Questions about our first (and big) trip
We are taking our first trip in a 1998 C Class RV starting next week for the next 3 weeks. Heading from Maryland to the National Parks out west. I'm looking for any and all advice. ?? (It wasn't suppo...
Forum Discussion
Three week trip - ambitious trip - close to 4,900 miles from Annapolis to those parks and back. Too ambitious for me.
Four 500 mile driving days to get to the area, four daily drives between parks, four 500 mile driving days to get home. That leaves only 9 days to explore 5 great national parks. (Plan that the drive between parks will take all day. Leaving by 8:30 am and arriving near 3 pm. Don't arrive later than that because it will take a while to find a campground.
Wi-Fi - when we visited most of those parks last October/ November - we had to go into town and setup our laptops and wi-fi hotspots at restaurants to check e-mail, pay bills, etc. Do not count on any free wi-fi on a long RV trip. Have a phone plan with enough GB of data for a month of usage. A dedicated Wi-Fi hotspot vice using your phone as a hotspot is best.
Water - Travel with a full fresh water tank, dump your back and grey tank whenever possible. Some of the parks do not have dump stations, many of the parks will have a 30 minute of longer line at the dump station when folks start pulling out in the mornings.
I doubt you can stay at any campgrounds in those nationals parks if you have not made reservations already. You may find it very difficult to get reservations at commercial RV parks with full hookups near those NP, except for Mesa Verde should be ok. Likely you will have to dry camp a couple hours or more away from the parks. Buy the DeLorme Atlas books which show public lands, and make a stop at a BLM office to check on dispersed camping areas.
Almost all camping on BLM/ NF land near Arches is allowed only in designated campgrounds. You will likely have to drive to three or four to find one with an open spot.
Fuel/ Gasoline - it is available on all those routes - just fill up whenever you get down to 1/2 tank, and always full up before starting a day travel between parks. Many of those drives are 300-400 miles between parks. Fuel stops are rare on I-70 in east Utah, and some very steep grades which eat fuel.
As mentioned above - HOT, HOT, HOT - Even though you are going to be between 7,200 and 3,900 feet elevation for those parks, higher while traveling, the temps are in the mid to high 90s today. Will only be hotter for the next month. As mentioned, it is very easy to get badly sunburned at those elevations.
If your rig is a typical near 20 year old Class C - you might not be able to run the vehicle AC while climbing through the mountains/ hills. And the vehicle AC likely won't cool all that space anyway in those temps. I have friends who carry a heavy quilt to hang right behind the seats in their motorhome to allow the dash AC to cool the rig enough to be semi-comfortable.
Once your cross the mountains of West Virginia, expect daily temps in the mid-90s to 105 range, especially after crossing the Mississippi. Temps won't cool off until you climb above 5,000 ft in the Rockies. Nighttime temps won't drop below the mid-70s until you reach Colorado.
Drink, carry a LOT of bottled water. Those elevations, temps and low humidity will dry you out in minutes. Have at least 2 liters of water for any walks you take. More if the walk is over a mile. Those trails will drain your energy.
Four 500 mile driving days to get to the area, four daily drives between parks, four 500 mile driving days to get home. That leaves only 9 days to explore 5 great national parks. (Plan that the drive between parks will take all day. Leaving by 8:30 am and arriving near 3 pm. Don't arrive later than that because it will take a while to find a campground.
Wi-Fi - when we visited most of those parks last October/ November - we had to go into town and setup our laptops and wi-fi hotspots at restaurants to check e-mail, pay bills, etc. Do not count on any free wi-fi on a long RV trip. Have a phone plan with enough GB of data for a month of usage. A dedicated Wi-Fi hotspot vice using your phone as a hotspot is best.
Water - Travel with a full fresh water tank, dump your back and grey tank whenever possible. Some of the parks do not have dump stations, many of the parks will have a 30 minute of longer line at the dump station when folks start pulling out in the mornings.
I doubt you can stay at any campgrounds in those nationals parks if you have not made reservations already. You may find it very difficult to get reservations at commercial RV parks with full hookups near those NP, except for Mesa Verde should be ok. Likely you will have to dry camp a couple hours or more away from the parks. Buy the DeLorme Atlas books which show public lands, and make a stop at a BLM office to check on dispersed camping areas.
Almost all camping on BLM/ NF land near Arches is allowed only in designated campgrounds. You will likely have to drive to three or four to find one with an open spot.
Fuel/ Gasoline - it is available on all those routes - just fill up whenever you get down to 1/2 tank, and always full up before starting a day travel between parks. Many of those drives are 300-400 miles between parks. Fuel stops are rare on I-70 in east Utah, and some very steep grades which eat fuel.
As mentioned above - HOT, HOT, HOT - Even though you are going to be between 7,200 and 3,900 feet elevation for those parks, higher while traveling, the temps are in the mid to high 90s today. Will only be hotter for the next month. As mentioned, it is very easy to get badly sunburned at those elevations.
If your rig is a typical near 20 year old Class C - you might not be able to run the vehicle AC while climbing through the mountains/ hills. And the vehicle AC likely won't cool all that space anyway in those temps. I have friends who carry a heavy quilt to hang right behind the seats in their motorhome to allow the dash AC to cool the rig enough to be semi-comfortable.
Once your cross the mountains of West Virginia, expect daily temps in the mid-90s to 105 range, especially after crossing the Mississippi. Temps won't cool off until you climb above 5,000 ft in the Rockies. Nighttime temps won't drop below the mid-70s until you reach Colorado.
Drink, carry a LOT of bottled water. Those elevations, temps and low humidity will dry you out in minutes. Have at least 2 liters of water for any walks you take. More if the walk is over a mile. Those trails will drain your energy.
