25' vs. 27' and Campground Sites

[FarFetched]

Thanks for all the input, folks, that's exactly what I was looking for.

I think I need to drag the tall one back to the dealership and let him bang his head on a few things to help him agree with me decide ;-)

[sheriff1]

While your there take a look at a 30'[emoji16]

[h2ocoolerman]

We have the 27 Serenity and love it. The bedroom is much easier to deal with the the sidewise bed.

[Tomhenritze]

I have a 2017 27fb. Over the last year criss crossing the country, the only park I couldn't fit in was Mather campground at the Grand Canyon. A 25 would not fit either. I started looking at the 25 but decided the panoramic windows, the center queen, and the larger pantry where the ticket. I would focus more on the layout you like than the length in campgrounds. Good luck!

[PatLee]

When I look at NPS sites they specify "24 feet" sites available - will they quibble over a 25'11" Airstream FC?

[FarFetched]

Any idea how much length they allow for the tow vehicle, when selecting "Travel Trailer" on the online reservation sites? Because we'll be towing with a Nissan Armada, which is about a foot and a half shorter than a Suburban.

[guskmg]

This is an interesting thread and very informative. I have towed a 23 and 2 35's over the last 47 years. Of course, I could get the 23 in all the RV sites. The 35's fit almost all the places I wanted to park except state parks in Vermont and probably others in New England. But, there were adequate sized commercial sites nearby. The more challenging site were in parks built during the 1930's by the CCC, WPA and other Roosevelt make work projects of the depression. No body ever conceived, back then, that RV length would grow into the 40+ sizes. Go to Crater Lake National Park and you will find 100' pull through sites. One, I could not get my 35' in was cornered by a pine tree on each entry/exit corner. So, I pulled around a drive thru site on the opposite side of the pull through then into the pull through. That day I wished I had brought a chain saw with me.
guskmg

[ggreen63304]

Here is what was posted at NPS for Mather.
30-foot maximum total length including trailer or RV
No hook-ups
That looks self-explanatory to me.

[brad1]

If you're a fisherman, you'll eventually want to camps somewhere along the North Umpqua River. I have a 25' EB and couldn't make that fit in any of the State Park spots along that river. It's the only place where I've had that problem, but since then I've seen a few other sites where I was grateful that I didn't have the 27'er we almost bought. But even so, get the trailer you like. If you're comfortable, you'll be more likely to use it a lot and will find ways to work around the few too-small sites you run into.

[USAtraveler]

I noticed many of the members saying a 27' AS would fit easily into Fed and state campgrounds were from states east of the Rockies. Here in the West that's not necessarily true. Our campgrounds are often in the mountains or tucked into small beaches along the coast. Many of them have limits on length, often as little as 20', rear bumper to tip of tongue (although honestly I've seen longer trailers squeezed into them). The limitation has more to do with maneuvering room due to trees and/or rocks than total trailer length. If you are planning on doing a lot of camping in parks or national forests, you'll likely find yourself limited by longer trailer length.

[FarFetched]

GGreen, thanks for that. I didn't see that detail on the Reserveamerica.com listing but after reading your post I went to the NPS site and it does show on there.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by lsbrodsky

Just a data point that I talked about last month. We were at Shenandoah NP. They had sites for any length trailer but most of the sites on the side of the mountain with the best view could not fit a trailer longer than our 25 FB. ... It was a very tight fit for us, not to mention blocking the road while we unhooked and hooked up.

I have commonly run into this sort of situation. Length has more of an impact on site selection within a campground rather than on what campgrounds you can choose.

Originally Posted by LBOskiBear

I suppose because we always make a reservation, we're filtering out parks where our 27FB won't fit and don't see them as options. However, given our camping habits (primarily California State Parks) and the fact that we moved from a 19' to a 27', I haven't had to take anything off the list that we used to camp at in our shorter AS.

It is the exceptional campground that doesn't have room for a 30' trailer somewhere. They do exist, but they're rare.

The biggest problem, I find, are the exceptional campgrounds that don't allow you to park your tow vehicle anywhere except on the pad. Combined length then becomes a problem for any trailer. These sorts of places are best for a tent, motorhome, or truck camper.

Originally Posted by SilverCottage

We've had our 27FB for 11 summers now and have found only 2 sites out of maybe 300-350 that I could not fit into due to length.

We tend to find that if we say we have a 25' trailer we won't have a problem fitting it in and that the sites are measured conservatively. You can always call the park and ask since they know the sites best.

When making reservations I always tell the clerk that I am very comfortable backing the trailer and am willing to unhook. Many people are not and that tends to drive an overly conservative attitude when booking. Another fact to consider is that many times they measure the pad length but it is possible to have the back of the trailer overhang the pad, often by a quite considerable distance

Originally Posted by FarFetched

Any idea how much length they allow for the tow vehicle, when selecting "Travel Trailer" on the online reservation sites? Because we'll be towing with a Nissan Armada, which is about a foot and a half shorter than a Suburban.

Typically none.

Originally Posted by ggreen63304

Here is what was posted at NPS for Mather.
30-foot maximum total length including trailer or RV
No hook-ups
That looks self-explanatory to me.

You could fit an Airstream Sport and a Smart Fortwo into that. Any more sensible combination probably not. Most 4 door sedans are 15' long. These sorts of very small sites are mainly suitable for tents, truck campers, B vans, and small motorhomes.

There is no trailer that will fit every site. I have been places where they specifically say "pop-ups only" or "tents only" for some of the sites.

Originally Posted by brad1

If you're a fisherman, you'll eventually want to camps somewhere along the North Umpqua River. I have a 25' EB and couldn't make that fit in any of the State Park spots along that river. It's the only place where I've had that problem, but since then I've seen a few other sites where I was grateful that I didn't have the 27'er we almost bought. But even so, get the trailer you like. If you're comfortable, you'll be more likely to use it a lot and will find ways to work around the few too-small sites you run into.

And there are plenty of sites that while long enough have access roads that won't provide the turning room, or that require greater ground clearance. You want to camp anywhere, your best bet is a small pop-up truck camper, because you can get that anywhere you can get a pickup truck. Choosing a trailer is about compromises

[dmbecke]

Yep, make your decision based on queen bed vs twins
Personally we could live with an east west bed so went with a 25 ft twin
If ya have to have a queen, I would get a 27 ft

[AirstreamCSH]

Three weeks into our cross country trip with a 25FB. There are four adults and I'm 6'1". In our case we have a 6' pickup bed under a cap that holds all of our non clothing gear. With this setup we have ample storage inside and yesterday went through what we discovered we didn't need freeing up 20pct inside storage for the next trip.

So I'd suggest that depending on your TV, you can fit 2 people and any number of dogs in the 25.

[bono]

I have 33 ft long Jayco trailer. I am staying only at state campgrounds. I would say that in average 20-40% of the sites are big enough for the trailer. I am towing with SUV, so it helps with maneuvering.

I need to make the reservations 7 months ahead, being logged in at 7 am PST. I know which sites I can take and had no problems so far. If I did not have the reservations ahead, I would be in a big trouble. But maybe this is only on the west coast...

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by Meeks

We have a 25FB with a queen. I'm 5'6" and sleep on the side of the bed next to the front window where there is about 6" to walk on the floor while crouching under the cabinet so you don't knock your head (which you will a few times....it hurts!). In other words, one doesn't walk there but instead crawls from the foot of the bed to the head of the bed. Doesn't bother me much but if I was your size I would most definitely go for the 27FB. I truly wouldn't give it another thought.

Yes, maybe there will be a time once every year or two you can't get into a spot that you could've with the 25 but it will be very rare. But every night you are in your 27FB trailer you will walk along the side of the bed to get in instead of crawling over. No contest!

Chris

For the reasons stated about the 'East-West' bed and not much storage spsce; one Summer was enough for me.😬
I gave it back to CanAm, and asked for a larger Flying Cloud.
I got a 30 footer, and it' s perfect for the both of us.
Good room, comfortable bed, more than enough storage . Just great! Even DW likes it.😆

[ckerrick]

We were in your position 4 years ago in 2013. Looked at both 25' and 27' models; ended up buying the 25' Intl RB rather than the 27' with north-south bed and walk-around room just based on sticker shock of the additional $8K for 27'. We have been traveling quite a bit in our 25' over the last 4 years and do love it, but I have continuously regretted not buying the 27' for the space and convenience of being able to walk around the bed... especially at night. Of all the campsites we've stayed in, I'm pretty sure the 27' would have fit in every one including state park sites where they advertise a 25' limit. Hindsight is 20/20 as they say, and in hindsight I'd buy the 27' if I could do it over again.

[Safari Streamer]

We have a 28' FC after 16 years of a 25'. My hubby is 6'3. We camp a lot, usually twice a month if trips are short. We have never had an issue with fitting in a site. Queen bed works for us. Hubby does not bump head, thanks to ducted air. Shower is tight but we prefer bath house if acceptable. Get the one you like best and get those wheels rolling. See you down the road!

[gypsydad]

Another recommendation made earlier; go with the twin model if you want to get extra length. you get 34" sleeping area x 2= 68"; queen is only 60, and you can get extra long matress if you want, but really may not need. extra room inside and storage outside is a benefit for sure...you can always find room to snuggle.

[dkottum]

We liked everything about the twin beds except the sleeping arrangement. We could have easily converted our queen bed to twin beds, but never did in 1400 nights of use. We did install a Sleep Number RV Queen Radius Corner RV Queen mattress with individual firmness controls. It worked very well for us.