open for suggestions

alliemac9 wrote:

Maybe I'm too cautious, but an RV in Denver and the mountains west of Denver in January is something I'd only do if I had a flexible schedule. The mountains will have snow, period. Whether a storm causes difficult driving on your travel days would be impossible to predict until you were here - it is something that you'd have to be able to work around and reschedule drive days. Same for down in Denver, but less likely to have winter driving conditions down here in January. Then you have to take into account winterizing or partial-winterizing so nothing freezes. I've been caught driving in crazy winter weather in October and late-May in the mountains around here and it is simply not fun in an RV. If you were going to do it, though, I-25 south to NM would be my recommendation for getting in/out of Denver since it's not "in" the mountains and usually has milder weather.

Thanks. Very good input. We have a very flexible schedule and dont need to be in San Francisco before 2/24. So some 40-45 days to get there :)
But it is also as i thought and would then also roll out of Denver on I-25. Im a very experienced winter driver but not with an RV so thats why im also very cautious. We still want to get there in one piece.

Weatherbase. This site is free and will show you weather highs, lows, and averages for temps, rain, snow, etc. by month for several years, for many cities within each state. Weather is affected less by latitude and more by altitude. Example:
Flagstaff, AZ 7,000 altitude, 35 degrees north latitude, avg. 32 degrees in December.
Los Angeles, CA 450 altitude, 34 degrees north latitude, avg. 60 degrees in December.

JEKU wrote:
We appriciate all the input and are still planning to head it of. So you drowe San diego to Colorado? Denver? We maybe want to start out in Denver after a couple of days skiing (if we can get the RV out of there.. :)) and drive Las Vegas, San Diego and up to San Francisco and drop it of there beginning of march.
But what route to take out of Denver? I-80, I70 or I-25. I have read that both I-70 and 80 can be very triggy at that time of year.

Maybe I'm too cautious, but an RV in Denver and the mountains west of Denver in January is something I'd only do if I had a flexible schedule. The mountains will have snow, period. Whether a storm causes difficult driving on your travel days would be impossible to predict until you were here - it is something that you'd have to be able to work around and reschedule drive days. Same for down in Denver, but less likely to have winter driving conditions down here in January. Then you have to take into account winterizing or partial-winterizing so nothing freezes. I've been caught driving in crazy winter weather in October and late-May in the mountains around here and it is simply not fun in an RV. If you were going to do it, though, I-25 south to NM would be my recommendation for getting in/out of Denver since it's not "in" the mountains and usually has milder weather.

If you decide to buy, when it comes time to sell, think about using a consignment service. I did this at a local dealer. I signed all the paperwork when I dropped it off and @ 6 weeks later I had a check in the mail. It was totally painless and cost me 5%.

crabbin cabin wrote:
Well - a few(??) years ago when I retired from my job in Colorado we took off on Jan.1 for the pacific Coast. 28 ft fiver. Snow in the mountains until we hit the OR. Coast just west of Tillamook. Then down 101 all the way to San Diego before heading back to Colorado on Feb.1

Rain, wind and stormy ocean and we absolutely loved it. To us - the winter storms on the Pacific Coast are just magnificent! Cool also - temp. probably never exceeded 50 degrees until we hit southern California. That trip is still one of our best memories!! But be prepared for wet and cool!

We appriciate all the input and are still planning to head it of. So you drowe San diego to Colorado? Denver? We maybe want to start out in Denver after a couple of days skiing (if we can get the RV out of there.. :)) and drive Las Vegas, San Diego and up to San Francisco and drop it of there beginning of march.
But what route to take out of Denver? I-80, I70 or I-25. I have read that both I-70 and 80 can be very triggy at that time of year.

JEKU wrote:
I'm a bit disappointed about the weather. I thought it was always sunny in California. :-)

as long as you stay in the L.A. area and south to San Diego, you should have sun.
but the coast north of there, won't have as much sun.

there's no worries about traveling the Calif. coast in the winter.
there's no place that gets snow or has any elevation.
just rain to deal with and that would be mainly north of San Francisco.
that's why the Redwoods are there, lots of rain in the winter.

Well - a few(??) years ago when I retired from my job in Colorado we took off on Jan.1 for the pacific Coast. 28 ft fiver. Snow in the mountains until we hit the OR. Coast just west of Tillamook. Then down 101 all the way to San Diego before heading back to Colorado on Feb.1

Rain, wind and stormy ocean and we absolutely loved it. To us - the winter storms on the Pacific Coast are just magnificent! Cool also - temp. probably never exceeded 50 degrees until we hit southern California. That trip is still one of our best memories!! But be prepared for wet and cool!

JEKU wrote:
Would it be a better idea to take the Grand Canyon and petrified forest here in August and then fly into LA in january and rent and return from there?
To avoid the high elevation an snow?
Or do I have a complete wrong picture of the coast line?

Yes that would be a better plan. Having lived all my life here, I can tell you that the time frame you suggest it will be cool and maybe a little wet in the southern half of the state but very do able as long as you are south of San Francisco, north from there it is all called the wet coast...

The southern half from the Mexican border to about the Central coast is a more temperate zone for that time of year. San Diego and the inland areas are always a bit warmer. I do this all the time.

As suggested a rental from El Monte RV would be a good choice they have some very nice deals in the winter. You can also purchase a RV there too, their prices and service are top notch.

I think a rental is your best option if you really want to use an RV, but looking online, you are probably going to spend at about $80/day plus mileage and gas. All told, you're the $3000+ neighborhood for a month on the road. Add in campground fees and I think you'd be better off traveling via passenger car/van and staying in hotels.

If you decide to go by RV anyway, you can get a 10% discount on Cruise America if you have a KOA card. The card is inexpensive, and you save 10% at KOA parks as well.

I've been to all those places, and they are definitely worth seeing, but rough time of year to go. It can't be helped, so have fun!

Elizabeth

Would it be a better idea to take the Grand Canyon and petrified forest here in August and then fly into LA in january and rent and return from there?
To avoid the high elevation an snow?
Or do I have a complete wrong picture of the coast line?