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Old 04-11-2016, 12:16 PM   #1
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Good size fifth wheel for parks?

My wife and I are wanting to travel out west and stay in some of the national parks and was wondering what length fifth wheel I should look at? Im thinking 30ft max over all length? Or would that be to long? Any feed back would be great. Thank you
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Old 04-11-2016, 12:40 PM   #2
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My wife and I are wanting to travel out west and stay in some of the national parks and was wondering what length fifth wheel I should look at? Im thinking 30ft max over all length? Or would that be to long? Any feed back would be great. Thank you
We started out a few years ago with a 27.7 Jayco and the longest trip was Ohio to Fla to New Orleans to Lake D'Arbonne,La and back to Ohio.Now we have a Wildcat 30LSWB that is several feet longer and two slides insted of one. The Wildcat has a lot more room but a little more to watch as you tow as well backing into a spot. The storage is an other thing to consider both inside and out. Good luck and read posts on this site as it can help you narrow things down. This a pic of my old setup and yes I could back it and will be setting the wildcat up as well.
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Old 04-11-2016, 12:50 PM   #3
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We started out a few years ago with a 27.7 Jayco and the longest trip was Ohio to Fla to New Orleans to Lake D'Arbonne,La and back to Ohio.Now we have a Wildcat 30LSWB that is several feet longer and two slides insted of one. The Wildcat has a lot more room but a little more to watch as you tow as well backing into a spot. The storage is an other thing to consider both inside and out. Good luck and read posts on this site as it can help you narrow things down. This a pic of my old setup and yes I could back it and will be setting the wildcat up as well.
I'll be watching the area for your rig, my business is in Piqua.
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Old 04-11-2016, 01:33 PM   #4
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I'll be watching the area for your rig, my business is in Piqua.
Rarely do we travel to Piqua on 36 with our 5er in fact SR 36 east or SR 235 north or south is the normal run we take. If we meet people it might be at the Piqua mall lot.But if you see us do say hi !
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Old 04-11-2016, 01:39 PM   #5
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My wife and I are wanting to travel out west and stay in some of the national parks and was wondering what length fifth wheel I should look at? Im thinking 30ft max over all length? Or would that be to long? Any feed back would be great. Thank you
I believe the OP is looking for size recommendations given that lots of national park rv sites were built quite some time ago. The issue is that the campsite pads are typically too short for today's big rigs. This is a major impediment for our desire to go to Yellowstone with a 35' TT. There just isn't that much room at a lot of sites.
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Old 04-11-2016, 02:35 PM   #6
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Thank you for the feedback. I will check the past forums.
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Old 04-11-2016, 03:44 PM   #7
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I think that 35' would be the absolute max.
Anything over 30' will have less choices though.
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Old 04-11-2016, 03:54 PM   #8
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Mines over 40'.
As soon as you plug " over 35' " into the campground map... Availability decreases.


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Old 04-11-2016, 04:02 PM   #9
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We'd love to visit some national parks as well in the next few years and we have the same concern since our rig is 43'. I know when we book state parks thru the Reserve America website they tell you the max length per site. Now I'm not sure if you book national park sites thru that website or not but it would be a place to start. Usually the lengthy site go fast!!


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Old 04-11-2016, 04:25 PM   #10
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30- 32 foot is the information I got from owners/users I know.
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Old 04-11-2016, 04:35 PM   #11
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i have a 21ft trailer and 19 foot truck. If I want to go to Yellowstone, (not Fishing Bridge), I have to be under 40 foot for total truck and trailer length. Many times it was spelled out that they can void your reservation if you are over
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Old 04-11-2016, 05:45 PM   #12
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I was told by the park rangers at Yellowstone that it was 50ft hooked up, on one of the threads on here someone said it was now 55ft hooked up. But you have to have a 40ft campsite reserved, there is not many of them. Fishing Bridge is the only one with hook ups


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Old 04-11-2016, 05:53 PM   #13
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My wife and I are wanting to travel out west and stay in some of the national parks and was wondering what length fifth wheel I should look at? Im thinking 30ft max over all length? Or would that be to long? Any feed back would be great. Thank you
I would say that 30 feet or shorter would be the best length for staying within the western national parks. Keep in mind that there are commercial RV parks not far from the entrances to many of the popular national parks.
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Old 04-11-2016, 07:02 PM   #14
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Its hard to find a fifth wheel under 30ft, unless you go half ton fifth wheels and Im afraid those units are not built to hold up to so much traveling
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Old 04-11-2016, 08:00 PM   #15
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Two years ago we went to Colorado and wanted to stay in Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park. All the cgs had a "30ft maximum trailer" listing. This year I'm going to Gatlinburg and look into staying in Great Smoky Mtn Nat'l Park. Most of the cgs were "under 35 ft". Several were around the 30 ft mark.

Both trips I had to go the private cg route. Not my favorite, but when the trailer is 43 ft and you run over 60ft total, there aren't as many choices.

I'd try to keep it around 30 ft also. My old 5er was a bunk house model (Cruiser) that was 30 ft 10 in. If there was a 30ft limit, I was "30 ft". If not, I told them 31. Never had any issues.

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Old 04-11-2016, 08:11 PM   #16
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We actually have to fool the booking system in Ontario for some Provincial Parks, at 32 ft we are too long for some sites.
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Old 04-12-2016, 11:26 AM   #17
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National Parks Out West

We have stayed in quite a few of the national parks and I tow a 28 foot 5th Wheel. Overall length is 32. We have been able to get into all the parks that we have stayed at but spaces are limited even with the size I have. Most parks have a max length of 27 but you can get in with what we have, a tight fit though. There are quite a few RV places near the entrance to all and that might be a better option if you have anything longer.
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Old 04-12-2016, 11:36 AM   #18
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Length is one thing to be concerned about in National parks and forest campgrounds but also slide outs...We are 30 feet..fit great in most spots but can't alway open the three slides.
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Old 04-12-2016, 12:01 PM   #19
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Just my .02 worth. A trip out west to visit National Parks is certainly worthwhile but it is just one or two trips of many you will make. I recommend you get the floor plan and size that best fits your needs for the entire planned ownership of the fifth wheel. We have been to Yellowstone, Glacier, Mt. Rainer, Yosemite, Arcadia, Great Smoky Mountains National Parks and other national parks. Compared to many state parks, BLM, and COE parks, the campgrounds are not that nice! All of these parks have commercial campgrounds nearby. We have stayed in most of the parks listed in our 31' toy hauler but site selection was very limited.

Good luck and have fun finding your RV!
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Old 04-12-2016, 01:37 PM   #20
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I no longer even try with a 35' 5er and Super cab truck. Not only the length but width with 3 slides add in many trees do not like my height. I'm even happier in a cg with a pull thru now.
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