Extended Cross Country Travel

Don't you wish someone with a magic wand would go "poof" and you had your right answer? We had a TT for a couple years, after a very bad storm in Pa one year, we decided to get a Class C. We literally sat in our tow vehicle for over an hour before deciding to get out and get soaked to at least get in the TT so we could get dry and have a bite to eat (and a potty). Had we had our C (or an A), we could have pulled in, leveled, turn on the generator, been warm and had a hot meal...and potty...without being soaked to the gills! Go thru a few bad storms in a towable of any kind and you woulda, shoulda, coulda thought about your purchase. I love TT, they are very economical and when set up properly, very easy to drive. But, when traveling for extended periods of time, and going thru a lot of different weather, we love our C.
It's been many years since we travelled that highway in California...absolutely beautiful. However, heed the warnings of Sailordive...
Safe travels to you and please let us know what you end up with.
Andi

We have been 34k in 8 months. We have a class B, but I can give you some specifics that you may find helpful.

PCH 1 around Big Sur. Going South, you would probably be fine. Going North, there are several blind curves that put you right up against the mt. I think the posted limit is 25 or 27ft. A 30 ft may make it, but you could just as easily end up run into the side of the mountain or run someone off the road by swinging over the yellow line. You can get off 1 and get on 101 for that piece. It is well posted. The rest of PCH 1 should not be an issue.

Sequoia National Park and hwy 198 have both 22 and 24 ft restrictions

Glacier National park Road to the Sun has a 21 ft restriction. This is to control traffic, not because of driving hazard. Going "around" takes about 1 1/2 -2 hours

Million Dollar Hwy and Beartooth Hwy have suggested limits, but 40+ do it all the time. You may have to slow way down to time your turn into some of the switchbacks

Iron Mountain Road in South Dakota have height and width restrictions. I do recall that anything over 30 ft would be a challenge in one of the one way tunnels because of the way you have to line up straight to get into the tunnel. If you had a day with little or no traffic, a longerRV might make it as long as the height and width are not an issue.

The Needles Hwy in Custer State Park, 25 ft is about the max because of the height/width of one of the tunnels. The line up for that tunnel is extremely tight and MANY people park their cars to take pictures of car coming thru. We had an issue in our 22 ft because of the tight run up to the very narrow tunnel.

Mt Washington Rd in NH is pretty much limited to cars.

Someone else will need to chime in on Moki in Utah

Most of the national parks have at least 1road that are listed "No Rv' s or trailers" These are generally side roads or roads the lead up to the mountain peaks, so you will need a toad or a tow vehicle for those.

You did not ask about camping in the national parks but it is something you may want to keep in mind...the parks were built before the large RVs were in fashion. So while all/most NP will have spaces for a 36 ft RV, they are not very plentiful so you need to plan accordingly and reserve spaces if you are traveling there during the summer months.

Also note: Height becomes an issue in some places in the north east

Happy Travels

ajboudreau wrote:
Thanks for the responses thus far. We have been looking at fivers that are 36-40 ft, and Class A's that avg 36 ft. Hope this helps with some of the great advice.

JMO after traveling over 80,000 miles in every state with a < 36' 5er but with a >36' 5er your CG options will be severely limited if you plan on SPs or NPs. The Crammeminn Campgrounds will always have space for the big rigs but the SPs & NPs are much nicer. Cheaper too.

As far as Hwy 1 & 101 go in CA, we have done them both. 101 is just another hwy. Most of Hwy1 was easy enough but a few sections are definetly not suitable for anything over 50'.

Check CDOT for details.

No easy answer. Every type of RV has it's pros and cons. We've had 3 pop-ups, a hybrid trailer, a small 5th wheel and now a 30 ft. Class C motor home. With the MH I really like the onboard generator and having the small car that we tow available when seeing the sights. The worst thing about the MH is that when you are towing something you can not back up without unhooking. I don't like the idea of having a big, heavy duty truck to pull the 5th wheel and to drive around getting very poor MPG. Right now, I would choose the motor home and not go back to the 5th wheel.

We choose a TT because we wanted to use our Suburban for hauling tools, etc. in an enclosed space. But, I would rather have a 5er due to the extra living space over a TT. IMHO Class A's are wonderful but I don't like having to haul around another vehicle with another engine/transmission, etc.

ajboudreau wrote:
Thanks for the responses thus far. We have been looking at fivers that are 36-40 ft, and Class A's that avg 36 ft. Hope this helps with some of the great advice.

Neither one is suitable for traveling down the Pacific Coast Hwy 1 as you hope to do. It's best to park and do your siteseeing in your truck or car.

You can easily travel Hwy 101, however, in any size RV.

We've had a 33' 5th wheel full-timing for eight years and we loved it. However, we didn't like driving the big truck around.

Friends got us interested in Jeeping so we got our 40' motorhome and Jeep and have had it for ten years. We absolutely love every part of it and yes, we've traveled down Hwy 101 many times. We also fit it in many national parks, national forest, state parks, etc. We prefer public parks rather than RV parks.

So, both are good. It depends on how you want to travel. Good luck!

We've travelled all over USA last three years and for us, the 5vr is the way to go. We had a Class C and enjoy the 5vr for overall comfort and in our opinion overall easier and lower costs to maintain and easier to handle and operate.

We like having a toad to run around in once we settle in to a destination. I wouldn't like having a truck for local trips to the store and to see sites.

And as previously mentioned, having a motorhome to be able to use while in transit is a great plus. Also, setup is quick and easy. We can pull in and be in bed in less than 5 minutes.

Thanks for the responses thus far. We have been looking at fivers that are 36-40 ft, and Class A's that avg 36 ft. Hope this helps with some of the great advice.

We have taken trips of two months or longer in both a fifth wheel and a class A. We enjoyed travelling in both rv's. However, we like the motorhome better then the fifth wheel because my CEO/Navigator can get up and move around while we are moving. She can move to just stretch, go to the bathroom, fix and serve snacks or drinks, and even lie down on the bed or couch if she desires. We can run the generator while travelling so we can use the air conditioners to cool the coach before we arrive. That said, the coach is more expensive to operate and maintain than the fiver. But we still like the motorhome better than the fifth wheel.