Ravialdo
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Re: Travelling through Mt. St. Helens?
Thanks for the advice. My initial thought was US97 which if Google Maps is about 50 minutes faster. With 3 kids though I want places to stop and stretch their legs and on paper that route (US97) doesn't look like it has many opportunities for quick get-out-of-the-RV breaks that would be scenic. I maybe wrong though and if you have some suggestions for that route I'm all ears! Ravi277Views0likes0CommentsTravelling through Mt. St. Helens?
Was trying to look at routes from Deschutes River National Recreation area to Ohanapescoh Campground in Mt. Rainer. This route allows us to hit some more hiking en route. Was wondering if this route is RV friendly? We will be travelling in a rental class C, between 27-30 ft. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Deschutes+River+State+Recreation+Area,+Wasco,+OR/Ohanapecosh+Campground+Amphitheater,+Ohanapecosh+Rd,+Randle,+WA+98377/@46.1431789,-122.1778658,9z/am=t/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x54bd8bf84ec1e3f9:0xc02ea245629b4ea6!2m2!1d-120.9086014!2d45.606369!1m5!1m1!1s0x54972df9aacc5e37:0x4138d3abd71549d8!2m2!1d-121.5691807!2d46.7325743!5i12KViews0likes11CommentsWanted to say thanks
You may remember me from this thread: http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27430433/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1 Well, we got back from our trip and it was amazing. Rented a 25ft Coachman Freelander from Road Bear RV in Las Vegas. They were amazing. Cannot recommend them highly enough and will rent from them again. For any newbies thinking about renting an RV, let me enumerate the concerns I had and how I feel they were unfounded in the actual trip. 1. Driving the RV. Not an issue. Was worried about it because I've never driven anything that large and it was easy as long as you took it slow. Really, anyone can do it. 2. Dumping and filling up the fresh water. Was nervous about nothing. Watched 2-3 Youtube videos on how to do it and it was incredibly anti-climactic when it came time to do it. 3. WHERE to dump and fill up. I was nervous because we were staying in National and State parks without full hookups. Was I going to have to go to a KOA to dump my tanks and pay a fee? Where was I going to get water for the freshwater tanks? Even though these parks didn't have hookups, they did have dumpstations and fresh water. I never had to drive around begging private campgrounds to use their dumpstations like I thought I was going to have to. I couldn't believe I spent as much time worrying about this as I did. 4. Parking the RV. We planned on eating out every once in a while; where and how was I going to park it in town? I was so obsessed that weeks before our trip I was Google Earthing images of Springdale and Moab UT to see if I could ID where I could park this behemoth while we sat for pizza or burgers. Not an issue on the trip. Places for oversized parking were more plentiful than I suspected, perhaps in part because it was off-season. Additionally, parking in the trailhead areas wasnt an issue either; only 2 trailheads in the national parks prohibited RV's. All in all it was a great trip. My kids of course loved it and practically cried when we turned the RV in and want to know when we are going again. My wife, clean freak as she is, actually enjoyed it. Her only complaint was the size of the bathrooms and showers, which made giving the kids their nightly showers difficult. Water splashed out everywhere and the floor would be soaked and necessitated a towel on the ground. The last day I ended up taking my son to the campground showers which were clean and much easier. She got stuck with the younger girls. After doing this trip, I feel much more confident. I discovered that the electrical hookups probably aren't required for my family if we go during a warmer time of year. This will greatly increase our flexibility for staying in more national parks. Our next trip will probably be next summer, and thinking about touring Norther California to Oregon Coast in a 2 wk time frame. Thanks again!2.7KViews0likes13CommentsRe: SE Utah in March?
Hey everyone, Its been a while since I post last but wanted to thank everyone. Your advice and direction has been helpful. Its now T-minus 3 days till our family's first RV trip!!! We decided to go with Road Bear for our rental as we've heard nothing but good things and their fleet consists of new or less than 2 yr old models. Going with a Coachman 25ft Class C. Our itinerary is as follows: Saturday night we are staying in Fletcher View Campground in the Mt. Charleston area. When then head over to Zion for 2 nights, then Moab and Dead Horse State Park for 2 nights before heading back and hitting Snow Canyon State Park for a night. While the kids and I are excited, I have to admit I'm a little (ok, a lot) nervous. Due to flight considerations, I'm getting into Vegas around 2:30. The RV folks told me to expect at least a 30-60 min orientation to get oriented to the RV. We will then hit Walmart to stock up. More questions: 1. How 'involved' is it to get the RV setup on the campsite? I ask this because with the above time schedule, we maybe hitting Fletcher View around 5:30 6pm. I want to give myself some leeway. The site only has electrical hookups (ALL our campsite reservations are with electrical- thanks to you guys for helping me to look for that regarding running the furnace blower overnight). The sites appear level according to some online reviews. Is it just a matter of leveling it and plugging in? I don't know if its something that requires a lot of Daylight, given we maybe getting there an hour before sunset. Just nervous about the idea of fiddling with stuff while it gets dark and then everything becomes exponentially more difficult. 2. The temps look ok so far, but that 1st night at 7000' at Fletcher View might get down to 35. We will be hooked up to electrical and plan on purchasing a small ceramic heater at Walmart. There are 5 of us crammed into the RV, so I figure our collective body heat might help keep us warm. If it gets down that low, would you guys drain the water tanks before going to bed, or do you think at 35ish is should be ok? Once we get back, I will post a debriefing of our trip. I've shown pictures of Class C RV's to the 2 older kids and they are wondering when we can BUY one! And we haven't even gone on the trip yet!656Views0likes0CommentsRe: SE Utah in March?
Thanks Steve. I'm definitely familiar with the Escalante area, as I've done many backpacking trips in the area. Its actually my preferred area to backpack because there aren't as many camping restrictions as a National Park. Obviously, this trip with my family including an 8,7, and 3 yr old plus a wife who sometimes likes to take 3 showers a day will be a different type of trip. Yeah, my concern was driving a class C down Hole in the Rock road to any trailheads that would be kid-friendly. Will have to look up those canyons!660Views0likes0CommentsRe: SE Utah in March?
Thanks again to everyone for your help. We've decided to pull the trigger and just do it. Life is all about new experiences and I've talked about this trip for years, now is the time to just pull the trigger. Worse comes to worse and the temps really fall for the week we plan to go, then we can always bail into a hotel. After researching it, I've found some campsites in non-commercial campgrounds. All of these sites have electrical hookups! Maybe not water, but def. electrical so we should be able to run the furnace blower all night. Our basic preliminary itinerary is as follows: Plan on picking up the RV on a Saturday. Still trying to decide which rental company between CruiseAmerica, El Monte and Roadbear. After we pick it up, plan to get on over to the Spring Mountains just outside Vegas and camp at the Fletcher Campground for a night. Next day will pack up and head to Zion (we've been before) and spend 2 nights at the Watchman campground with electrical. Then head over the Escalante. Wife is thinking of breaking this up with a night in a hotel here (so we don't get too sick of each other), versus staying at Petrified forest where there is electrical RV sites available. Then over to Moab for 2 nights at Dead Horse to hit Arches, etc. Back to Vegas with 1 night stop over in Snow Canyon outside St. George's. More newbie questions: 1. Assuming we run the furnace to keep the cabin toasty at low 70s overnight (with an outside temp averaging in the 40's), how often do you think we would need to replace the propane tank? I know its dependent on the size, which I don't know of yet as we havent selected a RV company), but in general. -and where do you fill these propane tanks on the road? Just like a regular gas grill tank at the gas station? 2. What's the etiquette on how you 'save' your spot at a site you've reserved for multiple nights when you head out for the day? 3. How much of a pain is it to 'decamp' at a site. For example, when we are at Dead Horse, we will be driving to Moab and Arches, and perhaps hitting places for dinner. Is it a huge hassle to unplug and go?656Views0likes0CommentsRe: SE Utah in March?
Thanks for you input guys. Talked to the folks at CruiseAmerica and they've confirmed that there are solar panels which act like a trickle charger for the auxiliary battery but that I couldn't really count on them to run the furnace blower. She did state that if we didn't have an electrical hookup, that we could expect the auxiliary battery to eventually run out sometime during the night. Someone would then have the run the engine of the motorhome for 30 minutes or so to recharge the battery. To me that sounds like a noise violation of the various "quiet periods" which are imposed at the campgrounds, at least to my limited understanding of RV etiquette. Moab shouldn't be a problem in reality; we have Deadhorse which is wide open for right now for the dates we want. And so is Zion for electric hookups which is where we would go on the way there. Its places in between. Would like to visit Capitol Reef (in all my Utah hiking, I've never been!) and I think the kids would get a great kick out of Coral Sand Dunes State Park. Neither of those places have electrical hookups unless I do the KOA/commercial route, which might not be a bad compromise for 2 nights. The other option is to forget SE Utah and just go to Southern California. We could then 'try out' RVing in Joshua Tree or Anza Borrego area (where night time lows should be manageable) for just a 3 night rental, and spend the rest of the time visiting the San Diego zoo, Legoland etc. Last questions, and I know its basic but you guys have been great: 1. Parking in a small town like Moab in a class C (probably will rent 25 ft at MAX). I love the coffee shops and would probably like to take the family to dinner/breakfast on occasion. Where the heck do you park when you hit these small towns? Do you just find an empty nice sized lot and then walk around? 2. We really aren't RV'ing for the financial benefits, so we may need to bail because of weather or comfort issues and stay in a hotel for a night or two. Are these places usually accommodating to the size of RV we are going to rent for parking?265Views0likes0CommentsRe: SE Utah in March?
Wow, thanks everyone for the responses. Its really helpful. Its funny. I love sleeping in the cold. Its one of the reasons I take a yearly trip to SE Utah to camp. I remember one night canoeing the Green River in Canyonlands where my water bottle froze in my tent. But my wife has very thin blood, as does my middle daughter. Having said that, the RV aspect of this trip is actually my WIFE's idea; initially I planned to use hotels for accommodations. Looking at Dead Horse State Park and it looks like they have partial hookups. Its a little bit of a haul from there to Arches from a convenience stand point, but it might be worth it. I've spent the morning looking at commercial RV parks in the area and they just don't appeal to me. Road Less Traveled mentioned ceramic heaters. Those obviously have an electric draw but am I correct to assume they wouldn't drain my batteries they way the furnace blower would? Also, in appears that Cruise America advertises solar panels on their Standard RV rental. Will have to get more info on that. Thanks again everyone.265Views0likes0CommentsSE Utah in March?
Newbie here. We are planning a vacation to Utah for the 3rd week of March. While I go backpacking and kayak camping every year around that time in Moab, for the rest of my family, it will be there 1st time ever. Actually will be a first RV trip for all of us. We plan on renting an RV out of Las Vegas (likely a Class C). I tried searching the forums and couldn't come up with the answers to my questions so here goes: March weather can be hit or miss. Wife and kids are Floridians. According to the Park service weather, the lows around that time can reach mid-30's, presumably at night. 1. How hard is it to keep the RV warm enough at night so that we can get a decent night of sleep instead of being miserably cold? 2. Does this require running a generator at night for a heater? I ask because I wish to stay at the NPS campgrounds as much as possible, and many of them have 'quiet times' usually overnight, when it gets coldest. 3. Are there RV's for rent that utilize solar panels to help heat the RV? I know of Provan and Earthroamers that have solar panels to allow for more remote off-the-grid camping. Was wondering if there were other 'more flexible' options other than the standard El Monte/CampingWorld rentals? Thanks so much. I've been planning an RV trip for the kids for a long time and waited until they got older.7.2KViews0likes30Comments
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