How do I know if I can get camper where I want it?

[geotex1]

All great advice so far and I'll add to the suggestions. First, do find an empty lot and practice if you are rusty and to get to know how your combination responds. Secondly, with what you describe, you can always get in backing entirely down the street. That may seem daunting, but it's not all that uncommon and have your spotter walk with the back end, while in a hi-viz vest and waving any local traffic around.

[Puma1973]

I am thankful for all the advice.
We will not make the 11 hour drive all in one day. We will probably only have about a 4 hour drive before getting home. We will go to a parking lot and see how things work. I think I would rather take my chances and as last resort, have to back out of the road if I cannot get it parked, as opposed to backing in first. I don't think there is any advantage to what direction we are aimed prior to backing into the driveway. I have a ton of trailer backing experience, it was a 22' bass boat with dual axle trailer, so not the scale of the new set up.

[geotex1]

I am thankful for all the advice.
We will not make the 11 hour drive all in one day. We will probably only have about a 4 hour drive before getting home. We will go to a parking lot and see how things work. I think I would rather take my chances and as last resort, have to back out of the road if I cannot get it parked, as opposed to backing in first. I don't think there is any advantage to what direction we are aimed prior to backing into the driveway. I have a ton of trailer backing experience, it was a 22' bass boat with dual axle trailer, so not the scale of the new set up.

The backing part... Well, I was trained a long, long time ago to make the decision based on risk. For instance, if residential to main road, you back off the main road down the residential. The residential will have less traffic flow, and this especially a consideration with no spotter as backing into a main road a higher risk. Just basics from CDL training, and every truck driver and anyone who has towed a sizeable trailer has been in a miserable situation at least once. Google Earth and the measuring tool can be your friend too.

[Whitexc]

I agree with attacking the back in from the drivers side so you can see what the coach is doing, especially with a new coach. Hopefully no mailboxes or landscape beds impede your process….ask me how I know!

[xrated]

I was sweating bullets for a couple of weeks before we brought out rather large Momentum home. We are out in the country and the main hard road is just wide enough for two cars to pass. When I'm in the Dually, my driver side rear wheels are almost on the double yellow, and the other side of the truck, the tires are maybe 6" from the shoulder. On top of that, there are seven mailboxes on the side of the road where the tail swing happens.....and from the hard road down to our gravel private road is about a 7 to 8 degree decline. I made arrangements for my neighbor and once in a while camping buddy to meet us at the top of the hill when we arrived. I had my wife watch the bed rail/tailgate clearance to the bottom of the nose/fifth wheel hitch area, and Rick to watch the back end of the trailer to make sure that my next job wasn't replacing mailboxes that I took out. Our road has a nice wide blacktop apron coming onto the gravel, but it was still pretty tight. I ended up with about 2 1/2" of bedrail clearance and Rick said that the tail swing was still about 5 or 6 feet from the trailer to the mailboxes. I know I breathed a huge sigh of relief, and I took it V E R Y S L O W while starting into and continuing through the turn. It was a stresser for sure, but now it's old hat, now that I know exactly where I need to be on approach and how and where to start my turn and follow through with it.

[LanerC]

I put white athletic tape in strips on the pavement within about 25 feet of my final parking spot to show me where i want my tires to be. That lets me know if im getting off my backup route right away. They actually have lasted 2 seasons. Its all good, have fun!

[xrated]

I put white athletic tape in strips on the pavement within about 25 feet of my final parking spot to show me where i want my tires to be. That lets me know if im getting off my backup route right away. They actually have lasted 2 seasons. Its all good, have fun!

Not the greatest picture, but you can see the Red painted stripe on the concrete, right before the RV cover. That is my guide to putting big MO in the cover that is just barely large enough for it to fit. If the streetside tires are very close to that line, I know I'm on the right course for landing it safely in the stall.

[Rabbit]

A backup camera is key to solving your problem. I once found myself on a narrow dirt road that dead ended. The only way out was to back out over 500’ across an earthen dam where the “road” dropped off on both sides. I was very thankful to have the camera.

[Kings7248]

Hello all,
This is my first post. Goofy question. I am not sure where to put it or how to word it, so here it goes. We are not new to fifth wheels, but it has been some time. We pick up our new 390RK this coming weekend (towing with dually long bed). We are staying in an Airbnb for another month before hitting the road full time. We would like to park the new camper in the driveway so we can load/organize/customize some things before hitting the road. We have never had a rig as big as this one. The house is at the end of a road just before a small cul de sac. The driveway is roughly 48' from house to the road. The road has curbs. Road is roughly 3 cars wide. The driveway is 2 cars wide. So, I think I can do it, but I am not sure. Like I said, never had a rig this big. No place to turn around so either park, or have to back rig out about 1/4 mile.
Looking to see if anyone has any tips/calculators/formulas, etc to help with this. Maybe we have to find a parking lot and make a mock of driveway, etc to see if I can do it. IDK. Thank you for reading this.

How far is from the corner to your location in the cul-de-sac? Someone mentioned backing all the way in. That might be your easiest way into your driveway.

[Puma1973]

We got the new 390 home yesterday afternoon. I decided to back it down the road off of the main road (after you guys giving that advice). Of course there was a car parked on the road just across the street (first time in a month)so we asked them to move and they did. I kept the unit tight to the driveway as I backed everything past the driveway. I pulled forward and as the TV rear tires passed the far edge of driveway I angled across the street until rear axle cleared driveway. Then started to back her in. The stars and planets must have all been aligned just right. One try and bam, she was parked. Then a relief breath and hope there is no residential ordinance or anything that says she can't sit there for a few weeks.
Thanks again to all of you for replying and helping out.