open for suggestions

[JEKU]

hi forum
We are a family of 5 (2 adults 3 kids (3,5,9)) that are planning a 2.5 month trip from Houston up and down the west coast with final stop in Los Angeles.
Dates jan. 2 nd through March 15th. 2014. Trip distance about 5000 miles.
We are experienced campers but only from Europe.
We want to do the trip in an Class C motorhome.
We are looking for input on the following:
1) Since it is a long trip, should be buy or rent. If we buy our budget would then be 45.000 to 50.000
2) If we rent i have read that you can rent for arround $400/month but cant seem to finde those offers anywere.
3) Should we rent private or through recommended dealer?
4) how far up the west coast can you travle at that time of year before it gets too cold and rainy?

[JEKU]

alliemac9 wrote:

Maybe I'm too cautious, but an RV in Denver and the mountains west of Denver in January is something I'd only do if I had a flexible schedule. The mountains will have snow, period. Whether a storm causes difficult driving on your travel days would be impossible to predict until you were here - it is something that you'd have to be able to work around and reschedule drive days. Same for down in Denver, but less likely to have winter driving conditions down here in January. Then you have to take into account winterizing or partial-winterizing so nothing freezes. I've been caught driving in crazy winter weather in October and late-May in the mountains around here and it is simply not fun in an RV. If you were going to do it, though, I-25 south to NM would be my recommendation for getting in/out of Denver since it's not "in" the mountains and usually has milder weather.

Thanks. Very good input. We have a very flexible schedule and dont need to be in San Francisco before 2/24. So some 40-45 days to get there 🙂
But it is also as i thought and would then also roll out of Denver on I-25. Im a very experienced winter driver but not with an RV so thats why im also very cautious. We still want to get there in one piece.

[Jim_Shoe]

Weatherbase. This site is free and will show you weather highs, lows, and averages for temps, rain, snow, etc. by month for several years, for many cities within each state. Weather is affected less by latitude and more by altitude. Example:
Flagstaff, AZ 7,000 altitude, 35 degrees north latitude, avg. 32 degrees in December.
Los Angeles, CA 450 altitude, 34 degrees north latitude, avg. 60 degrees in December.

[alliemac9]

JEKU wrote:
We appriciate all the input and are still planning to head it of. So you drowe San diego to Colorado? Denver? We maybe want to start out in Denver after a couple of days skiing (if we can get the RV out of there.. :)) and drive Las Vegas, San Diego and up to San Francisco and drop it of there beginning of march.
But what route to take out of Denver? I-80, I70 or I-25. I have read that both I-70 and 80 can be very triggy at that time of year.

Maybe I'm too cautious, but an RV in Denver and the mountains west of Denver in January is something I'd only do if I had a flexible schedule. The mountains will have snow, period. Whether a storm causes difficult driving on your travel days would be impossible to predict until you were here - it is something that you'd have to be able to work around and reschedule drive days. Same for down in Denver, but less likely to have winter driving conditions down here in January. Then you have to take into account winterizing or partial-winterizing so nothing freezes. I've been caught driving in crazy winter weather in October and late-May in the mountains around here and it is simply not fun in an RV. If you were going to do it, though, I-25 south to NM would be my recommendation for getting in/out of Denver since it's not "in" the mountains and usually has milder weather.

[campigloo]

If you decide to buy, when it comes time to sell, think about using a consignment service. I did this at a local dealer. I signed all the paperwork when I dropped it off and @ 6 weeks later I had a check in the mail. It was totally painless and cost me 5%.

[JEKU]

crabbin cabin wrote:
Well - a few(??) years ago when I retired from my job in Colorado we took off on Jan.1 for the pacific Coast. 28 ft fiver. Snow in the mountains until we hit the OR. Coast just west of Tillamook. Then down 101 all the way to San Diego before heading back to Colorado on Feb.1

Rain, wind and stormy ocean and we absolutely loved it. To us - the winter storms on the Pacific Coast are just magnificent! Cool also - temp. probably never exceeded 50 degrees until we hit southern California. That trip is still one of our best memories!! But be prepared for wet and cool!

We appriciate all the input and are still planning to head it of. So you drowe San diego to Colorado? Denver? We maybe want to start out in Denver after a couple of days skiing (if we can get the RV out of there.. :)) and drive Las Vegas, San Diego and up to San Francisco and drop it of there beginning of march.
But what route to take out of Denver? I-80, I70 or I-25. I have read that both I-70 and 80 can be very triggy at that time of year.

[bikendan]

JEKU wrote:
I'm a bit disappointed about the weather. I thought it was always sunny in California. 🙂

as long as you stay in the L.A. area and south to San Diego, you should have sun.
but the coast north of there, won't have as much sun.

there's no worries about traveling the Calif. coast in the winter.
there's no place that gets snow or has any elevation.
just rain to deal with and that would be mainly north of San Francisco.
that's why the Redwoods are there, lots of rain in the winter.

[crabbin_cabin]

Well - a few(??) years ago when I retired from my job in Colorado we took off on Jan.1 for the pacific Coast. 28 ft fiver. Snow in the mountains until we hit the OR. Coast just west of Tillamook. Then down 101 all the way to San Diego before heading back to Colorado on Feb.1

Rain, wind and stormy ocean and we absolutely loved it. To us - the winter storms on the Pacific Coast are just magnificent! Cool also - temp. probably never exceeded 50 degrees until we hit southern California. That trip is still one of our best memories!! But be prepared for wet and cool!

[IAMICHABOD]

JEKU wrote:
Would it be a better idea to take the Grand Canyon and petrified forest here in August and then fly into LA in january and rent and return from there?
To avoid the high elevation an snow?
Or do I have a complete wrong picture of the coast line?

Yes that would be a better plan. Having lived all my life here, I can tell you that the time frame you suggest it will be cool and maybe a little wet in the southern half of the state but very do able as long as you are south of San Francisco, north from there it is all called the wet coast...

The southern half from the Mexican border to about the Central coast is a more temperate zone for that time of year. San Diego and the inland areas are always a bit warmer. I do this all the time.

As suggested a rental from El Monte RV would be a good choice they have some very nice deals in the winter. You can also purchase a RV there too, their prices and service are top notch.

[eabc5454]

I think a rental is your best option if you really want to use an RV, but looking online, you are probably going to spend at about $80/day plus mileage and gas. All told, you're the $3000+ neighborhood for a month on the road. Add in campground fees and I think you'd be better off traveling via passenger car/van and staying in hotels.

If you decide to go by RV anyway, you can get a 10% discount on Cruise America if you have a KOA card. The card is inexpensive, and you save 10% at KOA parks as well.

I've been to all those places, and they are definitely worth seeing, but rough time of year to go. It can't be helped, so have fun!

Elizabeth

[JEKU]

Would it be a better idea to take the Grand Canyon and petrified forest here in August and then fly into LA in january and rent and return from there?
To avoid the high elevation an snow?
Or do I have a complete wrong picture of the coast line?

[JEKU]

Reg. drivers license and purchase.
We have permanent address in Houston and I have Texas drivers licenses
But we are not going to buy. I think even that is expensive to rent, just having to deal with the selling of it afterwards is worth the money.

I'm a bit disappointed about the weather. I thought it was always sunny in California. 🙂

[wbwood]

Can you even purchase and register a vehicle in the united states without a permanent address? What about insurance on it as well? Will an insurance company insure it without an address as well?

Are you planning to buy something before you get here or just come over and buy something the first day without too much looking? What about when you go to sell it? It could take a month or longer to sell it unless you are willing to lose a good bit of money. While it may end up costing a good bit to rent one, I would rather do it that way and not have the stress or headache of having to buy/sell something, paying for possible repairs, and other associated costs. Another thing to think about is being able to drive.

According to USA.gov...

Short-Term Visitors

If you plan to drive when you visit the United States, check the driving rules in the state(s) you'll be visiting to verify that you can use your non-U.S. driver's license. You should get an International Driving Permit (IDP), which translates the information contained on your official driver's license into 10 languages.

The United States does not issue International Driving Permits to foreign visitors, so you will need to obtain this document in your home country before you travel to the United States.

[2gypsies1]

JEKU wrote:
We don't mind tempatures around 70'. Just that it is not frezziinnnggg cold al the time 🙂
As a bonus we be ending the trip in Hawaii end of march out of LA.
We plan to drive to these points:
grand canyon-Mesa verde-petrified forest-las vegas-san diego-San Jose-Los Angeles-san fransisco. Not in that direction but just as an indicator. And then see how for north of San fransisco we can get 🙂

Unfortunately, I really don't think you'll find many 70 deg days along the coast in that timeframe. Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Petrified Forest can definitely have snow, wind and bitter cold and driving an RV in those areas can be treacherous.

[Jim_Shoe]

Before you spend any money, two more things to think about.
Consider returning the rental to where you started, or at least see if there's a big surcharge for dropping it off away from its starting point that you can live with.
And, as Kathy points out, altitude has a greater effect on weather than latitude. Flagstaff, AZ. is south of Bakersfield, CA., but it snows in Flagstaff in the winter months.