's - then go out and objectively examine 40' coaches to see if they will meet your needs. If not, look on up the length game to 42, 43 and even 45' coaches.

One other observation. Some of the best quality coaches, for mere mortals, are not available in 40' lengths. And I do recommend buying the highest quality coach that you can find, that meets your needs, and fits your budget. Don't be afraid to drop years to retain top quality, and fit within budget. Many times the 5-10+ year higher end coaches, are your best value. And if well cared for, will serve you well for many, many years ahead.

Best of luck to you,
Smitty

[Gary RVRoamer]

Seems to me the question revolves around the campgrounds you want to use and the region(s) you will travel. And maybe your willingness to accept some restrictions on location in order to have maximum comfort.


Some regions, e.g. the Northeastern US, have a choppy terrain that makes large sites more difficult to build and access roads less usable as well. The older campgrounds and highway routing make for further limits. Some areas, e.g. the Florida Keys or near big cities simply have land costs that make larger campgrounds prohibitive. Conversely, other areas may have generous open space for campgrounds, low cost land, etc.


If your RV dream is boondocking along side a secluded pond, miles from civilization, you might want to consider a much smaller rig, probably under 35 ft or even under 30 ft.


We quit at 40 ft (purchased at age 62) and generally found we could fit in most places, but we had already done the backwoods camping thing and were more inclined to nicer parks with full hook-ups. Still visited plenty of wooded sites with plenty of room, so did not feel we gave up much for the extra space (which we truly adored!).


So, it comes down to what you want to do with your retirement travels.

[BillorTeresa]

It’s tough figuring it out as there are so many things to consider. We are thinking of going back to a DP from a 43’ 5th wheel with 3 slides. Keeping in mind that there is the driver’s area in a motor home we lose some living space. I’m thinking a 40’ motor home might feel too small but a space but 4 slides might make it feel larger.
We were always able to get into sites that said 40’. There seems to be a bit of leeway and I could back in until the tires hit the tire stops which allowed us extra space.
It’s not an easy decision. Good luck !

[iluvuk]

I agree with Gary. You need to determine where it is that you will most likely be using the RV and how often. We are not fulltimers but we do use ours regularly. We are just under 35ft and it fits us fine for short term use of about 2 weeks at a time, even with guests. There are some places we couldn't get into that we like if we had a longer RV. Also, RV height was a big consideration for us for storage. Even though my garage storage for my RV is 50ft long, I wouldn't have gone bigger/longer with the DP for the other reasons cited. But those are my reasons for my uses. You will need to determine your most important factors and get an RV that meets those needs. If a bath and a half is a critical need, you won't want to go to 35ft. If getting into tighter areas is a huge desire, then you probably won't want to go any bigger than 35ft. Good luck!

[bamaboy473]

Originally Posted by Ivylog

And then there is the size police...36' max for public CGs. .

We (think) we learned how federal parks rate their sites and length limits.

It isn't the coach's length, it is the length of the concrete pad. That explains why our 40' coach is called a 34' on our reservations, but easily fits into CG spaces (so far, at least). If we state that we have a 40' unit, the sites rated as 36' won't show up.

[bamaboy473]

Our next coach might be a 40' with a tag...but losing two basement bays might not be worth the extra driving comfort; I'm conflicted about that. We're staying with 40 because it's just the 2 of us, and we don't need the extra 1/2 bath.

[CampDaven]

Originally Posted by bamaboy473

Our next coach might be a 40' with a tag...but losing two basement bays might not be worth the extra driving comfort; I'm conflicted about that. We're staying with 40 because it's just the 2 of us, and we don't need the extra 1/2 bath.

We have a 43, just us 2, more bays, real king bed, only one toidy, tag, amazing ride.
It’s only 3 feet more! We pondered the difference for nearly 5 minutes.

[Dutch Star Don]

I'm not a full timer, but it sounds like that is your plan. Even though I don't full time, this is how I see many full timers. They stay in a spot for a month or so at a time, visit friends, see the sites, etc. When you have this kind of time, you really don't need to be in a National Park or right in the middle of the action (busiest camping area). You can live in a less expensive and probably nicer park nearby and use your toad to do your travelling and site seeing.

With that said, I don't think the length becomes as big of an issue. If it were me, I would find a nice park, that has large sites and use the toad. As an example, Grizzly Campground outside Yellowstone or Cherry Hill outside Washington D.C.


I would also want the roomiest coach possible, either a 40' (non tag) 43' or 45'. I have a very nice 40' with a tag and it has limited exterior storage. I certainly wouldn't want to go any smaller. I know people can full time in 30' Class C's, but I certainly wouldn't do it. I would be claustrophobic.

[Tom and Patty]

Thank you ALL!



Right now since I work, we travel for a week and weekends. Most of the time you find us in a state campground or COE. We typically shy away from private grounds.
We will have to decide if we want to stay with our SOP when we retire.
Seems the 40 footers with 4 slides and 2 axles are a bit short in the CCC dept. We looked at a very nice '09 Alpine but the CCC was 1900 lbs. NOT including water. Plus Aqua/Hydro Hot heating is on our must have list, and that takes up storage space.

We will keep listening to you.