First "long" trip advice

[seanjackmc]

Hey all
My family and I are leaving Thursday for our first extended trip with our Montana 3750FL. We will be heading from Ann arbor Mi to Virginia beach for a week+. We have been camping for 2 years now but just within Mi and Ohio. Any advice for an extended trip. We have a 5 and 3 year old so stops will be frequent. Our plan is to leave after work Thursday and drive as far as safely possible (before I get tired) and the finish the trip in the morning Friday. Never been more than 400 miles from home base so looking for any wisdom.
Thanks for the help
I dont post often but enjoy lurking and sucking up all the great insight

[lasater]

We also travel with young ones. A nine year old and an eleven year old (long hair chihuahua and rough coat jack russell). Frequent uses of rest stops is automatic with us. Since we are retired, we are able to slow down the travels to approximately 200 miles per day and at 60 MPH. Discounting any head wind, this has given us up to 12.5 MPG, which we are happy with.

For a long trip, frequent stops, activities for the kids, healthy snacks such as trail mix, bars, etc. Keep your options open. Remember that its not the destination that's important but the journey.

[PackerFan]

We just left Virginia Beach Monday and are currently on our way home back to Wisconsin. If you don't have any reservations there yet we would highly recommend the Holiday Travel Park on General Booth Road. We stayed there for 6 days and had a great time. There is a lot for the kids to do there also.

Best advice.....Just take your time and enjoy the family time!!
Scott

[seanjackmc]

That's where we are staying, glad to hear you enjoyed it. My son can't wait for the aquarium! Mom can't wait for the beach and I can't wait to spend a week with my family. Oh and my three year old cant wait for "treats" that's s'mores in her vocabulary.
Thanks
Sean

[1retired06]

My advice for long trips: Don't push it and make the travel fun and part of the adventure.

[DQDick]

quote:Originally posted by 1retired06

My advice for long trips: Don't push it and make the travel fun and part of the adventure.

X2 on this one, particularly with kids along.

[Art-n-Marge]

Many people, including me don't drive more than 500 miles the first day and about 350 to 400 miles per day thereafter. I find that driving the rig is more taxing than you might think and gets more tiring the longer the trip. I'm guessing it's about 750 for this trip one way so 500 miles the first day makes for only 250 miles an plenty of time remaining for set up.

It always amazes me how tired I am after we get to where we are going and I do a minimal setup (if any) if driving through or if we get to where we're staying and I do a major setup. At the end of all that I am worn out. If you need to make longer runs keep the setup and breakdown to a minimum.

Traveling with kids will make it a little more fun but more work. I'd travel with a partial fresh water tank to allow for toilet facilities just in case when the "wait for the rest stop" won't cut it. There are plenty of places to turn into a rest stop when you have your "facilities" with you. It also works very well when we do stop at a rest stop or restaurant and the facilities turn out to be less than what we like (we've run into that... ewww). Having the RV ready to use helps a lot.

I hope you have a reservation for your destination. If you overnight along the way like at Walmart, a truck stop, etc. make sure you let the proprietors know, to get permission and information where it's best for you.

Sounds like it's gonna be fun!!!

[stiles watson]

Art drives way too far for me. I never travel more than 300 miles +/- 50 miles and never past 3:00PM. I want to stay rested and alert. It is safer that way. But then you are a lot younger than I am.

Don't panic when something goes wrong with your rig. Use a check list for hook up and set up. Pilots do it why not you?

When parking or moving around campgrounds, look up as well as at the site itself. I have had to trim small branches (with campground permission) to protect my rig. Accept help with parking your rig. Don't be macho. Excessive ego is dangerous to you rig.

Happy RVing..............

[mainer]

We don't travel with any children (grandchildren are not old enough) but we drive around 300 miles a day and also try to stop no later than 3:30. Feel that works out the best for us, not tired when we have to set up and is early enough to relax, go for a walk and have dinner.

Have fun and safe travels.

[PackerFan]

300 Miles a Day!! WOW, What a Bunch of Rookies!

Come on Guys, I just finshed a couple of 14 hour days on our trip back home.......Pull Up Your "Big Boy Pants"!!




Before I get Slammed here.....Just Kidding!!


I did do one 14 hour day driving and THAT will NEVER happen again! It about killed me.

[Artemus Gordon]

Practical issues not necessarily pretty or in order. We just did 7,000 miles these things helped.

1. We carry large jug of water in bathroom for flushing toilet. We elected more than once to use our own restroom. Out of fear and out of convenience. did not turn on pump up front ( we have same 3750).

2. Extra water hose. Twice water was further than I standard hose.

3. Extra length of sewer hose. Used 5 times on trip.

4. Train everyone about water conservation and monitoring tank levels.

5. Watch service station heights. I earned quickly the are not standard. I used truck stops with no problem.

6. I never let my fuel tank go below half. ( in case of bad fuel) ! Used time for bathroom dog walking etc.

7. 3750 Montana allows easy fridge access. We took our own sodas, water, cut fruit.

I keep editing sorry! We chose the 3750 cause easy bath access on trips, and kitchen available without moving a slide. Very travel friendly fiver!

Have some fun along the way!

[seanjackmc]

Thanks so much for all the replies! Your advice is not taken lightly. The only odd part of our trip is that we are leavening in the evening. The idea being our little ones will sleep and my wife and I will do crosswords or a book on the iPod. I never thought to keep some water available for the bathroom breaks. Will do that for sure. My kids love to need to use the potty as soon as we pass a rest stop. Do most rest stops allow you to stay extended periods of time. My wife is going to set up the kids beds which also happens to be the couches in the living room before we leave. so my thought is before I get too tired to pull into a rest stop open the slides transfer kids and then crash for a few hours and finish the trip in the am. Does that sound feasible?
We do have a reservation at holiday travel park in va beach which I confirmed yesterday.
Anyway we are super excited as our the kids. I say it to my friend all the time "although it might seem like a pain in the axx to you spending that kind of time with my family is priceless" memories memories and more memories.
I'll check back here before departure tomorrow if anyone has any last minute advice. I won't push it driving, too much precious cargo.
Thanks again
Sean

[trlrboy]

I doubt I would plan to overnight at a rest stop with kids. Even if you get there at dark the kids will want to move around more than you will be comfortable with all the cars and trucks moving through. Consider the noice level there. Walmarts are OK as suggested but a decent campground may be better for a family situation even though it will cost you a few bucks.

Make sure you have a flashlight in your truck.

[seahunter]

Just a couple thoughts. If traveling at night, you and the kids miss all the scenery and chances to stop at something that sounds interesting. Also may be more difficult to get help in the middle of the night if you become stranded and more dangerous on the side of the road in darkness.

[exav8tr]

When our kids were small (10-12) and we took vacations, all we heard was he's touching me from both in the back seat. After a weekend on the road with them our motto was "Kill, Kill, Kill". It did get better over the years, athough we never RV'ed with them again. Didn't get another Trailer until AFTER they were gone. Feel we missed out on something that could have been nice, but saved our sanity......

[Art-n-Marge]

In my state one is not allowed to overnight at a rest stop (go figure). I guess otherwise it would be called a sleep and rest stop. Overnighting at a Walmart or other RV friendly place, or a truck stop (noisy?), just check in with the management and get their take and permission. They don't all allow it. Then many don't allow the slides to be extended.

Use the internet to search for a location that accommodates an RV since you might be arriving beyond their open hours and get prior approval and information. This implies you'll have a significant trip in the morning then there's the setup time after you've driven all that distance.

You and DW might wanna research every trip friendly game out there and use them. The kids are kinda young for most games but keep it interesting. The more fun you make it for them, the more they'll want to do it, too.

I agree with seahunter, that day travel is more educational and easier but requires trial and error for what works. Facilities and support are much easier and more available during the day too. If you can take the rush factor out of your trip then all the better. My kids sure appreciated the day trips more than the night trips where they saw nothing, but you know your kids much better and we're all different.

Note, I am a little younger than Stiles, however if I were a full-timer and not a rare-timer my trips would certainly be shorter. Every person I talked to that spent more than 10 hours or 500 miles on their trips always realized the hassle, but when you have to, then there is no choice. I've never done more than 10 hours of driving and hope I never do.

Hey Phil, we both got our trailers after the kids left the roost, but in retrospect, the advantage of the trailer is when the kids got unruly then you tie them up and throw them in the fiver to restore peace and prevent any damage to the rig if they tried to avenge the action. No, I don't mean that. You can still tie them up and keep them in the TV but you'll need duct tape to keep them quiet too. For younger kids where the tape could leave a mark, maybe masking tape is better. Okay, now I'm really only kidding.

I look forward to reading seanjackmc's experience. We do wish him the best time on their trip!

[gar&lin]

stiles watson, I've been thinking of creating a check sheet for both mob/demob. How detailed did you get with yours?
Gary

[seahunter]

On a couple of long trips - approximately 2500 miles each - we found it was very difficult to do 500 miles a day when you figure in stops, etc. I'm definitely in the 300-400 camp too, otherwise it is not as enjoyable and I get too tired and sore.

[RJI47]

We usually go about 400 miles/day, but on occasion have done 500. That extra 100 miles makes a difference on wearing you out. Take your time, and have an enjoyable trip.

[seanjackmc]

Hey all finally got so e Internet to work down here. I really appreciated all the advice. We ended up leaving at 7 pm last Thursday and pulled into our hotel in Williamsburg for a weekend family reunion at 7:40 the next morning. Ended up going straight thru. Stopped often to stretch and get some fresh air. The kids were amazing in between naps they sang songs which sounds annoying but at 3 am the noise was welcomed. Got into holiday trav l park Sunday afternoon and have been loving it all. We have to leave tomorrow but are getting up early and plan to stop at the koa in maddison (Pittsburgh area) koa. Should be 8 hours from here which leaves us with a short 5 or 6 hour back to the Detroit/ Ann arbor area. Only concern is the tunnel out of Virginia beach says max height 13'6 on return. Hope I don't lose the a.c.!
Anyway thanks for the advice
Sean