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.

[SCVJeff]

I agree.. Day one is going to be brutal. Considering you have metropolis's on both ends you could hit serious traffic.
I think I would look at something like SJU to maybe Bakersfield or Victorville area.

Day 2 Quartzsite to Tucson (unless you have to hit PHX) only because it's an easy run into PHX or Tucson.

Not sure about day 3, but I can assure you that El Paso to Austin is going to be even more brutal. It's as far from Los Angeles to El Paso as it is from El Paso to San Antonio, and you're still 100 miles short of Austin at that point (and that traffic can suck the entire way between the two at times). Even though the speed limit is 80, it's a L O N G way. IMO I would find something maybe 1/2 way from El Paso to SAT, stay there and do a final banzai run up to Austin.

I've done this run in 3 days, but not with kids on board.

PS- I don't know anything about this, but the SIL who was stationed in El Paso for several years says to keep off the border when camping or even hotels. Always trust a local..

[sdianel_-acct_c]

The route seems OK, however the time frame seems way too aggressive. The first leg will be at least 7.5 hours with no stops. More like 8.5 or 9 hours with stops and traffic. We usually only drive about 4-5 hours per day and we don't have children with us. Indio to Tucson is 5.5 hours with no stops. El Paso to Austin will be a 10 or 12 hour trip with stops. We also don't like to get to the next stop after dark. Campground offices are closed and very difficult to park a rig in the dark. With children I'd also make reservations at the campgrounds. Also if the children are going to play, I would stop overnight at that place, not get back in the vehicle to go to another stop for the night. (except maybe White Sands to El Paso which is a short drive). Once you nail down the stops we can help with campgrounds. Have a safe trip!