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Old 10-09-2019, 03:55 PM   #21
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Are not the lengths of most RV's measured as cabin lengths rather than hitch to bumper lengths used by Escapes? If so, that could be one reason why an Escape will generally fit into smaller spaces that are advertised as being suitable for a slightly smaller trailer.
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Old 10-09-2019, 04:24 PM   #22
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My Starcraft 17 had a 16' box and an overall length of 20'. The 17 meant nothing.
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Old 10-12-2019, 11:48 PM   #23
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I had the 19 taken off my trailer for this very reason.
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Old 10-13-2019, 04:09 AM   #24
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All the travel trailers I have owned and know of from friends and family, use the tongue to bumper length.
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Old 10-13-2019, 07:42 AM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Groma View Post
I had the 19 taken off my trailer for this very reason.
We just ordered a 2020 E19. I specified not decal on the rock guard because I didn’t want it to say 19. Most of the sites I stay on are 18’ or shorter.

With the rock guard being a blank canvas, we plan on putting the silhouette of Gord Downie. We have listened to his music for 25 years and have never camped with listening to the Tragically Hip. For the Americans here, Gord Downie was the lead singer of the Canadian band the Tragically Hip. They never made it in the States as they were to Canadian. We were lucky enough to see them play in Vegas months before he abounded he had brain cancer. RIP.
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Old 10-13-2019, 07:46 AM   #26
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My buddy and I were recently at a Provincial Park in a 'single' site. We had his 19' and my 17' and two vehicles on site, with room to spare. We were able to manoeuvre the trailers so that the awnings faced one another.
I figure, it depends.
They wouldn’t allow this at the Ontario Provincial Parks. The campsite on each side of you can be partying it up but they would make one of you move.
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Old 10-13-2019, 10:03 AM   #27
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They wouldn’t allow this at the Ontario Provincial Parks. The campsite on each side of you can be partying it up but they would make one of you move.
We have stayed two trailers in lots of provincial and state parks single campsites with no problem. We did have to each pay the fee, but it can be quite nice to be close. Here is one at Valley of Fire, near Las Vegas.

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Old 10-13-2019, 10:54 AM   #28
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We each did have to pay the site fee, which was half the regular fee because we are all geezers.
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Old 10-13-2019, 12:02 PM   #29
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A question I've (always?) had is...

When the park registration form asks the number of vehicles... Is a trailer & tow vehicle considered one or two "vehicles"? In some parks they charge for an extra vehicle. I've just taken the stance that a trailer & tow vehicle is "one" vehicle. But is it

Also, when the park says X number of feet or shorter... Does that mean the length of the trailer, or the total rig'? In our case, our Highlander + 19'er are 36' 3" bumper to bumper.
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Old 10-13-2019, 01:50 PM   #30
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All the travel trailers I have owned and know of from friends and family, use the tongue to bumper length.
Sure, but aren't most of those Escapes and Trilliums? Other than moulded fiberglass brands, most travel trailers (and every cargo trailer I've checked) are identified by the box length.
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Old 10-13-2019, 02:14 PM   #31
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Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder View Post
A question I've (always?) had is...

When the park registration form asks the number of vehicles... Is a trailer & tow vehicle considered one or two "vehicles"? In some parks they charge for an extra vehicle. I've just taken the stance that a trailer & tow vehicle is "one" vehicle. But is it

Also, when the park says X number of feet or shorter... Does that mean the length of the trailer, or the total rig'? In our case, our Highlander + 19'er are 36' 3" bumper to bumper.
There is no one answer. National Park campgrounds want the total rig length, but rarely if ever check. I suppose if there was a complaint or some such they could use the length to give you a hard time.

I've not encountered a state or private CG that the figure wasn't for just the camper. To me it means the camper total length, not what the model is called.

I have noticed that at at least some private campgrounds, if you give them something like 20', they stick you on a tiny little site. I give them a bigger number, like 30', so I get a bigger site. It's not like you get a lower price for a small site.
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Old 10-13-2019, 05:28 PM   #32
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To me it means the camper total length, not what the model is called.
Yes, of course, but lazy staff at campgrounds might be inclined to read a model number rather than measure.

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I have noticed that at at least some private campgrounds, if you give them something like 20', they stick you on a tiny little site. I give them a bigger number, like 30', so I get a bigger site. It's not like you get a lower price for a small site.
True, but the longer specified length also restricts the sites that you can use. The last time I booked a site in a provincial campground here, picking "over 30 feet" for our motorhome eliminated most of the unbooked sites. In some campgrounds, going too long may restrict you to full-service sites in something that looks like a parking lot, instead of a nice but power-only site in the trees.
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Old 10-13-2019, 05:35 PM   #33
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Don't think that I've stayed in a commercial campground that had nice but power-only sites in the trees, not that I do many commercial CG's.
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Old 10-13-2019, 05:54 PM   #34
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I've stayed in a few campgrounds that expected you to park your tow vehicle elsewhere from the site, and assign one that only the trailer fits. One example that I specifically remember was at Burney Falls State Park in California.

I guess I remember it because the location they had me park my RAV4 was under some sap dripping pines. Didn't realize it until morning & it took lots of work to clean it up enough so I could see out the windshield!

As to double sites, there are a number of US campgrounds that have them. They don't generally put two folks in one if they don't know each other (unless the campground is full), but they are great when you are traveling with a friend in another trailer.
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Old 10-13-2019, 06:39 PM   #35
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Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
Sure, but aren't most of those Escapes and Trilliums? Other than moulded fiberglass brands, most travel trailers (and every cargo trailer I've checked) are identified by the box length.
I have owned 2 sick built trailers, both Terry, and they used the overall length as the descriptor, as do other friends stick builts. Rarely have I heard the body size used, and only online.
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Old 10-13-2019, 07:11 PM   #36
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I have owned 2 sick built trailers, both Terry, and they used the overall length as the descriptor, as do other friends stick builts. Rarely have I heard the body size used, and only online.
I picked a random common brand (Jayco) from the largest RV manufacturer (Thor)... and sure enough, model names reflect the approximate body length in feet, almost four feet less than the actual overall length. I'm not going to check all brands, but I have looked at this before with other brands and found the same thing. This may be something which has changed over time; campground staff are likely to take shortcuts which work for common RVs that they see now.

The Terry brand belonged to Fleetwood (which now makes only motorhomes) and was recently Heartland as the "Terry Classic" model, but Heartland RV doesn't have it on their website. Other Heartland travel trailers have the first two digits of their model numbers as about 4 feet less than the overall length, so those are clearly nominal body lengths.

This has come up frequently over the last few years in FiberglassRV and EscapeForum.
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Old 10-13-2019, 07:29 PM   #37
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In general (not necessarily just provincial parks) I find that the sites are not so much limited by the length of the site itself but more how easy or hard it is to maneuver your rig into them. I have never been told that my trailer is too long unless you are someplace like the Chisos Basin in Big Bend where there are pretty knarly switchbacks to get there or like Zion where there is a tunnel to go through. Some ferries also limit total length or charge differently.

I went thru the Zion Tunnel about three weeks ago. The employee at the booth came out and looked at my trailer, measured it I think. (She was behind my trailer and I could not see exactly what she was doing.) She came back and said I was good to go without an escort. I folded in my mirrors and proceeded thru without an incident. I was a nervous wreck by the time I got thru though.
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Old 10-13-2019, 07:32 PM   #38
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There is no one answer. National Park campgrounds want the total rig length, but rarely if ever check. I suppose if there was a complaint or some such they could use the length to give you a hard time.

I've not encountered a state or private CG that the figure wasn't for just the camper. To me it means the camper total length, not what the model is called.

I have noticed that at at least some private campgrounds, if you give them something like 20', they stick you on a tiny little site. I give them a bigger number, like 30', so I get a bigger site. It's not like you get a lower price for a small site.

I have been doing that too - giving a longer length, just so I can get my truck in the space too,
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Old 10-14-2019, 01:34 PM   #39
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I've been thinking of sharing a site with my friend she has a truck camper we fit well together in any pull through site.
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