jason26 wrote:
We're planning a family trip in the very near future from Saskatoon to Legoland (Carlsbad, CA), via Grand Canyon and maybe Vegas. and I'm trying to cover all the need to know things about travelling with a trailer in the US (29 ft), right down to route advice?
This would be our first major trip with a trailer - we've pulled a 10' popup all over western Canada so do have a little experience, but there's a big difference from 10 to 29'.
Things that worry me:
- running into road restrictions on chosen routes. Are there helpers for planning the route?
- navigating the bigger cities with a trailer - coming back home we'd probably to Disney Land, and perhaps San Francisco.
- break downs, is there an association I can join, Good Sams?
- nearing the end of day and not having a place to park stay (though I hear some people just pull into a Walmart lot for the night).
And of course the stuff I just don't know about as this is quite different than parking the trailer at the lake for a week and heading home.
Thanks for any tips and advice.
Road restrictions? In San Francisco and Disney there may be some, but there will be signs. Big semi trucks drive just about everywhere here in the lower 48, and if they can make it, us campers can too :)
I'm rather new to the towing game myself, covering just over 30,000 miles so far. I've only broken down once, and having roadside both through Chrysler and my insurance company, it did not help. Eventually the State Police found me a tow company willing to tow a trailer with broken suspension. I'm young and in good health, so changing my own tire isn't something I'd call a service for, which is the most common breakdown that I read about.
I'm all for Walmart overnights, although any parking lot will do. As for not having hookups, I equipped my trailer to be self sufficient for several days at a time, don't need power or water every time I stop... everyone else's situation may be different.
You'll be passing a lot of our "Gems" coming down from SK. Badlands, Yellow Stone, Tetons, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce, Zion, Grand Canyon, (vegas) and Death Valley are all potentially along your way. How many months time do you have for this trip?
If you plan to visit 3 or more National Parks, buy the $80 park pass. All these parks are $25-35 each, and the park pass gets you unlimited access to all of them for one year.
