So here is our first BIG family trip. We bought a 2011 38' Fleetwood Expedition 38B last Oct. We are pulling a Jeep Wrangler as a toad. Going will be me(the driver), my wife, and 3 boys (ages 12,11, and 8). We've done a few trips now with it with complete success. Longest trip so far has been a week. Have driven it from Jax, Fl. to NJ and back too in a few days. My wife has planned this trip since last summer. What do the experts(y'all) think about this trip? We leave June 22nd and come back Aug. 10th. We have some concerns about the trip. I feel like we may be just driving the whole time is my biggest one. Anyone willing to chime in. There are a few possible changes we may make. We can't extend the trip due to school for the kids. All reservations are made but still have time to change them. Thanks for any advice....Day 1 Leave Jax, Fl. and drive to Gulf Shores, AL.Day 2 Leave Gulf Shores, AL and drive to Henderson, LA.Day 3 Leave Henderson and drive to Houston, TX.Day 4-5 Sightsee in HoustonDay 6 Leave Houston and drive to San Antonio, TX.Day 7 Sightsee in San AntonioDay 8 Leave San Antonio and drive to Carlsbad, NM.Day 9 Sightsee in CarlsbadDay 10 Leave Carlsbad and drive to Tucson, AZ.Day 11 Sightsee in TucsonDay 12 Leave Tucson and drive to San Diego, CA.Day 13-14 Sightsee in San Diego, CA.Day 15 Leave San Diego and drive to Yosemite NP Not sure yet. Is Yosemite worth only one night?Day 16 Leave Yosemite and drive to San FranciscoDay 17-18 Sightsee in SF.Day 19 Leave SF and drive to Ave. of the GiantsDay 20 Leave Ave. of the Giants and drive to Crater Lake, OR.Day 21 Leave Crater Lake and drive to Seattle, WA.Day 22-23 Sightsee in SeattleDay 24 Leave Seattle and drive to Coeur D' Alene, ID.Day 25 Leave Coeur D' Alene and drive to Missoula, MT.Day 26 Sightsee in Missoula side trip to Glacier National ParkDay 27 Leave Missoula and drive to Yellowstone NP.Day 28-30 Sightsee Yellowstone and Grand TetonsDay 31 Leave Yellowstone and drive to Salt Lake City, UT.Day 32 Leave Salt Lake City and drive to Moab, UT.Day 33 sightsee in MoabDay 34 Leave Moab and drive to Grand CanyonDay 35-37 Sightsee Grand CanyonDay 38 Leave Grand Canyon and drive to Las Vegas, NV.Day 39 Sightsee in VegasDay 40 Leave Las Vegas and drive to Sedona, AZ.Day 41 Leave Sedona and drive to Albuquerque, NM.Day 42 Leave Albuquerque and drive to Amarillo, TX.Day 43 Leave Amarillo and drive to Oklahoma City, OK.Day 44 Leave OK City and drive to Little Rock, AK.Day 45 Leave Little Rock and drive to Meridian, MS.Day 46 Leave Meridian and drive to Perry, Ga.Day 47-50 Party at the South Eastern ShinDigDay 51 Drive home to Jacksonville, Fl.

Take 2 days from the grand canyon and add them to Moab. We spent 15 days in Moab and could have easily stayed another week.

Have you looked at what sightseeing you want to do in each spot? For example, if you want to see Seaworld or the Zoo in San Diego, that will be your entire day. Everyone has a different take on how they want to spend their time. Generally, yes, you are spending a LOT of time driving and very minimal time exploring the sights. With kids, this could get very boring very quickly - but you know your kids best.If it were me, I'd reduce the number of places to visit and spend more time in the ones I do visit. What I'd suggest is look at some travel books on the places you plan on visiting - make a list of all the sights your family WANTS to see in each place. Then, figure 2 sights per day (unless the sight will take more than 4 hrs to see - in that case, count it as one day). Then, add in the travel time between the locations. That will tell you how many days you need to see everything on your list (while leaving room for eating, resting, and discoveries on the road).If the total time is more than you have available, then knock out a full location rather than cutting down the individual sights. To me, it's a shame to visit a place and leave without seeing all the stuff you really wanted to see.Also, if you are the only one driving, you're going to be on the go ALL the time. Your wife and kids will have downtime on the road, but you'll be going from driving to sightseeing and back. If Dad is exhausted for the entire trip, it can get ugly.

Some of this looks fine, but those 5-6 days in a row of drive, drive, drive near the end may be very tough on your family. Also, be aware that places like Grand Canyon, Tucson and Moab will be hotter than hot that time of year. Yes, I know you're from Florida, but have you really experienced 115-120 degrees in the strong western sun? You have far too little time in Moab (wayyyyy more than you can see in one day, with 2-3 national parks and a state park in close proximity), Glacier (we spent a week there, and a day trip from Missoula will not allow you anything close to the time it's worth), Yosemite, and probably Crater Lake - again, I'd spend a full day in each one, not just an evening. If the total time is more than you have available, then knock out a full location rather than cutting down the individual sights. To me, it's a shame to visit a place and leave without seeing all the stuff you really wanted to see.Agreed. If your family are more interested in what the cities have to offer, then skip some of the national parks. If you are more interested in seeing those national parks, cut out the cities - I'd skip Las Vegas entirely (not exactly family-friendly anyway), and I'd also probably skip SFO and Seattle in order to allow more time for those national park areas. BTW, if you don't have reservations in the national parks, get them NOW - or at least immediately after you finalize your itinerary. Good luck!

Big RV family trip--1. First caculate the number of miles between each place you are going to. Now calculate the total number of miles for your whole trip.2. Now divide the total number of miles between each place you want to visit and then divide that number by 60mph (average speed you will generally be be able to drive). Thats how many of hours you drive each day.3. Now divide the total number of miles for your whole trip and divide by 60 and that will tell you how many hours your total trip will take. Now decide how many hours per day you want to drive and that will determine how many days you will driving for your whole trip. 4. Generally speaking most RVers drive between 4 to 6 hrs. per day. Can you drive more hours each day, sure but then you have to consider the effects on you and your family!5. IMHO, I strongly recommend you make reservations for RV parks for your total trip in advance. Reservations will give you a plan to deviate from, Reservations can always be cancelled and rescheduled.6. Looking at at your itinerary, some of the places you want to sightsee will be packed with tourist, some of the places are limited as far as RV parks i.e. Yosemite, San Francisco ( I live near S.F. and would never drive an RV there!

Wow, you must love cities! Sightseeing in Houston? LOL, I personally would skip all the cities and spend my time enjoying woods, lakes, mountains, and streams. But each to his own.I spent a week in Yosemite and it wasn't too long. Yosemite Valley is great, but please be sure to take your Jeep to Glacier Point also; I camped near Glacier Point (at Bridalveil Creek CG) for most of my time in the park and I drove back to the Point several times to sit and enjoy the view or to walk a nearby trail; it's that good.You have a long spell of drive, drive, drive from Vegas to GA. I would insert a day of relaxation in there, in Arkansas. Either Petit Jean SP (trails, waterfall, scenic overlooks), Lake Catherine SP (cool off in the lake), or Crater of Diamonds SP (get out and dig in the dirt!). But then again, maybe you'd prefer a city like OKC... there's the Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, OKC Zoo and Botanical Gardens (with butterfly garden), OKC Museum of Art, Bricktown, and more.

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