Posted on 05/25/2016 5:48:41 AM PDT by Toadman
Look for pointers, recommendations for our scheduled road trip.
Serisly don’t leave home without this. Best $!50 bucks you can spend:
https://www.nraendorsedinsurance.com/emergency-assistance-plus
All of the above and...
INCREASE your gap in traffic between you and them cars in front. BRAKING distances are YUUUUUGE!!
Your first choice is to go north or south of the Grand Canyon. After that, the trip plans itself.
More than 1/2 of the road is closed.
The highest sections are closed and likely have 10 or more feet of snow on the roadway.
The snow does not melt off of this section, it has to be removed with a LARGE, truck mounted snow blower.
Have a great day!
Definitely the Black Hills in South Dakota. Be sure to drive through Spearfish Canyon and take the train ride from Keystone to Hills City
“I’ve lived my entire life in Minnesota and have never been further north than Lutzen. Where in northern MN do you recommend?”
Lake of the woods - have to drive into Canada to access it by car. It’s the single most northern point in the contiguous US.
Gotta say you’ve bee there...
Free overnighting at farms and wineries
We went to Yellowstone the end of May ( a few years ago)
It was below freezing the whole week we were there......the road to Old Faithful was closed on one of those days but we made it another day.
We stayed at Fishing Bridge Campground at Yellowstone.......
There is a great lodge next to the campground with shopping area, small grocery and an old fashion soda bar with sandwiches, chili and milk shakes
......
You didn’t say when you were actually starting this trip....
...just keep in mind it could still be pretty cold in some spots out West.
We loved Bryce Canyon Campground
....also Carlsbad KOA, New Mexico was a great campground.....as we visited Carlsbad Cavern
Moab, Utah was great....Arches State Park
But our very favorite was Monument Valley!
Lots of Westerns were made there.......John Wayne
The campground there was one of our favorites!
The huge Western Museum in Cody, Utah was awesome
We intend to go back!
Check out the forums here:
You can find a ton of information about tours, routes, rv’s, campgrounds - you name it. We’ve had RV’s of one type or another for some time and one thing I can tell you is it’s a rare trip when you don’t have some kind of mechanical issue.
If you’re handy, you can usually fix what you need to, if only on a temporary basis until you can get to a shop. Be sure to take a well stocked toolbox and other repair items like different types of rope and tape.
Maybe your friend keeps these items in his RV, but double check.
A phone app I have found useful for locating campgrounds along the way (we’ve traveled cross country a few times-different routes) is All Stays.
Not knowing what route you are going to take, I can’t recommend any stopping places. Freepmail me if you have specific questions. Since we’re heading into summer, I would not recommend doing the southern route through Texas-way too hot. Consider I-70, I-80 or I-90 and catch the sights along the way. Don’t try to see too much or you’re going to spend way too much time driving and not enough time seeing. If you take I-80, e.g., spend several days in Grand Tetons and Yellowstone rather than an afternoon. Hit fewer places and stay longer at each place. Leave yourself something to come back for.
Have a great time!
The wife, 3 dogs, and I travel allot. We pulled our 30ft Jayco Travel Trailer from Jackson, MS to Reno, NV and back recently (now living outside of Charleston, SC) and hands down the best website for where to stop, shop, and stay that is RV friendly is: http://www.rvparky.com
The other advice is spot on but I would add:
that you do not need to haul 50+ gallons of water (@ 8+ pounds/gallon) if you are just cruising along. Unless you are spending days without hook-ups or in the desert, most places have H2O hook-ups while you’re camped or when you stop for gas. 500+ pounds of extra weight only adds to the already long stopping distance.
watch out when you are in open range areas. You come over a hill when the speed limit is 70+ and BAM, a herd of cows are in the road and you melt your brakes!
if you plan on reaching a destination that is 8 hours down the road, it’ll take you 10 hours minimum. Pace yourself or this trip will Suck.
if you are passing through a town and you have a half tank of fuel, stop and top it off! They put the “next service” signs AFTER you pass all of the gas stations and there’s no place to turn around...
stay in a RV Park as much as you can. RV’ers are the most social, generous, and typically conservative folks you will ever meet! Security is better and more importantly, full hook-ups and shower rooms will be a godsend for the 3 ladies!
and USA RV Park in Gallop, NM is the best RV Park and Gift Shop that I have ever visited IN MY LIFE! Yes, it’s worthy of all caps. We spent 2 hours talking to the owner and spent allot of money on souvenirs. Real deal Indian stuff made locally.
God Bless ya’ll and stop at the least popular places to find the best memories!
In the mid 90’s I had a PCS move with my family from Japan to my last duty station in US before retirement. I bought a 30” Class A RV in Portland and spent 45 days going from Oregon to Virginia. The kids were 6-8-10 and it was perfect. Best time of my life and the kids say the same thing to this day. I would usually get up early (5-6am) make a pot of coffee while unhooking the rig, takes about five minutes to unplug electric and put away the drain hoses. Then I would pour a cup of coffee, ease out onto the road and be 2-3 hours towards next destination when folks started waking up - just in time for a refill.
It was in July and we went the northern route so missed the Grand Canyon (my one regret) but got Seattle, Montana, Yellowstone, Wyoming, Devil’s Tower, St Louis, South Dakota (Black Hills - Mt Rushmore), and had to save some time for relatives.
Your girls are old enough you can let them pick the route. It doesn’t matter because the important thing is that you are with them building on your relationship. THAT is the important thing.
As someone else said: take disposable gloves and lysol spray with you to disconnect the black/gray waste drains - and PRACTICE it a couple times before you go with clean water, so that if it doesn’t go well it won’t make a huge nasty mess. ** Always put a heavy rock or put your foot on the black water hose when you open the drain, don’t trust that it has worked every time before...
The first time my son and I were draining the black waste tank I didn’t have it secured well enough and the force of the waste water blew the hose out of the drain. There is a lot of force when it first comes out and it was whipping around like a water hose spewing poo everywhere. My wife and girls were watching from the window and laughing their arses off. They threw some clean clothes out the door and locked it. Wouldn’t let us back in until we had cleaned up.
You should check this... I think 30 feet is the largest motor-home national parks can accommodate.
Not really true. It depends on the park, and which area of the park. We’ve never had a problem finding a site for our 40’ motorcoach.
Parks back east tend to have smaller sites than those out west.
Also, get a Passport American membership for $45. Gives you half price nights at thousands of RV parks around the country.
Dodge City, Kansas is worth a day’s layover, if you’re into cowboy / pioneer history.
Route 66 (now I40)
I heartily second the post that said to allow more time than you might if you were driving a car. Check the speed rating for your tires and don’t exceed it (we learned the hard way on this one).
Our rule of thumb is to allow at least one extra hour for every four hours of the time calculated by your GPS. We don’t even count the stops in that calculation.
This is the time of year you’re going to run into road work and heavier traffic. Another phone app I recommend is Waze. Fellow travelers post alerts about traffic accidents, road work and slow downs. Always allow enough time to get to your destination even if you have to be stopped on the highway for a while. The Godsend is that you have the potty and food with you. That can be a big timesaver and convenience if you get delayed.
Getting an early start will help you avoid the worst of it.
We also live in VA (western). We drove out to WA/OR last fall. It took 5.5 days of driving each way - at least eight hours a day solid - you can’t burn up the road with an RV like you can a car.
Missoula is bringing up to 100 refujihadies per year. God knows that will bring trouble.
Glacier is great, but with an rv likely cannot traverse the going to the sun road.
Just wanted to convey a great big THANK YOU to you all. I was mentioning to randita that there is a vast wealth of experience here at FR that boggles the mind.
Years ago I was in a discussion about Battleships, and whether they should be maintained or decommissioned. One of the FReepers (if I remember correctly) was an engineer who help recommission the battleships during Ronaldus Magnus’ administration. He wrote an amazing post arguing the pros and cons.
I realized at that point, that whenever I needed sage advice and expert opinion, I’d come here first.
Thank you again for your valuable input.
For those who’ve served in our military, Thank you, God bless you, and have a nice Memorial Day.
Be safe, and for GODs sake, stay out of East St. Louis.
We’re all looking forward to your ‘after vacation’ post.....
....or you might blog a bit on the road : )
Happy Trails!
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