Never done this before- Cross USA plans
Me and two other blokes have some time off in November and December. We want to purchase a smaller motor RV (thinking like Winnebago Riata) and traveling from Vermont to Cali, down to Florida and back...
Forum Discussion
I went from Central CA to VT in 29 days in 2014 which would be half of your trip. I disagree with why do it - the answer is if you only have 30 days (my case) then it's a heck of a month long trip. Many folks would be jealous of what we saw in a month. Sure we missed tons, drove interstates as necessary to make timelines, and spent long days on the road at times. I would do it again in my heart beat and so would the wife and kids. I'm not retired so 30 days is all I could get. I am fortunate I was able to do it as part of a relocation (to RI) so I only had to deal with one way. In that month long trip we spent 4 days at Yellowstone/Grand Teton, 5 days in Chicago, 4 days in NYC, 2 days in VT before going down to RI. In addition we spend anywhere from .5 to 1.5 days at Rushmore, Wind Cave, Teddy Roosevelt NP, drove Bear Tooth Hwy (not in winter!), Badlands, Niagara Falls, bobbed and weaved for all northern states with 2-3 hour stops at local attractions.
A whirlwind trip requres much more planning and a great attitude. We never drove long hours more than two days in a row. The stops at Yellowstone, Chicago, and NYC were spaced for nice breaks. Two blowouts including cutting Yellowstone from 5 days to 4 because of late arrival. You have to plan for those things. Ate sandwiches on the road for lunch which saved us money and an hour a day with a stop IF a local restaurant wasn't a planned stop. We didn't need to hit the CA destinations because we lived there five years.
You have to discuss your non-negotiable stops and choose wisely. I always discuss opportunity costs with my kids - for every decision there is a second best option you give up. The trip was a perfect example. Sitting home didn't come in second.
I would be concerned about night time temps in the West in November and would choose a more central route for the way over but you've heard from Montana that it is doable. We had temps in 30's at night in July in Yellowstone. You will need heated tanks, etc. Crossing the Sierras on I-80 should be no problem in November. Tioga Road through Yosemite would likely be closed.
The full circle would be very aggressive. One way to save some time is skip any stops on Eastern Seaboard since that is more accessible from VT. Once you finish South East, just drive home and catch that area on another trip.
A whirlwind trip requres much more planning and a great attitude. We never drove long hours more than two days in a row. The stops at Yellowstone, Chicago, and NYC were spaced for nice breaks. Two blowouts including cutting Yellowstone from 5 days to 4 because of late arrival. You have to plan for those things. Ate sandwiches on the road for lunch which saved us money and an hour a day with a stop IF a local restaurant wasn't a planned stop. We didn't need to hit the CA destinations because we lived there five years.
You have to discuss your non-negotiable stops and choose wisely. I always discuss opportunity costs with my kids - for every decision there is a second best option you give up. The trip was a perfect example. Sitting home didn't come in second.
I would be concerned about night time temps in the West in November and would choose a more central route for the way over but you've heard from Montana that it is doable. We had temps in 30's at night in July in Yellowstone. You will need heated tanks, etc. Crossing the Sierras on I-80 should be no problem in November. Tioga Road through Yosemite would likely be closed.
The full circle would be very aggressive. One way to save some time is skip any stops on Eastern Seaboard since that is more accessible from VT. Once you finish South East, just drive home and catch that area on another trip.
