RV caravans

[Mr_Mark1]

I would like to get some feedback if any of you have ever joined a RV Caravan. We were thinking of joining one next summer (2016) to the Eastern Provinces of Canada.

The trip that caught our attention is 58 days and they have 3 summer departures dates to pick from.

Over the years, we have done our own thing including driving around Lake Superior in 2008. I just thought it might be interesting to join a caravan as they have everything laid-out with free days included.

They also have a 'tail-gunner' with minor repair parts in case there is an issue.

Thanks,
MM.

[cvbdsl]

Mr Mark;
Just came back from the Maritimes on Friday so everything is still pretty fresh. Drove through Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. A bit off topic since I wasn't in a caravan.

First the roads - I was on the four lane divided highway all the way (from Ottawa Ontario area), traffic was not an issue except around Montreal (used route 30 by pass). There is one 2 lane section for about 40 KM south of River de Loup but with lots of passing lanes. Speed limit is 100 kph on the four lane and 90 kph on the two lane.
Quebec highways are mainly good but there are some rough spots. Note that all their highway signs, construction signs and other notices are in French only - sometimes you can guess but other times you will have no idea what they mean. I don't speak French and normally go through the US when heading east.

New Brunswick highways (4 lane divided) are OK but terrible around Moncton and some other areas! They seem to have neglected the roads for the last several years. Make sure everything in your cabinets are secured! Speed limit is 110kph. New Brunswick is the only officially bi-lingual province in Canada and all road signs are in French and English so you won't have any problems.

Nova Scotia highways (4 lane divided) are excellent, speed limit 110kph.

Ontario highways are average but very very busy with truck traffic between Montreal and Toronto. Speed limit is 100kph. Note that commercial trucks in both Quebec and Ontario must be governed at 105 kph but they will still try and pass you if you are doing slightly above the speed limit.

Only Quebec has rest stops along the highway where you can pull of and take a break (they have washrooms)- lots of room for a MH. There is usually a canteen truck at the stops but they very pricey.In the other provinces there are lots of truck stops where you can take a break. Also the tourist information centers for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are worth stopping at with lots of room for RVs.

Getting fuel in the Maritimes is a bit challenging as you can't use the truck stops as they are taxed differently. But you can always park where the trucks park and walk over and look at the regular fuel pumps to see if you can get in and out. I'm sure the wagon masters have all this figured out.

Diesel cost me between 99.9 cents and 101.9 cents per litre (roughly $2.80 USD per gallon)and prices were dropping. Most maritime provinces regulate the (minimum) price of fuel and it only changes weekly (or less often - not sure).

Each campground that I stayed at did offer 50 amp service, though not all sites had it. Some campgrounds had tight turns for a 41' 9" MH towing a car but we managed.

We stayed at Scotia Pines campground just south of Truro NS for 7 nights. Friendly staff and very clean campground (Good Sam member).
Truro puts you in the center of NS, an hour from Halifax, 90 minutes from Peggy's Cove and 1 hour from the Anne Murray museum (DW is a fan) and the mine tour in Springhill. Probably put around 2000 km on the toad exploring the local area.

Campsite fees (water, electric and sewer) for 3 adults ranged from $38 to $46 per night CAD - roughly $27 to $33 USD depending on the exchange rate. The most expensive place for both fuel and camping was Quebec - we just drove straight through on the way back, only using the rest stops.

There is one toll on the four lane in Nova Scotia at $5.25 for RVs, includes MH towing, fifth wheels and TT. Quebec has a toll on Route 30 that cost me $7.40.

I drove (in my car) to Newfoundland in May (1st granchild)and the roads there were average with lots of passing lanes. I lived in Newfoundland off and on for 14 years while in the army (my wife is from there) and loved it. Many beautiful unspoiled places to see and lots of history. The only problem is the cost of the ferry for the MH. As a veteran I don't have to pay the passenger fee for myself and up to 3 others, but it still adds up.

HTH helps, go with a caravan the first time and I'm pretty sure you'll come back on your own to explore later.

Chris

[Mr_Mark1]

Just had dinner the other night with a couple of friends and found out that they had taken a Canadian Eastern Province caravan tour in their motorhome 4 or 5 yrs. ago (their RV is now sold).

They spoke very highly of the trip and found the longer version to be well worth it (30 vs. 58 day option). Another thing that they mentioned was that they could leave a location whenever they wanted. Just as long as the showed up at the next stop for the night to meet the group . They found it very leisurely and that an organized caravan pointed out things that they might have missed.

Anyway, it was good to hear about another real world experience.

MM.

[AFChap]

AprilWhine wrote:
We did the Alaska caravan run by SMART in 2013. Never again! Poorly run, disorganized and led by a lazy wagon master and an incompetent tail gunner. Just to add to the entertainment :R about two weeks into the trip the wagon master and tail gunner started a feud with each other and spent the rest of the trip not speaking. Most of the participants were medically fragile and the staff refused to give them the support they needed.

I was the "incompetent tailgunner" on this caravan. We never left a rig behind, even though I was sometimes many hours late getting to the next location due to helping rigs with problems. I recall no feud w/the Wagonmaster and we certainly did not stop speaking to one another or anyone else. There was support (wheel chair, etc) given as needed requested. Some folks do well on a caravan & some don't. People who do not play well with others and want to do their own thing every day most likely will not enjoy a caravan.

[xctraveler]

I was using last price I saw/heard from Niagara Region, probably out of date. Like your price better 🙂

[John___Angela]

xctraveler wrote:

Mr.Mark wrote:
xctraveler, I assume that you toured the Maratimes in your Phaeton? If so, how were the roads and trees at the time that you went. Did you feel like you were dodging tree limbs?

Whether we do the trip with a tour or on our own, I want to make sure that we can maneuver easily.

Thank you,
MM.

Actually, it was several years ago and we were travelling in '04 36' Southwind pulling a RAV4 4 down. We had no trouble with any of the roads or trees - I wouldn't take a coach down the road to Meat Cove without first going in the toad to be sure you are comfortable and there is a place to turn around - that is best visited in your toad anyhow. We have actually driven around the entire Cabot Trail twice. It is slow going and there are plenty of hills. The rest of Nova Scotia is even easier, much like main roads in the Northeast of the US.

It would be easier in the Phaeton, more power and better turning radius. I have no memory of trees being an issue in most places. We used campgrounds in Cheticamp and outside Baddeck for the Cabot Trail part and the I could give you a list of CGs we used, but no reviews since too much time has past for the rest.

PEI is relatively level and open, plenty of campgrounds and we never had a problem pulling in and getting a space (that was in a 33' Damon Daybreak - hideous coach). New Brunswick was in both the Daybreak and the Southwind, again no problem getting a space with a phone call at 2 PM or just driving in. We visited Gaspe' in the Daybreak - 2002 - and just winged it with no problems getting space on demand.

With the $ being so strong v $C I might call ahead in the morning 🙂 as there should be plenty of Americans there. The only cost issue is gasoline at $C1.50 per liter. ($C6/gal or about $5/gal)

Either on your own or with a tour it should be wonderful!

Might be a finger fault on the calculator for the gas calculation. Gas in PEI right now is about 1 buck per litre or about 3.80 per American Gallon which is about 2.87 in American currency.

[xctraveler]

Mr.Mark wrote:
xctraveler, I assume that you toured the Maratimes in your Phaeton? If so, how were the roads and trees at the time that you went. Did you feel like you were dodging tree limbs?

Whether we do the trip with a tour or on our own, I want to make sure that we can maneuver easily.

Thank you,
MM.

Actually, it was several years ago and we were travelling in '04 36' Southwind pulling a RAV4 4 down. We had no trouble with any of the roads or trees - I wouldn't take a coach down the road to Meat Cove without first going in the toad to be sure you are comfortable and there is a place to turn around - that is best visited in your toad anyhow. We have actually driven around the entire Cabot Trail twice. It is slow going and there are plenty of hills. The rest of Nova Scotia is even easier, much like main roads in the Northeast of the US.

It would be easier in the Phaeton, more power and better turning radius. I have no memory of trees being an issue in most places. We used campgrounds in Cheticamp and outside Baddeck for the Cabot Trail part and the I could give you a list of CGs we used, but no reviews since too much time has past for the rest.

PEI is relatively level and open, plenty of campgrounds and we never had a problem pulling in and getting a space (that was in a 33' Damon Daybreak - hideous coach). New Brunswick was in both the Daybreak and the Southwind, again no problem getting a space with a phone call at 2 PM or just driving in. We visited Gaspe' in the Daybreak - 2002 - and just winged it with no problems getting space on demand.

With the $ being so strong v $C I might call ahead in the morning 🙂 as there should be plenty of Americans there. The only cost issue is gasoline at $C1.50 per liter. ($C6/gal or about $5/gal)

Either on your own or with a tour it should be wonderful!

[Mr_Mark1]

xctraveler, I assume that you toured the Maratimes in your Phaeton? If so, how were the roads and trees at the time that you went. Did you feel like you were dodging tree limbs?

Whether we do the trip with a tour or on our own, I want to make sure that we can maneuver easily.

Thank you,
MM.

[xctraveler]

We have driven all over the Maratimes on our own. Have not yet gone to Newfoundland - it requires advance planning to get on the ferries 😞 something we are not often good at. The currency is a non issue just assume $1 = $C1 and you will be happy with the discount.

If you travel the US on your own it is no different in CA. Quebec can be interesting as it is French speaking and adamant about it. Have a phone plan with Canadian service for the duration of your trip and depend on cg wifi, just like here.

Nova Scotia has a great tour guide book for free from the Provence as does PEI. Not so sure about New Brunswick, but it is easy to get the information. As for NF there are plenty of online resources detailing tour routes and things to see. Never have had a problem making friends in campgrounds or at the table next to us in a restaurant so socializing is not an issue for us.

Having said that I have talked myself out of a caravan there and will think about booking the ferry for 2017 - if DW agrees.

[Mr_Mark1]

Yes, bsinmich, we could certainly do that!! (stopping in Quebec to see where the new baby was born).

nbargolf, I see value in the trip as they make ALL the plans, all the phone calls, fees for museums, organizing the ferries, gratuities, etc. Trying to deal with a foreign currency will be minimal since we'll pay by CC for the trip and keep a little Canadian money for incidentals (if we decide to go).

I see that some of the RV parks only have 30 amp. We can get by on 30 amp but since we have 4 inverters, we are power hungry. The setting for 30 amp connection does turn off or lowers the power on the inverters. I will talk to the coach builder to see what we can do or not do. We also have a 20kw Kohler genny if need be.

The more I read about the trip, the more I like it. We have done so much on our own time and scheduling that doing something a little different might not be a bad thing.

MM.

[bsinmich]

You could stop in Quebec and see where your chassis was made.

[nbargolf]

IMHO of course, cost way too much for the value added. We like to plan and route our own way with no schedule.

[Hikerdogs]

2gypsies wrote:
I disagree on seeing more on a caravan.

We drove to Alaska on our own to spend the summer. In talking with folks who were on a caravan, they definitely did not go into the 'nook and crannies' of the trip that we did. They went to the big highlights, as we did, also. All you have to do is read a guidebook and you'll know the highlights of where tours will take you.

You wouldn't see a group of caravan folks touring the as we did by ourselves and getting a ride on the 'summer' sled with wheels through the forest. We were the only ones there after driving our toad 20 miles on a gravel road to get to his house. How'd we find it? While talking to someone who lived in the area he offered to call the guy to see if we could come for a tour of his setup.Iditarod racer's kennels

There were plenty of other instances of small places we went that tours did not. We met folks continuously along the whole trip time after time and made friends with them. We had plenty of socializing without the group-catered dinners. We ate where the locals ate.

Quite a few full-timing friends of ours drove themselves to the Maritimes. They told many stories of being welcomed to dinner or 'secret' spots by local home owners. They were even offered a place to park their RVs - free.

We've been to Alaska on our own and with a caravan. While on the caravan among the many sights to see and the things to do we spent an entire day at a couple of the Iditarod racer's kennels. We rode the "summer sleds" and got up close and personal with the owners, handlers, and the dogs.

The quality of the trip is totally dependent on the company you choose, and the ambition of the host and tail ender. If the leaders are personable and familiar with the area you will likely have a great time. The caravans always have "free days" when you can do anything you want. In most cases you can sign out of the caravan for a day or more if you wish to be on your own. We've done it on a number of occasions when the caravans were passing through areas we were already familiar with.

[the_silverback]

I have been on 7. Enjoyed them greatly. Got to see a lot of things we would have missed if we by our self. We would not have known about them. Be aware that some caravans require a CB radio.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

gbopp wrote:
We never did a caravan. We do know some people who joined a caravan to Alaska. They said it was a lot of constant driving and a fairly strict schedule.
After hearing about their trip, I knew it would not be for us. We like to stop at interesting places along the way.

But, some like the security of traveling with others and having a set schedule. I guess that would be okay for going from point A to point B, however you would miss a lot in between.
JMO

The heavy driving isn't for the faint of heart going to Alaska. You've got to measure the caravans by their itineraries as presented.

Just as three days in each spot with light driving days may not suit many RVers.