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Old 07-20-2021, 02:13 PM   #21
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1974 31' Sovereign
Mission , British Columbia
Join Date: Jul 2021
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fletchet View Post
Got tired of constantly traveling and it was SO HOT in the Pacific Northwest it was not pleasant.
I am surprised to see SO HOT and Pacific Northwest in the same sentence... usually rainy, cold etc.

Unfortunately most of the the PNW had record temperatures when you were here, I have never seen anything like it. A town here (in BC) was burned to the ground. It would have been terrible camping without A/C or a shady site. Hopefully August will return to seasonal temperatures, it's cooled down considerably now.
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Old 07-21-2021, 05:37 AM   #22
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2019 27' International
Rogers , Arkansas
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10- 12 Hour Days Minimum

Quote:
Originally Posted by cmoymmm View Post
Hi Fellow AS,


In August, my wife and I our taking our last child, daughter, to College to University of Victoria, BC, Canada. We live in Virginia and will be pulling our International Signature 28 along with us and the two dogs. We are newbies to the AS family and this will be by far our longest trip. I am asking for any advice or tools I may need along the way in case something breaks down. To anyone who has taken a trip across the country, what should I expect? I have mapped out our travel and plan to drive about 500 - 700 miles a day. We have stops planned in SD, to see the Badlands, MT, to see Yellowstone, and upper WA, to see Mt. Olympia.



On our return trip we will be going down to OR, NV, CA, and then across the southern states home. In all, it will be a 5 week trip. I appreciate any thoughts, advice, or troubleshooting, as we take on this adventure of a lifetime to see our daughter off to college .
If you have 2 drivers, sure. You didn't say how many days of travel you have built in to get there but at least you could take your time and see the sights with 5 weeks. Badlands are a really beautiful are to hike around, Mt Rushmore (IMO) is nothing more than a drive by and Yellowstone is a full day at the very least.
Tools- Simple socket and wrench set including sockets and torque wrench for checking wheels regularly and your hitch set up. Something to inflate tires if the do get a little low. Vise Grips are a must just in case
Enjoy your trip and time with your daughter. That's fantastic!
If you get tired pull over and take a break.
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Old 07-21-2021, 06:42 AM   #23
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Birmingham , Alabama
Join Date: Apr 2021
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Trip

Just finished a similar trip to Seattle. It was 40 days round trip. A hard day was 360 miles. Here are tools we carried:
1. Electric drill/driver, if this is new trailer there will be loose screws.
2. Electric impact wrench with torque rod. This will be to tighten and check lug nuts.
3. Hydraulic jack for the trailer if you have a flat.
4. Electric air compressor. Due to temperature and altitude changes we changed air pressure twice on our trip.
5. TPS tire monitoring system. (see 4 above)
6. Tackle box with fuses, screws, small tools, batteries, etc. See videos on "You Tube" about potential tools.
7. Make sure you have Southwire or equivalent surge and voltage protector. With the heat wave the utility companies out there are dropping voltage feeds. The RV parks have some pretty long runs of small diameter wire. At one park our voltage dropped to 104. The device tripped the power off and saved our air conditioner from potential damage.

It is really hot out west so be prepared and have fun.
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Old 07-21-2021, 08:14 AM   #24
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2022 Interstate 24X
Carlisle , Pennsylvania
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Hi

For the bulk of your trip, you will be away from tourist hot spots. Central North Dakota is not the same as Yellowstone in terms of tourist density. Even Yellowstone has out of the way campgrounds *outside* the park that are not as nutty as those inside.

I would not go crazy booking sites for every night along the entire route. Instead, get a membership in Harvest Hosts or something similar. Work out the route and next stop as you go. Plan a couple days ahead and chug on down the road. If you find that you are running 400 miles a day, adjust the stops accordingly. If 300 miles a day is working a lot better for you, adjust to that.

Indeed you will need a few places with hookups to do this or that. Fitting them in is a challenge. There may be some compromise involved. If you have 10 days to do the whole trip, not much room for compromise. Allow some extra time as a buffer.

Yes, this may / will / might / could bump you out of this or that cool stop here or there. I'd bet you will be making this trip .... errr .... twice a year for 4 or 5 years. No need to see everything on the first lap.

Seeing "everything" along your route is a 6 month sort of trip. I don't know when folks need to get to Victoria to start classes. I very much doubt it's 6 months from now. I would leave the big national parks off the list for this pass. There's too much to see and in August / early September they are packed full, even in a normal year.

Slow down and have some fun !! ( says the guy who routinely drove 12 to 14 hours solo / single day back and forth to school, in all kinds of snow storms .....).

Bob
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Old 07-21-2021, 01:16 PM   #25
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Another vote that "drive about 500 - 700 miles a day" as being much too ambitious! Nearly 6,000 miles round trip in 5 weeks, why not slow down a bit? More shorter driving days...arrive earlier & enjoy your stopovers a bit more.

Especially if you want to enjoy the time spent with your daughter. 300-350 miles is much more reasonable for 1-2 drivers, maybe add another 100 -150 if your daughter will be driving too. Keep in mind, the extra potti-stops that will have to be made traveling with pooches. We always estimated 55mph for distance traveled in a day which includes the minimal potti & quick meal stops. 6 to 6-1/2 hours is all we like to drive in an average day...can we do more, sure, but it isn't enjoyable, especially if multiple days are in the plan. 9-13 hours per day is just way too much IMO.

5 weeks = 35 days...at an estimate of 55 mph/6 hours driving you'll still have 17 or 18 "non-driving" days.

Shari
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Old 07-21-2021, 02:35 PM   #26
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We did a drive with our AS in tow last August from San Francisco to the Chicago area, around 2100 miles to see a sick family member. On the way back we made the trip as fast as possible due to a commitment at home. We took a total of 3.5 days, which averaged out to about 600 miles per day. That meant 10 hours of driving per full day at an average of 60 miles per hour, and only one driver. I usually enjoy the driving and have no problem with reasonably long drive days, but that trip was really grueling. I was certainly happy to pull into the driveway on the 4th day. I would concur with the recommendation to cut the driving duration and allow more time at each stop, including a an extra day or two at multiple locations to relax and see the sights. On the outboard leg of that same trip we did take some extra time and spent a few days to see Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, Devil's tower and a few other sights, which was a much more pleasant mix of travel and relaxation.
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Old 07-22-2021, 08:08 AM   #27
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2010 28' International
Herndon , Virginia
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Thank you everyone for your thoughts and advice. I greatly appreciate this and it is very helpful. Based on consensus of miles driven per day, I reworked the trip and the average miles per day will be around 500. The longest day is our first day at a little over 600 to get from VA to IN. From there each day has less miles. We will either boon dock the first two nights or find a place along the way.



I do have stops planned and reservations made. We are spending a full day in SD to see the badlands and 4 full days in MT to do some fly fishing and Yellowstone. We are also spending 3 full days outside Port Angeles, WA to explore Olympic National Park.



With the Canada border opening, I was able to confirm reservations in Victoria yesterday. Spending a full week and a half there prior to my daughter moving in.



I did order the tire monitoring system and am collecting tools. I appreciate the advice.
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Old 07-25-2021, 09:23 AM   #28
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Ridgefield , Connecticut
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Hi- what a great trip you have planned, but I will agree with most others on here- shorten your drive days! We have driven cross country from NY to CA 8 times taking several different routes each time. It is much better to keep your daily drives to under 400 miles tops. It will give you more opportunities to see things and just unwind and enjoy your Airstream living experience. If you need any recommendations for camping in specific areas let me know and I can fill you in on what we have done. Seeing the country this was is an amazing experience, and even though we have down it so many times, it never gets old! ENJOY!!
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Old 07-25-2021, 10:10 AM   #29
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2014 19' International
Port Townsend , Washington
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As a local (NW Washington/Victoria sort of) I would add a couple of things to consider:
- While the Olympic National Park has some fantastic things to see & do (Hurricane Ridge, Hoh Rain Forest, Pacific Ocean beaches etc.) but Mt Olympus is not really something to "view" unless you are a dedicated backpacker - from most spots it is mostly hidden by other mountains and is rather remote.
- the normal easy connection between Victoria and the Olympic NP is the Coho ferry operated by the Black Ball line. But it is yet to reopen - hopefully that will be soon. So the BC (British Columbia) ferry system is the best choice at this time.

As you know we now have the OK to cross the border (into Canada...rather less info is available on entering the USA) as of August 9th...after following all of the necessary protocols. If you arrive later in August, rather than right after the border reopens, things should work smoother, but right now for those of us near the border there are a few questions yet to be answered or processes to be fully explained.
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Old 07-25-2021, 11:01 AM   #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fletchet View Post
Just finished a similar trip to Seattle. It was 40 days round trip. A hard day was 360 miles. Here are tools we carried:
1. Electric drill/driver, if this is new trailer there will be loose screws.
2. Electric impact wrench with torque rod. This will be to tighten and check lug nuts.
3. Hydraulic jack for the trailer if you have a flat.
4. Electric air compressor. Due to temperature and altitude changes we changed air pressure twice on our trip.
5. TPS tire monitoring system. (see 4 above)
6. Tackle box with fuses, screws, small tools, batteries, etc. See videos on "You Tube" about potential tools.
7. Make sure you have Southwire or equivalent surge and voltage protector. With the heat wave the utility companies out there are dropping voltage feeds. The RV parks have some pretty long runs of small diameter wire. At one park our voltage dropped to 104. The device tripped the power off and saved our air conditioner from potential damage.

It is really hot out west so be prepared and have fun.
Add in a rivet gun and rivets. You'd be surprised how often a rivet is found on the floor and it is really helpful on emergency repairs.

Plan time to correct what breaks or goes wrong.

Have fun
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Old 07-30-2021, 02:45 PM   #31
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2014 16' Sport
Haymarket , Virginia
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Driving cross country — gas

Concur with the concerns about long mile days. Have pulled our AS twice from VA to WA on northern routes, one important consideration to remember is that gas stations are 2 miles apart in VA and 100 miles in Montana. Know your actual MPG, last time in Montana we had headwinds the entire way and got half the mileage we got in the east. Gas early and often. And make sure your roadside assistance program is active.
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Old 07-30-2021, 05:21 PM   #32
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Just finished a long cross country trip. Policy is to fill the tank as it gets half empty. No matter where. Be aware of long distances between services in the west. Make darn sure you fill up before a long run, or be ready to spend $4.66 a gallon at the only station you can find. (Chiraco peak summit for example). $30 didn’t go far to fill the tank there, but got us to more reasonable gas down the hill…
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Old 07-31-2021, 05:45 AM   #33
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Rogers , Arkansas
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We use the gas buddy ap and it really is handy. Lots of good information on it.
Like rmkrum, We also stopped just outside of Moab UT on I-70 at a little station that was $6.00 a gallon when everywhere else was around 3.25. So there is that to look out for on the ap.
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Old 07-31-2021, 09:27 AM   #34
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Planning for trip across the country to take our daughter to college

We put quite a few miles on the Airstream and tow vehicle this last trip. Gas prices were all over the place, from a low of $2.65 to $4.66 as I noted.

Trip odometer:

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This trip took us from Southern California to Texas, to Alabama, Maryland, and many points in between. Did some Crackerdocking, but the heat and humidity needed hookups.

Did quickly build an adapter to plug into a 30-amp 4-wire household dryer receptacle to make it easier to moochdock at my son’s home in Texas. The heat and humidity was incredible across that state.

The components I used. Written up elsewhere on the forums. This gadget, along with a long 30 amp power cord is a keeper. Good thing my sons dryer is in the garage and was easily reachable from his driveway.

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Of course the Champion 3400 watt dual fuel inverter generator got a few more hours on it as well.
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