About 38 inches in the northeast, around 58 in the southeast. Since 2011 the state has run 7.4 inches above average
Buy for the tunnel, not for the mountain
Kentucky punishes size in a way few states put in writing. A tunnel 12 feet wide and 13 feet high. A road closed to anything 20 feet or longer. A ferry that stops at 12 tons and 16 feet. Park directions written specifically for combinations over 40 feet.
A mid-size four-wheel drive covers almost all of it. A large expedition truck covers the byways, the Corps campgrounds and Woodlands Trace, and then runs out of road at the gorge. Decide which Kentucky you are buying for, and ask a dealer what the vehicle measures.
Buying a finished vehicle trades money for time. Someone else has already made the thousand decisions, and you can be traveling this season. A dealer who knows these vehicles can also tell you what a used one has been through.
What they offer
01New expedition vehicles, campers and vans
02Used and consignment vehicles
03Trade-ins, financing and delivery
04A proper walk-through of every system
05Service after the sale, or a referral to it
How to buy a finished vehicle
The questions are the same whether it is new or used.
01Ask for weights: empty, loaded, and the gross rating. Overweight expedition vehicles are common.
02Ask for the build documentation: wiring diagrams, component manuals and service history.
03On a used vehicle, have the chassis and the house inspected independently before you buy.
04Ask who services what after the sale, and where.
05Drive it, on dirt if they will let you.
What to have ready before you ask
Know the trip before you choose the truck.
01How many people travel, and for how long
02Where you want to take it, and what you need to park it
03New, used, or either
04A budget range, and whether you have a trade
05When you want to be on the road
Questions people ask
Is it cheaper to buy a finished vehicle or build one?
A used, finished vehicle is often the least expensive way into a capable rig, because builds rarely return what was spent on them. A new custom build costs the most and fits you best. Building it yourself costs the least money and the most time.
What should I check on a used build?
Weight against rating, water damage and leaks, the age and type of the batteries, heater and appliance service history, and the condition of the frame and suspension. Then have a mechanic check the vehicle underneath the camper.
Can I finance an expedition vehicle?
Often, through RV or specialty lenders, depending on the vehicle and how it is titled. Dealers who sell these regularly know which lenders will.
How high is Kentucky?
From Paducah at 340 feet to Black Mountain at 4,145.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,0004,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
Whitley CityStearns Ranger District office on US 27, more than 171,000 acres, and the Kentucky approach to Big South Fork and Blue Heron.1,361 ft
LondonLondon Ranger District office on I-75, 208,044 acres of it, the largest of the four. Laurel River Lake and the White Sulphur OHV trail are both close.1,241 ft
HarlanBelow Black Mountain, at 4,145 feet the highest ground in Kentucky and the elevation the Geological Survey records as the figure before mining.1,186 ft
MiddlesboroHeadquarters town for Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, at the Kentucky mouth of the 0.9-mile US 25E tunnel.1,142 ft
CorbinOn I-75 below Laurel River Lake, the highway town for the southern end of the London Ranger District and the Cumberland River.1,081 ft
WinchesterSupervisor’s office for the Daniel Boone National Forest, at the eastern edge of the Bluegrass. The sensible place to have the vehicle looked at before anything else.991 ft
SomersetOn US 27 at Lake Cumberland, the Corps of Engineers reservoir whose backwaters form the downstream end of both Kentucky Wild River sections.977 ft
LexingtonWhere I-64 meets I-75. The nearest full-service city to the Cumberland Ranger District and the gorge country.969 ft
HazardOn the North Fork of the Kentucky River in the Eastern Kentucky Coal Field. Perry is one of the six counties the Redbird district covers.939 ft
ManchesterClay County seat and the nearest services to the Redbird Ranger District office at Big Creek, which runs the Redbird Crest Trail.864 ft
MoreheadCumberland Ranger District office, and the town for Cave Run Lake. The Zilpo byway runs 11 miles out to a peninsula on the south shore.734 ft
StantonWest end of the Red River Gorge Scenic Byway on KY 11, and the mailing town for the Gladie Visitor Center.677 ft
Cave CityI-65 Exit 53 and KY 70, the northern approach to Mammoth Cave and its 400 miles of surveyed passage.639 ft
CadizTrigg County seat on US 68, the eastern approach to Land Between the Lakes across Lake Barkley.426 ft
Grand RiversNorth end of the Woodlands Trace National Scenic Byway, which runs 43 miles from here to Dover, Tennessee.385 ft
PaducahWhere I-24 meets the Ohio River. The last city with full service before Land Between the Lakes from the west.340 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Black MountainThe highest point in Kentucky, in Harlan County. The Geological Survey gives 4,145 feet as the elevation before mining; our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point is 4,1324,145 ft
Pine MountainA 125-mile ridge from southwest of Jellico, Tennessee to Elkhorn City. The Geological Survey puts it at 3,200 feet in Letcher County3,200 ft
Pinnacle OverlookAbove the gap at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, four miles up Skyland Road from Middlesboro2,440 ft
Pinnacle OverlookSkyland Road to the Pinnacle Overlook: Middlesboro to the overlook above Cumberland Gap2,440 ft
Tater KnobThe fire tower knob above Cave Run Lake on the Cumberland Ranger District. Our own reading of the elevation surface at its map point1,389 ft
Zilpo National Forest Scenic BywayCave Run Lake to the Zilpo Recreation Area1,389 ft
Natural BridgeThe sandstone arch on the western edge of the Red River Gorge country. Our own reading of the elevation surface1,226 ft
Chimney Top RockA clifftop in the Red River Gorge, in Wolfe County. Our own reading of the elevation surface1,178 ft
Tunnel Ridge RoadThe Grays Arch and Auxier Ridge trailheads in the Red River Gorge1,178 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
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