Forum Discussion

justaboutretire's avatar
May 30, 2016

Cross Country Road Trip

Hello everyone,
The wife and I are heading out for a cross country trip in about three weeks. Our plan is to travel towards New Orleans to Houston, San Antonio, White Sands, NM, Sedona, then to the Grand Canyon. We have reservations in Williams, Az for the campground, train to the south rim and the hotel at the south rim. We plan on hitting Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Devil's Tower, Mount Rushmore during the trip. We had plan on just winging it as far as reservations to these places as we are not on any specific time schedule and really do not want to hurried to be at a specific place on a set date. So for all the full timers out there who have more experience than we, do you think this will be an issue? We really don't plan on getting back home till late August. I am hoping this trip will give us a look at what full timing is all about. Thanks in advance for all your input

Bill

14 Replies

  • Ivylog's avatar
    Ivylog
    Explorer III
    Like Mr. Camper, I'd go north first and save AZ until late Sept/early OCT. We do three months out West without reservations, BUT we are fully self contained. I like USFS CGs during the week (fewer people/easy to find a site) and then resupply and travel on the weekends, except holiday weekends where it's better to stay put.

    A 3K generator will pay for itself and will make not having reservations much easier. I'll assume you already added a tranny oil cooler.
  • Even without hookups Yellowstone is likely to be an issue. I have been traveling to the West for the past 5 years. Last year the crowds have grown immensely. Plan on making reservations at Yellowstone. For hookups you may already be too late. Without hookups you should be ok for most time periods if you reserve a few weeks in advance.
  • Yellowstone without reservations might be ok but only if you do not want full hook-ups. IF you want full hook-ups, I would make reservations for Yellowstone. Otherwise you should be ok. Three month trip is a good start but it took us 3 years before we really started to settle into fulltiming. Until then it was just long vacations strung together. Have fun!
  • Personally, I don't believe you gave yourself enough time. Also, I would reverse the trip and do the northern part first so you can take your time and then finish the southern portion in late summer and fall when the weather will be more favorable to you. Finally on such a long trip keep a regular watch on routine mainrenance like tires, bearings, etc. Of course that's just my opinion and I could be wrong. Either way have a safe trip