Best Size Airstream for National Parks and Alike?

[jackvosney]

I was thinking a 27/28 would be ideal, but would love the space of the 34'. We will be touring the entire country, lots and lots of national and state parks Canada, Mexico.

Thoughts? Stories?


Cheers
Jack

[paiceman]

Many National and State parks have very few if any sites to accommodate a large unit. Virtually all can accommodate 25' and under. That said there are sites available so advance reservations would be a must in my opinion. We generally stay in commercial parks nearby National and State Parks for hook ups and actually seek out those with fenced dog parks so our two Labradors can run a bit.

[Bill M.]

We like our 25' a lot. I am comfortable pulling it and we have covered a lot of NP campgrounds, state parks, and provincial parks. I make the occasional routing mistake and have proven to myself that I can turn it around in tight spaces if I have to. We also have a 32 that now resides on a lot in Fl. I like pulling the 25 better, mostly because of the long overhang and lack of ground clearance on the 32. There are just the 2 of us and a small dog. We travel fairly light and do not carry clothing for every occasion. I carry a ton of fishing stuff and golf clubs but that stuff stays in the truck. I have only looked inside a 28 and have not pulled one.

[HiHoAgRV]

If you like a 34', get a 34'. We have traveled national parks extensively with ours and never had to turn away. Obviously there are camping sections where only smaller trailers will fit but so far there has always been a spot we could grab. Gran Tetons is an example, very few folks can fit into Jenny lake but Coulter Bay and Gros Ventre can hold the Largest RV's. Yellowstone is the same way.

If your mindset is driving toward staying in one particular campground with a specific site in mind, and it will only fit a 22' trailer then by all means buy a 22'.

For us, seldom is the campground the destination. We find a camp that is a good launching spot for the area. With RV's getting larger and larger over the years, most places have adapted or commercial venues have stepped in.

[badkat]

We have a 28' and long bed TV and have stayed in Natl Parks with no problem.

[KJRitchie]

I guess it depends on the park. We haven't stayed at a lot of national parks, only Glacier, Zion, North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Looking at each campground at Glacier, Fish Creek Campground has a lot of sites where my 25fb would not fit or if it did would be on a hill and difficult to level. Many Glacier has a mixed bag of sites to support different length RVs, St Mary has lots of sites for larger RVs, Two Medicine has a good mix of sites as is Apgar.

Zion Watchman has a good mix of sites as South Campground. Bryce North Campground has a loop for RVs and I've seen lots of rental RVs in there and even a diesel pusher HM, the other loops its a mix. Didn't see Sunset campground at Bryce. North Rim can support longer RVs.

We decided the 25fb was not to short or long but the 27fb is only 2 foot longer. While I would be comfortable in setting up a 27fb I think a 34 would cut down the available sites you could choose.

[mandolindave]

Trailers are usually too big while on the road, and too small at the campsite.

I have a 20 footer, and don't spend much time in it while camping. ( Sleep, and shower ) How many people and pets will be coming is a big part of the equation. Because you said, " the entire country " and," Between Canada and Mexico", makes me think you will be doing lots of miles and lots of mountains.

I think 34s are better suited for the second home type situation. ( parking all summer at one location ), or spending two weeks in one spot

You might want a smaller trailer for touring, but I'm sure many use a 34 for that purpose.

My personal thoughts are that, I don't know why someone would spend so much time towing, then sit in a camper all day…..so I don't NEED a big camper.

[BoldAdventure]

25 will be the easiest from my experience. The larger ones are hit or miss.

[Starlight Mike]

We have had four AS's and now have the smallest being a 25'. We love it and much easier to move around the mountains than the bigger ones. A 27' may be OK, but I promise you a 34 will not be fun in the mountains on a daily basis.

[moosetags]

Over the years, we have had two 25's and a 23. We have camped in many State and National Parks. We have never been turned away because we were to big.

That being said, there have been several occasions where we have had some trouble getting into a site. Had we been any larger, it would not have been doable.

Brian

[jonnyo]

i do a lot of camping in smaller provincial and national campground. those are often the nicest and most ''into the wild'' campground available.

In bc and alberta....the smaller the trailer, the more choice you have. when going to places like Banff and jasper, there is always room for big rig but you end up with more basic parking lot style campground with low privacy. The nice spot with trees, privacy etc are for the smaller unit.

i have argosy 24 and i been in spot that were very tight. while i see the good side of a big rig for long term travel....i m happy with the smaller argosy and sometimes wish i had a even smaller one. my idea would be a airstream 19 with bunks

[CalifBob]

A 20' or under will allow you to park in almost any National Park, National Forest or State Park campground - especially California. As noted above, the next limitation is usually 25" in special sections or parks that provide for RVs. Anything larger and yes you can still park in a very few of the larger National Park campgrounds but there are not very many of those. The question is whether you want to have the flexibility of being able to stay almost anywhere in any campground or the convenience of a larger trailer. As noted in earlier emails, there are some very nice full-service RV parks near National Parks that cater to large RVs and trailers - but then you are not in the middle of nature.

[EarlM]

Do they Make a 34?

[n2916s]

I have a 31' and I have not fit into exactly one campground over the past 10 years (we half-time, so roughly 1800 nights...).
If you are concerned, make reservations or use Google Earth to look at a prospective campground. I really enjoy the extra elbow room and storage of my rig.

Mike

[Rgentum]

We thought we were sold on getting a 25 until we went to the local AS dealership & got inside a 25 & then a 27. We found several features of the 27 that convinced us to get "the extra two feet," primarily the north/south bed in the 27 vs the east/west bed in the 25 & secondarily the extra width of the hanging locker & the vertical kitchen cabinet.

While the 25 is a great trailer, please take a look at the 27 (as well as the 28, which many like because of its dinette) & ask yourself if the extra features of either of the latter two are worth the several thousand $$$ in increased price. So far, we haven't been burdened by the extra 2 ft in length & 600 lb in weight, for example, in finding camping sites.

[TheGlen]

Because you will be covering a lot of territory we recommend a smaller trailer for ease of towing and economy. We have toured across Canada and the US pulling a 23 foot. It is much easier to manoevre and a lot cheaper on gas.
It is amazing how little stuff you actually need and how much more time you spend outdoors enjoying things.

[RMB]

We have spent a total of about 10 months in Mexico and 40,000 km all the way south to Belize and along both coasts.

We saw big rigs - Prevosts and the like - and campers and they all managed to get where they wanted to be in the campgrounds available in one way or another.

HOWEVER! The stress, dings, swearing and unhappiness of those piloting big rigs was evident. State Provincial and Mexican campgrounds were not designed for big rigs; Mexican highway are 8 'wide - not 9' as in US and Canada; there are no shoulders so you are meeting an overloaded truck head on at a combined speed of 200 Kph with 2-4 inches clearance between vehicles. That's a rush! Big rig makes the tolerances even less.

The cities are crowded, the roads and traffic very "interesting" and can be equally stressful. Manouvering can be very tricky.

In a nut shell, you can do it all in a big rig, but to me, its not worth the aggravation, frustration stress and difficulties if not dangers involved. Those of us with small rigs eg 23' don't have those maneuverability issues.

Good luck!

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by n2916s

I have a 31' and I have not fit into exactly one campground over the past 10 years (we half-time, so roughly 1800 nights...).
If you are concerned, make reservations or use Google Earth to look at a prospective campground. I really enjoy the extra elbow room and storage of my rig.

Mike

We have a 30' International, been all over the parks cited above and yet to have to pass one up because we were too big. We have 2 dogs and like the extra room. We upgraded from a 28' unit, which really is only 27' long where as the 30' is a true 30'. Pull it with an F-150 Eco Boost short bed.

[NWGetaways]

I love these "Best" topics.

Mine is best. Nuh-uh, mine is!

[Aprilrivet]

My wife and I and our 60# Lab have traveled over 60 km mostly in the southeast and southwest US and parts of Ontario and the Maritimes the past two years in our 25' with no issues whatsoever. While 34's can be accommodated at many parks the choice of sites does become limited and having to make a U turn or back up will be very stressful.
Long term stays with a 34' would be great. Touring the whole country in a 25' would be more practical.