Help finding nightly parking for our caravan

Free Campsites lists free places to park. The further east you go, the harder it will be to find a suitable spot.

Also, Harvest Hosts lists places open for a free overnight. It costs $50 to join. I would set the search filter on museums and farms. I doubt that wineries would be too welcoming.

The Allstays app for Android and iOS will help if you get stuck for the night somewhere not planned.

I'm sure you realize that this type of operation requires a lot of logistical planning. I would have every stop lined up before leaving and use Allstays if things don't go according to the plan.

Most campgrounds in the mountain west will be closed at that time of the year. You may be able to smile and dial and find some parks in the southwest that will have space since the snowbirds will have not yet flown in large flocks that direction. Appeal to greed by offering to rent multiple sites and offer to not leave until those sites have been inspected for cleanliness. Truck stps would be a horrible idea. They are almost always packed to the gills and a trucker finding multiple parking lanes taken with dog runs might just flip out. Best option might be to call towns along your route and inquire about possible parking at fairgrounds, rodeo grounds or other public places. Once again, the profferring of monetary compensation could grease the wheels.
I agree with another poster in that you should have your accommodations 100% secured before you depart. Much better to spend a day on the phone than it is to spend a night driving around trying to find a place that won't just laugh wgile showing you the exit.

X2 on county fairgrounds

Town / County fair grounds , many of them even have RV spaces .
They might be mostly empty in Nov .

I would start calling now .

We stayed in one in Oct in Kentucky that was empty .
I mean no one at all , we left the fee in a door drop
at the office .
It was a little spooky just the wife and me but there
will be several people with you so being alone would
be better for you .

Thank you for your replies. Would anyone by chance know if there’s a website that can map a trip in 10 hour increments so we can plan our stopping points each day? Thanks.

Cabela’s is a great stop. They offer covered dog pens, fresh water, security, and some have a dump station.

Always check with security, and they will let you know where in the lot to park

That trip looks to be about 2500 miles over almost all interstate 5 and 40, and if you average 60 MPH you would have four 600+ miles a day with three nights along the way. Myself, I would try to average 50 MPH (especially in a caravan) and add an extra day for five 500 mile days and four nights.

Whichever you choose, I would then use Google Maps to enter that trip with possible stopover points (right-click on a map spot and "add a destination"). In the left pane it will show you the entire length, in miles of the trip and you can click on the Details and it will give you the miles between each stop. You can also left-click on a stop and drag it back and forth on the route to change where the stop is. You can then do a google search on the map for fairgrounds in the area of each stopover for fairgrounds and then check their websites for possible parking/RV sites. You may also find that stopping at truck stops is a viable option and you would have showers and food available there. The problem with a truck stop is that you will be traveling long days and parking places can become scarce as the evening approaches.

Good luck with your trip! We have stayed at the Ukiah fairgrounds a couple of times and if you haven't, you might give it a look to see what a fairground RV park might look like.

Another advantage of Town / County fairgrounds is you will more than likely
find a lot more open space and they are used to animals , animals is what
fairs do . We stayed at the Louisville Ky fair ground which was an asphalt
parking lot but plenty off space , acres & acres
Not cheap though , 50 bucks .

Truckers are working trying to make a living . I don't see them looking
kindly at a dog caravan taking their parking places .

We have stayed at a Cracker Barrel but with your 4 vehicles they might
frown on the idea .

When we owned a campground, we had a visit from a traveling zoo and several people with horses. They called ahead, and we made sure we had enough room available for them. Never a problem.

I can't help with your specific questions, but if it's any help in planning, we average just about 50 mph when travelling on major highways, and that's with a travelling speed usually between 60-65, unless the speed limit is lower. So, with a 2,500 mile trip, that's just about 50 hours of driving. Keep in mind, though, that 50 mph was for our family and, at most, two medium size dogs, and included periodic stops for restroom use, walking the dogs, refills on drinks, snacks, sandwiches & refueling. But, it's going to take you A LOT longer to walk 13 dogs, so I'm guessing your average travelling speed will probably be closer to 45 mph, maybe even less, pushing the total driving time to a minimum of 56 hours. Plus, we only had one vehicle to refuel, you'll have to coordinate refueling for up to 4 vehicles. That will slow down your average a bit, as well. But there's NO WAY you'll average 60 mph or even 55 mph.

I think you should plan on the 45 mph average. If you should average better than that, then call it a night early and try to hit the road a bit earlier the next day. Or if there's a person available to make calls, see if you can find an alternate site for the night.

Speaking of which, will there be additional passengers NOT driving in any of the vehicles? It would be extremely helpful if there was at least one person NOT driving that could make calls or tend to miscellaneous tasks which might come up.

Driving 10 hours with a 45 mph average means 450 miles per day. You might try to find suitable locations at distances of 400, 450 & 500 miles from the previous night to give you some flexibility. That would allow you to make adjustments "on the fly" if you should either be ahead of schedule, or behind schedule.

Another thing I just thought of is the days get short at that time of year. I'd plan on arriving at your destination in the daylight and leaving VERY EARLY in the morning. I find it a lot easier to LEAVE a (campground) parking area in the dark than arriving at one in the dark. Seeing as you'll have to get the dogs walked and settled, I would think you'd need at least 30-60 minutes BEFORE it gets dark. It could just be me, but I HATE trying to figure out the "lay of the land" in the dark.

Google Maps quickly shows two routes: one more northerly on I-80 and another southern route on I-40. I'm assuming you're planning on taking the more southerly route to (hopefully) eliminate the chance of freezing precipitation.

This sounds like a very challenging logistics question. Please keep us updated on your ideas as well as let us know how it all worked out for you.

Good Luck,

~Rick