Is 30 feet too long

[Eheart]

We are looking at buying either a 30 foot or 28 foot
International and we heard that the 30 foot is too long
for many campsites, and or you have to call in advance to
see if they can accommodate you. Is this true?

[Tater]

We travel Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina mostly and haven't run into a problem. Some of the state or national parks may have limits on size. We usually make reservations and make it clear we want a site that will accommodate a 31' Travel Trailer. If traveling and looking for a place I would call ahead just to make sure they have a spot when I arrive. We've arrived after the CG was closed and they left our paperwork and site number in a location for late arrivals. In 2016 we plan a trip covering East to West and return and don't anticipate any problem. Long answer to a 30/31' has not been an issue for us.

[wahoonc]

I have towed from 16'-40' never had a problem with 30' and under in any campground that I have stayed at.

Aaron

[TinShack]

Your camping options diminish with a longer trailer, but it really depends on what type of camping you want to do. If you are primarily staying in private RV parks a longer trailer is no big deal as most of them can accommodate longer rigs. We have a 28' (actually 28'11") and with the Hensley the length is close to 30' and we do mostly dry camping in State and National Parks where the sites can be smaller with tighter interior roads. There are times when I wish I had a 25', especially with California State Parks, because there are more site options to choose from. It's a trade off though....since my wife and I are both big people and we have two 100lb Labradors, the longer trailer with the slide out is definitely more do-able for interior space.

The online reservation sites such as ReserveAmerica and Recreation.gov have pretty good descriptions of each individual campsite for Federal and State Parks, and many also include site-specific photos. There is also a website called campsitephotos.com that have campsite photos for many parks across the US. I have even used the measure tool in Google Earth to measure site site lengths for fit in some cases.

Overall, I've become accustomed to finding nice places to camp that will accommodate the longer rig, and it would be difficult at this point to go smaller...unless we trade the Labs in for a couple of Chihuahuas!

[Silver Otter]

No = short answer. ... More ...

[Silver Otter]

No = short answer. Our FIRST ( and only/current) trailer is a 30 Classic. We've had her four years, camped in 42 states and 2 provinces. We have always found a place to camp near where we want to visit, even if we pass on the "actual" park campground. Go for it. You'll avoid having the twofoot syndrome, i.e., "Wish we had two more feet."



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[m.hony]

What he said-
And- 2 feet isn't gonna matter much on whether or not you can get into a campground- if a 30 won't fit, a 28 won't fit, either...


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[dkottum]

It's not too long for those with 30' Airstreams but is too long for us with 25' Airstreams. But it's the truck/trailer combination length that matters as well. Also a shorter wheelbase truck can maneuver in a smaller space with either length.

[perryg114]

I am finding that many sights assume you are driving a bus and not pulling a trailer. They put utilities and such too close to the road which is not a big deal unless it is a sewer sight. I found this out at Florida Caverns state park. The sights were plenty deep but the sewer connection was close to where the tongue would be. We only stayed a couple of days and it was no big deal but it would be irritating if you were staying for the week. The sights that have been the most problem for me are the one where there is so much foliage in the way you can't see the back part of your trailer at all. You are literally backing up blind.

Many sights have bumpers that stop your back wheels but there is no reason you can't hang the tail over that bumper. In fact, in FL the other day I used the Rail Road ties in the back to set my bal jacks on. The ones that have a pole or tree back there can be a problem.

Perry

[dannydimitt]

Size Does Matter ! at least in the maneuvering and stop to stop u turns . Thats the reason we went with the shortest Airstream with two axles , and a short bed pickup to tote it around . Compared to our previous trailer , a 17 ft Casita ,
the 22 footer has oodles of space in it , and we are able to take it most anywhere where the truck could go empty and turn it around easily . It will follow along nicely with the trucks steering axle cranked all the way to the right or left in a u turn maneuver . We like to boondock whenever we can and the lesser overhang comes in handy .
To each his own , and for those who enjoy a great big trailer and have no plans to ever go down a dirt road with it , HAPPY MOTORING !!!

[Phoenix]

Years ago, we stayed at a KOA in Pahrump, NV (it's now the Nevada Treasure RV Resort); and the sites were all designed for extended stays by huge bus-type motorhomes. The hookups were at the back end of the concrete pad, and they were so far away from the side of our 19' Bambi that our hoses wouldn't reach.

I had them move us to a different row that had a slightly different layout for hookups, but our hoses still weren't long enough.

Since it was late in the evening, and the resort was almost empty; they let me park sideways across several sites, just so I could connect to their hookups.

This resort is beautiful, but it is apparently undiscovered by the general public (and kind of pricey); and it is one of the few places where our small Bambi was an extreme disadvantage for parking.

Has anyone ever run into this before?

[featherbedder]

Since I started in 1955 w/16ft. have had 17-19-22-26-30-now 31 have never had place I could not get into even when so called experts said no go, so go with what you are comfortable with towing & space needed.

[SteveH]

Haven't been in any state parks with it yet, but haven't had a problem yet in any commercial campground with our 34 footer, and just got back from a three week trip to California, Oregon, and Idaho. Earlier in the year we were in Key West with the trailer, and no problems there or on the way there and back.

All the campgrounds we've been in lately are set up to accommodate the big fifth wheel trailers and motorhomes, and compared to those things, even our 34 is small.

[Wingeezer]

The Classic 30 - which we have - is actually 31' in length. Also, the Hensley hitch probably adds another foot compared to a regular hitch. (But I think also lets you back more sharply.)

As well, our HD2500 has something like a 154" wheelbase so it makes for a fairly log rig.

We really would have preferred a shorter trailer - and probably a smaller TV, but had to buy the Classic 30 to get the interior layout we wanted.

We knew when buying it that it would limit us from camping in certain state/provincial parks, but felt it was a reasonable trade off, even though we do enjoy the state parks as well as commercial RV parks

After using the trailer now for six years, it has not proven to be much of a problem. We have never been assigned a spot in a commercial campground that we could not negotiate, and while it is true that some state parks cannot handle a trailer this size, many can.

I would buy the same trailer again without any great concern.

Brian.

[Jack46]

30' has never been too long for us. But, we moved from a 28' International to a 30' Flying Cloud and we really appreciate the extra 2' (it is actually about 3') in terms of layout and comfort.

[A W Warn]

I never had a problem finding a parking space when I was towing a 30'er.

[pmclemore]

Every time I think about a shorter trailer I remember how much I love the space.

Never had any issues finding a spot. you can't just park anywhere, though.

Pat

[switz]

If I knew then (October 2012) what I know now....

We would have started with the 31' Classic model 30 with twin beds.

However, our trip to Joshua Tree National Park would have required a different space as it was a serpentine route through the trees to our space and the 25FB was a challenge in the turns on our first outing.

[JimGolden]

Not sure, but my 34' is certainly not too long

I just got back from two weeks in FL. The only place I thought it was a bit long was at the Bryn Mawr Ocean Resort in St. Augustine. I agree with what others have said about the campground roads being tight. On the map, it looked like I was getting a bigger spot. But my trailer took it all.

My Avion 34X is actually 35'-11" long bumper to ball, and I tow with a long bed 4-door Ram. Rig is 58' long total, so it's a bit hard to get into sites sized for a 20'.

But anyway, I've been towing this rig for 7-8 years and I've only ever had this one place be tight. They had other sites there that would have been easier, but all were taken.

I'd like to get an old Avion C30 pickup camper for short trips into parks and stuff.

Get the 30' and be happy

[SafariBez]

We went from a 25' to a 30' recently. Love it. Very little difference in towing, backing, parking. Buy the biggest they now make and you will be happy, and you can put thoughts of going bigger to rest, forever.