Advice for a trip up the west coast

[prepilot_3ck]

Fellow Class A'ers,

My wife and I have an RV trip planned that will take us from Las Vegas, NV to Newport,Or and back in the course of about 7 1/2 days. We've looked at a variety of different routes. One that takes us up the east side of the Sierra Nevada's into Reno/Tahoe then into Eugene then over to new port. Another route that takes us west-ish to Bakersfield then up to Sac, then Eugene and over. Then there is the route I actually WANT to take. I'd LIKE to get to sea-level as fast as I can to minimize the climbing I'd have to do on the other routes. Newport is on the coast, and the Hwy 1/hwy 101 look amazing in terms of scenery.

I've researched a ton of RV parks, campgrounds and rest stops so I have a pretty good idea of where we can/should stay, but I just don't know how reasonable from a driving standpoint going up the coast is.

Does anyone have experience driving the 1/101 up the coast? Is it doable in a 40Ft gas class-A with a toad? What's the best way to cut over to the coast? Should I get north of the bay area first? or is the drive on the 1 through San Fran not too bad? Being 2 lane roads is the traffic really bad? So many questions.

Thanks!
Brian

[ppine]

You better like to drive. You have 4 days of driving out of 7 1/2. Taking the coast road will be even slower.

[oldave]

prepilot_3ck wrote:

ppine wrote:
2,400 miles in 8 days sounds like a nightmare
I am happy you liked it.

I was revisiting my old(er) posts and had to comment on this one. 🙂 Yeah, it was a lot. We only stayed more than one night in one place. It was really fun though. I don't mind driving, the scenery was amazing, weather was perfect, and we got REALLY good at setup/take down of our RV and toad. I would have loved to take more time, but we still work regular jobs so we needed to get back.

That pace is not for everyone for sure, but it was really fun for us and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

I was young a while back and we did all that crazy stuff .
Loved every minute of it , hard to imagine now at 79 but
we still rv in our Monaco diesel .
3 kids and a popup , getting home Sunday night and going
to work Monday morning .
Actually those were the best times of all
Our kids are grown now but still talk about those times
and now they are campers too with their kids.

Ray

[prepilot_3ck]

ppine wrote:
2,400 miles in 8 days sounds like a nightmare
I am happy you liked it.

I was revisiting my old(er) posts and had to comment on this one. 🙂 Yeah, it was a lot. We only stayed more than one night in one place. It was really fun though. I don't mind driving, the scenery was amazing, weather was perfect, and we got REALLY good at setup/take down of our RV and toad. I would have loved to take more time, but we still work regular jobs so we needed to get back.

That pace is not for everyone for sure, but it was really fun for us and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

[RFCN2]

I have driven these roads a lot in both cars and RVs up to our 42' current coach. The last time we came down 101-1 from up by Canon Beach it was a beautiful although slow drive. When we crossed into CA the roads on this route got slower / rougher still. It was fine till we got to about Santa Rosa and then the traffic was terrible all the way through San Francisco. We took the route that goes across the Richmond Bridge and south through Oakland. That was a rough road south through the east bay but traffic not bad. Then we went through San Jose and on route 17 to Santa Cruze. Route 17 last time we took it was below substandard and more like something your would expect in the poorest country in the World. Just above a Jeep track. We stayed in Moss Landing which has a pretty nice but very crowded KOA.

My recommendation is that you skip this part and go inland at Oakland. Go slower through Oregon and the north park of CA. There are a couple of nice RV parks in the redwoods along 101.

There is no possibility I would ever drive a large motorhome and tow through SF. Driving a car through that area is bad enough. I think most of the billionaires have a helicopter.

Vegas to 158 to Bakersfield should be fine in your rig. I also like very much going down 146 just north of Bakersfield towards Morro Bay. There is a nice campground near the water in Morrow Bay.

[Bill_Satellite]

This should be a new topic!

[2bzy2c]

You should start a new thread rather than hijacking this one. You will get a better response.

[Gazelle05]

Planning a trip from Wash St to the East coast then south to Florida return the Southen coast and up thru Ca to Washington. Driving 40' Pusher with toad. Any suggestions on best way to see the eastern states ( park the coach and explore in the toad)? Want to see Niagra Falls, Nova Scotia. Maine and states south. Concerns are size of coach with congestion don't want to add to the problem. Tunnels appear that may cause a problem with propane on board. Not apposed to parking the Motorhome and doing B&Bs for short stays. Any suggestions on how to make the most of the trip will be greatly appreciated. Plans are to leave Wa Labor Day weekend. Thanks in advance

[ppine]

2,400 miles in 8 days sounds like a nightmare
I am happy you liked it.

[maddog348]

Thanks for the recap.

[prepilot_3ck]

Again, I want to thank everyone for their advice. Everyone absolutely contributed to a successful trip. We did it in 8 days (played hookie one additional day) 2,352 miles in 8ish days. 1 truck stop, 5 campgrounds, 2 Harvest Hosts. 7 wineries, 3 museums, 1 tourist town, 1 National/State park, 1 aquarium, 1 wedding and countless scenic vistas/overlooks. Can't wait for another trip like this.

Thanks to everyone again, for great advice.

Brian

[prepilot_3ck]

DSDP Don wrote:
prepilot…..We do a similar trip every other year, except from Los Angeles. Not to burst your bubble, but you're wasting your time. The routes you're talking about will have you driving in the coach, more than camping. Driving a major highway in an RV, most can average 50-55mph. Driving the coast in either California or Oregon, you'll average about 35-45 mph and it will be exhausting.....lots of on and off the throttle and turns.

If you really want to do this trip, bonzai via the shortest route from Reno, via I-5 to northern Oregon and then come back south, crossing back to the I-5 at the California/Oregon border.

I'm not being fecitiuos, but with your schedule, you'll have just enough time to park in a campsite, eat dinner and prep for travel the next day. The trip you're talking about is at least a 14-21 day trip if you want to sight see and enjoy yourself.

Bubble not bursted. This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for so thank you. Yeah, we'd LOVE to spend more time doing this, but our schedule just won't allow it. We enjoy the ride in the RV and I enjoy driving the RV so I think for this trip we'll just have to make note of where we want to stop next time. 🙂 Thanks!

[prepilot_3ck]

T18skyguy wrote:

old guy wrote:
be sure you call and make reservations at the parks you want to stay at. this time
of year it is almost impossible to get in to them. don't wait do it now

x2 It may already be too late for the best parks. My own feelings is to do that round trip in 7.5 days is a very aggressive schedule. You'll save more time by staying on the I-5 even with the mountains. Some sections of the 101 have plenty of stop lights when you get near the towns. I live in Eugene/Springfield. Don't take the rig through Eugene. Go up the I-5 and take the 195 exit over the freeway west and just stay on it and it will intersect Hwy 126. Turn right and it takes you to Florence. Old Town Florence is nice with an RV parking lot on the east side of town. A real nice RV park in Florence is Harbor Vista just a mile or two north of town. There is also a casino(Three Rivers) in Florence that has an RV park with hookups, and you can also boondock at the Casino if you'd like. One tourist trap to skip is Sea Lion Caves. It stinks(literally) and if you pull over at the next north cutout you can see all the Sea lions you want for free. Don't come over to the coast from Corvalis. So many switchbacks my girls we're throwing up and I looked back and both cats we're throwing up also. Their trying to fix the road but it still sucks. When you get to Newport make sure you see Nye beach. Lots of nice little shops and eateries. A good seafood restaurant in Newport is the Sea Hag. Good luck. PS gas is about a buck more in California than Oregon. Gas up in Oregon if possible.

Great! Thank you. We're going up for a cousin's wedding and my wife and I are only in our early 40's so we're both still working. 7.5 days isn't our choice, but it's kinda what we got. So we're considering this to be kinda of like and Alaskan or Hawaiian cruise. We're just going to be able to see the high points then target specific things on future trips to that area. This is great information though, thank you!

[DSDP_Don]

prepilot…..We do a similar trip every other year, except from Los Angeles. Not to burst your bubble, but you're wasting your time. The routes you're talking about will have you driving in the coach, more than camping. Driving a major highway in an RV, most can average 50-55mph. Driving the coast in either California or Oregon, you'll average about 35-45 mph and it will be exhausting.....lots of on and off the throttle and turns.

If you really want to do this trip, bonzai via the shortest route from Reno, via I-5 to northern Oregon and then come back south, crossing back to the I-5 at the California/Oregon border.

I'm not being fecitiuos, but with your schedule, you'll have just enough time to park in a campsite, eat dinner and prep for travel the next day. The trip you're talking about is at least a 14-21 day trip if you want to sight see and enjoy yourself.

[T18skyguy]

old guy wrote:
be sure you call and make reservations at the parks you want to stay at. this time
of year it is almost impossible to get in to them. don't wait do it now

x2 It may already be too late for the best parks. My own feelings is to do that round trip in 7.5 days is a very aggressive schedule. You'll save more time by staying on the I-5 even with the mountains. Some sections of the 101 have plenty of stop lights when you get near the towns. I live in Eugene/Springfield. Don't take the rig through Eugene. Go up the I-5 and take the 195 exit over the freeway west and just stay on it and it will intersect Hwy 126. Turn right and it takes you to Florence. Old Town Florence is nice with an RV parking lot on the east side of town. A real nice RV park in Florence is Harbor Vista just a mile or two north of town. There is also a casino(Three Rivers) in Florence that has an RV park with hookups, and you can also boondock at the Casino if you'd like. One tourist trap to skip is Sea Lion Caves. It stinks(literally) and if you pull over at the next north cutout you can see all the Sea lions you want for free. Don't come over to the coast from Corvalis. So many switchbacks my girls we're throwing up and I looked back and both cats we're throwing up also. Their trying to fix the road but it still sucks. When you get to Newport make sure you see Nye beach. Lots of nice little shops and eateries. A good seafood restaurant in Newport is the Sea Hag. Good luck. PS gas is about a buck more in California than Oregon. Gas up in Oregon if possible.