Size Matters!
Yes it does, and no matter what the size your unit is, everyone will see it when you pull in. You cant hide it in public.
So campground owners always talk about the guy that shows up with a 49 foot camper on a 26 foot rated site. Its inevitable. There is always someone that isn’t quite accurate when they book.
But why do it to yourself?
This year was the first time we really started sending people home for showing up too big for the site. We did it twice. In one instance the customer may have actually made a typo and the 20 foot difference was just more than we could accommodate. When were sold out, and 95% of the park locks their site, which means we can not move anyone. People paid the lock fee to keep the site they booked. Our hands are tied. Sometimes we are forced into a corner with no possible solution.
In other instances, customers upgrade their campers and forget to call and ask if the extra ten feet matters.
In all cases we TRY to accommodate. In some cases, we cant.
We hear it all the time, and we see it online in Facebook forums about what number to use when booking a site. There are also tons of new people in the camping industry. So it’s a common question we see posted. But out of thousands of reservations a year at our park, only twice a year does someone call and ask the right question. “What number do I use”?
When you purchase a new or used camper there are things you should know. Things that the campgrounds take into consideration. But think about it, what is your weight? A 35 foot motor home is twice the weight of a 35 foot travel trailer. What is your height? There is a bridge north of us that many 5th wheels and no destination trailers will not fit under. These are the big ones.
We think about ALL of these things as park owners when deciding the length of allowable camping units. For instance we just opened up more new concrete sites. The lengths allowed on them are smaller because the sites are closer to an unmovable ditch line. But the site sizes themselves are pretty much the same. We know that SOME people can get on them, but we also know that some people can not. And we don’t want people to have a bad experience.
We think about, is the road wide enough to get onto the site? How big of a camper can make the turning radius to get onto the site. Sometimes we know a 40 foot 5th wheel can make it onto a site that a 35 foot travel trailer has an issue with. Is the site sloped? If so, a shorter rig can get level where a big rig cant. So, we have to list the site as the largest of ALL models.
No reservation software on the market allows us to take a 35 foot site and put a 33 foot travel trailer, 34 foot motor home, and 28 foot 5th wheel on the site. The software on the market today only allows us to set the maximum length, and what kinds of campers we allow on the site. This forces our hand to keep the camper sizes smaller than we would like some times. It also allows us to make an acceptation when possible. In all cases the towing vehicle is taken into consideration when we figure out what we can put on a site.
Also, never tell us you drive truck for a living. That’s a red flag. LOL! Tell us your wife is exceptional at backing you up. That works better.
The moral of this blog is to show you behind the scenes why size matters. Why you REALLY need to use the ACTUALL length of your camping unit. But where do you find this?
There are a couple ways to know.
- Use a tape measure. Measure the ENTIRE length of the camper from the bumper to the tip of the camper. TOTAL length.
- Go to NADA’s website or the manufacturers website and look it up. The number on the door is the living space, interior, not what YOU need to book a site.
- If you’re a toy hauler, its ok to use your TOTAL length, but in your case, call the campground. If it says 36 on your door, measure the rig. Know what it is with the deck up and down. Find out from the park you go to if its ok. For instance in our park, site 600 will take a total length of 40 foot. But it ALSO has room for the 10 foot deck. However site 618 is also rated at 38 foot, but there is no room to open the deck. In some instances we will accommodate, but let the customer know they would have to park in the parking lot, not on the site if its wet.
This article does not apply to Triple R only. This article applies to ALL campgrounds. Use the right number. Don’t ruin your weekend by making an assumption that because you have always done it one way, its right. Do it the right way.
Please know, that when a park owner has to turn someone away, we feel HORRIBLE. But we cant whip out a bulldozer on check in Friday an stretch a site.
Hopefully this article helps. There is a TON of data that campground owners face when sizing a campsite.
Size matters!
