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Martino78 · 05-21-2012, 09:56 PM

Looking for some pointers for my 1st cross country trip in our motorhome. Here are the details:
Traveling will be me, my wife, 13 & 11 year old daughters and a 2.5 week old daughter.
Traveling from beautiful Tucson to Ft. Walton Beach, FL for some house hunting.
Rig is a 32' class C

Very excited about our first big trip!!

Thanks
AF Mike

Chickadee · 05-22-2012, 07:28 AM

Martino78:

Hi from South Dakota. My wife (Lynette) and I are full timers (no house, no stuff, no nuttin..

) and we've made the AZ to FL, and FL to AZ, run a few times over the years. Don't know what kind of advice you're seeking, but it sounds like a great trip. You're going to like Ft. Walton area. I'm guessing the "AF" in your signature might mean Air Force??

How much time do you have to make this trip?? Are you planning to primarily run I-10 the whole way? How far do ya think you'd like to travel each day? Are you interested in side trips along the way? Are ya comfortable with running through big cities or do ya prefer avoiding em?? (For example, Houston can be a bear at the wrong time of day.)

Hope some others on the forum might help also. I'll watch for your response and will try to make suggestions.

Steve & Lynette

Martino78 · 05-22-2012, 02:23 PM

I am taking I-10 on my way there and then I-20 to I-10 on the way back. We are taking 3 weeks total. I plan on driving 5-550 miles a day. Not too interested in doing side trips on the way. Kinda just want to get there, scout out the area then come back.

Barbaraok · 05-22-2012, 05:43 PM

You should really take a day and take the kids to the Alamo when you pass by San Antonio. Besides, you will need it after driving across Texas - most boring drive in the world.

Barb

4Knights · 05-22-2012, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbaraok

You should really take a day and take the kids to the Alamo when you pass by San Antonio. Besides, you will need it after driving across Texas - most boring drive in the world.

Barb

While in San Antonio take a river walk boat ride at night, go to Sea World(bring your swim suits), go tubing on the river near New Braunfels . ( if your military you can get into sea world free $200 savings right there!)

bluepill · 05-22-2012, 06:07 PM

Always keep in mind what time of day you will be driving into the sun. I have found that I tire more easily from sun glare, especially on long days.

When heading West, I try to get on the road at or before dawn, then take a break from driving when the sun gets low on the horizon. Reverse when going East. It's less of a problem in Summer because of longer days.

As much as I hate to waste time for stops when driving long days, I have found that a five minute stop for a stretch and a short walk every 2 hours helps me a lot.

Martino78 · 05-22-2012, 08:17 PM

Great suggestions! Thanks for the suggestion about San Antonio! We are going to stay a day in San Antonio. We will hit sea world, river walk and take the girls to the Alamo. I think it will be a blast! Also, thanks for the tips about driving into the sun. Never really considered that.

ArmyMPFromMO · 05-25-2012, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbaraok

... Besides, you will need it after driving across Texas - most boring drive in the world.

Barb

That's no joke. As soon as you make it through El Paso (make sure you wave as you pass through) it's really easy to get highway hypnosis. Drive safe, these folks are nuts!

retmotor · 05-25-2012, 10:41 PM

The Alamo is rebuilt, highly commercialized and within a very busy tourist district -- not my thing. My buddy, who was a local at the time, was able to find us some missions of The Alamo era not too far away and they had not been restored and turned into tourist attractions -- more my thing.

The River Walk is worth seeing, and Sea World is always fun. Have a great trip.

Martino78 · 05-25-2012, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retmotor

The Alamo is rebuilt, highly commercialized and within a very busy tourist district -- not my thing. My buddy, who was a local at the time, was able to find us some missions of The Alamo era not too far away and they had not been restored and turned into tourist attractions -- more my thing.

The River Walk is worth seeing, and Sea World is always fun. Have a great trip.

Thank you all! I am about half way to Florida. We just got to San Antonio a few hours ago. We did stay at Walmart for the first time. We stayed in el paso. There was 1 other RV so we parked a few spots from them. I was sweating my butt off but, didn't want to run my generator. I am traveling with my newborn so had to cool off the rig for her. I turned the gennie on walked about halfway to the other rig and realized I could barely hear it so I ran it for 2 hours got the temp down to 78-79 then turned her off. I brought my keurig from home so got up in the morning made a cup of coffee took a shower then hit the road for San Antonio. We did run out of water so we stopped at a campground and I was surprised he charged us 5.00 to fill halfway. Oh well he is running a business.

I was a little disappointed with my gas mileage. :( I have a 55 gallon tank but can barely get over 400 miles per fill up. I drive pretty slow (65 in 80 zone) and be sure to do shot gun starts. Any suggestions there?

bluepill · 05-25-2012, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martino78

. I brought my keurig from home so got up in the morning made a cup of coffee took a shower then hit the road

Sounds like my morning ritual. I get up, turn the water heater on, start the coffee maker. When coffee is ready, I toast a bagel and slap on a few slices of cheese and lunchmeat. Take my AM pills, take my shower, and get on the road.

If I am less than 1 hour away from a city that is going to have AM rush hour trafic, I try to get started early enough to get through before rush hour, and then stop to do the above after the city in a rest area/Shopping center.

ArmyMPFromMO · 05-26-2012, 03:04 AM

Dang. It was pushing over 100 when you came through. I don't have intentions to tick people off but who can sleep at 80 degrees? Turn that gennie on and keep comfortable. It doesn't do any good to stop to sleep and nod off driving the next day.

mikelcan · 05-26-2012, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martino78

....
I was a little disappointed with my gas mileage. :( I have a 55 gallon tank but can barely get over 400 miles per fill up. I drive pretty slow (65 in 80 zone) and be sure to do shot gun starts. Any suggestions there?

That works to 7 - 8 miles to the gallon, pretty typical of an RV. Remember you have a 32 foot house that you are moving down the highway.

Mike

sophie12 · 06-28-2012, 06:17 PM

My wife and I have made that trip many times. Are you sure you want to do 500-550 miles/day? It makes for a very tiring trip. We usually do 350. San Antonio is a nice place to stop. So is New Orleans . I10 is a great straight shot once through texas. Texas is 3 days! Good luck and have fun.