First Timer Needs Route and Camping Information

[Newtravels]

Originally Posted by mernmb

All good advice so far. I agree with most. I live in Cal. and depending on the route you are planning to take to get here, could determine how far you will drive for the day. When are you leaving? Going through Nevada is pretty boring.

nothing set in stone yet may take a short trip first based on some of the feedback. Thank you!

[Newtravels]

Originally Posted by CharlesinGA

If the OP will return and post some info on their rig, it will help immensely.

My one very long (for me) trip from Atlanta to the Black Hills, I "flight planned" 500 miles per day traveling to get there, and used Google maps and my knowledge of the routes as I had driven much of it before in a car, to pick possible stops.

I did almost exactly 500 miles each of the first two days, The third day went astray as I stopped to sightsee at Mitchell, SD and the Corn Palace. I had planned for this possibility and ended up using plan b. Plan A was to make it to the Badlands and stay there, but not being able to do that (they told me on the phone I would not make it in time, it would fill up) so I had the best evening of the trip, staying at a COE campground in the MIDDLE of the Missouri River, below Big Bend dam and Lake Sharpe. Most of my trip was hit and miss but I had a good place to stay every night and even the night after the eclipse, I managed a power and water campsite in a National Forest when everything should have (and was) full.

The OP is proposing a crazy long trip for freshly minted RV'ers, and really need to do some weekends and even 4 or 5 day trips in the NE to get acquainted with the RV.

Many people even suggest driveway camping at home to get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

Charles

Hi Charles. Don't have any rig info because we dont own one. We are first times and will be renting a smaller (20') to start up with. I am taking your advise and will be doing a trip around New England to learn some of the ups an downs of RV'ing. Thank you so much! very good info!
Richard

[F76Marion]

Richard,

I am so glad to read that you came up for air......
I am also glad that you came here before you bought something and started this (mis)adventure.
A motorhome is a terrific way to travel, but your plan requires a week just to get there.

Boston to Yosemite is about 3Kmi. According to my old Street Atlas (a wonderful planning tool that is discontinued) it is about 53 road hours. If you do the math, that is 6-1/2 days of 60MPH driving 8hours a day and does not include stops.....

If you do not have a very comfortable and easy to drive coach, you will not survive. Just for reference, your 20' plan is probably a Class C (truck cab with a house on the back) and they are not that sweat to drive. (few motorhomes are.) You cannot effective approach that long a day without a co-driver and a separate navigator. We do this and I won't even tell you what our record day is.

While enjoyed Yosemite immensely, I shall tell you that we flew to Reno and rented a car for that excursion. We wanted to go before we were confident the coach would make it. We did get to Yellowstone many years later and with a coach we trusted more and that was from we now live in Michigan.

You have a lot of good advice here, and read it all carefully. My first suggestion would be that you rent something close to what you might purchase and give it a try. This has been known to change a lot of minds.

There is also a lot of neat stuff in single day striking range of Boston. I know, I lived there, on Nantucket, in Mystic and near Bangor. Now, we a refugees from the megopolis and I only miss the good seafood.

Summary:
Rent something
Get used to planning routes and stops
Keep planning excursions
Now think about what you really want to own.
Motorhomes are not easy and cheap maintenance
10 MPG is good for most
You will most likely have to pay for storage

Even with all that, look at the number of people that find it a good idea.

Frank

[oakcreekeric]

How exciting to be planning a trip like this.. best of luck to you !!

Obviously, you've been given excellent advice.. now it's just going to be a matter of fitting that advice into your travel "style"...

As you can tell.. there are many opinions on how to approach this trip.. guess what, they're all right.. and they're all wrong.. at the end of the day.. it boils down to what kinda travelers you guys are..

I think a helpful bit of information people are still searching for is your time-line.. that will determine everything.. a couple weeks, well, you may NEED to drive 8-10 hours a day.. two months, you can probably drop that down to 6-8 hours a day..

Anyway you slice it.. I'm almost positive you'll have a blast.. I know I can't wait to be at the point in my life I could undertake such a trip.. but for now.. I'm a working stiff who lives as a weekend warrior, with a week long trip added for good measure..

If you're a "planner" type personality, where you NEED to have locked in reservations and time-lines in place.. take advantage of the information on "apps" you can download on your phone.. you can combine that with using Google maps to plot your course..

If you're a "wanderer".. then, the world is your oyster.. keep in mind that the best thing about traveling this way, there are always rest areas, travel centers, Walmarts, Cabelas and truck stops along the way you can pull off and catch a few winks, as you travel down the road.. best of all, those are all free !!

To interject our travel style.. we like to have reservations at our "final" destination, but we "wing-it" along the way.. the one thing I will add is.. because you're traveling so far.. I truly think some days you'll be fine with driving 8-10 hours, while others, you'll be happy to get off the road in 6 hours.. I think as you travel further west in less populated areas, putting some miles behind you will be much easier then when you in suburban and city areas.. so, keep that in mind..

Finally.. a suggest to look into is a program called "Harvest Hosts" (https://harvesthosts.com/).. it's a way to have alternative places to stay as you travel to and from your destination.. these are typically set up for overnight stays at wineries, farms and other unique locations.. it would mainly be "boondocking" type camping (no hook-up's).. I don't belong (there's a fee), but love the idea of waking up at a winery vs a campground, especially when you're only going to be there for one night as you travel to your destination.. from everything I've read, it sounds like a great program..

Armed with the advice you get here, along with a POSITIVE attitude, this trip will be a piece of cake !!

[lenkerb]

we travel all over the country and find that we (just the two of us) do not need full hookup every night so we stay at Cracker Barrels, truck stops and sometimes Walmart on the boon docking nights...we get a camp site when we need to refill the water and dump the tanks....many states have free dumps at their rest areas.

[dons2346]

For a first trip I would not plan on driving 8 hours a day. It takes all the fun out of the trip

[twogypsies]

Do some math. On a rental you'll be getting 8-10 mpg. You'll be paying camp fees of $25/night - low end; you need groceries. A rental for a long period of time will be very expensive. Check on the supplies they will give you. You may need to buy some things. Make sure you find out what happens if you have tire or mechanical issues.

Then check on a plane fare to someplace in the west to begin your rental. Some airports will be cheaper than others.... it depends on what else you want to see during your trip. Compare your costs; you may be surprised. Flying out would give you more time to explore many areas.

To us, Yosemite is not a place where you can judge the national parks of the west.

Yes, the waterfalls are pretty.... depending on the time of year; spring/early summer is best. The popular shorter trails are crowded. Yosemite is a zoo to drive in because there are so many day visitors being it's so close to big cities. Parking is a nightmare and you definitely need reservations. If you don't stay in the park your drives and days will be long and not pleasant. Yosemite is definitely worth a visit if you've never been but try to work in some other national parks while you're out there and don't concentrate just on Yosemite. The gorgeous pictures you see in magazines is not what you will see in person.

... just some things to think about.

[doc]

Opinions are like rear ends - everybody has one. That said, it is a very good idea to do a few shakedown trips in the area. You will likely find you have loaded stuff you don't really need. Conversely, you will find things you need that are at home. Re: why did I load 6 coffee mugs. I usually wash dishes after every meal. I no carry 4 (might break one. Slow cooker - didn't have one. It is nice to stop for the day and have a pot of chili ready or a small roast ready.
We try to make as many miles as we can the first day. I don't know why, but we have always done it. Then ease up and do reasonable distances the rest of the trip. Boring roads (I-40 across Oklahoma or I-10 anywhere west of Louisiana) we just drive until we get tired and ready to sleep for the night - the quicker we get across those areas the better.

[wilburn]

Originally Posted by CharlesinGA

The OP is proposing a crazy long trip for freshly minted RV'ers, and really need to do some weekends and even 4 or 5 day trips in the NE to get acquainted with the RV.

Charles

This is excellent advice regardless of the RV. I had planned to do the same, a few trips here and there, around the state or so. IRMA came and we had to scamper with no previous RV experience.

Dropped a muffler, then the extension, A/C failed, no place to stay as half of South Fl. evacuated. Exhaust brake? wth is that? Shredded a serpentine belt, then a water pump belt, there goes the Tstat! Oh, those headlights in the dark aren't worth anything more than cosmetics.

We had no choice, stay and potentially die or leave and cross fingers.

Enjoy the process...of getting ready to travel.