We have a 40' fifth wheel and camp with three other couples who all have 40' + rigs as well. We just got back from a 4700 miles, ten states, 17 day trip from Ohio to Yellowstone and had no trouble finding places to stay. What you will find is older campgrounds don't have room for bigger campers. You are not missing anything as those places are run down and don't have the amenities most people want.

Get the camper you want this time or you will not be happy with the trade in value after a year when you want to upgrade. You wont regret it.

 

I agree with your comment regarding the importance of buying something you are comfortable with.

It is not that there are no places for 40-footers. It is just that campgrounds numerically have fewer spaces for long fivers than shorter ones. We can get in all the longer spaces as well as many of the shorter ones.

For example, pull up the Smoky Mountain National Park on Reserve America and then the Elkmont campground and you will see what I mean. Its just a matter of numbers. In some of our state parks there are no spaces for 40-footers at all, but if that is not where you want to camp anyway, it makes no difference.

Again, I don't think anyone should buy something they would not enjoy simply based on size. Doing that would mean no matter where you camped you would not be happy!

Steve

 

After traveling 32 states with a 32' and 35' 5th wheel seeing 25 National parks, National forests and tons of other touristy places with a lot more to be explored. We never had a problem finding some where to park the 5th wheel and usually made reservation while traveling down the road.

The North East is a little tighter just because those campground sites where made when covered wagons where being pulled by horses. Height of the trailer comes in to play there also not all campgrounds trim the branches in the roads or camp site spot, I have had pull out the hand saw/ trimmers to clear a little room (after asking) I'm not tearing up my roof.

South East is a little better for spots but around all those summer tourist traps of course it's going to a hummer trying to find a spot.

Midwest well they call it the fly over states. Sorry guy's that reside there it's pretty flat and after seeing corn and other agricultural crops growing for hundreds of miles on end there just are very few places that grab the explorer very long. You get in get out. Just my opinion.

The West well there are so many places to see that you could park the 5th wheel and drive out to explore then relocate and do it over.

It really comes down to if your there for a night, week or month than it can be challenging. Hell if it where easy everybody would be doing and it does seem that's starting to happen. Once you do get the 5th wheel and you know a destination ask about routes, tourist spots and camp areas. So many of us have tons of info that might be specific to that particular area.

Good luck.

 

I agree. In some areas of the country. Large Rv s can be part of the adventure. Another example. We wasn't thinking of camping for several weeks. All of sudden we decide to go someplace. Our first place was full of the 40 ft size lots. Had lots for smaller. Second place 100 miles further away had 2 large sites. Just have to be flexible.

 

Excellent info. Our primary residence will be in Nampa, Idaho, and I expect we will spend more of our time touring West of the Missippi. We'll venture East too as that's where our kids and the wife's family are. I had my suspicions that campground in Missouri and West tended to be a little more spacious. In-laws are in Florida, and bigger spots down there seem to be hit and miss.

 

We are particular about where we stay, unless we are simply doing a stop-over for the night. And we don't like to be crammed into a campground, if we are staying put. In Florida, the state parks fill reservations a year in advance and winter months are a struggle, unless you want to stay out someplace in the middle of nowhere. This last year the campgrounds we wanted filled within hours of opening reservations for the timeframe we wanted. We visited a good number of campgrounds in the Fort Myers and Naples area and in one campground the spaces were so tight they actually had you unhook and they parked you using a tractor. Needless to say, we didn't stay there.

If you know where you are going to tour and are particular regarding space, start researching way ahead. I know we spend hours researching our campgrounds. If you simply want to wander, you can always find a space. The issue will be whether it is a place you want to stay.

 

I know that place!! When told we "just drop the 5er at the entrance" and they would back it in with the tractor because "it is tight" it not a place I'd stay. We reserved in a great CG before we left last year but take a day or 2 to look for a change every year. We tried Ft Myers and Bonita Springs and found 1 acceptable of 8 visited but where we are is better. Surely did not visit all there and tried Cedar Key as well. Thinking maybe AZ for winter 2017/18.


Our 5er is 35'. Just 2 of us and 2 small dogs. When we saw the floor plan my wife just said we were done looking. Maybe in a couple years we will look at something else but for now this size is great. Even at 35' plus the truck I put public CGs at the bottom of the list.