need help planning trip from mi to mt

[seanjackmc]

This summer over the 4th of July the family (wife, kids 2 and 4, and the 9month old lab are planning to head from ann arbor to helena to visit a friend on his 900 acre ranch. Looking for suggestions on campgrounds along the way. The plan is to hammer hard through the night the first day and do about 18 hours driving in 26 hours of day+ and end the first leg in rapid city SD near Mt Rushmore. Looking for campgrounds in the area. My family loves koa's. They are family friendly and dog friendly. There is one in rapid city we are planning to stay at unless anyone has a better idea. From there we head to Yellowstone for two days staying at a koa and finally end in Helena for a bit. This is our first cross country trip and any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the help
Sean

[Art-n-Marge]

Your first leg will be about 1,131 miles from Ann Arbor to the KOA in Rapid City. That's about 16 hours when NOT towing so you'll be in for some tiring times after that many hours AND towing and then trying to set up at the end of it with a couple of little ones at the end.

Just for the sake of safety and reserving some energy you might want to pull over night some time during that journey. But in this forum you'll get a lot of "do what you're comfortable with", "you sound young and strong enough to know any better", but you did ask for some suggestions.

- Other than the first day, avoid marathon driving when towing. You'll experience more fatique than you will ever feel and you'll need to stay alert and energized for setting up and tearing down.
- Your wife will have to keep the little ones very busy so be prepared to do everything yourself. Then keep the hand sanitizer close by and the hands clean so you can help her with your brood.
- Tow with some water (10 gallons) and use the water pump and your RV restroom for rest stops. We've always used the rule "EVERYBODY sits down for EVERYTHING" in the RV restroom. It helps keep it cleaner, longer and Mama LOVES a clean restroom.
- Stay with KOAs - then look for a pull through site to make setup easier.
- At last check there's a KOA in Cody, east of Yellowstone but you'll want to stay closer if you want to visit Yellowstone. You might use this one as a stopover to getting to the West KOA right near the Yellowstone western entrance.
- Whatever you can do to make this enjoyable for the family will make for better trips, later - marathon driving with tight schedules requires a bit of patience and planning.

Good luck developing your RV travel regimen and routine.

[clutch]

In my opinion that is way too much driving the first day. Plan another stop and enjoy the trip. You will be flying by a lot of interesting places that will make the trip a lot more fun.

[Rondo]

Sean-- I have to agree with Mike! Driving/towing that long that first day is way to much and it will really take a lot out of you. Remember, you will not be able to do the speeds as you do with a car. That long of a drive with a car is hard enough but with a unit intow it is nearly impossible. There's no way I'd even try it! I would definately plan a longer vacation if possible and take your time and as they say "stop and smell the roses". If you are trying to do a round trip in a week or so from Ann Arbor to Helena, you will be there but you will NOT enjoy yourselves. There are alot of things to do and see on your way across to Helena.

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

If you decide to drive the Chicago route, you might need another 5 hours, ok, not that much, but, check for construction, they are always fixing the expressways out there. Those that know me, know I abhor driving around Chicago. Last time was mid Sunday afternoon, it was doable, just. Have change ready, toll roads! We ended up running one of the gates because signage was HORRIBLE, still no ticket in the mail, and it was August of 09.

You will probably average 50 miles each hour you drive, unless you drive way faster, way way way faster than your rig, and more importantly possibly your tires, are designed for. My opinion, is that first day is more like two horror days, 3 hard days (doable) and better yet 4 days, with a day off of driving in between day 2 and 3. But, we are old and retired, not young and employed, so fully understand your issues.

Good luck, have fun, smell the roses, and enjoy the kids, they will not be that young for long.

[helmick]

We use to drive from Ca. to Ontario, Canada (2,450 miles ) and never stop. We use to tow our TT 1,500 miles straight and not even think about it. We also use to be much younger. At 28 we had to make the most out of our vacation time. Most the time that ment driving straight to our destination. I`m much older now and would not want to try driving like I use to. We also have the time to see things with our 250 mile driving days. We had a lot of great vacations on limited time and showed our kids most of the US and Canada. Maybe some day he will have the time most of us now have and take the trip again. Lets just remember some of the thing we did 35 years ago.

[dandt]

I would highly recommend Rafter J Bar Ranch in Hill City over the KOA. Great park, extralarge sites and kid and dog friendly. It is a 190 space park spread over 175 acres. No matter where you decide to stay you will NEED reservations. The month of July and first 2 weeks of Aug are the busiest for the area. Have Fun

[Rondo]

Ron H-- Didn't realize your lovely wife was over that 28 years of age! No you, on the other hand, may have been around when Fred and Barney were walking the around!

[seanjackmc]

Thanks for the replies everyone. A lot of good points here. We are planning to do two full weeks of vacation. Im 29 wife is 30. Young enough to do some miles taking turns to nap. The idea behind the marathon on the front end is for the kids sake. They will sleep through the night in the truck no problem. I would love to get around 12 hours in while they are either asleep or falling asleep or waking up from about 8pm-8am. We plan to leave mid day and drive while taking our time. Letting the kids out to run around for a bit and take the dog out. Nothing too intense. That first night is when we will get after it. I figure we can always pull off to sleep if need be. Lord knows there are enough campgrounds along 80/90. While Im new to rving this wont be the first time Ive pulled it. We did about 6 trips last fall with our 1st 5er before we found out what we wanted and traded in for the 3750fl. So Im well aware of the speeds and time I can make while towing and myself expect a 50mph avg. Im still very early in the planning stages and have booked the KOA in West Yellowstone but will check out the suggestion above.
Again thanks for the insight although I maybe young (relatively) Im old enough to understand heeding advice from those in the know. When it involves the happiness and more importantly the safety of my family I will listen to anybody with an idea.
Thanks again everyone, Ill keep you updated as I hammer out our plans in more detail
Sean

[sailer]

What if you blow a tire and loose 6 hrs on the rd, there goes your reservations. 62 to 65 is fast enough but more is tooooo fast,,,sailer

[seanjackmc]

Not sure Im following you sailer. Are you suggesting not having reservations in case I lose travel time? I never travel over 65mph. Ive found 63 is my sweet spot on the truck. Making a reservation around yellowstone during the summer months is almost required. Not willing to risk rolling into town only to find I have to camp at Wallmart.
Sean

[Captain Joe]

When I was in the military, we moved coast-to-coast many times. To save leave (vacation) we would drive non-stop to our destinations. Cincinnati to San Diego...45 hours. SanFran to WashDC....72 hours. I thought I could drive anywhere. Last Summer, we got a hot deal on our new 3750FL and drove from MO to OH non-stop with my wallet in my back pocket, just like I have always done. Upon arrival, I could barely get out of the truck. I had a herniated disk that pinched my S-1 nerve. Months of pain and numbness. Finally, 20K prep, testing, and surgery last month repaired the damage. Just a short 12-hour trip and four months of suffering. It is not worth it. The stress and long distance travel will eventually catch up with you. Take it easy. Life is too short.

[seanjackmc]

Dont worry I dont plan to do any 70 hour legs. Let me clarify what I mean by hammering it. Leaving Mi around noon. Driving for about 4 hours. Take a brake and let the kids and dog run around. Get another 1.5 hours in and stop at a sit down resturaunt for dinner. Leave about 7 and then drive hard through the night while the kids are sleeping. Stop for gas and driver change every 3.5 to 4 hours. When the kids wake up around 7am or so stop for an hour or so and let the kids run around at a McDonalds play area or similar. WIfe and I have coffee and stretch ect.. Get back on the road for two more or so 3.5 to 4 hour legs. All said and done in about 28 hours of time I figure we can do about 20 hours of driving. Between my wife and I I dont think 10 hours each over the course of a day is too taxing. Now I wouldnt want to do that all week long but one time I think is sufficient. 20 hours at a avg of 55mph (I already accounted for time to fuel and what not.) Gives me the 1100 miles I need to hit Rapid City SD around 4 pm the next day. Time to set up and enjoy the evening.
Thanks again for all the input.
And yes I gave myself 28 hours noon until 4pm the next day to do 20 hours of driving. Should be enough with stops including fuel and meals and rests.
Sean