Newbee

[LBOROOM]

My wife and I are soon to be full-timers. I want to thank everyone on this forum for the information I have learned by visiting. We have never been on a forum so please advise if I don't post properly. Our truck will be arriving in July. We will be pulling our future fiver with a 2015 GMC, DRW, Duramax 6.6 Diesel, Allison 1000 trans. What we are really sold on is the Redwood 38Gk. Here is our first question of what I am sure will be many. When traveling are we going to have problems finding places to stay that will accept 41'8" ? We have noticed a lot of sites are 35' and under.
Earl And Ann

[Adamsvr]

Welcome and congratuations! Regarding parking your 38GK, I recommend staying away from many of the State and National parks until you get familiar with them. Many of these were built in the sixties and seventies when RV's were 20 something feet long. We always use Goodsam Route planner and RVParkviews. Then we use Googlemaps in satellite mode to verify the condition of the campsite. Vic

[0nTheRoad]

Earl ans Ann,

Welcome to our forum and congrats on your new truck, it's good that you will be purchasing a DWR, it will give you such a better ride and you'll be glad you did.

The GK is a beautiful coach, well so are all the others, have you already ordered one or are you still looking?

In answer to your question, as Vic stated above, stay away from State and Federal parks, at least until after you have been in the coach for awhile, also try to look for pull-thru's if possible. Many parks will tell you they can accommodate a 42 foot coach, that may be true but can they also accommodate a 25 foot truck? Honestly though, you will have plenty of places to "fit", just do your homework!!

[Rick and Mindy]

My wife and I were warned long ago by an independent RV Resort owner that anything over 35 feet could cause some problems down the road when traveling. As a result we have always kept our purchases to 35 -36 feet max. We workkamped for 4 years in a 35 footer and found we were very comfortable with it. Could we use more space? Of course! You can always use more space no matter what you purchase. We like not having to stress out about where we can settle for the night and we also like to be able to pull with a SRW 250(2500) or 350(3500) truck. Not to say that we would never move up in size, but for right now the 35-36 ft works for us.

[TNTBaker]

I can tell you that the STATE parks in Washington (with a very few exceptions) would not even be able to allow you (or us!) past the front gate! They have narrow, winding roads through huge trees and very small, unlevel sites. That is why we have our truck camper, for CAMPING! :-) We don't consider the RW a "camper", more of a "Mobile Home".

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by TNTBaker

I can tell you that the STATE parks in Washington (with a very few exceptions) would not even be able to allow you (or us!) past the front gate! They have narrow, winding roads through huge trees and very small, unlevel sites. That is why we have our truck camper, for CAMPING! :-) We don't consider the RW a "camper", more of a "Mobile Home".

You're right, I'm not suggesting that the 35-36 footer will solve all problems. You still have to do some homework before pulling in to a campground. The biggest problem I see in state and fed parks is tree trimming. For some reason they don't realize that trees should not hang lower that 20 feet! I have had to trim limbs just to get into a spot, plenty of length and width but not enough clearance above.

[TNTBaker]

Now to figure out how to tow the RW with the camper on the truck... that one still has me scratching my head :-P

[Dave&Ginny]

I've been to many state parks with a 36' limit. As soon as they see the "36RL" on the side they let me in although my trailer is actually 39.5 ft long. It boils down to the person pulling the trailer and their confidence level in maneuvering. I've put my trailer in places that were supposed to be for 34ft RVs.

I hear from the camping hosts all kinds of stories of the people backing into anything standing. I guess they assume everybody is like that. Some of the nice places follow each trailer to their campsites with 3 golf carts.

The thing you do have to watch out for are the low hanging limbs that scratch the trailers. Some of the state parks aren't kept trimmed back.

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

I've been to many state parks with a 36' limit. As soon as they see the "36RL" on the side they let me in although my trailer is actually 39.5 ft long. It boils down to the person pulling the trailer and their confidence level in maneuvering. I've put my trailer in places that were supposed to be for 34ft RVs.

I hear from the camping hosts all kinds of stories of the people backing into anything standing. I guess they assume everybody is like that. Some of the nice places follow each trailer to their campsites with 3 golf carts.

The thing you do have to watch out for are the low hanging limbs that scratch the trailers. Some of the state parks aren't kept trimmed back.

I don't know how true this is, but not too long ago you could tell how long your coach was by the model number. I've been told that when the manufacturers started making them longer the owners started having problems getting into parks because the model number would reflect the longer length. As a result the manufacturers started changing the model numbers to reflect a smaller length even though it was actually longer. People still refer to the model number as the length. You can even read it on the for sale sights as a dealer will state a 36RL as a "36 footer".

[TNTBaker]

Yes, this is true. In some sites you can hang your substantial rear-end over the curb, and buy yourself at least 8 feet! But sometimes there's a barrier at the back of the site and you can't do this. I have often wondered if THIS is the mysterious reason that they put the rear landing legs so far forward? We did this a LOT with out last fiver and the rear jacks usually had to have a stack of firewood to reach the ground!

[TNTBaker]

And by the way, parking your truck in overflow parking is perfectly acceptable, contrary to what you might hear from some people. That is why they call it "overflow", not "visitor" parking!

[Rick and Mindy]

I've never had anyone get a tape measure out to see exactly how long a coach is. They usually take your word for it but like Dave said, you better be confident enough in your skills to get a longer unit into the site! And yes, as a workkamper, I have seen drivers back into everything! It seems to be a macho thing...."Do you need help backing in?"....."No thanks, I got it"........then all of the sudden.........CRASH....hit a tree! Another problem I saw often......speeding through the park. It's like "look at me, I'm so good at pulling this thing that I don't have to do the speed limit" I never refuse help backing in..........."even though I don't need it"

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by TNTBaker

Now to figure out how to tow the RW with the camper on the truck... that one still has me scratching my head :-P

Time to park the camper

[Dave&Ginny]

In my previous life I drove the big trucks for 20 years and was a trainer teaching new recruits how to drive. I've entered and won a few truck radios for backing and I can teach anybody how to back a trailer in all types of conditions. I'm probably better going backwards than forward.

[TNTBaker]

My mama told me all men say that... and not to believe it. <ggg>
J/K - if we cross paths (hope so!) we WILL take you up on that. Always can do better.

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by Rick and Mindy

I've never had anyone get a tape measure out to see exactly how long a coach is. They usually take your word for it but like Dave said, you better be confident enough in your skills to get a longer unit into the site! And yes, as a workkamper, I have seen drivers back into everything! It seems to be a macho thing...."Do you need help backing in?"....."No thanks, I got it"........then all of the sudden.........CRASH....hit a tree! Another problem I saw often......speeding through the park. It's like "look at me, I'm so good at pulling this thing that I don't have to do the speed limit" I never refuse help backing in..........."even though I don't need it"

With the Redwood you have to drive slow for medical reasons. These trailers are so damn beautiful.....you'll cause whiplash for those watching you drive by .....it's just not polite to cause all that pain.

[TNTBaker]

Roger that! I have only seen ONE going down the road around these parts and I nearly wrecked. I think they are gorgeous!

[Dave&Ginny]

Originally Posted by TNTBaker

My mama told me all men say that... and not to believe it. <ggg>
J/K - if we cross paths (hope so!) we WILL take you up on that. Always can do better.

I start teaching with a toy truck that I carry with me. Believe it or not....it really does work when you can see the truck and trailer reaction with a toy. I've taught hundreds of drivers like this. Also...the road drivers of the big trucks are usually the worse at backing up.....but they sure are good at going forward. The folks that grew up on the farms are ALWAYS the best.

[TNTBaker]

We have 4 kids, and three of them girls. All farm kids. We always would tease the girls' boyfriends because it would be my daughter backing up a trailer (especially boat ramps) with boyfriend standing outside with a defeated look on his face. :-) I said, "No girl of mine gonna be unable to back a trailer!"

[Rick and Mindy]

[QUOTE=Dave&Ginny;26985]In my previous life I drove the big trucks for 20 years and was a trainer teaching new recruits how to drive. I've entered and won a few truck radios for backing and I can teach anybody how to back a trailer in all types of conditions. I'm probably better going backwards than forward.[/QUOTE I was a Driver Instructor/Examiner for the U.S. Postal service and I take great pride in my defensive driving skills but I can always use pointers and expertise when it comes to backing an oversized coach into an undersized space. I've always thought that a guy could make a lot of money just taking new pullers into a huge parking lot and teaching them to back up their rigs!! Dave, that would be a great thing to offer at the rally if anyone would admit to their shortcomings.