Trailer Length

[LeeAnne]

Hey can anyone tell me. I have never purchased a travel trailer before, so when someone says the trailer is 15 ft. does that mean the length of the cabin or the length from the hitch to the end of the cabin I have heard conflicting answers and I thought this would be the place to find out the correct answer.

Thanks

[Donna D.]

hummm, it doesn't matter what we tell you...it depends upon what the person doing the measuring THINKS.

But, typically the measurement is the entire length from front of hitch to back bumper. Also, there are standard sizes for particular brands, that way it doesn't matter what modifications the owner has done to the hitch area or back bumper. A 13' Scamp is still a 13' Scamp even if the owner has a big ole box hanging off the rear bumper.

[Gina D.]

Your DMV determines the standard.

In California, and I believe MOST states, it's the actual length of the frame, hitch to bumper, as Donna said.

You could have a 20 foot frame with a 3 foot coach, it's a 20 foot trailer, and that makes sense to me.

If you have a 20 foot coach on a 3 foot frame.. that'll really confuse them, eh?

[Brian B-P]

Yes, the common practice for travel trailers has been to specify the overall length from coupler to bumper. The model names of moulded fiberglass trailers which include length are normally based on this dimension (such as my Boler B1700, which is 17' long from coupler to bumper), and regulations would normally apply to this length.

I have recently been looking at other travel trailers (not moulded), and I have noticed that most brands now have model names based on the body length.

Cargo trailers and tent trailers are normally specified by body length, and as far as I know always have been. For instance, a 6x12 cargo trailer has a box six feet wide and 12 feet long, so its overall length is likely about 15 feet.

[lwehrly]

I recently was talking to the owner of an older Avion. (Not buying, just looking at a yard sale) The owner told me how long it was. I clarified tonge to bumper. They said, "Yeah that has always been standard when we bought trailers, but when we looked at the new ones, they were all giving us the length of the box. " There seems to a be a change in the sales. As Gina pointed out, when it comes to registering them, DMV gets to set the definition.

[Doug Mager]

Well, I kuld B rong here, but I thought 'Muricans n Canucks measured trailer lengths differently and NO, I'm not speaking 'metrically'......

[Frederick L. Simson]

California's Definition of a "Camp Trailer"

Camp Trailer
242. A "camp trailer" is a vehicle designed to be used on a highway, capable of human habitation for camping or recreational purposes, that does not exceed 16 feet [b]in overall length from the foremost point of the trailer hitch to the rear extremity of the trailer body and does not exceed 96 inches in width and includes any tent trailer. Where a trailer telescopes for travel, the size shall apply to the trailer as fully extended. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a camp trailer shall not be deemed to be a trailer coach.

[Roger H]

I recently was talking to the owner of an older Avion. (Not buying, just looking at a yard sale) The owner told me how long it was. I clarified tonge to bumper. They said, "Yeah that has always been standard when we bought trailers, but when we looked at the new ones, they were all giving us the length of the box. " There seems to a be a change in the sales.

Yep... my folks are looking at new ones... a 28XLPRQYUS model is really 31' long... it's ludicrous! You have to check the spec sheets to figure out how big it really is on any of the new coaches. The numbers mean absolutely nothing any more.

Roger

[Gina D.]

I think the California quote is ambiguous.

By the letter of that, if I am interpreting it correctly, a 3 foot coach on the forwardmost spot on a 20 foot frame, before a standard 3 foot hitch, would make the trailer 6 feet in length.

I am somehow thinking you wouldn't get away with that.

If my trailer was registered by that strictly, I am eligible for a PTI.