First Cross Country Trip Plan - Am I Crazy?

[PLDieter]

Originally Posted by tomato

We have had our coach for 2.5 months, and the furthest we have gone is 380 miles in one day. We have a trip in 2 weeks that will be about 1,000 miles round trip, with the first leg at 420 miles. The 380 was a piece of cake, as my wife and I share the driving.

However, we have not embarked on a trip where we would be driving nearly every day, and I am looking for insights and advice. Rough trip plan for this Spring is below, but we haven't fully planned out our "on the road" stay overs yet.

We do have a bit of flexibility if things arise or we get slowed down - can add up to 3-days to the trip.

Is this too aggressive? Doable? Do most of you try to find campgrounds for the 1-nighters when in transit to your next destination, or do you go with Cracker Barrels, Harvest Hosts, etc.?

Trip Plan
• 412 miles Joshua Tree National Park 1-night
• 499 miles Lordsburg, NM 1-night
• 493 miles Sheffield, TX 1-night
• 442 miles Cypress, TX – 3-nights
• 409 miles Hot Springs, AR 1-night
• 365 miles Dover, TN – 2-nights
• 483 miles Chicago, IL 2-nights
• 571 miles Watertown, SD 1-night
• 422 miles Mt. Rushmore, SD 1-night
• 422 miles Yellowstone NP – 2-nights
• 516 miles Ely, NV 1-night
• 423 miles Home
• Total miles: 5,373
• Total nights: 16

Thanks in advance!

You don't mention your age or any health conditions. If a 380-mile trip was a "piece of cake" for you, then your schedule sounds fine. Just remember that you will be making a LOT of fuel stops, so figure that in.


My wife and I are 65 and 70, respectively, and we plan our trips to take no more than 4-5 hours of actual driving time per day. Any more than that for us runs into cumulative exhaustion.


We almost always plan to use an inexpensive RV park of some kind. It's worth it to us, to have electricity and such every night. We don't unhook our 5th wheel if it's just an overnighter.

[arboldt]

We plan 200-300 miles per day, 400 absolute max. Then every 3rd or 4th day unmoving rest.
Going from here to there (wherever those are) for one night we’ll boondock at Walmart, Lowe’s, rest areas, dead shopping malls, etc. About every 4th or 5th day a full hookup to dump and take on water (watch your gauges -your mileage may vary).
Even before RVing, a 500 mile day would wipe me out for the next day. So we try to keep the miles to about half of that.
Unless yours is a new rig from one of the premium manufacturers, driving it will take more out of you than driving a car. The extra size, weight, and the fact that a large rig can also be a wind sail means you can’t drive like an automobile.

[Roadyacht1]

Do you want a marathon or a vacation. I have done 800 miles in a day. Crazy and never again. Typically 300-375 max. Tranquillo amigo.

[Arch Hoagland]

I have a favor to ask...I want you to count the number of "Road Work Ahead" signs you encounter on this trip and report back with it.

I'm guessing 20.

You are going to learn to HATE that sign...lol

[Steve 716]

Lots of RVers travel across the country. We took a seven month trip from Savannah, GA all the way across Route 10 to San Diego, then straight up to Alaska. We came back through Canada, then into Montana, on to Glacier National Park, then back to Savannah. We packed the RV spares we might need (breakers and fuses, fan belt, oil, antifreeze, pressure reducer, fuel filters, etc). It turned out they weren’t needed but I was glad to have them just in case.

What I don’t see in your itinerary is time to visit the sites at each or at least most of your stops. This is my personal opinion but I don’t see the point in taking a cross country trip in your RV if you are just going to get up the next morning, pack up, and head out again. You might want to consider shortening your trip and staying longer at some of your destinations. As an example, we followed much of Route 66 on previous trips and again earlier this year. At one town there was a no longer active uranium mine beneath city hall that we toured. At several hotels and restaurants were photos of famous people who ate or stayed there. We found it interesting that Route 66 was realigned in several places and maps we found online and local road signs showed those so we could check them out. We have found many eclectic museums, blocks of Sears houses, old city government buildings, businesses that offer free tours, and other really interesting places just by scheduling a longer stay or extending one a little longer, getting in our car, and exploring. There are a number of books with Route 66, ghost town, roadway attractions, and other things you can take a look at when creating a travel plan.

When we do our trip planning we try to limit a travel day to 300 miles. Sometimes we go further, other times less. Some of our stops are overnighters on our way to a favored destination, but we usually try to stay at least two nights and if there things to see and do we stay another day or two. When we get to a desired destination we try to stay a week and get the campground’s lower weekly rate.

We head to Google to look at the terrain and RV park access to make sure it works for our coach when planning a trip. We have found access roads that have too close to the road tree branches and bridges that can’t take our weight. We are Good Sam and KOA members. KOA parks aren’t always the best (some are very good) but they give us points and a discount when we stay and those points give us free nights. Good Sam can get you a fuel discount.

Make sure you have an RV GPS that lets you program your weight, height, types of roads to avoid, etc. That will keep you away from low bridges, bad roads, turnpikes, and anything else you may want to avoid. When you pack make sure to balance both sides of your coach within 100 pounds if you can along with front to back weight distribution. Buy a good TPMS system for your coach and toad tires. Most of what is available work file so you can shop it. You may need to add a repeater at the back inside of your coach to be able to read your toad sensors. Mine is in my rear closet. Fill your fresh water tank around half way to save some weight.

Our coach is our third and last RV. We started with a B plus, moved up to a 34 foot Bounder gasser, and when we purchased our Entegra we started full timing. That was six years ago. We have camped in 49 states and visited the 50th. We part timed (about 6 months total) for several years. We love the RV lifestyle. I hope you do too.

[sgilbard]

We did a coast to coast 8,500 mile trip in May/June -- in the end 5.5 weeks. We found that doing a pair of hard drive days (500-600) followed by 3-4 days in a nice full hookup RV site made it all seem worth while as you get to really relax. My wife (and big dog and The Cat, who is really in charge) just don't have as much fun if we don't settle down for a number days twice a week. Our long driving days are generally pushing to get to places where you really want to be.

[jeskibuff]

Originally Posted by tomato

Rough trip plan for this Spring is below, but we haven't fully planned out our "on the road" stay overs yet.

We do have a bit of flexibility if things arise or we get slowed down - can add up to 3-days to the trip.

Is this too aggressive? Doable? Do most of you try to find campgrounds for the 1-nighters when in transit to your next destination, or do you go with Cracker Barrels, Harvest Hosts, etc.?

Most of us have worked jobs where we had deadlines and scheduled checkpoints. I think the beauty of Class A RV'ing is the flexibility of not having to adhere to such rigors. Get tired or not feeling well? Weather not up to par? Pull over and take a break - you should have food, water, electricity, bed, toilets...everything you need. Take out the stress of needing to be somewhere at a specific time and you'll enjoy the trip more. Unforeseen events (tire/mechanical problems, etc.) won't throw as big a monkey wrench into the works if time isn't as big a factor. Just ensure that you have enough essentials (fuel, water, food, etc.) along the way.

[RoadTrip2084]

Originally Posted by tomato

We have had our coach for 2.5 months, and the furthest we have gone is 380 miles in one day. We have a trip in 2 weeks that will be about 1,000 miles round trip, with the first leg at 420 miles. The 380 was a piece of cake, as my wife and I share the driving.

However, we have not embarked on a trip where we would be driving nearly every day, and I am looking for insights and advice. Rough trip plan for this Spring is below, but we haven't fully planned out our "on the road" stay overs yet.

We do have a bit of flexibility if things arise or we get slowed down - can add up to 3-days to the trip.

Is this too aggressive? Doable? Do most of you try to find campgrounds for the 1-nighters when in transit to your next destination, or do you go with Cracker Barrels, Harvest Hosts, etc.?

Trip Plan
• 412 miles Joshua Tree National Park 1-night
• 499 miles Lordsburg, NM 1-night
• 493 miles Sheffield, TX 1-night
• 442 miles Cypress, TX – 3-nights
• 409 miles Hot Springs, AR 1-night
• 365 miles Dover, TN – 2-nights
• 483 miles Chicago, IL 2-nights
• 571 miles Watertown, SD 1-night
• 422 miles Mt. Rushmore, SD 1-night
• 422 miles Yellowstone NP – 2-nights
• 516 miles Ely, NV 1-night
• 423 miles Home
• Total miles: 5,373
• Total nights: 16

Thanks in advance!

Lots of good advice here. Obviously, *if* you could take more time slowing down the pace makes perfect sense. As your timeline is pretty fixed, I would look to trim part of your route (the northern loop?) to either reduce overall travel day lengths or add a few more rest days in the middle.

I once did a 4600m trip in 15 nights pulling our 26' TT, 3 kids and the wife. It was exhausting to say the least. Do I regret it? Hell no!

The key on a trip like this is to plan it so that you have the opportunity to stop most days along the way and see something, stretch your legs, get some exercise. Given the late sunrise/early sunsets this time of year that pretty much means mid-day stops along the way.

Unless the stop is a "destination" in itself, I wouldn't worry about campgrounds unless you are light sleepers. Camping in parking lots is rarely quiet in my experience (white noise like a fan helps). The beauty of a Class A is parking anywhere level-ish and settling for the night with minimal setup and teardown. On a trip like this, leverage that and don't expend energy you don't have to. Since most days you'll likely be leaving with the sunrise and parking with the sunset, not much point in paying more for nice surroundings you won't see.

I would consider this type of a trip a "scouting mission". You're basically getting a brief taste of each area as you pass through it. This should allow you to at least note which destinations you'd eventually like to return to in the future to explore further.

Sounds like an adventure, wish I could come, safe travels!

[Dmellich]

Originally Posted by MN_Traveler

I would not do this. Drving an rv is far more tiring than a car (add to that even g set up and morning breakdown). That long series of very long days will absolutely fry you, and probably leave you tired and not really driving safely. I would take each of your daily legs, and do them in two days each instead of one.

Fwiw...

What he said.

[Gsykora]

Originally Posted by tomato

Great comments and suggestions. I should have mentioned that we are not yet retired. As much as we would love to make this a 30-day trip, we cannot. We really have 3 key places to hit to see family - Cypress, TX, Dover, TN and Chicago. Coming back by way of the northern route and hitting Yellowstone was a bonus. Maybe we just need to plan stuff around I80 for the return. But, man, I80 is such a boring, un-scenic drive.

Lots of good suggestions about taking more time at each stop. However, given your need to hit Tx, Tn and Chicago for family, there's no physical way to stay longer and/or have fewer stops and drive less between stops within your 16 day limitation. Good luck on whatever you end up doing.

[MN_Traveler]

Originally Posted by Gsykora

Lots of good suggestions about taking more time at each stop. However, given your need to hit Tx, Tn and Chicago for family, there's no physical way to stay longer and/or have fewer stops and drive less between stops within your 16 day limitation. Good luck on whatever you end up doing.

Another option is to give up on and eliminate one of the "required" stops. Are all of them absolutely required (as opposed to "wanted" on this one trip?

[Mvkingfish]

I did 4800 miles, 19 stops in 62 days.I still didn’t see everything I wanted to at our stops.I like R&R a little more than I left actual driving.

[Gsykora]

Originally Posted by tomato

Great comments and suggestions. I should have mentioned that we are not yet retired. As much as we would love to make this a 30-day trip, we cannot. We really have 3 key places to hit to see family - Cypress, TX, Dover, TN and Chicago. Coming back by way of the northern route and hitting Yellowstone was a bonus. Maybe we just need to plan stuff around I80 for the return. But, man, I80 is such a boring, un-scenic drive.

Lots of good suggestions about taking more time at each stop. However, given your need to hit Tx, Tn and Chicago for family, there's no physical way to stay longer and/or have fewer stops within your 16 day limitation. Good luck on whatever you end up doing.

[mareca12]

My opinion, you're not RVing, you are just driving an RV for thousands of miles without seeing anything at the places you're stopping!!!! Several years ago, while at an RV park in Oregon, we met a guy walking his dog. We strike up a conversation and he tells us about his wife's 215 rule. 215 miles or 2:15PM and they stop. I tried a trip like you're suggesting several years back and realized we wouldn't see much of anything but highways and byways. Slow down and smell the roses. If you don't have the time, shorten the trip so you can see and do where and when you stop.