The Greatest American Roadtrip - Thank you Airforums

[mpsgolf]

Good for you! We have 35,000 miles of adventures and counting.

[Ndcctrucks]

CT Raiders:

I would offer that you should do at least three, three-night camp-outs beforehand, with two of them without hookups. And the last one setting-up at night.

There’s only so much planning you can do… self-sufficiency will have to take over more often than you might think.

[Glenritas]

CT Rider
You might want to extend your trip to at least 8 weeks or 10 would be even better .

Start planning now and make reservations now , allow time at stopping points to enjoy the area and attractions .

Use the internet to research the stops and zoom in on the locations with google earth .
Make bookmarks for each state and fill in the web pages for your stops . Make a calendar with your itinerary and the info for each listing.

If you can keep your drive days under 400 miles you won’t need to take a day to recover , try not to make back to back driving days , allow time to relax after setting up .

We try to keep our driving days down to 200 - 250 miles .

[Gene]

It is fine to plan the route and make estimates of how far between stops you want, but plans always change and there can be too many of them. People drive very different distances daily and couples may or may not both drive. Towing takes more attention, is slower, and is more tiring, so lop off miles compared to driving without a trailer. If you want to eat miles, take interstates, but if you want to see the country avoid them. With either approach you will probably blend them.

Bad weather is a concern. Hurricanes can come on fast and it is best to be well out of the way, so travel along the coasts has risks. Tornadoes come with far less warning and are also unfriendly to trailers. Avoiding the midwest during warmer months was enough, but now tornadoes are happening over more areas and for longer times. There’s always something to avoid—snow, wind, freezing, floods, volcanoes. Best to keep checking ahead.

Enjoy the planning—I do—but the learning about places I’ve never been reading upon them is even better. There is an amazing number of things to see and look for the ones you will remember.

[215Airhaus]

WOW! We picked up out Caravel 22FB from Colonial last February! We then took her to California and back. We named her Mo. Mo was an absolute beast out there, towing smooth through Kansas, and nimble in the mountains of Utah and at 12,000 feet in Colorado.

Get a Harvest Host membership. Between HH and KOAs, you can plot out a super easy transcontinental trip. There are plenty of awesome gas stations out there. Your biggest obstacle this season might be the number of other RV'ers out there, but I really think you should be fine.

Personally, we were so excited for that trip that I drove some monster days to start. And, if you're like me, and not exceeding 60 mph, 600 miles, like I did the first day, took over 11 hours, with dog pit stops, etc, included. If you are not constrained by a schedule or time, don't do more than 300 miles a day, between 5-6 hours. Towing requires all of your attention all of the time, so it is very fatiguing. However, towing your rig, is absolutely awesome. You have the best feeling when you know you are towing your luxury hotel room behind you.

If you want our actual itinerary, let me know.

See you down the road!

[CMHM]

Thank you all for your great comments and feedback on my roadtrip.

CT Raiders: this is how I did it, and by no means the only or best way:

1)
I always found rural and smaller scenic roads to be more interesting. They are less busy, you see a lot and they drain you less (in my opinion). Freeways over 3-4 lanes are extremely stressful, drivers close to bigger cities have no respect, and you will encounter accident situations every few minutes. Make sure your rearview-camera is on and be vigilant.

2)
A 3h drive is usually a 5h drive, and a 4h drive can become a 9h drive. Take travel days seriously: get up early, get your trailer hitched up the night before and clear your campsite. You want to wake up, have the snacks in your car and get going. I cannot stress this enough as you don't know what road closures and other BS you will find on your way. There is no point in planning gas stops, ALWAYS fill up when your tank is below 50% when you're West of the Mississippi.
Also, try to be independent, you can have a tire pressure monitor installed or with you, download the maps so you dont need cell signal and do not spend time for long lunches etc. Again, something always comes up and suddenly it's dark.

3)
This depends on what type of adventure you are seeking. For one-night stops definitely reserve the campsite, that way you can also get there at 6pm -- turn off your engine and enjoy the evening. For boon docking / longer stops, arrive on a Monday/Tuesday and arrive just after check-out time or when the weekend crowd is leaving (around 11am). You can always secure a spot then, but also have 2-3 alternatives. No boon docking site ever looked like what I had it imagined, so be prepared. Again, if you arrive at 3pm you often turn off your engine at 7pm because of a million reasons that you cannot plan ahead.

4)
Yes but not Walmart, at least not for me. East of the Mississippi the best solution is Harvest Hosts, at least you know you are staying at a very nice and safe spot. And if it is just for one night, there are so many campgrounds in the US that it shouldn't be a problem.

5)
This is more common sense, obv do not travel anywhere near imminent snowfall. Rain is not an issue but again, do not drive 5-lane freeways as they are a recipe for disaster. Just make sure your batteries are charged when you are in rainy areas, nothing worse to have to start your generator when it is pouring down.
In Tornado/Hurricane areas, keep your car hitched up. I had 15min from when the tornado warning text came in to get out of the area in Texas, and I was still hit by hail.

6)
Not needed tbh, this would be over-planning for me. Have a great toolbox with you and there are mobile RV shops everywhere. Make sure your insurance covers hotel and a rental car just in case.

7)
Yes, and never drive at night. It's ok to leave at 6am at dawn but I never liked driving at night, if something goes wrong you are royally screwed.

8)
Honestly, don't plan it all. It will kill the virtue of the trip and exploring if you have reservations everywhere. Go boon docking as much as you can, and often things won't work out for reasons that you will discover afterwards. Enjoy!

[CT Raiders]

Love this Forum.
Thanks

[CT Raiders]

Great - would love to hear more about your route planning experience.
Best regards,