traveling from Ohio to Montana

If you let us know which Route you are taking,it would be easier to recommend campgrounds and sites.

momodolls wrote:
we have a 26ft. travel trailer. We've really only stayed in campsights with electric hookup and that is our plan for our trip out west...not sure if that will be possible all the time.We probably won't need the air conditioner in Sept. but We'd definitely need electric to run the water pump and maybe the small electric heater that we use instead of our furnace

We did a similar trip a couple of years ago. Left Labor day weekend heading to Yellowstone. There we plenty of campgrounds along the way. The first night we stayed in a large McDonalds parking lot in Iowa. It was cool enough the A/C was not needed. We just ran the fantastic fan. The second night was in a campground in Wall SD. Didn't need a reservation there and it was full hookups. The third and fourth night were in Cody, WY. We did have reservations there although they did still have empty sites.
I think you'll be okay just finding campsites along the way. We do have a large group 31 AGM battery and a small solar panel so after Cody we weren't plugged in for six days. It was in the 70's during the day and 30's at night. So we did set the furnace on 50 at night and it did run a few times.

Go to `_______ tourism' and put the state, city, or area in the blank space and read what the specialists recommend for their area.

we have a 26ft. travel trailer. We've really only stayed in campsights with electric hookup and that is our plan for our trip out west...not sure if that will be possible all the time.We probably won't need the air conditioner in Sept. but We'd definitely need electric to run the water pump and maybe the small electric heater that we use instead of our furnace

If you only stay in campgrounds with electric hookups, you do not need a generator.

If you stay in campgrounds without electric hookups and need to run the furnace, the house battery(s) will only last one, maybe two nights without being recharged.

Even without using the furnace for heat, the refrigerator control circuit, water pump, lights, etc. all run on 12 volts and will eventually run down the house batteries without recharging.

Over time, the tow vehicle alternator will recharge the house batteries while you are traveling.

No air conditioning without either electric hookups or a generator.

What kind of RV do you have? What sort of electrical requirements? Any solar power? How well can it function self-contained? Do you require air conditioning?

The answer could range from "you really need a generator" to "it seems like it would be unneeded dead weight" or somewhere in between, depending on the specifics of your RV and needs.

so appreciate all the info! any suggestions on if we would need a generator?

We too are headed to Montana,but leaving in mid Aug. We pack for about 10 days and do laundry when we get to Great Falls at our Dau. house usually 5 to 7 days of travel for the almost 2K miles. We usually do not do much in the way of site seeing on our way as we lived in Rapid City for 9 years and traveled back and forth the southeastern Indiana in that time. We have used about every major road headed west from our place in the last 30 years since moving back that we just pick one at the last minute and go. If you are interested in USAF aviation there is the South Dakota Air and Space Museum at Ellsworth AFB just east of Rapid City off of I-90 and open to the public as it is of the base proper. The Good Sam trip planner will give you lots of sites to see, based on you interest, along the way. Our tenative schedule has us back in the Black Hills by mid Sept. then on south to N.M. before heading home the first week of Oct. Hope you enjoy your trip.

Momodolls,

The first problem is that you don't specify if your RV can function self-contained. Let's hope it can at least for one night at a time.

As a man that wore a name tag that had "Navigator" under my name, I am a planner. In that life I never had to plan more than a few days and there were seldom any options. RVing is different. One never knows what he may stumble across. There is a myriad of amazing things to see in this great country. I have found that under the best of circumstances, RV travel plans are good three days at best. So, if you need a crampground for hooksup, take advantage of modern technology and make reservations by phone while you are underway.

With the death of stand-alone planners, you are limited in what you can schedule, but it can still be done. If you travel much off the blue roads, count on being out of at least 4G data and maybe even cell access for days at a time. I have taken up printing a large scale copy of the provider's coverage map so I know which way to go to get wire.

Matt

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