Does Size Matter..?

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by avanti

Our 21' sprinter is pretty horrible in this regard. 24' ones are worse, though.

I believe and know your Sprinter is 22'-9" long. Don't exaggerate the difference. It is a 16" difference and the wheelbase is the same as the extended body. The VB Air Suspension does make a major difference and the extended body with VB Air is way more comfortable than the regular body without. I've test driven and sat in the back of both on the exact same route on the same day to encounter different conditions like curbs, railroad tracks, bumpy roads, etc. Afterwards, it was a no-brainer for me to shell out the $7,000 difference. It ain't cheap.

Advanced RV puts VB Air Suspension on the extended body and regular body models and the 4 x 4s. It was an option but I don't know of anyone that passed on it after they started offering it. ARV has never built on the 144" wheelbase.

It is possible to have VB Air Suspension installed after market. I know of one Roadtrek Adventurous Sprinter that had it done.

[avanti]

Originally Posted by Davydd

I believe and know your Sprinter is 22'-9" long. Don't exaggerate the difference.

You are correct, of course. Confusing the number with my old T1N, which was 21'-something.

[Keyne]

Personally if I had the money... an ARV built 144 would be pretty awesome.

[Marley]

Originally Posted by Keyne

Personally if I had the money... an ARV built 144 would be pretty awesome.

Yes, I agree, but north of $100k and north of $200k are a long ways apart.

[mojoman]

Shorter the unit offers more versatility for its use and parking ability but if you don't plan on using it as a second vehicle or care about parking a little further out, get the longest one. The average parking length is 18" Our unit is 19'6" and we haven't had a problem parking it anywhere. We visit a lot of small towns, events, festivals etc... where parking is usually difficult for larger units. A 24' unit will effect your decision making on whether to pull over or stop for unplanned sightseeing depending on parking. Hanging out 1'6" is pretty safe, hanging out 6' is usually unacceptable.

[Davydd]

A standard parking stall is 20 ft. long with 24 ft. driving aisles between. The driving aisle needs to be 24 ft. for the turning radius to pull in. Face to face gives a total of 40 ft. and enough for most RVs in taking up two spaces. Backing into a stall with curb and grass will allow a 24 ft. Sprinter to not stick out into the driving aisle. The most optimum layout you can achieve is to have double loaded driving aisles so it is desired to have a parking lot with perimeter parking on the outside edges of the lot with curb and grass. Standard width is 9 ft. with some as little as 8 ft. which can be a problem with Class Cs. A standard marked parallel parking stall can range anywhere from 22 ft to 26 ft. since vehicles need to be able to maneuver and get into them between other cars. If a stall is only 18 ft. deep it would most likely be signed with "Compact Cars Only". Most of this is hard coded in city zoning ordinances and is pretty uniform across the country. Of course there are variations from standard since a parcel of land is not perfectly dimensioned for standard layouts. I've designed and laid out or managed the work of literally over a thousand parking lots for big box retail, super markets and restaurants.

[Marley]

We are lucky in that we have places to go where parking isn't an issue. The family has a ranch in a red rock canyon in southern Utah surrounded by Dixie National Forest, an large RV spot at north Glamis sand dunes, and an old 7 acre orange grove plantation in Redlands California with a historical house and barns. All have water and power hook ups of some sort.

There is one more which is a duplex one lot off the beach on Ocean Ave at Seal Beach in Orange County California. One part is rented the other part kept for family use. That is one spot where the parking is tight but a cool place to hang out as it is walking distance to everything including gawking at the nice boats in the marina or fishing off the pier.

So I'm going to put some offers in for end of year deals and see what we come up with. I don't think there is a really wrong choice amongst the main manufacturers.

[mojoman]

Compact car spaces are usually 16' long in the Peoples Republic of California. Our Costco parking spot length is 18'. Parking stalls are larger but mostly in parking garages that offer free removal of most AC units.

[Keyne]

Originally Posted by mojoman

Shorter the unit offers more versatility for its use and parking ability but if you don't plan on using it as a second vehicle or care about parking a little further out, get the longest one. The average parking length is 18" Our unit is 19'6" and we haven't had a problem parking it anywhere. We visit a lot of small towns, events, festivals etc... where parking is usually difficult for larger units. A 24' unit will effect your decision making on whether to pull over or stop for unplanned sightseeing depending on parking. Hanging out 1'6" is pretty safe, hanging out 6' is usually unacceptable.

This is our sentiment as well and why we are going with the SS Agile. We rented a 22 foot Sprinter and realized that we really felt limited in our area here to go out around the small towns or to hiking parking areas. For us having the mental ease and perceived greater freedom of a van that will fit a standard spot is awesome for us.

[mojoman]

For those visiting California, I would be cautious where you park as car break-ins are at epidemic levels in allot of our cities. Keeping an eye on your rig and don't park it in remote areas unattended as some tweaker will break your window for a bag of chips.

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by mojoman

Compact car spaces are usually 16' long in the Peoples Republic of California. Our Costco parking spot length is 18'. Parking stalls are larger but mostly in parking garages that offer free removal of most AC units.

There are always exceptions. I've worked on projects in 49 states and have reviewed countless ordinances. I'm speaking of desired standards by communities and what Target and Walmart definitely provide. The driving aisles can be narrowed down with one way angle parking. They weren't favored but sometimes it made the difference in how many driving aisles you could get in and thus the number of parking stalls. The total number of parking stalls is also dictated by ordinances. That's why you see most big box retail and supermarket parking lots about half full during a typical busy hour. Thus no harm for an RVer to park way out and take up extra space.

Parking garages are indeed generally tighter and there is a good reason for it as it cost a lot more money to build than paving ground. With rare exceptions public parking garages aren't going to accommodate Class B RVs anyway, not even poptop Sportsmobiles with generally a 7 ft. height limit. Newer garages by ordinances do provide height on the main entrance level to a building but it is not for accommodating RVs but for accommodating emergency vehicles.

[Marley]

Originally Posted by mojoman

For those visiting California, I would be cautious where you park as car break-ins are at epidemic levels in allot of our cities. Keeping an eye on your rig and don't park it in remote areas unattended as some tweaker will break your window for a bag of chips.

A little thermostat mercury switch for a motion sensor and a 12 volt squealing horn will deter some I'm sure. If the rig is rocking, some noise is made - most will think twice about going any further.

Good advice though.