1st long haul advice

[Potentnuts]

hello all
we are planning our first long haul(my wife,5yr old daughter,2yr old son) from Seattle to Minnesota. we are leaving june 25, will return july 9th. we have a 11.5' truck camper sitting on a dodge with a 5.9. we are decently experienced with our set up, just local to the northwest. our plan is to shoot out of here on i90 and make it to Missoula MT on the first day, then dip down and then sight see thru Yellowstone, then on to mt rushmore, badlands and that's all we got. kind of winging it in a sense.
we don't plan on using hotels or campsites, just rest stops. is this safe?
once we are off i90 is there plenty of stops for fuel?
how is Yellowstone? do you just drive thru?
I am not new to travel,i do it for work, buy a last minute plane ticket to somewhere then rent a car and drive to the jobsite and fix my companys equipment, been everywhere on the company dime. now I want my family to see the beautiful USA,
any tips or advice would be helpful, thanks in advance

[MarkTwain]

Corky12 wrote:
A 2 yo and 5 yo are going to have to get out and run around after a long day in car seats so I would pay for a campground that has some sort of space for that to happen - not a rest area or parking lot. We traveled I90 from Washington to the Midwest almost every year when our kids were small - always under time constraints - and the memories are not happy ones. One year we did Yellowstone as our only destination and had a great time. Enjoy your trip.

X1
IMHO, Any and all RV trips are possible BUT some are more enjoyable, less stressful and leave many more positive memories after the trip is done!!!

[Corky12]

A 2 yo and 5 yo are going to have to get out and run around after a long day in car seats so I would pay for a campground that has some sort of space for that to happen - not a rest area or parking lot. We traveled I90 from Washington to the Midwest almost every year when our kids were small - always under time constraints - and the memories are not happy ones. One year we did Yellowstone as our only destination and had a great time. Enjoy your trip.

[Matt_Colie]

This is not much different than the way we travel most of the time. There are three things you will need that take planning:
Provisions - Walmart is easy
Potable water - Many places have, but you may have to look
Sewer dump - This is tougher. At Yellowstone, you should be able to get to the dump and potable at Fishing Bridge RV.

There are websites that can lead you to all of the above, but if you are not carrying internet access, you will have to find it to stay on track.

There is, however, I small issue here. Missoula to West Yellowstone is 300 miles (+/-) and it is not all interstate. Both you and the kids will need breaks. That will be one LONG day.
I will suggest that you stop in Boseman at the Museum of the Rockies. D5 will get some, but most of it will be lost for the S2. But we found in later years that very the very young and not yet communicating well can absorb a lot more than you expect.

There is no problem with overnight parking at places that allow. We do that all the time, even when we have grands along. Safety in no issue outside of urban areas.

About Yellowstone, The primary roads are a north and a south loop. Get the maps. A loop a day is about what you will be able to manage. Do not plan on see much from the loops. Be ready to pack out and hike a lot. A Fast Survey of Yellowstone takes about three days. Get everything you can on line before departure.

If you don't dive into some trip planning site tonight, this excursion is bound to end up a disappointment. Get on to all of them. Many use RV Trip Wizard, but I recently found Furkot and like it except that it is online and we frequently have no access.

Planning here will be your key, but be flexible and expect your carefully assemble plan to be at least off if not trash by the third morning.

Take the time to enjoy the children and the sights. (You do know that you get to teach the daughter to drive shortly after you get home and then she will be gone.....

Matt

[NMDriver]

Not sure why you are going to Minnesota in June but if it is just a destination picked at random, I would suggest turning south and following the Rockies down to CO instead.

I spent Jun-Jul in Wilmer, Minn. one year and would not want to do it again.

ANYway, Rest stop camping away from cities has always seemed safe to me, but near cities they can be sketchy. I have never had any problems but I do take precautions. Never let wife or kids go out of sight/walk to bathrooms alone especially at night. Be very skeptical of anyone who approaches you. Drive away if anything does not seem perfectly safe/normal.

Truck stop RV parking areas are noisy but safer than rest stops near cities IMO. You may see some interesting sights but the people are not a threat.

[MarkTwain]

1st. long Haul-----
Just some thoughts:
1. A lot of driving and sitting in a short period of time. How will the small kids handle the long of hours of driving?
2. Using Rest Stops would be of concern safety wise with my family along.
3. If financially possible, have a 50 to 60 gal. auxiliary diesel fuel installed to replace the orignal fuel smaller fuel tank. One less hassel of keeping fueled up.

[naturist]

That's an ambitious itinerary especially with two small kids. Yellowstone will be very crowded at that time, and traffic will be heavy, both because of people and because of wildlife along the roads, which will cause people to stop and watch. What's more is that very little of what there is to see can be seen from inside a vehicle. You are going to want to get out and look around.

It's not hard finding diesel fuel anywhere although there are places a long way to the next stop. I too start thinking about tanking up when the gauge hits half. If you don't already have the app GasBuddy, get it. It will help you find fuel and avoid being gouged.

Have a great time.

[Busskipper]

Potentnuts wrote:
hello all
we are planning our first long haul(my wife,5yr old daughter,2yr old son) from Seattle to Minnesota. we are leaving june 25, will return july 9th. we have a 11.5' truck camper sitting on a dodge with a 5.9. we are decently experienced with our set up, just local to the northwest. our plan is to shoot out of here on i90 and make it to Missoula MT on the first day, then dip down and then sight see thru Yellowstone, then on to mt rushmore, badlands and that's all we got. kind of winging it in a sense.
we don't plan on using hotels or campsites, just rest stops. is this safe?
once we are off i90 is there plenty of stops for fuel?
how is Yellowstone? do you just drive thru?
I am not new to travel,i do it for work, buy a last minute plane ticket to somewhere then rent a car and drive to the jobsite and fix my companys equipment, been everywhere on the company dime. now I want my family to see the beautiful USA,
any tips or advice would be helpful, thanks in advance

Couple of things;

Slow down on the drive through Yellowstone - get out - see some of it.

Take a little time, Mt Rushmore, is Best at Dusk/Dark (JMHO) - Try to see Custer State Park/Needles/Sylvan Lake area.

Safe - Look to Wal*Mart - Locations

Enjoy the trip and let us Know how it was,

[kerrlakeRoo]

There are lots of ways to find your next campsite. BLM and USFS lands are available in beautiful settings which are all listed online. Allstays, RV parky and others list inexpensive or free locations, also if you wish, go to www.casinocamper.com many casino's allow free parking on their lots, some even have power and dump stations available. Just dont overly rush your trip, You dont have to lock down a schedule and then beat yourself up trying to stick to it, plan an area or two and leave 2-3 days open to be there and then move on when you feel like it.

[path1]

Not my way to see USA but many people do it like you're describing and seem to enjoy it.

With a little planning there are lots of campsites on your way, many low cost or free.

When you leave WA state pay close attention to what fuel pump you grab. Don't just grab the green handle and think you are good. Confirm by looking at what the pump actually pumps. In some places the green handle might not diesel or maybe gas station messed up?

Never had a problem getting fuel and I don't like to get down to 1/4 tank...I usually fill up at 1/2.

Bring along something to access internet. My ABS light kept flashing on and off when we were east of Rapid city. Dodge dealer wanted $250.00 to fix, but couldn't fix my problem that day. I got online and between 2 Cummins forums I fixed problem in about 20 min.

Safe travels.

[sgip2000]

I'll be on that route then too. There's plenty of fuel available along the interstate. As far as Yellowstone, you can just drive around or stop. It will likely be slow due to wildlife and tourists. Old Faithful and Yellowstone Lake are must sees.