Travel Trailer Length and RV Park Sites Question

When someone says, "I have a 21 ft travel trailer", do they usually mean the overall length? Or are they talking about the living space? My new Wolf Pup is a 16fq, so I'm guessing that the living area is about 16 ft but the overall length is 21' 6".

Thanks, Bryan

Folks are usually talking about the body of the trailer, excluding the A-frame of the trailer.

Thanks Tom. That's what I thought.

So do rv sites do the same? Or are they more strict about the actual length.

Here's a for instance, I found a state park in Virginia that listed several 20 ft spots available. So i called the campground and asked the person what that meant. She asked me how long my trailer was and I told her the body was about 16 ft but that the overall length was 21 ft. She said that I be fine.

I think there may be leeway at different parks.  I know Yellowstone is very picky and have even seen a tape measure pulled out.  Front bumper of tow vehicle to back bumper of trailer.  But I think that is a very extreme (and crowded) situation.  I personally don't like to be penned in and always try to reserve a site that will fit us with at least 5 - 10 feet to spare.  I'm not the driver but I'm a very poor parking director! 

We have a 17? TT (about 20 actual feet). I normally reserve a 45? pull thru spot. 

kportra said:

I'm not the driver but I'm a very poor parking director!

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Hahaha!

Thanks for the replies. I think that I'll reserve a bigger spot like you both suggest.

Landor said:

Hahaha!

Thanks for the replies. I think that I'll reserve a bigger spot like you both suggest.

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I'd like to thank both of you for that on behalf of us that do own the longer rigs. 

Sorry Old_Crow. I wont be looking for a 50 ft spot or anything but if my camper is longer than 20 ft (and it is), then I'll be looking for somewhere it actually fits.

I'm new to this and just trying to follow the rules.

Landor said:

Sorry Old_Crow. I wont be looking for a 50 ft spot or anything but if my camper is longer than 20 ft (and it is), then I'll be looking for somewhere it actually fits.

I'm new to this and just trying to follow the rules.

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Not to worry Landor, there aren't any "rules" and you have every right to reserve, and pay for, a site you are comfortable in. At an overall length in the 45 foot range with tow vehicle and trailer, it is perfectly reasonable to reserve a pull-through site to accommodate your rig. With campsites at a premium during high seasons it certainly doesn't hurt to be considerate, but it also doesn't mean you shouldn't reserve the type of site you want. (Parking a Class B with no trailer in a 50 foot pull-through, for example, notwithstanding other considerations and availability, might be inconsiderate. Putting your rig in one is not.)

Have fun and enjoy your new rig.

Sorry.  A truck and a 20+' trailer in a 50' site wasn't what I had in mind when I made that comment.  The Class B/no trailer in a 50' pull through or a tent camper in one of the only 3 pull through sites in the whole campground was more what I was picturing.
I've had to shoehorn myself into a 29' site with my 37' coach plus toad and was happy to get it.  But then, my coach is live-able without deploying the slide.  Some aren't.

Sometimes the listed length of sites is a little deceiving, and a short listing may be due to other reasons, such as a narrow, heavily treed access road. The photo below shows a site that was limited to 35', but as you can see, our 34' coach and toad fit with plenty of room to spare. What you can't see, is how difficult it would be to bend a longer TT or coach around the corner to back it into the site. It was even a little tight for our coach.

I don't think there is an "usual" single definition of RV length, whether stated by an RV owner, campground staff or brochure, or even RV manufactures sites & brochures. For motorhomes and 5W trailers, it's largely academic because overall and floor plan length are within a foot or two, but for travel trailers the tongue can add 4-5 feet.

The RVIA prefers the floor plan (body) length so that the measurement is comparable whether you are talking a coach or a travel trailer, but human nature leads many (especially sales types) to use the larger overall number much of the time. "More is better", right?

If I were asking about a campsite or storage area, I would state the overall length. It's the safer choice. However, it may well be that any individual site could still accommodate you even though listed at a smaller size. NY Dutch gives an excellent example.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

If I were asking about a campsite or storage area, I would state the overall length. It's the safer choice.

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That seems like the best choice to me as well.

We have a 38 foot motorhome towing a Suburban and, with just a few exceptions, usually haven't had a problem with site length. I prefer not to unhook the toad if it's just a 'brief' overnight stop, and will usually ask for a pull-through. But unhooking the toad and backing in is not an issue.

One campground had a weird way of measuring their sites; They were trapezoidal-shaped, and the owners measured between opposites peaks. The usable length of the site was far less than what the owners claimed. I didn't complain, and just unhooked the toad, but I did get out my tape measure to confirm my suspicion.

So do rv sites do the same? Or are they more strict about the actual length.

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They usually assume overall length, but there's almost always some wiggle room. Some years ago, in a shorter coach, we pulled into a CA state park and realized we were over their max allowed length. The park ranger told me it was OK for the rear of the coach to overhang the adjacent grass by several feet, provided the wheels weren't on the grass.

I was thinking of the same example that Tom cites. Often an RV has a designated "pad" area of some size, but plenty of adjacent room. Maybe a a curb or other block to stop the wheels, but room to overhang. Also, sites may have a rougher or less level space to drive in on and you can utilize some or all of that if yu have a good leveling system (or simply don't care). Many a time I have placed our 40 ft coach on sites described as being 30-35 ft in length.  Yu probably won't be able to tell until you see it, though. Sometimes a call to the park will get an informed answer, but you may also get a "by the book" answer, so it's still a crap shoot.

A war story...
We booked a site in a state park described as a 50 ft pull-through. When we get there, we find it has a long entry drive with a 90 degree dog leg onto the site, which was indeed 50 ft. I figure I can maneuver to get in forward, but no practical way to back in or out.  But on the other side there is another RV site, with a rig backed up to the edge of our site. I questioned the ranger about the pull-through and he says "You drive out through the other site!"  "What happens", says I, "if he doesn't leave before I do?"  He seemed surprised that I would ask, but he called the office and discovered the other site would check out the day before we did. He advised them not to rent that site to anybody the next day, so we could get out.  I was skeptical if that would be observed, but it stayed open and we drove out the next day.