Parking a 21 or 22 footer.

[Gfmucci]

Those who have used their longer than 20' van for awhile, please tell me about your parking experiences. Do you often use regular parking spaces? Run into any issues? How much of a challenge is it for you?

 

[WanderingRose]

I had a 22 foot for 17 years, traveled all over the country, and pretty much parked anywhere, parallel parking in downtown areas included.

Parallel parking was often less obtrusive than the angled sites where you might jut out into the roadway more than might be prudent, particularly in some older downtown areas where the streets are a bit more narrow.

They are really very maneuverable and user friendly, in my experience,

 

[Gfmucci]

Is it comparable to parking an f350 in a space, of which I see often?

 

[WanderingRose]

I’ve never had a F350, nor any other kind of truck but my BVan on an Dodge Sprinter chassis, so that is all I know,

 

[Gfmucci]

I’ve never had a F350, nor any other kind of truck but my BVan on an Dodge Sprinter chassis, so that is all I know,

But you have seen them (f350's)?

 

[WanderingRose]

I had to goggle F350, tho did at first blush think it was a truck of some sort.

I’m a 75 year old woman, not into trucks and never driven one but my RV, so can’t tell you I have ever noticed where they are parked or if in spaces similar to mine.

Maybe one of the guys here will chime in, or you could try a more specific forum for parking this kind of truck?

 

[Gfmucci]

Sorry. I thought someone would reply who would be aware of my analogy based on a fairly common vehicle for reference. A truck forum would not help because most truck people are not familiar with camper van sizes for comparison. I see F150 pickups sticking out into the travel aisle a foot or so and wondered if similar to vans and any issues encountered.

 

[INTJohn]

It all depends on overall length not if it’s a 150, 250 or 350.
My f250 was a regular cab 8’ box. One can get a 350 reg cab with an 8’ box too. Same basic overall length
If one had a 4 door crew with an 8’ box that is Looong.
You should google the differing vehicles for comparable overall lengths to a 20+’ van.

My Promaster is idk a lil over 19’ I think. It was within a few inches of the same overall length of the 250 so I had that as a direct comparison.

An fyi: many of the beach side parking lots I see prohibit vehicles over 20’ which excludes all of the longer wheelbase vans and pickups.

intjonny

 

[Gfmucci]

It all depends on overall length not if it’s a 150, 250 or 350.
My f250 was a regular cab 8’ box. One can get a 350 reg cab with an 8’ box too. Same basic overall length
If one had a 4 door crew with an 8’ box that is Looong.
You should google the differing vehicles for comparable overall lengths to a 20+’ van.

My Promaster is idk a lil over 19’ I think. It was within a few inches of the same overall length of the 250 so I had that as a direct comparison.

An fyi: many of the beach side parking lots I see prohibit vehicles over 20’ which excludes all of the longer wheelbase vans and pickups.

intjonny

I'm looking at the several versions of the Winnebago Solis. Some are 18'. Some are 21+'. I'm favoring the longer ones for several reasons.
1. **Solis 59P**: This model has an exterior length of **19'9"**.
2. **Solis 59PX**: This model is slightly longer with an exterior length of **21'**.
3. **Solis Pocket**: This is the most compact model, designed for urban navigation and extended season. 18'

But, if I hang ANYTHING off the back of the longest one (bike rack, spare tire, cargo case), I would be precluded from using most parking spaces.

Just thinking out loud about pros and cons of the longer version.

 

[rruff]

Is it comparable to parking an f350 in a space, of which I see often?

My rig is about the same length as a F350 crew cab with 8 foot bed. A little under 22 ft.

I stick out too far for comfort in most parking spots. I'll either back in and intrude on the sidewalk a bit, or look for a place where there are a lot of empty spots and take two.

The parking situation and size of the spaces varies a lot. If you plan on parking in busy urban areas regularly, then a large rig would be annoying IMO.

 

[WanderingRose]

But, if I hang ANYTHING off the back of the longest one (bike rack, spare tire, cargo case), I would be precluded from using most parking spaces.

Not so.

If what you’re concerned about is John’s reference to beach parking lots, that’s not the case around the country or even at all beach parking lots.

If you only look to be on beaches, you may have to be creative in your parking, as rruff recommends, but that is not all the travel most of us do.

I sold my 22’ 6 months ago, there was a spare tire on the back end of that and when my husband was alive with the first one of these we had a bike rack with two adult bicycles on the back.

No problems parking, tho sometimes you parked a bit farther from what you preferred or found a less desirable area and took two spaces.

If you think length will be a dealbreaker, don’t overthink it, just get something smaller, but I think you will want as much inside space as you can afford.

You will come across the occasional parking area with prohibited lengths, but that’s not the norm around the country.

 

[mpruet]

I have a van built in a Promaster 3500 - it’s 21 feet long. While it will ‘fit’ in a normal parking spot, it’ll only fit if I let the front end stick over the curb. Normally at a parking lot, I’ll take two spots.

 

[bullfrog !]

One reason I like my old Suburban is it fits most places at 17’ or so depending on whether there is a hitch in the receiver. My pickup fits every where a 16’. My 28’ motorhome fit all National Park campsites except for Natural Bridges as they I believe were restricted to 19’. Just some reference for future consideration.