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mikakuja's avatar
mikakuja
Explorer
Nov 30, 2016

Planning an extended trip, looking for advice.

We are in the beginning stages of planning (more like discussing), an extended trip starting from our location just outside Vancouver BC Canada. Our furthest destination point would be the Florida Keys. We would like to do a circle route including some of the central states, East Coast and lower states. We are not looking to include the West coast on this trip. We are not new to travel with our truck and travel trailer however we have never traveled the US with one. We are looking for advice on the best routes, sights, camping, do's and don't, etc. Keep in mind that we are only in the planning stage and have not committed to dates or time frames yet. We do not have a specific route in mind at this time.

I should mention that our trailer will have a 400w solar system, inverter, etc and a back up generator. We are set up for boondocking, so full hookup sights will not always be a necessity.

Looking forward to your advice and comments...

26 Replies

  • You are probably already well equiped to go. Give your truck a good service, paying attention to things that normally wear like brake pads & bushings. Go through the trailer running gear too checking for cracked springs, worn spring bolts & hangers, anything that could leave you stranded. Put some good rubber on the rims. Cheap tires are OK for the weekend warrior going to the local CG but when you are doing serious traveling you want good stuff under you.

    On the road get into a habit of checking things you might not as a weekend warrior. Stuff like unusual tire wear & loose bolts & nuts. It happens.

    We are 15 to 20K mile travelers a year. We carry all kinds of spares & the tools to take care of ourselves when things go wrong. They will.
  • Allstays is well worth the $10 the App Store charges for trip planning.
  • Here are some valuable resources for you:

    Good Sam Club for finding RV Parks and trip planning
    RV Park Reviews to see what the rest of us think
    Trip Advisor for things to see and do.
  • As far as routes go, pretty much any interstate in the US will accommodate you and get you from point A to point B with the least number of stops. However, driving interstates is pretty boring too. If you are wanting to see and visit the local culture, then you need to plan routes that are not interstate.

    Not knowing how much time you have or what route you are wanting to go, the chances for Boomdocking West of the Mississippi River are pretty good. Everything East of the Mississippi River and the farther East you travel, toward the Atlantic Ocean, Boomdocking becomes less and less available. There just aren't public lands available like West of the Mississippi has.

    This may drive the routes you want to take.

    Virtually every State in the U.S. has much to offer by way of camping, sites to visit, and things to do. One thing we enjoy doing is searching on the internet for "Weird" stuff, like "Weird Indiana". A search like this will bring up all kinds of oddities, things not on the main tourist routes, and some pretty unexpected places to see, everything from Ghost sightings, to strange architecture design, to paranormal, to historic oddities, science oddities, and even people oddities. For example, Fairmount, Indiana is the home of the 1950's James Dean movie actor legend. He is buried at the cemetery in Fairmount. The movie "Hoosiers", the final basketball game showing the state finals, was actually filmed in Frankfort, Indiana at the Frankfort High School Gymnasium. And don't forget about the "pink elephant" in Fortville on Highway 67.

    Basically, when I'm saying is, anywhere you travel can be a fantastic adventure. Don't get hung up on visiting the "big attractions" where you have to stand in line for hours for a 30 second thrill, when there are millions and millions of other items to see and do, which can be more meaningful. The "Weird" or "Strange" internet searches return some pretty interesting stuff.

  • It would be helpful if you told us your interests and how long your trip will be.
    Do you like hiking, bicycling, museums, fishing etc ? ? ? ? Check and see how long you can be out of B.C. without jeopardizing your health insurance.
  • From home, head south and take US20 east. Grand Coulee dam has a lazer light show, dry falls, Glacier park, Yellowsrone, Custer Battefield, Mt Rushmore. Ford Museum, Greenfield museum, Niagra falls, Gettysburb battlefield, heck all of the civil war battlefields are worth the time. That would get you clear to FL for starters.