First Road Trip San Jose, CA to Austin, TX

[Radskd]

This is our first big road trip in our RV. My daughter has autism and we're taking her to a specialist in Austin, Texas. This is the route that I've come up with. I'd love some input if this is a good route.

Day One: San Jose, Ca to Indio, CA.
Day Two: Indio, Ca to Phoenix, Arizona and go to McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park for the kids to play and drive to Tucson, AZ for the night.
Day Three: Tucson, AZ to White Sands, New Mexico to play and drive to El Paso, TX for the night.
Day Four: El Paso, TX to Austin, TX

Thanks for any suggestions or tips. This process is pretty overwhelming.

[VegasBT]

I agree that El Paso to San Antonio is too much for one day. Stop in Deming, NM for the night, and then stop again at Balmorhea State Park Clicky for the night. Balmorhea to Austin is still a long day @394 miles, but much more reasonable than trying to do El Paso-San Antonio in one day. Just make sure you drive the I-10-290 stretch during daylight. That part of the Texas hill country swarms with some of the dumbest deer in the world at dusk...

[MarshaNichols]

I have driven part of that route a few times.

San Jose to Bakersfield...either the Bakersfield RV Resort or Orange Grove. I usually then go either Techahapi (sp?) or Grapevine to the KOA at Banning. From there it's an easy, but long, trip to Tucson...use the bypass at Gila Bend around Phoenix unless you have to go there. In Tucson I have stayed at the KOA/Lazydays. From there I go straight to New Mexico. Do NOT stay at the KOA in Ambilene...it's awful. I realize I have misspelled some locations here, but you get the general idea, I hope!

[SCVJeff]

And if you believe that....

[Roy_Lynne]

Lord, I wouldn't worry about the Border. I drove along it last year, by myself, a little old lady, and stopped all along the way to bird and there were more border patrol cars than regular cars.
LOL there is more crime in San Jose than in EL Paso.

[mileshuff]

East of Tucson just south of Benson, 8 miles south of I-10 is Kartchner Caverns. There is an RV park there thats nice. A tour of the caverns is awesome and there is a visitors center that has a few exhibits.

[mileshuff]

If you do not have to go to Phoenix it is easy to completely bypass by taking highway 85 from I-10 south to I-8 at Gila Bend then east back to 10. Very good road mostly 4 lane divided.

The McCormick railroad park is fun for kids although rather small and not something to go out of your way for. There is a small mini train to ride around the park and a couple old restored train cars to see. In Chandler (southeast metro Phoenix) is the Arizona Railway Museum. I have not been there but driven by. Quite a few old trains to see.

[CA_Traveler]

OK you have a plan. Sure hope that this trip is successful and helps DD.

[kalynzoo]

If you are really stressed for time the trip works. However, we just returned from San Jose to Los Angeles, a long boring 5+ hour drive. At least 2 more hours to Indio. Personally, I'd try San Jose to the Magic Mountain area of Valencia. Travel Village RV park or Castaic RV park. Then another long day to Blythe, there is a very nice Blythe KOA on the river. Then Tucson. I haven't been there for years. Next stop would be Deming NM. Stop at Tombstone. Haven't made it to Austin yet, but hope to get there this summer, or next. We did spend a couple of nights in Juarez in a nice park, but we were very uncomfortable with the neighborhood even though we were in a caravan. I'd plan on just driving through quickly...JMHO.
Have a great and successful trip.

[Radskd]

We will leave early. We drive down to Disneyland a few times a year, so we know how bad that rush hour traffic can be. Our RV is brand new (Thor Axis 2014). We're traveling next month, so I don't believe heat will be an issue. I will make sure to relay those questions to my husband 🙂 Thanks for the tips.

[CA_Traveler]

Overheating on grades: Slow down, gear down, AC off, lights etc off unless night, heater on full heat. If necessary stop and use fast idle.

[CA_Traveler]

Leave early, 152, 5, 210, 10. Midday LA only, never rush hour and 55 MPH in CA. You can roll at 75 MPH in AZ. Is your rig, tires, etc ready for that speed? Avoid Phoenix and Tucson rush hours.

If you're traveling when warm/hot hows the engine cooling and A/C? If overheating occurs on grade do you know what to do?

[Radskd]

Thanks so much for the replies. It has helped me a lot. I agree that El Paso may be too close to the border for my husband's liking. And thanks for the Balmorhea State Park suggestion. That looks perfect for my family. My daughter LOVES the water and looks like a great stopping point for us. Going to do another trip planner with everyone's suggestions. Thanks again!

[patperry2766]

Austin

Balmorhea State Park

[patperry2766]

The farthest I drove this summer was a bit over 700 miles to Colorado Springs. We left about 5:30 Am and got in about 8ish. Made for a long day, but with the DVD player and the I-Pads, the kids (3 boys) didn't gripe at all.

Our youngest son (4 1/2) is a road warrior, and has always been able to handle 10+ hour drives. The only time he got cranky was when we were coming back from Charleston and we were on the 2nd day of the drive. The last 100 miles, he was a little testy.

I might suggest altering your day 3 schedule to stop at Balmorhea State Park in Texas. They have a 2 acre spring fed swimming pool.