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Veebyes
Bermuda & Maryland Eastern Shore
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Joined: 11/24/2003
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Agree with many of the others. An awful ambitious trip for a first trip.
Maybe not driveway camping for a first trip but certainly a few weekends at a CG close to home so that as you discover things that are needed you can get them from home or a nearby Walmart or home center.
You never stop getting stuff but in those first few weeks alot of time is spent in Walmart & Lowes along with getting to know the rig & lifestyle. The big rush to get out there & travel is understandable however averaging something like 150 miles a day means about 4 hours in the driver's seat per day. That does not leave much time for actually seeing things by after time for setting up, breaking down camp, gas stations, regular stuff like grocery shopping, laundry & hopefully doing nothing & letting it all soak in is all taken into account.
We are off to Alaska, for the fifth time, leaving home in Bermuda in three weeks. After getting the trailer & truck out of storage we have at least ten days of preparation, getting the truck serviced, doing some maintenance on the trailer & getting initial supplies before the wheels start to turn heading northwest.
Our average per day distance will be well under 100 miles. Some days more. Some days less. No 'gotta get there' itis.
Boat: 32' 1996 Albin 32+2, single Cummins 315hp
40+ night per year overnighter
2007 Alpenlite 34RLR
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BarabooBob
Baraboo, WI
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Joined: 12/28/2015
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We took many trips that involved more driving time and had great times. Our 4 kids grew up doing road trips that they still talk about. I mean road trips that included Wisconsin to Yellowstone and Teton trips in 2 weeks. Don;t be afraid to travel. My wife and I still take 5,000 mile trips and a month. We ENJOY our road trips and cram many memories into every one.
If you don't like driving 400 miles in a day, don't. But don't assume that other people always need to leave at 10:00am and need to be set up at 2:00. We go hard some days and don't move for a couple. We have fun, our kids and grandkids have fun.
Bob & Dawn Married 34 years
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JimK-NY
NY
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Joined: 05/12/2010
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I love camping in the SW deserts and on the W coast. Unfortunately, I live on the E coast and am used to driving long distances.
I typically start my day at 7 am or so and hit the road after several cups of coffee about 9 am. By 11 am I am ready for a pit stop and typically also need to fuel up. My Interstate driving speed is typically about 60-65 mph so first leg covers about 120 miles. My next driving stint is typically about 3-4 hours so a total of 340 miles. At that point in the trip I take a long stop, fix something good to eat and then take a half hour nap. By then I am well rested and able to drive another 3-4 hours. So the day's total is often over 500 miles. In the Summer months, with several hours of daylight still left, I might take another nice nap and finish up with a couple more hours of driving. I have hit about 650 miles on my longest days of driving and finish the day feeling good. I never push and when I start feeling tired I look ahead for a convenient Walmart parking lot, a rest stop, or a truck stop. I can almost always find some place safe and convenient within an hour of when I start looking.
That is the way I drive on the Interstate traveling through flyover country. When I reach my designation areas I slow way down and like to spend days and sometimes weeks in the same National Park or general area. I would not even vaguely consider taking the trip the OP is planning.
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toedtoes
California
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Joined: 05/17/2014
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That's how I prefer it. Do a big travel day or two to get to someplace interesting and then stop and enjoy that area as fully as possible. I don't want to drive away wishing I had the time to see more.
I can't imagine spending just one day in a National Park or area. There's so much to explore and see beyond the "highlight tour".
It really is about knowing your own preferences and interests. It's why I'm careful who I travel with. I'd hate to be dragged away from an interesting sight after just 30 minutes. Likewise, I wouldn't want someone else to spend 3 hours at that same sight bored out of their skull so I can enjoy it.
It's also why I put the time and energy into planning my own trips rather than just pick a destination and ask strangers "how long should I stay there?" and "what is there to see?". I know what I enjoy and how I want to travel. Someone else may think that spending 2 hours at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto is a must see - I have no interest spending 2 hours looking at a bunch of used shoes.
1975 American Clipper RV with Dodge 360 (photo in profile)
1998 American Clipper Fold n Roll Folding Trailer
Both born in Morgan Hill, CA to Irv Perch (Daddy of the Aristocrat trailers)
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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Joined: 05/06/2013
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Gawd, the old is just oozing out of some of these posts!
I wanna know what your secret was back when yall worked and had kids? You get 6 to 8 week summer road trip vacations or what?
Shoot, the speed limits were even 55 back then. Take ya 3 days to Kansas….with the wind ….lol
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
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lonewolf80
campground
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Joined: 09/08/2015
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Traveled throughout the Southwest and West last summer and had no problem at all finding private and some public campgrounds while en route and on the road.
The only problem the OP will face is an itinerary that doesn't let so to speak smell the roses during each stop and getting into the national parks. Most if not all of the parks mentioned have a reserve system to book your visit to the park. You can get passes for up to three days (Recreation.Gov). Then of course when you get to the park for your reserved time say 9 AM and you find there is a 3-4 wait to get into the park, then what. This happened to my wife and me last May at Arches, 9 AM entry pass, minimum wait 3 1/2 hours. Sorry, not waiting in line for anything that long so we didn't bother.
Also for someplace like Yellowstone, the distance into the park from an out-of-the-park campsite can be 50 or more miles away so that should be taken into account. I would recommend the West entrance in West Yellowstone as the best option for this if a CG inside the park isn't available. Same for Yosemite, from campgrounds outside of the South entrance near Groveland, CA to the entrance which is about 24 miles, enter the park and drive another 20-plus miles to get into Yosemite Valley, park, and see the sites. This adds about an hour each way to your daily sightseeing adventures, plan accordingly.
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Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
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^Yup, the only thing that needs dialed back with the OPs plan (assuming he’s prepared to roll with confidence on a 6k mile road trip) is the number of “main attractions” they can reasonably hit.
Scale back to like 1 NP per week unless they’re next door to each other, make those reservations. Have a plausible plan A and B (B is always easy, drive into the woods or Walmart for the night and make camp) for the in between nights and let er rip!
Couple/few nights at 3 or 4 main NP destinations and the other 50+% of the nights somewhere else. Throw in a couple hotel stops to doo laundry and let the kids terrorize the pool and you got a trip planned.
And OP, idk if you’ve done any significant “scenery” traveling with your kids, since driving around TX isn’t generally a vacation for the majestic views, but most all kids under the age of late teens and even then, don’t gaf about seeing the 13th, 14th or 57th mountain peak. That part is for the parents and for the kids to think back about how they might wanna see it again, 10-20 years down the road….
A month long trip is a luxury that I’d estimate the vast majority of kids/families ever get to do, or maybe only once or twice. Unless you’re trying out your next stint at homeschooling and being a nomad, lol, the kids will be good with a month on the road, maybe less.
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wa8yxm
Davison Michigan (East of Flint)
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Joined: 07/04/2006
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lonewolf80 wrote:
The only problem the OP will face is an itinerary that doesn't let so to speak smell the roses during each stop and getting into the national parks.
Something I learned a long long time ago
Trying to squeeze 3 weeks worth of stuff in a 2 week time slot just does not work.. however scheduling 2 weeks of stuff in a 3 week time slot works very well.
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
2005 Damon Intruder 377 Alas declared a total loss
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Walaby
Georgia
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Joined: 11/10/2014
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Im guessing OP didn't get the answer he wanted to hear.
Haven't heard back since the initial post.
Mike
Im Mike Willoughby, and I approve this message.
2017 Ram 3500 CTD (aka FRAM)
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cptqueeg
Idaho
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Joined: 04/11/2020
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Walaby wrote:Im guessing OP didn't get the answer he wanted to hear.
Haven't heard back since the initial post.
Mike
Perhaps, he was trolling from the get-go. Atlas VW? We all know a month long trip requires a 1 T w training wheels.
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