Community Forums

Northwestie · 01-06-2018, 09:26 PM

Hi All!

My husband and I are snowbirds from Washington to Palm Desert CA. In 2017 we bought a new motorhome (34' Jayco Class C) but didn't feel like we wanted to make the long haul to California with it. We live in a condo in Palm Desert January through April, but think it would be fun to have the motorhome down here next year. We are considering leaving Washington Oct. 1st or so with the motorhome and taking 1 - 2 weeks to get to Palm Desert. We would then leave our motorhome in storage, fly back to Washington, and then fly back down to Palm Desert for our usual Jan - April stay. There are places we'd like to explore in California/Arizona for the winter and use our condo as home base. We'd then have the motorhome for a 1 - 2 week drive home.

How do you all go about planning a trip? Do you just look at a map and decide to drive so many miles a day? Do you go from RV park to RV park? We both like to plug in and are not so big on boon docking or Wal-mart. Do you make reservations in advance or just wing it?

Any suggestions you can give for planning our first big trip will be appreciated.

Thanks!
Lisa

beamisl · 01-07-2018, 04:37 AM

Hi Lisa,

We usually use RVParky.com to find a CG (campground). Most people figure to drive 300 miles a day for comfort unless both of you drive and then you can do more or the same. Leave later (after work traffic) and stop earlier (before work traffic heading home) to avoid big traffic issues in bigger cities. You're retired so no hurry.

If it is a holiday, you had better have a reservation. You can take a chance that you will find a spot, but may not find one without a reservation. If you are sure of your distance that you can drive, then reserve.

Keep in mind if you are traveling in winter or cold months, some CG's may have their water turned off depending on where they are located. You may have to carry water in your tank and use CG showers.

Otherwise, have a safe trip. Lynne

Dropthejacks · 01-07-2018, 04:57 AM

We don't do the boondock thing at Walmart either. On long trips, we pull 4-7 hours a day (that's about all my back wants), stopping overnight at campgrounds along the way. We'll just hook up the water and electric for the night, no need for sewer. Use web sites like RV Park Reviews to find reputable campgrounds. Also, KOAs are usually held to a higher standard by their corporate office, and are good stopover points. A lot of folks don't like them, and feel they overcharge. But I would rather pay a little extra for the added security and cleanliness verses pulling into a dump after a long drive. Make sure you get their VKR Rewards card. Look at your route ahead of time on Google Maps and see if there are interesting locals on the way to your destination you would enjoy. Don't rush to get to your final destination. Stop over and spend a night or two at various places, taking in the sights. I'm a planner, I line up our trips well in advance. That way I know we are good to go with reservations and don't find ourselves trying to find a CG as the sun fades behind the trees. Safe travels!!

Fiesta48 · 01-07-2018, 06:38 AM

KOAs are overpriced and over rated especially for over nighting. Use one of the discount clubs, RV Park Reviews, Google and Good Sams sites for locating good parks along any route.

keymastr · 01-07-2018, 07:25 AM

First off, on the right side of this page is the ad for RV Park Reviews. I decide what city or town on my route I want to stop at. Then I search in campgroundreviews.com for that town and start looking for a spot. The reviews will tell you all kinds of info including local attractions and condition of the road getting in, whether the place is full of broken down junkers people are living in etc. I really only consider 4 or 5 star places unless it is just an overnight.

Then I go to youtube.com and put the name of the campground in the search bar. 90% of the time there will be multiple videos, dashcam vids driving through the camp, sometimes an areal vid shot from a drone. Really shows what it is like.

A recent trip I was planning I realized I needed a stop near Salt Lake for an overnight. I did not want a Walmart due to noise and lights but I don't need hookups for a night or two so when I saw there was a state park just a couple miles off the freeway I looked at the reviews and booked it. Much cheaper than a KOA where I would be basically in a Walmart parking lot with electricity and a tiny strip of grass. And still close to the freeway to get going the next day.

Some folks like the KOA style parks where you are lined up with no privacy between spots. I don't generally use the pools or meeting rooms some of those have either but some folks need those and it is handy to hear first hand from others who used them. There are some shabby parks out there and some really great ones so read the reviews.

In the case of my overnight I got a spot right next to the lake and minutes from the highway for $23 total. KOA would have been 3 times that and the only benefit would have been cable TV.

Good luck and happy planning.

MSHappyCampers · 01-07-2018, 01:26 PM

Hi Lisa!

Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

Congrats on the new rig! Keep her between the ditches!

As for trip planning, it depends on the amount of time we have to get there. We try to drive about 300 miles per day.

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

Happy New Year!

beaverfever · 01-07-2018, 02:26 PM

just like you have been using it in the northwest,only expand your circle a couple hundred miles for each day. choose your route and google things you like along the way. fill the tank, head south and enjoy

Northwestie · 01-08-2018, 06:03 AM

Thank you so much for all of your responses. Great information and just what I was looking for!

I love our motorhome!! My husband can take it or leave it so I want to make the trip fun and as stress-free as possible so he wants to go again!!

Lisa

OLYLEN · 01-08-2018, 08:36 AM

We I'm Olympia and on the road today. We make at or below 300 mile jumps to the Indio area. Seven Feather, Rolling Hilss, Kit Fox, Orange Grove, then into the Indio area. We look at the weather on I5 then decide on reservations. If you watch the weather and plan a bit it's a normal drive. Oh 31' class C towing a 4 runner and our stops for the night are also planned for fuel and eating out and we use hourly rest stops for relief and a walk around for the body and RV check.

LEN

BillyandKris · 01-08-2018, 09:28 PM

We usually always make reservations now that we are "bigger". Don't like surprises. We used to do Walmart a lot. It is noisy. We have 30 ft. fifth wheel. We usually look at mileage from A to B and then decide how far we want to drive in a day (towing) and then figure out where to stay. Use Campendium and RVParky apps. We base our trip-planning on hiking and bicycling. We usually stay a week or longer at each place. Try to incorporate new places into each year's travels.

**TonyDi** · 01-09-2018, 01:34 PM

Glad to have you here in the forum with us. You're gonna like it here.

I usually plan my routes based on what I want to see along the way. Then I use RVParky, Allstays, and RVParkreviews to locate CGs. We do use Rest areas and other resources, Wal-Mart, truck stops etc. I think the planning is part of the adventure.

Happy Trails!!!