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Old 06-01-2017, 07:15 PM   #1
JABURKHOLDER
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Long Road Trip

In a couple of weeks we are leaving for a long road trip. We will be covering 26 states in 75 days. We have been RVing for 14 years but have never attempted anything of this grandeur. Our trips are usually 2 -3 weeks at a time every month or so. I am looking for any advice or tips that any of you "long timers" may have for this type of adventure. I am not looking for sightseeing tips, just long term travel/long term RV living advice or tips. I already have the bills, medical, and stick & brick things covered. No kids, no pets.

Thanks in advance.
 
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Old 06-01-2017, 07:30 PM   #2
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Congratulations. Have fun, don't be in a hurry, if you see something interesting stop and take a better look.
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Old 06-01-2017, 07:36 PM   #3
twindman
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As we got older, we have shortened our driving days and when traveling back to back days, we almost always stay over 2 days at the 2nd or 3rd day. Gives us a chance to do laundry, shop, and rest a little bit.
Now if you are seeing the North East, you can see about 20 states in 3 days, right? :-)
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Old 06-02-2017, 06:28 AM   #4
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Now if you are seeing the North East, you can see about 20 states in 3 days, right? :-)
Just got back from Maine. That was 7 states in 1 1/2 days.
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Old 06-02-2017, 06:31 AM   #5
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As we got older, we have shortened our driving days and when traveling back to back days, we almost always stay over 2 days at the 2nd or 3rd day. Gives us a chance to do laundry, shop, and rest a little bit.
Already decided we are not driving back to days. We are also staying a minimum of two nights per stop. Other stops we are staying longer.
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Old 06-02-2017, 07:47 AM   #6
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We have taken several extended trips over the last number of years. We stop for a day of rest once a week to do laundry, etc.

There are so many RVs out there now, there are not enough campsites for everyone. You almost have to make reservations in most places. We do not like being on a schedule, in case we want to stay a day or so extra in one place or leave earlier than we planned. So what we do is when we know what day we are moving on, we make a reservation at the next place.

We stay at a lot of KOAs and have had good luck overall with them. There is the odd one I would not want to stay in again (the one south of St. Louis comes to mind) and some we thought were just splendid (Cedar City, Utah and Milton, Florida). Most are quite acceptable.

One thing to keep in mind is the maintenance of your trailer and tow vehicle. We have had oil changes on our trips, had the wheel bearings re-packed, even replaced all the trailer tires on a trip.

If you have a mobile device, get the Allstays app. It shows you everything you need to know on the road - campgrounds, RV repair places, dump stations, etc.

I hope some of this helps. If you have any specific questions, ask away.
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Old 06-02-2017, 07:53 AM   #7
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Agree, take your time and be flexible. You will run across lots of things you will want to experience. We were on the road 4 months last summer doing Montana, Dakotas, Utah, Wyoming, and planned for two days at Yellowstone and stayed 10.
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Old 06-02-2017, 08:24 AM   #8
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There is so much to see across the continent! We have taken a trip out to Seattle, doing the Oregon Trail along the way, gone to the south-west, to Alaska, and we see stuff every year on the way home from Florida. We are planning a big trip next year to see some of the places we missed on previous trips like North Dakota, Oregon, the middle of Colorado, and along the west coast. Gotta do it before we get too old!
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Old 06-02-2017, 10:17 AM   #9
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Looking forward to hear about the adventure and also the tips here. We hope to start this style of travel in about a year or so.


I agree on All Stays app for your phone as we use it a lot just for our pre-planning. In addition to campgrounds, dump stations, fuel stops, etc, it also lists low bridges. I do a quick scan of my route options (the off interstate portions) to see if there is anything to be cautious of from low bridges though obviously keep your eyes open.
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Old 06-03-2017, 06:37 AM   #10
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Welcome to the Long Timers! We have been RVing for 11 years and have always taken trip from 6 week to 4 months. Like you we have taken care of the stick house, bills, prescriptions, etc. As a retired engineer, I have to plan--maybe to much but I enjoy researching places and things along our route. You can read about our travels on our trip journal page--shown below. My wife and I both drive but she prefers divided highways--I take the other roads. We have found that staying a week or more in popular places really lets us see and do things we like and take the rain day that will happen as a time to rest. During peak travel times--July and August--we make reservations in popular places like Santa Fe, Durango, and others. Also we have left the RV at a park with the power hooked up but the water disconnected so we could go on short or up to a week excursion. (Also store the satellite antenna)--we did that to take a trip to Crater Lake, float the Colorado River thru the Grand Canyon--just some examples. Have fun, enjoy meeting other RVers and see the country.
Our trip journal is http://www.mytripjournal.com/millingtontravel
Any problems with the website, send me message.
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Old 06-03-2017, 05:34 PM   #11
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We returned today from a 90 day, 17 state, 9,884 mile trip. It was wonderful but there are a couple things I will change when we do it again. We had several spots that were just overnighters, to get us to our next destination. No more of those. We would have a minimum of 2 days in every location. I also like Loneoak's idea of not making your reservation till your ready to move on. We had reservations in every location so we had no flexibility. Also, don't over shop! We took a lot of food but found it was more fun to shop when we got somewhere so that we could taste to local foods. We did not have and RV specific GPS and had to reroute a couple times because of low clearance or other issues. We got a new GPS about 2 months in to our trip. We tried not to travel past 2:00 pm. that way we had time to get set up and relax. We stayed mostly in local RV parks and only in KOA 2-3 times. We found that prices were better, and we met a lot more local folks.

Bottom line, go and enjoy! If you see something that looks interesting, stop! We had a ball and I've already started planning a trip that will take us in to Canada and through the Northeast.
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Old 06-03-2017, 06:15 PM   #12
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On our Alaska 4 month trip, we took out one recliner and put in 5 cubic foot freezer--cost about $150 to bring back fish. It worked great and came back with it full of frozen salmon and halibut that we caught. All were vac-packed so they lasted a long time and this also showed us how handy it was. So now the recliner was junked and the freezer goes with us when ever we travel. We do quick meals like BBQ chicken or brisket, vac-pack it and freeze it. Then on evenings we want a quick hot meal--look in the freezer. Also it stores ice cream! and ice. So, we found it works great. Even unplugged from AC power for 6-8 hours makes no difference since it is closed. Something to think about to make travel fun. We are actually on our 2nd freezer unit--they were really not made for going down the road in the back of a 5th wheel.
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Old 06-04-2017, 05:28 AM   #13
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I am currently on a cross country trip and wow we have seen some wonderful things. Take lots of pictures because you will love them when you get home. I also take some cash with us because toll roads and bridges. We only use our credit car for everything because it's not connected to our bank accounts. I have alredy done one oil change and will do another one before we get home. I only use full synthetic oil and drive a diesel so I had a problem locating a dealer that had my oil. If you do what I did you need to call the parts guy to see if they have it in stock. Don't call the service department because they will call the parts guy for the oil. Another problem is holiday weekends. We took off and planed on missing summer vacations for the kids but they are out there on holidays LOL.
Do a good once over on your truck and trailer to make sure when you take off everything is 100% make sure that your tires are good for the trip. The more you take care of at home the less headache you will have on the road. Safe travels.
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Old 06-04-2017, 08:46 AM   #14
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Like The Bone said make sure your tires are good for the trip. If you have China Bomb tires on your camper get them off. You are stating off in the hottest part of the summer there is a very good chance if you have the original China Bomb tires you are going to have at least one blowout that could do thousands of dollars damage to your camper.
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Old 06-04-2017, 09:39 AM   #15
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Like The Bone said make sure your tires are good for the trip. If you have China Bomb tires on your camper get them off. You are stating off in the hottest part of the summer there is a very good chance if you have the original China Bomb tires you are going to have at least one blowout that could do thousands of dollars damage to your camper.
Lynwood
Switched to Goodyear 614's last summer.
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Old 06-04-2017, 09:44 AM   #16
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Do a good once over on your truck
I am having my Ford dealer do an oil change (I get those free 3 times a year), any scheduled maintenance and a thorough, overall inspection before I head out west.
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Old 06-04-2017, 11:57 AM   #17
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We fulltime, and that is almost what you will be doing, except you will eventually go back to your home. The best advice I can give is, slow down and don't act like you are on vacation. If you have that much time, relax, smell the roses and spend some time really visiting the places you are traveling through. Don't be obsessed with making a predetermined amount of miles per day or having to be at some destination exactly on a certain day, unless that destination is the reason for the trip. Things happen on extended trips that are out of your control and it would be a shame to still have to make all the states you are planning to visit in a shorter time if you do have some mechanical or illness issues. Just have a great trip.
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Old 06-04-2017, 04:17 PM   #18
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Switched to Goodyear 614's last summer.
Good Have a nice trip.
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Old 06-05-2017, 06:26 AM   #19
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A few suggestions that work for me. I have owned 2 Ford diesels--and I have always had the service done at Ford Dealerships--I have more trust in the dealers than anyone else when working on diesel engines. And I always check to see if there are internet coupons for service to save a few $$.
Next. Yes things happen on the road to your rig. I have had service a few times on the road. I have never felt comfortable doing this even with Montana dealers--they know I am leaving their area and will not be back. So, if possible--try to make it home and use a local dealer who you can return to if necessary. I had a dealer in North Texas call me after I left to tell me that they had decided to not honor their promise to pay for the damages they caused. My message to them was clear--have you heard of the internet! They sent a check for $1500 to pay for breaking my landing legs.
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Old 06-05-2017, 09:03 AM   #20
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As we got older, we have shortened our driving days and when traveling back to back days, we almost always stay over 2 days at the 2nd or 3rd day. Gives us a chance to do laundry, shop, and rest a little bit.
Now if you are seeing the North East, you can see about 20 states in 3 days, right? :-)
I agree with you about staying at a campground for at least 2 days. Otherwise I might as well have stopped at a truck stop or Wally World. When driving i do like to go for about 11 or 12 hours. Stopping for fuel and eats. Those 2 or 3 hour driving days that people talk about just don't cut it for me.
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