OK C,
I am hoping you are not traveling alone. A dedicated navigator can take a WHOLE LOT of stress off the driver.
We have a motorhome and we use it for traveling and very rarely anything like camping. But when we travel, we go. We get to see a lot because we have planned. We are never tired because we have learned how to pace the excursion.
If your 5er is close to self contained, you won't need a campground every night and that is good, because you are going to cross some country where they will be rare. About that, try to carry meals for three days. Not because you will be that far from civilization, but because it will be inconvenient to find a feed some times. You should also try to keep about half a tank of potable water onboard. The weight won't be any issue when you are over the mountains.
To this end, you need a smart phone with RVparky, Allstays and Gasbuddy, but you were told that.
You should consider a dashboard (doesn't need to be big) GPS for the driver. If you get one with "Lane Assist" you (the driver) will know how to set up for the next exit.
Last, an inexpensive (your computer friend probably can lend) Windows (Win7 is good) laptop and a small inverter so it can run underway. For that, you will want a copy of Street Atlas (Streets and Trips is now real old and the charts are problematic) with the GPS puck. This is for planning the next days excursion and recovering from detours. With some learning, this program can tell you where to expect to end the day and when to start looking for fuel. (That gets back to GasBuddy again.) SA can feed you a Zip that you can then use to start the fuel search long before it gets critical. It will also indicate where there is no fuel and where it is expensive.
When you start to get SA figured out, then go to The
Discovery Onwers site and collect the overlays for anything you might find interesting.
The problem I had when I used to use on-line planning was that by the end of the third day (if lucky) all that printing was just scrap paper. You can update SA in route and it will correct end of day (EOD) and fuel stops to the new plan.
How far you travel in a day is most a function of how comfortable you are. You can set the length of day and fuel in the Route/Plan Trip. Don't push early on or things can get nasty.
Don't count on the smart phone as a GPS unless you can download all the maps you might need to it. You will be crossing great expanses of "No Service".
Most of all, if you are going within striking range of something you always have wanted to see/do, set a way point. Relax and enjoy the road, that is what most of us do.
If you can team drive, the distance you can cover is amazing. Let the SO try it, you might be surprised.
Oh, I almost forget....
Take lots of pictures and make notes. (I actually have started making a daily log some time ago - a habit from being on water.)
You are going to Dayton. Plan a DAY for the Air Force Museum there.
In November this will be a blur...
With any luck at all, a pleasant memory.
Matt
