Can I just lie about how long our RV is??

[Isaac-1]

Just remember when you book a 30 ft site, that some of them will be 30 ft, and not 32, 37, 40, etc. We had a couple of those 30 ft sites in Yellowstone where we were barely able to fit in with our 29'5" coach, ones that the nose was so close to the loop road that I felt the need to put out orange safety cones.

 

[Skookum]

It's the only thing I lie about where I tell people it's shorter than it actually is.

We do it all the time. We often count on the portion behind the rear axle being able to hang over into the site by a few feet. We take spots in our state parks that are marked for 30' max, and we're 35. But we only do it when there's a good picture of the site and we can reasonably estimate that we'll be fine. So far we haven't had any trouble.

 

[jymbee]

Some great input- thanks to all who responded! Some of the points mentioned I had not considered. Obviously it's not necessarily a cut & dry situation when it comes to max lengths given the many variables.

I went ahead and reserved the site pictured in the OP and will report back here as to what we found when we check in (hopefully) in December. I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

[IBTripping]

So you can lie about it for those sites listed as 20' max?

I do. But, I've got a 23 ft. TT that I park in a 20 ft. state park spot. But, a 33 ft. motorhome would be sticking out across the entrance road.

 

[Isaac-1]

Would anyone care to guess the official max length listed for this site at Mather campground at the Grand Canyon (no fair looking it up based on the file name)?

 

[CharlesinGA]

I have seen a number of sites where there are walls, trees, bushes, etc directly behind the site, so do not count on overhang, you may not be able to. This site in Black Rock Mtn SP in Georgia has a wall made of RR ties and a tree directly behind it. When I stepped out of the trailer I was stepping onto a wall that separated me from the neighbor beside and below me, then I walked the wall to the rear to steps that took me up to the picnic table and fire ring behind me that is a shared area with the site behind me. My buddy got that site.

The site is listed as a 30 ft back in. The truck and trailer together is 44 ft.

Second pic is my motorhome at Cloudland Canyon. Now, I had no issues on length but it has a wall that drops off behind the site and a tree right at the wall, I wanted to get back to the picnic table so I backed all the way up. The site is listed as 50 ft back in, but there is no extra overhang.

Charles

 

[crawford 111]

LOL

 

[ArdraF]

We've been in more than one site where there was a tree, fence or boulder at the rear of the site and they absolutely limited the length of the RV that could fit in those sites. But, the biggest length restriction reason as others have mentioned is the access to the site including trying to turn into it, trees along the road, etc.

ArdraF

 

[garyb1st]

Check the site on google maps earth view. Sometimes the sites are based on the length of the pad. With one caveat, If there are no rocks, trees or other objects behind the pad, I'll reserve. The caveat, I didn't realize that there was another site directly behind ours. Could have been a problem.

 

[Isaac-1]

Some stuff you just can't really tell until you are on the ground, stuff like corner posts the limit turn in angle, or the height of the tire backstop bumper if it has one (I have ran into a few of those where they used cross ties that my rear hitch would not clear).

 

[NY_Dutch]

Check the site on google maps earth view. Sometimes the sites are based on the length of the pad. With one caveat, If there are no rocks, trees or other objects behind the pad, I'll reserve. The caveat, I didn't realize that there was another site directly behind ours. Could have been a problem.

Be careful using Google Maps earth view. Sometimes the images are several years old and things have changed since then.

 

[IBTripping]

Would anyone care to guess the official max length listed for this site at Mather campground at the Grand Canyon (no fair looking it up based on the file

TRACTOR TRAILERS ALLOWED???

 

[Joezeppy]

Would anyone care to guess the official max length listed for this site at Mather campground at the Grand Canyon (no fair looking it up based on the file name)?

I say 30' due to the trees on either side of the site.

 

[Isaac-1]

It is actually 27 ft max length, our coach is 29'5" and I could have probably squeeze in at 2-3 ft longer, the campground has a max 30 ft rule.

 

[jymbee]

Some stuff you just can't really tell until you are on the ground, stuff like corner posts the limit turn in angle, or the height of the tire backstop bumper if it has one (I have ran into a few of those where they used cross ties that my rear hitch would not clear).

That's true of course but at the same time I can't envision a situation where a 30 foot RV could navigate around successfully but not our 34 foot coach.

 

[Kirk]

I can't envision a situation where a 30 foot RV could navigate around successfully but not our 34 foot coach.

While I am sure that somewhere that does exist, a bigger factor than a few feet in length is the difference in driver skills.

 

[Isaac-1]

There are also variations in wheel base, wheel cut, turning radius, amount of rear overhang, etc. all of which can effect what does and does not fit into a given site, or how much backing a cutting one has to do while blocking the road to get in and out of the site. On top of that don't forget about issue with where the entry door or slides might line up. We don't have slides, but did have one 30 ft long narrow 30 ft site a few years ago that when we were in the site our side entry door lined up with a tree, and we were barely able to open it far enough to squeeze in and out of the coach.

 

[Tom]

We ran into a length issue with our prior 29 foot coach when we pulled into a "full" CA state park. The ranger said they could accommodate us in an overflow site, with the rear of the coach overhanging grass. The following day, another ranger wrote up an environmental impact report. But that was over 25 years ago, and the rules have probably changed in addition to my memory fading somewhat.

 

[jymbee]

While I am sure that somewhere that does exist, a bigger factor than a few feet in length is the difference in driver skills.

How true. I expect we've all seen at one time or the other some examples of incompetent or to put it more kindly, inexperienced RV drivers who were in way over their heads.

 

[Kirk]

some examples of incompetent

I also knew a lady who formerly drove an 18 wheeler that could put their 41' fifth wheel into places most drivers couldn't get a larger RV of any kind. But the real key is in knowing what you can or can't do. Over the years I have seen many an RV owner get into trouble from overconfidence.