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Old 07-20-2016, 02:33 PM   #15
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Further, were it me, I would consider skipping the grand canyon, but stop at the petrified forest. You can drive your rv right through it and enjoy the stops along the way in a few hours, and it's directly on your course. I would consider stopping in Albuquerque and taking the tram up the mountain for lunch or dinner.

Crossing Texas and OK... there's nothing... but when you leave little rock, consider heading to Hot Springs, stay at Catherines Landing on the river. Great town, good food, and don't forget to visit the bath houses
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Old 07-20-2016, 02:35 PM   #16
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I'm ok with driving on the grades... up or down. We just went on a day trip to see the Redwoods in Northern Cali and it was 6-7 hours of driving and if you have been to Kings Canyon National Forest, those two lane roads and go straight off a cliff are not fun. hahahaha I think everyone in my coach was more scared than I was. I am used to driving big vehicles (drove trucks in my past). We were going to bring a TOAD on an Acme Dolly but I am thinking there is no reason to now since we won't really have much time to drive anywhere anyway.
Yeah that stuff freaks me out. You'd have to put a bucket under my seat

I'd probably still take the car, you never know.. but every night, unless you get a long pull through, you'll have to detach it and hook up again in the AM.
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Old 07-20-2016, 02:35 PM   #17
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I'd do it!

BUT (yes, there is always a "but")

I would reserve the right to fail at the original plan.

I love spontaneous and impulse travel, so you can't call me a "planner" by any means. My aversion to planning is simply that having an itinerary automatically makes you late or early. Whala! Thus the refusal to trap myself.

However, if I WAS a planner, I now realize I would simply need to accept the potential of failing, to then be able to enjoy the benefits of the spontaneous type folks.

Set out to accomplish your plan. But don't let ANYTHING steal your joy of adventure.

Good luck. I hope you get to see your son in Arkansas. But it will be 10 glorious days crossing the country in an awesome RV, regardless.
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Old 07-20-2016, 02:38 PM   #18
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I'd do it!

BUT (yes, there is always a "but")

I would reserve the right to fail at the original plan.

I love spontaneous and impulse travel, so you can't call me a "planner" by any means. My aversion to planning is simply that having an itinerary automatically makes you late or early. Whala! Thus the refusal to trap myself.

However, if I WAS a planner, I now realize I would simply need to accept the potential of failing, to then be able to enjoy the benefits of the spontaneous type folks.

Set out to accomplish your plan. But don't let ANYTHING steal your joy of adventure.

Good luck. I hope you get to see your son in Arkansas. But it will be 10 glorious days crossing the country in an awesome RV, regardless.
Well put sir
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Old 07-20-2016, 02:38 PM   #19
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Further, were it me, I would consider skipping the grand canyon, but stop at the petrified forest. You can drive your rv right through it and enjoy the stops along the way in a few hours, and it's directly on your course. I would consider stopping in Albuquerque and taking the tram up the mountain for lunch or dinner.

Crossing Texas and OK... there's nothing... but when you leave little rock, consider heading to Hot Springs, stay at Catherines Landing on the river. Great town, good food, and don't forget to visit the bath houses
Great info! Thanks! That was one of the things I was struggling with... trying to figure out what exactly to do on the way. I was just going to wing it and just see what comes up. LOL I will check out Catherines Landing.
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Old 07-20-2016, 02:41 PM   #20
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Yeah that stuff freaks me out. You'd have to put a bucket under my seat

I'd probably still take the car, you never know.. but every night, unless you get a long pull through, you'll have to detach it and hook up again in the AM.
Yea, I would have to detach it once we get to Little Rock. We are staying at the Riverfront RV Park which is right on the river.

My coach is only 16,000#'s so pulling the TOAD is really not that big of a deal, can't really tell its even there so I may pull it anyway. It's a nice safety net in case something does happen to the MH on the road. Nice knowing I can unhook the Ford Edge and drive somewhere (motel or whatever).
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Old 07-20-2016, 02:44 PM   #21
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I'd do it!

BUT (yes, there is always a "but")

I would reserve the right to fail at the original plan.

I love spontaneous and impulse travel, so you can't call me a "planner" by any means. My aversion to planning is simply that having an itinerary automatically makes you late or early. Whala! Thus the refusal to trap myself.

However, if I WAS a planner, I now realize I would simply need to accept the potential of failing, to then be able to enjoy the benefits of the spontaneous type folks.

Set out to accomplish your plan. But don't let ANYTHING steal your joy of adventure.

Good luck. I hope you get to see your son in Arkansas. But it will be 10 glorious days crossing the country in an awesome RV, regardless.
Great post!

That's the attitude I have right now and what I have talked to my wife about. I am from the East Coast (Atlanta) but have lived in Central Cali for the last 7 years. My wife is from Cali and has never traveled across the country (nor have the kids) so I thought what better way to see the country than a home on wheels?

I know it will be alot of driving and I plan on stopping every 2 hours or so for about 15 minutes to stretch. I've read that if you do that, you can drive 6-8 hours and not be completely beat. I guess we will see! hahahaha
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Old 07-20-2016, 02:46 PM   #22
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Great info! Thanks! That was one of the things I was struggling with... trying to figure out what exactly to do on the way. I was just going to wing it and just see what comes up. LOL I will check out Catherines Landing.
Yep all three of those stops are like.. directly in your path.. and you could split them between coming and going. Downtown Hot Springs is quaint, and catherines landing is a nice nice park, the kids will really appreciate the pool.
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Old 07-20-2016, 02:47 PM   #23
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Great post!

That's the attitude I have right now and what I have talked to my wife about. I am from the East Coast (Atlanta) but have lived in Central Cali for the last 7 years. My wife is from Cali and has never traveled across the country (nor have the kids) so I thought what better way to see the country than a home on wheels?

I know it will be alot of driving and I plan on stopping every 2 hours or so for about 15 minutes to stretch. I've read that if you do that, you can drive 6-8 hours and not be completely beat. I guess we will see! hahahaha
Rest stops really help. You'll really enjoy the trip! So will the fam.
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Old 07-20-2016, 02:49 PM   #24
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Rest stops really help. You'll really enjoy the trip! So will the fam.
I hope so! I am still a bit nervous though. lol

It's one thing to travel across the country in a car, by yourself (or a friend) but a whole other thing to do it with the family in a MH. Of course, the MH should (and is) more comfortable but it is slower.
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Old 07-20-2016, 03:02 PM   #25
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I do have one advantage that I can't advise for or against because it is either in someone's ability or it isn't.

I can drive for 15 hours straight without suffering. (obviously I need to whiz and eat)

Not everyone can do that and enjoy it. But if you can? It changes the logistics dramatically.

I do NOT do it multiple days in a row. But let's say I was facing your situation...... And I was feeling uncomfortable with the 450 mpd average.

Then on day one I would ATTACK! I wouldn't do anything dangerous, like drive while sleepy. But I would completely surrender that day to travel.

Sure feels good to wake up the next day and feel ahead of schedule already!
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Old 07-20-2016, 03:21 PM   #26
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We are about to head out from Central California to Little Rock (Arkansas) on a 10 day trip (1800 miles each way). We leave in 2 weeks and I am a little nervous. HA

We have had our Class A MH (a 2012 Thor Hurricane 30q) for about 3 months and have done 4 small trips (each trip was about 500 miles round trip). 3 of the trips were just weekend, 2 night trips and one was 4 days, 3 night trip (boondocking). The boondocking trip was a great eye opener as it allowed me to see we could go 4 days on our 50gallon fresh water tank. Our grey tank was about 2/3 full and black was fine.

Our only reservation is the RV park in Little Rock for 2 nights and I am allowing 4 days to get there. We want to allow time each day to see the surroundings... like possibly visit the Grand Canyon and so forth. The plan is to take 4 days to get to Little Rock, stay 2 nights (first day partial driving to get there, next day all day in Little Rock, then last day starting to drive back) then allow 4 days to drive back... again, possibly hitting scenic/tourist spots on the way back.

But other than that, I thought we would just "wing it" and drive what we can each day and then figure out where to settle each night based on where we are at the time. I am a planner at heart so this is hard from me. LOL But when I started planning, I already started feeling the pressure to drive X amount of miles per day in order to make it to the next stop (or reservation), which feels like it takes the fun out of RVing. If we have to stay in a truck stop, Rest area or Walmart, we are ok with that if needed.
What do you guys typically do or suggest on this kind of trip?
ghoticov
We've been "winging it" for 4 months each winter for 13 years.
IMO planing, (which I felt was necessary when we where on vacation), does take the fun out.
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Old 07-20-2016, 04:32 PM   #27
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I do have one advantage that I can't advise for or against because it is either in someone's ability or it isn't.

I can drive for 15 hours straight without suffering. (obviously I need to whiz and eat)

Not everyone can do that and enjoy it. But if you can? It changes the logistics dramatically.

I do NOT do it multiple days in a row. But let's say I was facing your situation...... And I was feeling uncomfortable with the 450 mpd average.

Then on day one I would ATTACK! I wouldn't do anything dangerous, like drive while sleepy. But I would completely surrender that day to travel.

Sure feels good to wake up the next day and feel ahead of schedule already!
That is exactly my thinking. I did a "Trip Planner" on Good Sam. It said if I drove 9 hours the first day (which would get us to an RV Park near the Grand Canyon), we could then drive 4-5 hours the next 3 days and make it to Arkansas by the 4th day. I don't think we can check in at the RV park until 1 or so anyway so we could wake up that morning, in the city we are in and drive 4-5 hours to get there about 1 to check in.

Basically, the Good Sam planner has the first day of 9 hours, getting to Grand Railroad RV park in AZ. Then we have 3 days to drive the other 1300 miles (give or take a mile or two).
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Old 07-20-2016, 04:37 PM   #28
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That is exactly my thinking. I did a "Trip Planner" on Good Sam. It said if I drove 9 hours the first day (which would get us to an RV Park near the Grand Canyon), we could then drive 4-5 hours the next 3 days and make it to Arkansas by the 4th day. I don't think we can check in at the RV park until 1 or so anyway so we could wake up that morning, in the city we are in and drive 4-5 hours to get there about 1 to check in.

Basically, the Good Sam planner has the first day of 9 hours, getting to Grand Railroad RV park in AZ. Then we have 3 days to drive the other 1300 miles (give or take a mile or two).
There you go again. Planning.

Just messing with ya.
My reason for ATTACKING is so I can go back to no planning\stress.
But you planners can't surrender. Can ya?
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