CountryMom27
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Re: Newbie needing advice
The advice here has been great. A few comments back: 1. Camping. I love to camp, but when I have my hubby. After driving 500+ miles a day with my kids and the dog, the last thing I want to do is set up a tent, cook, deal with lanterns, and sleep on an air mattress. I want a hot shower, a bathroom, and dinner already cooking perhaps in the kitchen. I also RV'd when I was a kid and playing games in the back, chilling out (now with TVs - not then!), hanging on the bed with the dog... sounds like so much fun and the boys are super excited about it. 2. I'm not too concerned with breaking camp as I think once we "plug in" we will stay nearby. My sister had two RVs and I traveled with her in her smaller class C years ago which she lived in with her hubby and dog, and it didn't take long. Granted, she was a pro! That said, we're bringing bikes so unless we're driving to the grocery store, I think we'll stay at the camp when we set up. We also don't plan to camp in one spot for more than 2-3 nights, most times it will be one night. Plus when we are with family, we'll probably sleep in the camper. 3. I've thought about towing a pop-up but it's not what we envision for the trip. Since this is a big deal for us, I really want to do it right - as we've dreamed out - if we can swing it (time & money) 4. Smaller is I think the way to go. The boys won't be thrilled sharing the overhead bunk but they'll get by ;-) They can always choose to camp out on the floor. DH will only be with us for 10 days too, so that's a consideration. I'll be more comfy driving a smaller RV. 5. In terms of cost, I have the cash and wouldn't finance. Partly because of the hassle and additional cost, partly because of the risk (I'm an accounting and tax professor), and partly because I try not to finance depreciating assets. It was my brilliant sister's idea, but she has no issue with debt or risk. Let's just say we don't see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. 6. I'm thinking if I can't rent from an individual locally, I will probably purchase a used 26' or so, aiming around $15k though my hubby will freak I think. 7. I like the idea of an earlier trip - spring break! Also I have the month of May off so that may work better. We have family near DC and could park and ride the metro in. Thanks all - please keep the thoughts & ideas & suggestions coming! Latest route: CT Niagara Falls (1 night) - camp Northern Indiana (1 night) - friends Chicago (a few nights - hotel, leave RV with family in Evanston) Milwaukee, Madison, and Wisconsin Dells :-) (1 night) - camp near the Dells Minneapolis (2-3 nights) - friends - pick up hubby from airport Bad Lands, ND (2 nights) - camping Mount Rushmore - visit and not stay Grand County, CO (several nights) - family Denver (airport - drop off hubby), Boulder (1 night) - family Arches Nat'l Park (1-2 nights) - camping Zion Nat'l Park on way to camp somewhere on way to Grand Canyon Grand Canyon (2 nights) - camping Camping & driving across NV, AZ, TX, AR, OK (? nights) Nashville (1-2 nights) - camping In and out of the Smoky Mountains, various potential detours, camping & driving up north (? nights) Annapolis MD (2-3 nights) - in house with family. Ditch RV and train into DC Drive back to northern CT (1 day driving) Roughly 31-34 days depending on detours, at 400 mi a day (more when we zip across the southwest)631Views0likes0CommentsRe: Newbie needing advice
toedtoes wrote: First, many rental companies don't allow dogs in the RVs. In addition, dogs aren't allowed on trails, etc., in the National Parks. It will be hot during your trip, so if you are able to leave the dog unattended in the RV, you'll likely need to run the AC while you're gone. If you choose to bring the dog against the rental company's policy, just remember how much mess a wet retriever can make - getting caught out in one summer rain could create a WHOLE LOT of cleaning afterwards. Second, while a 28-30ft class C will give you plenty of space in the RV, are you sure you need that much space? It sounds like, outside of drive time and sleeping, you won't be spending that much time IN the RV - you'll be visiting family, going to ballgames, and sightseeing. If you got a 24ft rental, you'd have the overcab bunk for the boys and the lower bed for you and your husband. With the awning and some chairs and a folding table, you could even sit out on a warm rainy evening. Good points all around. The dog is a must do - he can't spend 5 weeks with my husband's work schedule, plus I'm not comfy being a solo mom with two boys without my security monitor and bed warmer. I'm thinking of bringing our two room tent which has a screened room just for that purpose. One of the many reasons I'm leaning away from a rental company and instead looking to either buy (ugh) or rent from an individual. I'll happily pay for cleanup at the end.631Views0likes0CommentsRe: Newbie needing advice
tatest wrote: That's about two weeks worth of driving for a 5-6 week trip, which is pretty reasonable if you don't have plans for long stays at your stops, and allows for interesting stops you haven't planned. I ran my planner with your "necessary" stops in order using an old Streets and Trips set for optimal travel time (favors Interstate highways even if they add distance) and came up with 6700 miles, 13 days + 6 hours moving. I routed through Billings to come into Yellowstone from the north. S&T took my through Las Vegas on the way from Zion to Grand Canyon (I didn't do that) and that is probably a good idea, since you've driven that far you should maybe see Las Vegas at least once in your life, plan at least one night there. S&T wanted to take me back east through Tulsa and St Louis (the Old 66 Route) then across I-70 through Indianapolis. I tossed in Nashville to keep the return further south (and you should really let the kids see Nashville) so my routing went I-81 up through Virginia rather than across Indiana, Ohio and southern Pennsylvania and back down to Annapolis. This added only 60 miles or two hours to the whole trip. There is a lot of stuff to see on the way, or coming back, that can involve 1-2 hours per stop, 1-2 stops per day, that could fit into your schedule if you aren't expecting to have several days at each of your major stops (e.g. for our family in 1961 Mt Rushmore was a two hour stop and Yellowstone a one day drive through, and in the 80's the Grand Canyon was a day trip from Phoenix). It is all a matter of how you approach the trip, because some people like 2-3 weeks at just Yellowstone, so from the East Coast it would be just Yellowstone plus the driving time. Your trip idea sounds more like the way my family did trips when I was a 7-16 years old, and I did the same with mine in that age range. I suggest you work out some alternative loops to do this (particularly the coming back part you haven't planned with as much stop detail). Go over those alternatives with the boys, see if there are places to go through where there is something they want to see. When my the oldest of my younger brothers and I were in the 10-12 age range, we did most of the trip planning for our 2-3 week family road trips, then I navigated for my dad and mom driving. Your boys are old enough to be involved, and this can make them more enthusiastic about the trip, more tolerant of the driving time. You would likely be surprised for cross country loops like this, just how little the size of the loop matters on time and distance. Taking your return trip through New Orleans, for example (and that comes back through Nashville) adds only 300 miles distance, 1/2 day driving time, compared to the shortest/fastest route. Add San Antonio as a stop, along with Houston and New Orleans, and the trip becomes only 500 miles, and just one full driving day, longer than the shortest route (that went through Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania). But this adds Phoenix, Tuscon, Tombstone (as a side trip), El Paso as additional potential places of interest. This more southern route can come back through the Smoky Mountains without back tracking, while any west to east Interstate north of I-20 hits the Appalachians well north of the park. Putting Gatlinburg on the Phoenix-San Antonio-Houston-New Orleans return makes the trip 15 driving days (instead of 14 1/2) and 7300 miles, goes through Birmingham and Huntsville (Space Center) instead of Nashville to Knoxville. Going through the national park from Tennessee to North Carolina, then across North Carolina to go up I-85/95 through Virgina makes it 7400 miles, 15 1/2 driving days. Then the question will be, including Houston and New Orleans stops, and all the interesting places along the way, will your three weeks (five weeks less the driving days) be enough for all the stops you want to make. The reason I've always liked the early version of Streets and Trips for planning is that I could put in durations for all the stops I wanted to make, for a really good estimate of total trip time, and for getting my overnight stops well located for what I wanted to see (e.g. the night before a tour/visit day, near the location, or at the end of a tour day, at the location or not far beyond). WOW - thanks for the great advice! I love the idea of different options. I'm picking up a new road atlas for Christmas and the boys are going to be navigators. We will have PS3 time onboard, but we will also have reading & daydreaming time & iPod time to break it up. I've also let them know that as first mates they'll need to help with cooking while I'm driving. I love the idea of a vacation where we're all involved, and where we can see so many loved ones who are sadly getting older and not going to be around forever. What is the app/site you used?632Views0likes0CommentsRe: Newbie needing advice
Campfire Time wrote: darsben wrote: You state "It's been my dream to take the kids and dog cross country by RV, and I think we can swing it this year." BUT IS IT THE CHILDREN'S DREAM? Nothing like 2 unhappy kids for 2-3 months in an RV My thoughts exactly. I think the trip itself would be great but you need to involve the kids. Ask them if they'd like to do it. If so, then they need to be part of the planning. At their ages this is something they will never forget. Do your best to make it something that will always be positive memories and not bad ones. The kids are all over it. They've been studying many of these places in school and want to see them, and they've always talked about RVing. I think it helps that we camp regularly and live in the country, so this isn't an unusual thing for them or their friends. I like the idea of spritzing out to Colorado and then trying to do things on the way back but as we have southern things and northern things... hmm, I'll have to rethink. All told we're looking at just under 5 weeks, with 10 days with Daddy, for 6200 miles. We'll skip Yellowstone this time - too far, too much - but add Arches and Zion which the boys really want to camp at. The challenge now is the cost - my sister, who has owned a class C and A but is not at all frugal, thinks we should buy (finance!) a used C. She says smaller is better esp for parking and suggested a 27'. I'm hopeful I can find a local here who will rent to us. I'm also thinking of a trial run to Baltimore & DC over Spring Break. Thanks for the advice - I'm sure I'll have many more q's!631Views0likes0CommentsNewbie needing advice
I'm so glad to have found this forum. I changed positions last year so that I have most of the summer off to be with my two sons, ages 10 & 12. I have from mid-July until end of August off, although I could leave before July 4th as long as I did some work on the road. My family was big into traveling - road trips, we rented an RV once, and train trips, so it's a big thing for me. My husband's family never did it but he did a big cross-country trip solo before we met. It's been my dream to take the kids and dog cross country by RV, and I think we can swing it this year. We live in southern New England, have friends and family across the country that we don't get to visit, and I like to drive. My current thought is to take 5 weeks off and travel something along the lines of this. The miles are just direct, no stops, and we plan to take a lot of stops/detours mostly when we hit the west. 1. Western CT to Niagara Falls - 380 2. Niagara to Milford, IN (friend) - 450 (I will probably go via Canada & Detroit but not sure) 3. Milford to Chicago/Milwaukee (family, visit, baseball) - 116. Pick up Hubby at airport 4. Chicago to Minneapolis (friend, baseball) - 409 5. Minneapolis to Granby, CO (family - several days) - about 1500 miles if we hit Yellowstone --- somewhere in here we want to see the Badlands in SD, Mount Rushmore, possibly Yellowstone & Jackson WY via Montana, plus whatever I can't think of now. We'd drop off my husband at Denver to fly home. 6. Colorado to Grand Canyon, probably through Zion Nat'l Park and parts of UT - about 800 miles 7. Arizona to Annapolis MD (family - at least one day/night there) - 2268 miles -- definitely drive through part of the Smoky Mountains. We've done the Chesapeake Bay Bridge & Tunnel many times but I haven't taken the boys to Chincoteague/Assateague which might be cool. I went as a kid. 8. Maryland to home - 350 miles Total distance without Yellowstone - about 5700 miles. Solo mom driving with two tweens and a labrador retriever, I don't expect to get many miles in, plus the adventure is a big part of it. Question 1: What do you think of the itinerary? I have friends in Indianapolis, Houston, New Orleans, Carolinas but I think that's a different trip. Question 2: Any must have add-ons you can think of? Question 3: Is this do-able in 5 weeks? My biggest concern though is I've never driven an RV, and I need to sleep 4. I'd like to rent a class C, but costing it out on the various sites looks like it will be close to $14000 for just the rental and mileage for a 28-30'. I want to be comfortable, and want the kids to ride in the back and be able to move around so a fifth wheel or tow isn't an option. I will look at renting privately when we get closer to spring, but I'm wondering about how much that will be. Would it be less for me to buy a used camper, around $15-18k, and then try to sell it? We're hoping to buy a vacation home in the next year or so, and I really don't want a camper hanging around. I've had two family members with campers, and I know how expensive they are to maintain. Thoughts & suggestions are welcome! Sorry for the long post -5.7KViews0likes31Comments
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We all start out new. Share lessons learned or first-time questions!Jun 15, 20174,026 Posts
