Advice for a cross country trip

We have done the long trips a couple of times:

#1 - get off the interstates if time isn't a factor. Get a rand mcnally and look for the roads with the 'red dots' beside them. scenic byways. :)
#2 - end of day is 5:00. Enjoy your evenings/relax.
#3 - don't book lodging/campground ahead of time on weekdays, but consider booking on weekends when everyone else is out there.

We don't book ahead and have never been without site or lodging and have never once stayed in a Walmart parking lot. Nobody ever thinks about the fact that just becuase you HAVE the trailer behind you doesn't mean you can't grab a hotel room for a night. I have to say a hotel shower was nice a couple of times when we couldn't or didn't want to bother finding a campground. Might be a slightly additional cost but sometimes a nice break if you're out there for weeks.

have a great time.

Leaving from Knoxville I assume that you will be taking I-40 out to Cal. There is not that much to see between K'ville and ABQ really so drive hard the first couple days and get thru TX first. There is no shortage of campgrounds on the route so just wing it. A good CG guide book or an app will be handy though. Others have said to secure a spot at Yosemite ASAP because its one of the busiest parks in the U.S. so that will set your time lime to arrive so give yourself enough lead time to be able to stop in at some of the more interesting cities you will pass thru. Old town ABQ is worth seeing IMO. If you over night in Amarillo go to the Big Texas Steak Ranch for dinner. Great food and fun atmosphere. You will have to be picky as to what you are interested in seeing or you may never arrive at Yosemite. Have fun and drive safe.

Pretty much agree with all of the above. A lot depends on when you're going, but I'm one of those who cannot pull out of the driveway without knowing exactly where we're stopping. Probably security issues, but that's just me and DH has come to count on knowing where I've put us and when. A handful of times we've had to make a change and if you just call the CG before check-in time, there is usually no problem in cancelling.

Also agree on the 300 mile day. Again, can be changed if something wonderful pops up, but can only think of a couple of times we've side-tracked. When I do the trip planning I search campgrounds, the area, mapquest and interests. If it doesn't show up then, we likely wouldn't make the stop. We don't hurry to pull out in the morning - 8:00+ is nice and the 50 mph average is right on. This way you're stopped and set up in the daylight, can have some downtime and relax. Absolutely right on allowing a 2-day stop somewhere to recup...setting up every night gets old in a hurry. BTW, you certainly don't have to unhook unless you need to go out, and saves just that much work. Somewhere along the way you're going to need to do laundry, so that sometimes turns into the late afternoon activity. We've met some really interesting folks hanging around the laundry area, really!

Coming from Knoxville, assume you're thinking I-40 part of the way. FYI, there has been ridiculous construction for 25 years+, and no I'm not kidding, from Memphis, through West Memphis and a bit further, and it can make life miserable...not to mention a very tight fit pulling a 31' trailer. Lots of big rig traffic and lane shifting. You know you want to shift north at some point, suggest you look at Hwy 412 North on the west side of Jackson - will say "To Dyersburg" - up to I-155, across the bridge and then to I-55 North. Consider taking a look on your maps. Several threads re this area and nobody enjoyed it. Another option is to take I-24 at Nashville, north to I-70 and a straight shot.

Completely agree on not hauling a full tank of water. Each gallon weighs 8#+ and that isn't going to help your mpg. When you make your reservations, you'll know what services you'll have to your site. We carry maybe 5 - 10 gals at the most for roadside stops.

One thing rarely, if ever mentioned, is the importance of taking a complete listing of your medications, doctors, and chronic health issues. We learned this by experience and a lot of luck. Also include several contact numbers in case of emergency (ICE). Both DH and DS#1 have some serious health issues, but I'm the one who had the problem. If it had not been that we were going to be gone more days than one of those "old people pill boxes" would hold, we would not have had the med bottles available. DH had no idea what meds I take and I wasn't in a position to tell them for a while. I keep this info updated in the computer at all times and just reprint and into the red folder labeled ICE that goes in the truck with us. Our DF is an EMT and said that emergency responders do know to look for something like that and also check cell phones for listings beginning with ICE. It's always important, but especially so on a longer trip.

DH just came through with a couple of really good reminders.....every morning check your tire pressure and torque without fail. Also, if both of you are not already towing, usually it's the DW who hasn't done this, learn before this trip. You never know when you'll need that extra driver even for a short time.

Sounds like a great trip. We've taken a few longer trips since getting our HTT and then TT and always a yearly trip to FL for spring training. Try not to squeeze too much into your schedule....you'll run out of time before you know it. Have fun and stay safe.

TNGW1500SE wrote:
Pulling 31' trailer. Never pulled it more than a couple of hundred miles from home. Thinking of a trip from Knoxville TN to Yosemite Park in CA. No generator so no A/C if not plugged in :(. Has slides but bath and bed can be used without opening slides.

Thought I'd change truck oil, get new tires on camper, repack camper bearings, fill fresh water tank and propane. Pack a cooler in truck bed with food and drinks.

I'm thinking drive 6 hours a day for 3 days in a row and then stay two days to get over it. Allows us to empty tanks and reload.

Do you "wing it" or do you plan every stop and have reservations?

Do you just buckle down and do a 10 hour drive for two days, sleep at walmart and then stop and rest up?

New at this. Have all the time off I want. Not really interested in killing ourselves trying to get there fast. Any advice welcome!

Well first of all have a great time!

Second If you dont already have reservations (6months (to the second)in advance) you very likely will not be camping inside Yosemite) But there are places outside the park.

As for your trailer I am assuming that you mean you will inspect your bearings before you just start re-packing. If the grease is clean and abundunt and no sign of water or sand or excessive heat there really is no reason to re-pack them. I think it's more important to cast a glance at the brakes to make sure they are working correctly. I think it's the same for your tires, if the tread is good and the tires have no obvious damage, there really is no need to replace them. If you have only driven a few hundred miles a year these things should be fine.

I would give it a 50 mile test run around where you live to see if anything shows itself to need attention. I leave empty, no water and as little propane as I have and buy most everything I need when I get close to my destination. There really is no need to load up the trailer for the long haul.

To my way of looking at it I40/70/80 is a boring road and I agree with one poster who said he'd hot foot it to the West and go slow from there.

There is another route that is quite interesting and that is US 50 which will take you all the way to San Francisco and crosses some very interesting places and scenery all along the way. It is almost all two lane but is a good road and much more satisfying to drive than I40 or I70/80. US 50 runs almost completely uninterrupted by any stretch of interstate from Annapolis MD to San Francisco. From US 50 once in Calif. you can drop down through the Gold Country, a very interesting and historic part of calif and very beautiful, to the north entrance of Yosemite. From US50 turn south on CA 49 at Placerville this will intersect CA 120 which takes you into the park.

Yosemite is one of THE MOST ASTOUNDING natural sights in the world (and I've seen most of them) It is jaw dropping amazing. But in the height of summer it is very crowded.

I spent a lovely Thanksgiving there about 40 some-odd years ago camping out of my Renault R5 roasting game hens over the fire and having a great time.

Good luck and have fun.

I guess part of the question is when are you going and who is going with you? Mid-July in TT in Arizona is not going to be much fun Wally Camping. Do you have urchins involved? Plan more potty breaks.

You appear to me to have about 50 hours of driving. I would haul as hard as I could until Albuquerque and then start meandering at a slower pace. Because there is alot that is very cool in the Albuquerque to Flagstaff area that is pretty accessible.

Once I got past what looks fun, I would drive faster through CA.

But those are my personal preferences. If the trip were scheduled in July, I would look for a more northerly route.

330 miles or stop at 3:30. Its all about taking time to smell the roses.

We usually plan route & reserve CG's in advance if we have immoveable start & end dates for our travels; that will change when that glorious transition is made into retirement (too far away, so don't ask). We made three trips over 30 days each back in the day. In all cases I planned the route in advance and we really did not deviate from that unless there was a compelling reason. I made CG reservations for the first half of the trip. For the second half of the trip I had CG's picked out in advance but did not reserve until we knew definitely that we'd be in that area on that date.

That said, I agree with kknowlton re: CG's near major destinations or near urban areas on weekends. Even though you're under no time restrictions, I'll suggest making reservations if you know you'll need a site over a traditionally high-travel holiday (Memorial Day, July 4, etc.).

Your preparation ideas are all good ones. Also agree on taking minimal water in the tank to keep weight down. Enjoy & safe travels.

We did a 10,000 mile four month trip through the western U.S. and Canada. We had a rough draft of where we wanted to visit. We never had a problem finding a place to stay, the worst case was to stay at a Home Depot, free wifi and they loved having us. We only do about 250 miles a day from 8:30 to 2:00. We found we could stay at any stop for three or four days. When we had a commitment, we added a few miles per day so we could stay longer at one place.

If you travel at 60-65mph you will average 50mph for the day with stops for fuel and rest stops. This translates into about 300 miles for a 6 hour day which is just about the right amount in my opinion. This is what we usually plan for while travelling.

Also, the idea to stay an extra day every third day or so is excellent. You will find, after a couple of 3 day stints that you need that rest to re-group yourself and your rig.

As far as making reservations, you have received some good advice on that. We usually make them when around busy areas or during long weekends or holidays. We usually try to be in a campground on a Thursday for a weekend and stay until Monday morning.

The above is all possible if you have no definite time schedule and do not have to limit your vacation time. If you are limited on time then you would have to modify it quite a bit.

Good luck in your travels. Sounds like you will have it pretty well figured out.:)
Barney

I learned a long time ago to start my vacation the moment I leave my driveway, so relax and enjoy the drive!! Our very first trip we planned each stop from the get go, but had to make changes immediately because a fierce storm flooded our first campground. Since then we have an idea of where we are going, and after noon DW begins searching with her Ipad for campgrounds that will be close to where we will be by 4:00pm, in order to stop early enough to enjoy the evening. Though I would have already checked what our options were all along the way prior to shoving off. We had one scare this past year in Canada when we made an impromptu jaunt through the land to the north, and didn't realize we would be traveling through wilderness with no gas stations for a long time. We had to make a long detour to find gas, and it was a learning experience to make sure to review the direction we are going and what kind of facilities are in the areas we are traveling!