Will my rig actually fit? Reading site dimensions properly

The single most common bad night in an RV starts with a site that technically fits. A listing says 40 feet, your rig is 34, and you arrive to find the pad is 40 feet of gravel reached by a 90-degree turn between two trees.

Length is a necessary number and a poor one on its own. Three others matter as much, and we ask operators for all of them because a listing that omits them is not really telling you whether you fit.

Pull-through versus back-in decides whether you are unhitching in the dark. A pull-through you can drive straight out of is worth real money on a one-night stop; a back-in on a curve is a two-person job even when it is long enough.

Pad surface and slope decide whether your levelling blocks are enough. Gravel drains and stays put. Grass turns to ruts in a wet week. A pad with a noticeable fall across it can put a slide-out somewhere you do not want it.

Then there is what the number does not include. Awnings, slide-outs, tow vehicles and the neighbour's truck all live in the same space as your stated length.

• Ask for the pad dimensions, not just the maximum rig length.
• Check whether the length quoted includes your tow vehicle.
• Look for the approach — the turn into the site strands more people than the site does.