This question of base camp / explore vs travel and stop has a lot to do with your travel desires and available amount to time. The base camp and explore model works good for those that have a lot of free time to travel (full timers, snow birds, etc.) For people that are limited by scheduled vacations and such the travel and stop model may work better.
For the base camp and explore model, the 45ft motorhome and TOAD exploration vehicle may work great as the 70 ft long combo is only on the road from base camp location to base camp location every couple of weeks on average.
For people using the travel and stop method, length becomes more important. This is part of the big appeal of class B's, being able to go just about anywhere, and being able to park in a standard full size 9 x 22 ft parking space, the problem with class B's is they give up so much to fit into that standard parking space (limited cargo capacity, most have seats that convert to beds, limited tankage, and there is often a toilet in the shower) Sure even B's have some limits, you are not going to pull up to a McDonalds drive thru, but you can get into the McDonalds parking lot. Speaking of which I was shocked to see someone pulling into my local 35+ year old McDonalds parking lot pulling a 5th wheel the other day, I have no idea how they parked, of course delivery trucks do it, but they don't care who they block in. In my case I have a short 28 ft class A 29'6" inch bumper to bumper, with a 178 inch wheel base. This is a compromise, on one hand I can't fit in a standard parking space, but on the other I can stand in my bathroom with my arms out stretched and can't touch the opposing walls (full width rear bath). What this means for the travel and stop model is that I can usually pull in and stop at many points of interest (worlds largest ball of twine, ...), however it often means making a scouting pass by the parking lot, and giving some thought to parking access, but with a 178 inch wheel base, I can sometimes fit into a standard length parking space if I can let the back end overhang the curb.
