36' vs 40' - RV-Dreams Community Forum

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

36' vs 40'

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

Full time go 40' there will be few if any spots that a 36' could get in that a 40' can't. If you are comparing 40' VS 24' then size is something to consider.

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

Don't focus on size alone... go spend time in each of the contenders and see what feels right for you and for your daily life.

A well laid out smaller unit can sometimes feel more livable than a poorly laid out 40' one. We are thriving in a 35' narrow body with no slides - and love it. It's perfect for us, but we spent a lot of time touring bus conversions to find one laid out that fit our lifestyle. Only you can determine what is right for your lifestyle.

There are quite a few public campgrounds that have stated limits on length (many at 35', as the parks were built before longer vehicles were legal), or even limited sites suitable for a 40'. We've also been able to snag cheaper sites or better sites at RV Parks (ie. the last remaining waterfront site) on occasion because we didn't need their 'big rig' sites. However, often times we're given a site with a 35' limit, and there would have been plenty of room for another 5'. So yes, in our experience, we have gained more options by staying at 35'. Not sure 36' would give you as much benefit however.

Best wishes,
- Cherie

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

We had a choice of a 32 or 37 ft 5th wheel. We chose the 37 because it provided space for a washer dryer combo plus the rear kitchen cabinet & counter was 18 inches deep instead of 9 inches deep.

We have never had a problem finding a space big enough for our setup 37ft 5th wheel plus long bed dually crewcab tow vehicle in the area where we wanted to camp.

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a 42' 5er and we have never found it difficult to find a place to camp where we wanted too. Like Howard and Linda, sometimes we park someplace and explore for another place.....but it certainly has not inconvenienced us. We started with a 36' 5er over 12 years ago, then went to a 38', then a 42'. Never had any real issues with any of them.

RVRon · RV-Dreams Family Member

We bought our 34' motorhome long before we even considered going fulltime because we wanted to get into more Florida state parks. When we made the decision to fulltime we loved it so much we just decided to keep it. We're now in our 5th month fulltiming and don't feel at all cramped for space. We also feel we have a lot more sites available to us in city/county/state/federal parks because of the shorter length. Right now we're staying in a state park near Peoria, IL and snagged what we feel is the best site in the entire park... one of the handful that is level and with full shade to keep the heat down during the daytime. A 40' rig would definitely have not fit in this space. Like Cherie said, pick the rig that feels like home but also realize that there are benefits to being a little shorter in the government campgrounds.

dream reachers · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a 40' MH and it is a good fit for us. Yes there are places that we are too big for but I always find a place near where I want to stop that can accomodate us. We previously had a 35' fifth wheel trailer but when we traded up we found we had to go to a 40' MH to carry the same stuff. You can get by in a smaller MH if you don't need to carry as much. What is good for one does not work for another. There is no "one size fits all"