Too big a camper

[Evereddie]

We presently have a Rockwood 2306. Total length 23 feet. Murphy bed, 2 skinny bunks. We have a one year old grandchild and maybe one more to come. Then a 25 year old who is gong back to college and lives with us and goes on many of our camping trips, will be around for years to come. We think it is time to get a bigger camper. The one we are looking at is 34.8 feet long. We looked at many of the campgrounds we go to and see we might have limited site availability. (too long) Also give up sites we like along the water at some.

QUESTION. When is long, TOO long.? Who has made a move similar to our possible move and how did it go. Did you find limitations? Does anyone think 32 feet is better than 34.8 feet? I will point out, we go almost exclusively to state parks and Corp of Engineers parks. Throw in a Fort Wilderness trip a time or two in the future.

[nc-canuck]

We moved up from a 30’ to a 35’. Absolutely love the extra room. We have found a few limitations but only when we try to book last minute. We try to stay at state or national parks when we can but have really come to enjoy RV resorts when we go to the beach. Never any trouble finding spots there.
Cannot say how long is too long but 35’ is working well for us. Take a look at this site - has a list by National Park.

http://www.camperreport.com/best-rv-...ational-parks/

[formerFR]

to each his/her own... none of us can tell you what's best for you and your comfort level... many folks, though, just deal with the notion of less 'available' sites because they now have more 'room' within the rv. Having said that, it's doubtful that a 35' coach is going to be any issue for you, though there will ALWAYS be sites that you can't get into, but that's the case with your current RV!

our 35' coach is perfect - long enough for comfort, short enough to maneuver and park easily in many, many different scenarios. We don't let our 'length' prohibit us from where we want to go - it's amazing how many places you CAN get into that others would not want to try.

Campgrounds, especially state parks and the like, enjoy 'limiting' sites to certain 'lengths', though no one can tell you how they actually MEASURE these. I've seen COE parks with some sites that are limited to 25' units, and yet when you arrive you see the site you 'could not choose' easily long enough for not only your 35' coach, but also your toad vehicle... I don't put much stock in those measurements, and if it's a reservation system limitation, I just put in my length as 25' and see how many open up. Google maps overview of the park is much more revealing about the size and lengths of sites than even the own park's website is. We've never been turned away, or measured by the 'site' police - but we've often had folks stop by and marvel that we DID fit into the site they said was only for shorter units - and that was the employees of the park. As long as we fit, and we were happy, they didn't care.

[aceinspp]

We have a 5ft tt and never had any problems getting sites for our length be it state parks, coe or regular camp grounds. Later RJD

[Sierra360PDEK]

Originally Posted by aceinspp

We have a 5ft tt and never had any problems getting sites for our length be it state parks, coe or regular camp grounds. Later RJD

Your trailer looked longer than 5' at the FROG rally in Gadsden.[emoji12]

We have a 42' FW and have yet to find a campground we didn't fit. Yes, some spots are tight but we fit

[merrykalia]

Same as Sierra - ours is 42'11", so 43' and we have never had a problem finding a site that we can fit in - as long as it's not an on-the-fly trip.

If we are going to a "resort", we make sure to make our reservations early.

[CaptnJohn]

We found 43' to be perfect for the 2 of us and 1 small dog. Traveling we call ahead 1 - 3 hours for a CG and destinations are reserved for 1 week to 3 months. Sadly finding destination reservations require much more planning than just a few years ago. I've never spent a night except in a CG either.

[Mmnsc]

We are at Lazy Days in Tampa in a 38 ft site but we are 43 ft and fit fine. Have not been turned away so far.

[ManlyMan]

Originally Posted by Evereddie

We presently have a Rockwood 2306. Total length 23 feet. Murphy bed, 2 skinny bunks. We have a one year old grandchild and maybe one more to come. Then a 25 year old who is gong back to college and lives with us and goes on many of our camping trips, will be around for years to come. We think it is time to get a bigger camper. The one we are looking at is 34.8 feet long. We looked at many of the campgrounds we go to and see we might have limited site availability. (too long) Also give up sites we like along the water at some.

QUESTION. When is long, TOO long.? Who has made a move similar to our possible move and how did it go. Did you find limitations? Does anyone think 32 feet is better than 34.8 feet? I will point out, we go almost exclusively to state parks and Corp of Engineers parks. Throw in a Fort Wilderness trip a time or two in the future.

When is long, too long? When you realize the sites you desire are too short for your rig. You already have realized a longer rig won’t fit your favorite sites. It’s up to you whether or not you want to make the sacrifice for more interior space.

Take a trip to Yellowstone NP and you'll quickly learn when long is too long.

[moose074]

We went from a 32 ft TT to a 42ft fw and only gained a foot in overall length when towing so when the wife ask how long I tell her 33 we always fit if I told her 42 she tells me we don’t fit but I know the TT did so we will now

[Skyliner]

We have a 30 foot 5th wheel and could use some extra space. If we upgrade, it'll probably be between 34 to 36 feet. Any longer than that and we exceed 65 feet total length towing our ATV trailer attached to our 5th wheel.


How long is too long depends on the camping you do. Many places we go in the backcountry are "offroad" with tight turns and narrow "roads". We often have to disconnect our UTV trailer and use one of the UTVs to tow the other w/ trailer into our final destination.

[Evereddie]

WOW, thank you everybody! Some good thoughts there. Appreciate the response and info. We're zeroing in on what we want although it may not happen till first of next year. Then again could be sooner. Lots of ducks to get in a row.
Thanks again.

[rmac04401]

It also depends on your set up. I have a short bed and a 30’ 8” trailer. My total length length would be the same as a 26” trailer with a long bed. I usually gauge by the depth of the drive. Add my total length up and if it fits in the total dimensions of the drive I’m good to go.

Most state and fed parks say what length it’s restricted to but also state what the length of the drive for that lot. Like a person said earlier a longer fifth wheel will fit in the same spot as a smaller TT just based off total length of the whole rig.

If you have a moho that is 40’ long and put your toad in overflow parking you can fit in a spot that’s rated for 30 to 35. Its all based on total length.

[spock123]

Our camper is 35ft and some places we use to camp at with a shorter camper we can’t book any more. It’s a trade off, there are lots of places to camp at

[BandJCarm]

A 40 foot fifth wheel is only 40 feet long after it's unhooked from the truck........

[W5CI]

We went from a 21 foot to a 28 footer then to a 35 foot fifth wheel. You can never go to big, buy as big as your budget will stand you won't regret it.

[dustman_stx]

That will depend a lot on where you camp. Most of those folks claiming you can't have one too big likely tend to "camp" at private campgrounds and resorts. We prefer to camp at state parks and COE campgrounds. The number of sites that are available in these tends to dwindle as you increase in length. They're typically not setup like the private type campgrounds where every site is 70', for example. Another issue is that the larger sites in the public parks tend to be in newer areas with more amenities and are booked much sooner. With all of this being said, I would recommend you look at the Rockwood 2509S. I have some friends that bought one from RVWholesalers last May and they love it. It is around 26' total length, IIRC, and has 2 full size bunks. A Murphy bed up front allows for dual purpose use of that area which offers more room in a smaller package. I think it would fit your needs very well while still allowing you to have a compact camper that would fit into almost any site.

[NMWildcat]

We boondock in the backwoods most of the time and stay in state parks frequently. Our 35' fiver has caused us no problems at all. Buy what you want, it will work out

[Evereddie]

Originally Posted by dustman_stx

That will depend a lot on where you camp. Most of those folks claiming you can't have one too big likely tend to "camp" at private campgrounds and resorts. We prefer to camp at state parks and COE campgrounds. The number of sites that are available in these tends to dwindle as you increase in length. They're typically not setup like the private type campgrounds where every site is 70', for example. Another issue is that the larger sites in the public parks tend to be in newer areas with more amenities and are booked much sooner. With all of this being said, I would recommend you look at the Rockwood 2509S. I have some friends that bought one from RVWholesalers last May and they love it. It is around 26' total length, IIRC, and has 2 full size bunks. A Murphy bed up front allows for dual purpose use of that area which offers more room in a smaller package. I think it would fit your needs very well while still allowing you to have a compact camper that would fit into almost any site.

Thank you. We have looked at that camper as well as dozens and dozens of others. One of our goals is to have a bigger gray tank than we have now. Since there is no sewage in the parks we stay at it Is important to have more capacity in the gray. We presently have 30 gallons and that model you posted still only has 30 gallons. The hunt goes on.

[vmax]

2018 windjammer 3006 v. Capacity. fresh-43 Gray-90 Black-45
I'm 52, we have a 35'TT. When I'm 65 I hope to have a 45' TT, since the older you get the bigger your rv is supposed to be. Isn't that right?