Mile High
Lone Tree, CO
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Joined: 02/05/2008
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I believe the campground limits are not necessarily restrictions - they are descriptions of the campsite limitations so you won't be dissapointed if you don't fit.
I squeeze into a few 35' campsites at the State Parks here with my 40', but I only reserve it if I have seen the site before and am confident I can fit. It would be my bad if we were left at Walmart because I underestimated the limitation.
Typically you can over-run the length by hanging over in the rear, and on pullouts you can overhang on both ends with some maneuvering, but there are times you just wont fit. Often it is the angle of the pullouts that get me, plenty of length, but I just can't get in the arc. Ironically, the site in my sig pic is one I technically don't fit in (hanging over edge and slide pushed into a bush).
Brad & Dory
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wildflowerhoney
Ontario
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Thanks, everybody. I pretty much figured that the actual length was the number that mattered. I wonder why the manufacturers put smaller numbers in the model number? Surely it doesn't fool anyone into thinking the unit is shorter than it really is....
-- Nicole (currently in Ottawa, Ontario, but planning to hit the road in another four weeks or so)
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Tarantula
Saint John, IN
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Joined: 11/05/2007
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 When we were on the road and calling for a site for the night, we'd tell them we had a high profile, 36' 5th wheel with two slides. Better to tell them first than get there and find you can't fit.
Our Unit: '06 Lexus ES330. Previously '05 Dodge/CTD & '06 Montana 3000RK.
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Jbird
USA
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skipnchar wrote:Campgrounds are all different so there really is no answer possible without knowing the campground in question and asking THEM what they want. OR you could tell them what YOU believe they want and will rarely have a problem. In 40 years I've never seen anyone with a tape measure hanging around at the check in counter.
Agree completely with this post. Posted length restrictions are often very misleading. One of my favorite NF cgs lists max as 32'. Even a call to the NF office will tell you that 32' is an absolute limit, that youll never get anthing longer in any site they have. Ive stayed in about 10 different sites in this cg very easily with a 36' fifth wheel. Very often they seem to measure from concrete stops to the road, ignoring the fact that axle to rear bumper overhang is substantial on most trailers. Conversely, I've had to back out of some NF cgs that listed 32' because I couldnt manage corners. So---you need to know the cg. BUT, I've yet to find a COE cg that wouldnt accommodate my fiver.
36' Travel Supreme Express,Chev 3500 Duramax
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calberry
Lake Wildwood, Ca. (near Grass Valley)
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We recently went through the same planning process before purchasing our 5er. Before we bought I called Yosemite to ask about their restrictions.
http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/campground.htm
This site gives the max. allowable length by campground, and states that Upper Pines is limited to 24 ft. I called the Park and asked about that. They said to ignore it and let the driveway length be your guide.
We already had a reservation in site #69 in Lower Pines which we had originally planned on using with our tent trailer. The detail (in the link below) says the max. vehicle length is 27 ft, but the driveway is 36ft long.
http://www.recreation.gov/campsiteDetail........Id=203501&contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70928
When we showed up in our new 5er the camp host working in the entrance kiosk looked at our reservation and then looked back at us...I then said, "we just bought this". She just smiled and said, "Well, I hope it fits." It did. And as others mentioned, the driveway length does not account for the amount over overhang beyond the concrete barriers. (Yes I had to park the TV sideways and partially under the 5er overhang, but we fit!) But in looking at other sites (planning for the future), so have trees (or bear boxes) right behind the barrier which would not allow for any overhang, so you can't just 'expect' to overhang.
I also called a California State Park (Bothe-Napa)
https://www.reserveamerica.com/camping/B........do?parkId=120011&contractCode=CA&chkAg=y
and asked about their 24ft restriction. I told the ranger we were thinking about buying a 28ft 5th wheel. He said that based on that the 'net' length of our trailer would therefore be around 24ft and we would be OK. He then even took the time to give list off all the sites long enough to accomodate a 28' 5er (very nice).
Steve
2010 F350 XLT 4X4 6.8L V10
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jcrawford
Virginia
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Joined: 05/21/2007
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Think you will find you'll use both numbers...29'(or less) to get you into some state parks (because Reserve America is known to fib about maximum length of sites) & 34 ft(or more)to help from being stuck in a snuggle site at a rv park.
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FastEagle
Taylors, SC
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Once upon a time while just meandering around on the Florida Gulf Coast we found an RV park in Destin with sites on the beach if you did not have any animals and just off the beach if you had them. We called to inquire about availability. While talking to the nice lady on the phone she asked me for the length of our 5er. I told her 38' and can hear her tell someone to see if a 38' 5th wheel will fit on site so & so. Shortly there is an answer and she tells me to come on in she has a site I will fit into. Now, I have actually measured my 5er and from the forward edge of the hitch to the back of my ladder it's 37'10" and that's why I always tell them its 38'. After drawing a pretty good audience while squirming into the site assigned to us I end up one inch from a concrete wall with the ladder and may have had an inch to spare from being in the road with my hitch. Lesson learned; don't short change your length.
FastEagle
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SteveRankin
Sequim, WA
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When an RV parks asks how long your trailer is, they want to know how long it really is, not the model number. Most RV manufacturers use a model number that resembles the interior length, which is meaningless when someone wants to fit you into a site.
If you tell them you've got a 29-footer and they assign you to a 30' site, you'll be hanging out in the driveway. Some RV parks are fine with that and some aren't. Then, there's the matter of maneuvering around the RV park and into the site. Again, telling them you're 5' shorter than you really are might be a problem once in a while.
The bottom line is that when someone asks how long your rig is give them a straight answer. If you're looking for a pull-through, then you'll want to give them the total length of the tow vehicle and trailer.
Steve & C. J.
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svedspx
SoCal
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Joined: 03/27/2009
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The campground we often visit has a 35' limit on RV's but a lot of their sites are 45'+ in length w/ double driveways. Plenty of room in the campsites but at the turn around at the end of the campground I could barely (inches to spare) get my 30' with a short bed regular cab around the turn. So It's not always the campsites that are restrictive.
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Dennis M M
Geneva, IL
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We always tell them that we are large (36' fiver, HDT, 60' overall) and once and a while we still get into a tight site. At one recent campground they said "no problem" and it was REALLY tight. If we had not had a site at the end of a row we could not have backed it in without a lot of back and forth. As it was we had to park the truck in an adjacent site.
That's about the only problem we ever run into though, never been turned away, but we usually don't do state parks unless we know they are roomy. Sometime access roads are really tight and that can be compounded by parked tow vehicles on busy weekends.
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