Newbie needs advice for 1st RV trip in a week.

Take a good shakedown run before firing up a used camper you know nothing about and heading cross country. If there are immediate problems you'll find out before the trip then.
Talking couple hundred mi, up hill, run AC and all the features etc.

Heading out the first week in July to anyplace that is popular means finding a campground with out reservations is going to be very, very hit and miss - and National Park campsites book well in advance. Walmarts are good for one night only - and you must ask permission of the manager of the store to stay overnight. Also some Walmarts do not permit overnight parking due to local regulations. Check for signs as you enter the parking lot that may say no overnight parking. There are alternatives to Walmart - Cracker Barrel restaurants will allow you to overnight. Flying J/Pilot stations allow overnight parking (if you can get a space). Other truck stops allow overnight parking but you are in competition with the 18 wheelers. Many casinos allow overnight parking and usually have an RV lot set aside. Some Cabela's stores allow overnight parking. Always ask first. Any business that allows you to overnight in their lot expects that you are going to spend some money while there at that business. Be very careful where you stop, especially, if you just decide to pull over - and if something does not feel right - leave. There are websites that list free overnight parking for RVs.

As has been said, a first time trip should never be a long distance trip but if you are buying long distance and have to make the trip, it is a good idea to stay close to where you purchased and spend one or two nights in the RV. Get a feel for it and if you have any questions you can go back to the person you bought it from and get them answered.

Best suggestion - spend a lot of time with who you are buying if from and have him show you everything working = and how to get it to work. You want no surprises that this or that does not work - or you don't know how to get it to work. Don't let this be rushed and either video record the whole thing. Taking notes gets too confusing. Have them show you while your wife videos it.

Also if there is a manual for this RV you want it. If the owner does not have it look for it on the internet.

You need to stay in a campground IN Yellowstone. You can't just overnight anywhere within the park or you WILL get kicked out. Don't plan to arrive in Yellowstone at sundown and expect to get a site. If you're planning for the non-reservable ones you need to be there early morning when folks are packing up to leave. Stay nearby the previous night and head for the campground early. If you can't plan that then definitely have a reservation to tour Yellowstone. Options are in West Yellowstone, Gardiner or Cody. Of course, you can go further away but you'll have a long drive full of traffic to get into the park and then you'll have many, many slow miles driving in the park every day.

Wal Marts aren't along the Oregon coast. Again, you need to arrive early. There are a few casino parking lots to stay. Some casinos are now starting to put in a campground so you'll need to pay for those.

Putting on miles in a RV is not the same as in a car. You're not going to be making fast time.

Sky,

This is why you need Street Atlas with the overlays. There are lots of places that you can overnight if you are self-contained. Walmart is just one and I will not take the time here to list all of them. There will not be any in Yellowstone. Parks are tough that way. There are some just outside of Yellowstone, but if you get there and can overnight without hookups, there are four rustic campgrounds that have limited reservations and if you get to one and ask if they have one place open for one night, you might just win. Coach traveling is great, but it is not always easy and convenient unless you make it that way.

Matt

sky surfing wrote:
If we get to an area where we can't find a camp site but there isn't a Walmart what options do we have? Can you get away with pulling over into a different parking lot or off the side of a road? My concern is at some point getting caught in no mans land where we are driving around at sundown with no place to stay and getting rousted by cops and having to keep moving throughout the night. For instance, if we can't find a camp site in Yellowstone, do we have to drive out of the park at night and what if there isn't a walmart around? Same along the Oregon coast (though I suspect we'd find more walmarts even if we have to go inland). Thanks again for all the help!

Three quick tips for newbies:

1) Use plenty of water when flushing the toilet and make sure everyone knows that only human waste, water, and toilet paper go in there (no other form of trash). This tip is to avoid a poop pyramid.

2) Only open the dump valves while you are actively dumping. Black first, then gray. You need contents to build up in the tanks to help everything out.

3) Install an Oxygenics shower head.

Bonus tips:

A) Expect the black tank gauge to be inaccurate (always reads high).
B) If you have hook-ups and multiple people will be showering, use both electric and propane to heat your water.

sky surfing wrote:
If we get to an area where we can't find a camp site but there isn't a Walmart what options do we have? Can you get away with pulling over into a different parking lot or off the side of a road? My concern is at some point getting caught in no mans land where we are driving around at sundown with no place to stay and getting rousted by cops and having to keep moving throughout the night. For instance, if we can't find a camp site in Yellowstone, do we have to drive out of the park at night and what if there isn't a walmart around? Same along the Oregon coast (though I suspect we'd find more walmarts even if we have to go inland). Thanks again for all the help!

not sure if you understand how big Yellowstone is. you just don't
"drive out of the park at night" to find someplace because there isn't anything on the edges of the park. and it takes a lot of time to drive in the park.
only places near are West Yellowstone and Jackson Hole and neither have a Walmart.
your best bet there are the non-reservable campgrounds.

you won't find many Walmarts on the Oregon coast, most towns are too small for one.

i found only two on the whole coast.
'
and yes, if you're parked illegally, you could get rousted in the middle of the night.

you're traveling high season, with lots of people camping at the same time. that's why many of us on the West Coast make reservations, 4-6 months in advance.
Heck, California coastal state parks are booked up within minutes of the first day of availability, 6 months in advance.

sky surfing wrote:
If we get to an area where we can't find a camp site but there isn't a Walmart what options do we have? Can you get away with pulling over into a different parking lot or off the side of a road? My concern is at some point getting caught in no mans land where we are driving around at sundown with no place to stay and getting rousted by cops and having to keep moving throughout the night. For instance, if we can't find a camp site in Yellowstone, do we have to drive out of the park at night and what if there isn't a walmart around? Same along the Oregon coast (though I suspect we'd find more walmarts even if we have to go inland). Thanks again for all the help!

To avoid the scenarios you just described, MAKE RESERVATIONS!!!!. You can always change reservations but you can't change the options once you get in "no mans land" "driving around sundown with no place to stay" "pulling over on the side of the road". Most Wallmarts are changing their policies to prevent RVers staying overnight in their parking lot.
OR, as the old adage says "If you live by the sword, you will die by the sword". We are totally responsible for creating "cosmic poop piles" in our lives:):):

Also, since I'm not buying the RV in Florida and won't be returning home before heading out on our trip, what is the best way of handling title and registration? I know I will owe sales tax to FLorida and talking to the DMV I can send them paperwork and then can mail out a plate and registration but what's the best way of getting a temporary permit to move it to Colorado while I'm waiting for the plates? Florida can't give me one of those. Is that something I'd have to get from Missouri? The seller said he doesn't mind leaving the plates on it but I don't want to get pulled over and have a problem. Would a cop have a problem if I have it insured in my name but still have sellers plates and registration?

If we get to an area where we can't find a camp site but there isn't a Walmart what options do we have? Can you get away with pulling over into a different parking lot or off the side of a road? My concern is at some point getting caught in no mans land where we are driving around at sundown with no place to stay and getting rousted by cops and having to keep moving throughout the night. For instance, if we can't find a camp site in Yellowstone, do we have to drive out of the park at night and what if there isn't a walmart around? Same along the Oregon coast (though I suspect we'd find more walmarts even if we have to go inland). Thanks again for all the help!

Thanks for all of the great information! I'm sure our trip will evolve by the time we go from Colorado to Yellowstone but our plan is less than 400 miles in a day (not everyday) except for the grind back to Florida from California. We've done that trip many times in car so we will power through that section with fewer stops. We've done some insane car trips, one driving from the North of Chile to the South of Chile, through Argentina to Brazil and back. The trip back from Iguazu Falls Brazil to Northern Chile we drove 44 hours in a 48 hour time frame. We have no desire to do that on this trip.