Long route travel plans

[philh]

Thinking ahead to next year fall time...

I've always been about the destination, fastest route to get there. This is going to be a revolutionary change in my thinking.

How are long trips that become more about the travel, planned? My thinking is leaving south central MI, going through the UP, across the top of the US wandering into Montana, then heading towards AZ. Would like to spend some time in quartzite as well as visiting a friend in Havasu, then wandering down to TX and maybe even all the way over to FL.

Goal would be to return to MI in April/May.

[ken56]

The latest I would leave for seeing the northern central states is mid August. Then take 4-6 weeks to meander around up there because the weather can get real cold real fast. The end of September can be unpredictable. You're in Michigan so you know about driving in snow...but towing in snow? I used to live in Michigan also. I don't miss it. Mountain passes can be closed in advance of snow coming. You will find out that 6 weeks is not enough time to see everything too.

Download the RVPARKY app. We use it when on the road and the app gives you real time location and RV parks nearby or on the route. We look for a park far enough ahead to get off the road by 4pm. We start calling parks about 2pm when we find one we think will do. Never been without a place to park it. Plan on staying 2'to 3 nights at one park every few days...or when you get to an area you want to explore.

I also have gone online and ordered the tourism info for all the states we are going through. Yes, It's a lot of paper but I find it better to have planning material in front of me rather than just looking at it on the 'puter.

We did the 'big circle' trip a few years back and LOVED it and want to do another one. 9,400 miles in 10 weeks. We did not see all we wanted to. Gotta do it again now. Aw shucks.

[352]

chindog wrote:

352 wrote:
Our no time line started with pointing our compass NE from central Fl. We zig zagged across the US to Washington and then went on to Alaska. Took route 2 from Montana to Michigan then down the East coast. Took about 4 months. We never planned a thing and would never plan a trip.

If you pointed your compass NE from Florida and wound up in Washington state and Alaska, you should get a new compass. 🙂

DUH. North West

[chindog]

352 wrote:
Our no time line started with pointing our compass NE from central Fl. We zig zagged across the US to Washington and then went on to Alaska. Took route 2 from Montana to Michigan then down the East coast. Took about 4 months. We never planned a thing and would never plan a trip.

If you pointed your compass NE from Florida and wound up in Washington state and Alaska, you should get a new compass. 🙂

[352]

Our no time line started with pointing our compass NE from central Fl. We zig zagged across the US to Washington and then went on to Alaska. Took route 2 from Montana to Michigan then down the East coast. Took about 4 months. We never planned a thing and would never plan a trip.

[time2roll]

philh wrote:
Thinking ahead to next year fall time...

I've always been about the destination, fastest route to get there. This is going to be a revolutionary change in my thinking.

How are long trips that become more about the travel, planned? My thinking is leaving south central MI, going through the UP, across the top of the US wandering into Montana, then heading towards AZ. Would like to spend some time in quartzite as well as visiting a friend in Havasu, then wandering down to TX and maybe even all the way over to FL.

Goal would be to return to MI in April/May.

That is it. No more planning until you leave 😉

[Matt_Colie]

PhilH,

You sound like the type that avoids blue roads and major urban areas.
Unfortunately, you have missed the two best planners ever produced....
I am referring to to Strips and Treats and Street Alas. With either, you could lay out a route and adjust it as you learn. They would be telling you where to start looking for fuel and a place to crash for the night. They were also the best enroute navigators ever if you bought a GPS puck to plug in. Like having a big road map with a "You Are Here" arrow on it. But, I digress, they are both dead and there is no replacement as a stand alone. Don't even mention RV Trip planner. That is an expensive online service and if you don't have wire (internet access) 100% of the time it is useless and can't be a navigator at all. It can do as well as the others like Furkot, which is a free online app.

Your best solution (IMNSHO) is to get (or have a friend get) a USA map from AAA. I nice soft pencil and a big eraser. Figure out how long on the map scale is a 3~400 mile day's drive and start dreaming....

Read all the guide books you can and ask friends and relatives that have been there what they thought.

Most of all, keep dreaming.

Matt

[jdc1]

Drive no more than 5 hours. Got a hobby? Does the wife have any interests? We always stop at small rural knit and quilt shops, even if it's 50 miles of back tracking. We try to drive through smaller towns, to see what they have to offer. It's not a race. Driving 70+mph is exhausting, whether you know it or not.

[kknowlton]

I'm a planner, and I don't like having to "make do" in a case when no CGs would be available. In the fall, that's a special consideration on the route you're thinking of, since many CGs that far north will have closed by October, certainly by the end of October. Anyway, given those 2 points, I would be starting to plan - especially pinning down the general route - about now, a year or so ahead, and looking to making reservations in places like national & state parks, other popular tourist areas, and on weekends, between 6 and 8 months ahead (many state parks allow that much advance time for reservations, and usually fill up pretty much right away - especially these days, with RVing so popular.) That's just how I'd handle it. (Since you asked. 🙂 )

[BB_TX]

With a 6-8 month trip don’t even plan ahead in any more than general ideas. Think about certain areas of the country you think you want to be in certain months. Beyond that, just wake up in the morning and decide what you want to do that day, and maybe the next few days afterward. Don’t stress out a good trip trying to plan every day and place in advance.

[SDcampowneroper]

Wonderful! You just discovered rving, the trip is as great as the destination. Along the way find and learn about those who live there. A cornfield in Iowa might be your next destination.

[agwill]

Whoa my friend slow down as you said it will be different. There are things to see and do all over but timing is everything. How late are are you planning to start. What type of rig do you have? How warm do you want to be? When we first start many drive every day for many hours and never take time to smell the roses. Have that second cup in the morning before leaving. Stop by 4pm everyday and relax. No fun setting up in the dark. Most people average 50 mph while traveling. Getting there is half the fun.

[obgraham]

Weather will determine where you go and when.