Brits in an RV - Denver to San Francisco

[Fac051]

First of all a big hello from across 'the pond' 🙂
Myself and friends are planning to drive -on the other side of the road ;)- a Class C RV in Sept 2015 from Denver to SF.
The route we are taking will probably go via: Moab, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Vegas, Mammoth Mountain,Yosemite, Mono Lake and then on to San Francisco.
The reason I am posting is that I am hoping people on here will maybe share their recommendations of :
Places to visit (well known and not so well known).
RV parks along the way (value for money, other friendly rv'ers, friendly park owners, hidden gems etc).
Must see and do places along the way and lastly
Any other helpful RV advice and tips that total novices may need
Please feel free to comment on anything that takes your fancy.
Many thanks in advance
Rob

[ksg5000]

I would also cross Mono lake off the list.

[Golden_HVAC]

Even Bass Lake is better than Mono Lake. And it is close to Yosemite. Corsegold has some full hookup campgrounds, while Yosemite can be difficut to get reservations for a overnight stay within the NP, yet Sequoia NP had some first come first served no reservation campgrounds the last time I was there. To get a good spot there, arrive around noon, and pick a campsite. It normally is not full except friday afternoon to Sunday around noon.

Fred.

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,

While you are used to a manual transmission, all of the motorhomes are automatics here in the states. You normally would downshift the car while going down a steep mountain grade, yet will tend to forget about it in the motorhome. Make sure that you know how to and lock out overdrive when going down the hills, instead of riding the brakes.

When crossing Death Valley, I suggest doing that at night, when the temperatures are only around 100F. Daytime high today is going to be 120+. Yes you can run the generator and rooftop A/C, this is what I do when in the mountains, to give the dash A/C a break while climbing the hills. Yet you might have a generator hour time charge, if you exceed say 10 hours on your rental time.

Your plan looks great. But you might want to ask about going from Las Vegas to Mono Lake. And I question Mono Lake, it is a big 1/2 dry lake - why there? Mammoth Mountain is much prettier. June lake - very scenic. But mono lake?

Personally, knowing how hot Death Valley is, I would go from Las Vegas to Barsto, then west to Bakersfield, then north to Fresno. Fill up with gas there, because in the mountains they need to truck in fuel, and it can get expensive. Take highway 41 to the Yosemite entrance. Turn to the right, go 2 miles to the Grizzley Giant, a tree that is 27' across at the base. Then go to the valley. Perhaps catch Glacier Point.

I would rather spend a day in Sequoia NP than Mono Lake.

Fred.