RE: Hoover Dam roads
We drove it in a slightly longer rig and same toad as yours. It was fine. Some tight switchbacks, but at 15 mph speed limit anyway - no problem. Lovely views descending from the south. No place to pull over, unfortunately, and there were lots of other big RVs there!
Just go easy and enjoy.
Audrey
RE: How to handle banking?
We switched to Bank of America before going fulltime. It's sometimes handy to visit a branch office, and that's almost the only place we ever use the ATM.
Audrey
RE: Port Aransas, TX
Another pointer - when doing west I-10 to I-37 south in San Antonio, we take the loop around the west side of the city. Driving I-10 through San Antonio is NOT FUN! It's a big spaghetti mess, and there always seems to be construction, way too narrow lanes, plus it's way too easy to take the wrong exit on the many divergences - a lot of lane changes required to stay on route.
We get on loop 1604 south (watch the yields I-10 to loop 1604, they can be tricky, but honestly this is the worst part) and then take 151 across the southwest part of town. Once you are on 151 it's easy - 151 merges into I-90 which takes you to I-37 on the south side of town. It's a few extra miles this way, but it is so much easier and lower stress.
Audrey
RE: Port Aransas, TX
I've seen commercial 18 wheel trucks on the Port Aransas ferry many times, so I know that the ferry folks know what they're doing. They like to pack the vehicles tight too!
Given that, I still haven't been brave enough to put our DP rig plus toad on the ferry. When going to Port Aransas from central Texas, we go I-37 to 358 (South Padre Island Drive) and the bridge on 22. It's a good way to go - good roads, no problems. The bridge is fine. It's a lovely drive up Mustang Island to Port Aransas on 361.
SPID (358) through Corpus is pretty good, you miss most of the city. The road surface is not perfect, but it's a freeway and so no lights or anything until you after cross the causeway bridge.
Audrey
RE: Dealing with Repairs on the Road
We do this all the time! We always stay with the coach, just living on the service lot if needed. Only once have we stayed in a motel overnight (1 night) because they had to leave the coach in the bay. Otherwise, the repair place brings the coach outside each night.
Most service places know how to accommodate fulltimers. Most have some minimal hookups for overnight stays.
Worried about getting ripped off? All the repair places seem to have the same high prices as far as we can tell! We tend to go with repair centers (chains) that have some price parity across the country like Cummins Coach Care and Campingworld when we can. Usually a component manufacturer will recommend where to go for service. We always take their advice.
We've gotten to know a few of the repair places across the country.
Here at least is a review site where you can do some initial checking on an RV service center: http://www.rvservicereviews.com/ I would take it with a grain of salt, but at least it gives you some ideas.
Oh, and guess what! Plenty of the other RVers we run into at a service center are NOT fulltimers, but rather a parttimer who had a breakdown on a trip. So you have to deal with this problem if you travel any distance at all in your RV.
Audrey
RE: Getting to Blazing Star
I also now avoid 46 after driving it a couple of times. My beef is that it is a lot of steep up and down. It's narrow with very few passing lanes. It absolutely kills the fuel mileage in our big diesel motorhome. And there are at least a couple of spots where there is a red light at the bottom of a steep hill without much advance warning. You have to really pay attention and anticipate things. Plus driving through downtown Boerne to get from 46 to I-10 is a real pain.
But it is a beautiful road through the hill country, so if you are feeling like an adventure and getting away from interstate traffic, go for it.
Audrey
RE: Getting to Blazing Star
The 1604 loop around San Antonio is not bad at all. The trickest part is getting on and off the interstates - really pay attention to who is supposed to yield
Audrey
RE: Moving to Texas
We really enjoyed staying at La Hacienda RV Park and Resort on the north west edge of town when we were selling our house in north Austin to go fulltime. Nice and quiet plus it's in one of the most scenic areas and very near the lakes. Outside the city limits, but access back into town is very fast.
http://www.campingfriend.com/LaHaciendaRVPark/
Austin is a great city - if you have to live in/near a city.
We kept our TX residency when we went fulltime - lots of residency benefits (low taxes) when you don't own real property.
Audrey
RE: "Its Not For Everyone" - What Makes It Not For Everyone?
I read this alot "Its Not For Everyone". Can you give some specific examples or reasons that would make it not for everyone?
Too tough? Not enough Money? In-adequate planning? Too small of a space to live in?
Really, I would like to understand this a little more.
Dave
When we have this discussion with other RVers (non fulltimers), it usually comes down to:
1. They like having a "home base" - i.e. they enjoy traveling a few months, but they also enjoy staying in their home for extended periods.
2. Incompatible hobbies. I suspect this plays a HUGE role. Some people have hobbies that are not conducive to fulltiming - they require a large workspace and lots of stuff, OR they involve gardening or livestock. There are lots of hobbies that require a fixed abode.
3. Of course some people are deeply involved in their local communities.
I don't think money or small living space really comes into the discussion.
It's funny, some people seem wistful when they discover we are fulltimers and seem to wonder why they aren't doing it to, but it takes little discussion to clarify why they are not - it's usually one of the above reasons. I wish people wouldn't feel inferior about NOT being fulltimers!!!
Audrey
RE: Flying J Rewards
We're still getting the 6 cents cash discount for diesel even though we use our credit card. That's the most important discount to us. I did notice that we didn't get the other tiny discount we had before. In our experience from traveling all over the country Flying J often has the lowest prices in the area as long as it's not one of the franchise stations.
Audrey
RE: Hoover Dam
We crossed Hoover Dam on 3/14/08 in our 36ft DP motorhome towing a jeep. We had a homeland security agent look inside all the basement doors and walk through the RV inside checking all the rooms, and then they let us proceed.
It's a bit of a squeeze driving across the dam, but it was worth doing once! I'll be glad when the new bridge just south of the dam is open - scheduled for 2011. The dam itself was almost totally overrun with pedestrian tourist traffic.
Audrey
The impressive view while descending the switchbacks approaching Hoover Dam from the south (east):
http://www.rosford.com/images/Approaching_Hoover_Dam_from_south.jpg
RE: WIND WARNING US-395 Reno to Carson City
This happened most days during our planned trip from central TX to central OR, so we quickly realized that we had better take US95 across Nevada instead. We joined US395 in Susanville CA.
No problems along US95.
Audrey
RE: Lewis & Clark
We spent August and September of last year traveling the Lewis and Clark trail from St. Louis to the Idaho border at the pass on 12.
Our favorite town was Fort Benton, MT, which is more historic for its fur trading history, but the famous Lewis and Clark "decision point" is nearby. Three Forks MT was pretty cool too. Yes, the interpretive center in Great Falls is not to be missed.
They have a fantastic replica of the Fort Union trading post near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers at the MT/ND border near Williston ND.
Knife River Indian villages in ND has the mounds of the Hidatsa village where Sacajawea was from, and Lewis and Clark wintered at their Fort Mandan nearby (the actual location is lost). There is a terrific replica of Fort Mandan at the interpretive center near Washburn ND.
We also enjoyed Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park near Mandan, ND, which has a great museum and replica of Mandan houses, as well as a replica of Custer's army post. Very nice camping right there. Farm Island Recreation Area near Pierre SD, a Lewis and Clark site had great camping, and a nice state museum in downtown Pierre as well as other Lewis and Clark sites near town.
Overall, we enjoyed our trip immensely! It was a tremendous historical experience.
Audrey
RE: Central TX to Central WA in March 08 - advice appreciated
We made it! 8 days of actual driving, with 13 total days budgeted for winter weather delays. Just an update on our trip.
In order to avoid some of the major snow zones (and some high wind areas - US395 in central CA), we decided to take US95 from Las Vegas across western Nevada to Reno and then US395 up through northern CA and into OR, the US20 over to Bend, and US97 from Bend to Yakima. This last section does actually pass through an official snow zone (i.e. chains must be carried from Nov 1 to April 1 regardless of conditions), but it is not that high (not above 3000 feet) so chances of encountering winter precipitation is less than many of the other areas we avoided by our route.
FWIW, the Rocky Mountains were getting heavy snows during the time we were traveling, so we were very glad to have avoided that area.
The ODOT web site was fantastic in terms of giving us road conditions every day. This was the most critical area in our planned route.
We did pick up some snow chains in Susanville CA, as even though we were avoiding most of the snow zones, occasional weather conditions do require carrying chains according to OR chain laws. We watched weather conditions though to avoid actually having to use them! The day we crossed into OR, the prediction was to warm up to 50 degrees, and sure enough the northern CA and OR roads were completely clear of winter weather even though just the day before there had been packed snow on part of our route, and you could see a heavy deposit of sand on the sides of the highways in several places.
In 7 days driving, we made if from Kerrville TX to Bend OR with no trouble at all. Most days we drove 350 miles, with a couple of short driving days. One exciting highlight of our trip was driving the motorhome across Hoover Dam!
Once we got to Bend OR, we were only 1 days drive from Yakima WA and had 6 days still available, so we decided to take it easy and enjoy the wonderful restaurants and occasional snow in Bend. The day we drove to Yakima, the weather was so clear and sunny, and road surfaces so dry that we took the direct US 97 route to Yakima that otherwise might have had snow or ice.
Just FYI for anyone else planning such a trip in mid to late March. Our route probably cost us an extra 200 miles or so, but considering how easy our crossing was, we were glad to go the extra miles!
Audrey
Central TX to Central WA in March 08 - advice appreciated
We need to get from central TX to Yakima WA by March 24. In order to avoid mountains, snow and chains, we plan to go I-10 to I-5, and follow I-5 through CA, OR, and then drive along the Columbia River back inland. This adds 400 miles to the more direct but mountainous route we usually drive.
We have 13 travel days, which is tight but hopefully enough time. I figure 10 days driving is doable (we prefer not to drive more than 300 miles per day), so that leaves 3 days for weather related delays or for a break now and then.
We have never driven the motorhome up CA on I-5. I am familiar with I-5 in Oregon, and with driving along the Columbia River.
Is there a good way to get around LA from I-10 to I-5? I would really like to avoid LA.
Any comments and advice on any of the trip would be appreciated. CA is where I really have no experience at all. I know about the 55mph towing speed limit which is fine by me!
Thanks!
Audrey
