Aloha my wife and I are planning to quit our jobs next year 2nd quarter we want to ship our truck f1502WD to the west coast( we are on Oahu) head east across the top of America (pick up north San Fran/ Org /Wash and just turn right before you hit Canada) with a destination of Tennessee to set up a base near familywe lived in our boats and sailed the islands for 20 years so a 24' TT looks like lux to us been outdoor in a tiny space a lot want to check out all the state and federal parks we can want to dry camp 3-4 days and in a camp with hookups 2-3 days to rechargebeen looking at ultra lites don't know what my truck will tow ?don't really want to do more than 300 mile legs (if I drive for more than 5 hours I start getting snappy according to management )do I have to register the trailer in the state I bought it cause at this point I will be houseless how can that work any advice now will help me keep out of trouble in the future but we are going come hell or high water this is a trip I can't regret not taking when i'm old

More than likely, wherever you have your truck registered is where you will need to register and title the camper until you get relocated. That might be difficult, purchasing the camper then having to return to Hawaii to register and get tags - title - insurance, and then return back to the lower 48. You did not indicate what your intentions are after you reach your final destination. Will you be wanting to keep the camper and continue using it, or is it your plan to sell it, or liquidate it once you finally "arrive?"If your plan is is to "liquidate", you might consider rentals. If you can find a company that will rent a trailer one-way.The other option you may consider is a small truck camper. Depending upon your state of residence, you may not have to have a separate license plate for it. It's consider "cargo." Just an idea!Good luck in your endeavors and I enjoy your excitement! Don't get discouraged. You can make it work!

Hey, sounds like a great trip to me. I assume you are talking about going across US 2, the northernmost "major" highway in the US of A. (Even though it is 2-lanes most of the way. Be sure to visit Glacier National Park, and be aware that Going To The Sun Road might not be open until July, depending on snowfall next winter. I made the drive going the other way in 2009, and had a great time.Good luck, enjoy the heck out of the ride, and be sure to wave when you get to the east coast.

You may want to do your homework on that F150, before shipping it. F150's are not all created equal. They were built with varying levels of payload and tow capacity. Some as low as 750 lbs of payload, and some with as much as 3200 lbs. Some have max tow rating of 11,000 lbs, and some are only rated to pull 5000 lbs. A 24' trailer could easily exceed 5000 lbs.Payload is the truck's capacity to carry the weight of aftermarket accessories, people, cargo, weight distribution hitch, and trailer tongue weight, combined. Payload is normally the first weight rating to run out of.If your F150 is one of those on the low end for payload, it could be near max weight before you hitch up any trailer.The route you're looking at traveling, is going to have a lot of hills, mountains, and wind. You'll really appreciate having some cushion in the trucks ratings.

You will probably need a land based address to do all the paper work , insurance , registration . Do you have any family on the mainland that you can use their address ? You may be able to claim a domicile in Tenn without being there ! We also lived and sailed a sailboat in the Carib for 14 years and filed a " Proclamation of Domicile " in Volusia County Florida .

As an 2007 F-150 owner with tow package and cargo package, it is still easy to overload with a travel trailer. We've been popup campers and are looking to move to a TT and I need a TT that is under 7,000 even if I'm loading light. If I was doing a cross country, I couldn't tow 7,000 lbs. On the other note, we made that cross country journey last year in our pop-up as part of a military move. Would be glad to answer any questions I can. We went from CA to RI a week stop in Yellowstone/Grand Teton and any National Park we could manage. Unfortunately, time didn't let us get up to Glacier.. We zigged and zagged to hit all of the northern states. Other landmarks were Rushmore (overrated), Wind Cave (nice stop no one has heard of), Badlands, Walnut Grove, MN (of LIttle House on the Prairie fame), Notre Dame University, Niagara Falls, and Vermont mountains.I would not want to take that route pulling any TT with my F-150. No issues with a popup. Love the popup when we lived in CA but when we hit Minnesota, the "rain switch" got flipped and the pop-up becomes a pain to deal with setup and takedown. Easy to haul though and we are efficient at set up if the weather is good.Bear tooth pass is an amazing drive on WY/MT border but I wouldn't cross it with a camper period between elevation and switch backs but it's worth unhooking at the base and driving to the peak and turning around or even all the way over and back.You didn't say where you are starting on the West Coast but Yosemite and the Red Wood Coast are amazing if you have time. DItto Pacific Coast Highway.I wish I had signed up for Good Sam earlier in the trip although their free campground finder is great as well. We stayed in everything from $12 municipal campgrounds to KOA's depending on where we were and what we wanted for the night. Both have a place. The pop-up doesn't dry camp well or we would have opted for more municipal campgrounds.Have fun and good luck!

newbie help plannig the trip | Good Sam Community

12 Replies

naturist
Nomad II
Mar 25, 2015
Hey, sounds like a great trip to me. I assume you are talking about going across US 2, the northernmost "major" highway in the US of A. (Even though it is 2-lanes most of the way. Be sure to visit Glacier National Park, and be aware that Going To The Sun Road might not be open until July, depending on snowfall next winter. I made the drive going the other way in 2009, and had a great time.

Good luck, enjoy the heck out of the ride, and be sure to wave when you get to the east coast.
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Mar 25, 2015
More than likely, wherever you have your truck registered is where you will need to register and title the camper until you get relocated. That might be difficult, purchasing the camper then having to return to Hawaii to register and get tags - title - insurance, and then return back to the lower 48.

You did not indicate what your intentions are after you reach your final destination. Will you be wanting to keep the camper and continue using it, or is it your plan to sell it, or liquidate it once you finally "arrive?"

If your plan is is to "liquidate", you might consider rentals. If you can find a company that will rent a trailer one-way.

The other option you may consider is a small truck camper. Depending upon your state of residence, you may not have to have a separate license plate for it. It's consider "cargo." Just an idea!

Good luck in your endeavors and I enjoy your excitement! Don't get discouraged. You can make it work!

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newbie help plannig the trip

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