Long distance travel

Next year we are planning to go out west for an extended trip in our travel trailer.  FOr those of you who have already done this, is there any one piece of advice you would offer a newbie?  Also what do you do about your home mail while you are gone. Thanks

Mail is easy.  Between now and when you plan to leave, get all your bills setup electronically.  As for mail?  Less than 30 days simply put in a mail hold with the post office.  Longer, then arrange for amneighbor to pick it up and hold it for you.  Now, as for travel?  2-300 miles a day is a pretty good day.  If your in a hurry then youll need to drive long and hard hours stopping only to fuel up and sleep.  Even at that plan on at least three and as many as 10 days cross country.

Our previous trips were only for 4-5 weeks, but we are planning on a 8+ week trip soon. Most important was to get all your regular bills on epay, if not autopay. We really don't get bills at home. Even our doctor sends us electronic notice. We hire a neighbor girl to pick up the mail every day. She also walks through the house once a week, runs all the faucets, and flushes the toilets. Our home is in a very dry climate, and this makes sure the traps are full and that the whole house is looked at. For 5 weeks, that's all we do. For this longer trip, I am going to have a trusted adult friend go through the mail once a week and forward anything that looks important to us. I really doubt there will be anything at all, but this will provide peace of mind. We also have a good security system with cameras we can monitor remotely.

You might want to check with your insurance to make sure you don't get in problem for leaving the house empty for a long time. Sometimes the rates go up. You don't want to find out after a problem that they won't cover something because the house is unoccupied.

Welcome.

Could use a little more info.

Is it just the 2 of you going or are there kids and/or pets involved?

Where do you live?        Any Winter travel expected?

What is the longest you plan on being gone at any one time?

Do you plan on one location or moving from campground to campground or boon-docking?

Just the two if us.  We are planning to go campground to campground for about three months.  Hoping to see grand canyon, new mex, glacier, etc.  we plan to leave in april and we are in alabama.

With that wide of assortment of climates, make sure you take a wide assortment of clothes - shorts, jeans, tshirts, sweatshirts, and definitely rain gear. It sounds like a great trip.

Don't plan to travel a lot of miles per day, i.e. plan a very leisurely itinerary. Averaging even 200 miles/day over a 6-week period is a lot, cause you don't want to travel each & every day. Try not to flit from one major attraction to another either, though the temptation is strong when you first start out. Spend a bit of time at each stop and see more than the highlights. Sample local restaurants or museums of just drive around an area and get to know it a little better. RVing is more than just getting your ticket punched at each tourist attraction.

Peggyy said:

Just the two if us.  We are planning to go campground to campground for about three months.  Hoping to see grand canyon, new mex, glacier, etc.  we plan to leave in april and we are in alabama.

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The Going to the Sun road in Glacier may not be open due to weather so bear that in mind.

I agree with Gary on driving, we try to stay at least 3 nights but longer if a lot to see/do. I'd also recommend Zion, Bryce, Arches and Canyonlands if you've not been there. Zion can be busy and you need to use shuttle to get around.

Enjoy your planning. Look forward to hearing more about it!

My best advice, take your time, do not see all those places  "out the window", stop often and stay a enough  time in each to explore!

if you are using credit or debit cards be sure they know where you are heading or you will be held up trying to fuel your rig and have to call
and talk with them to release the card hold.

I found that you don't always haft to stop at a campground every. Night.  And sometimes its cheaper to just spend a night in a hotel you you figger in the cost of campground and free breakfast.    Beats wallmart in a questionable city

Try NOT to drive over 300 or so miles in any day.

Stay several days in each of several destination locations.

Relax!  Take your time.  Be flexible.

If I know where my destinations are, I look at Trip Advisor for best spots to visit and best places to eat.  I list these for easy reference, then I can get up, look at  the weather and decide what to see today.  My list is not complete, but if we are staying 4 days, I will pick the 6 or 7 best, and know we will not see them all this trip!

You will be doing a lot of travel during the months when everyone wants to see the same national parks, so make sure you have reservations if you want to stay in the parks themselves.  This is especially true for holiday weekends. April will be easy to drop in most places, but it really gets busy in the big parks as early as May.

Also, if you are over 62, get a national park senior pass, and also use recreation.gov to check out campgrounds where you can stay for half-price.

beaverfever said:

if you are using credit or debit cards be sure they know where you are heading or you will be held up trying to fuel your rig and have to call
and talk with them to release the card hold.

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What great advice.  I am brand new to all this and, in fact, do not even have an RV yet, but that seems something I would not have thought of.  My first day and I'm already learning.  Awesome tip. 

Peggyy said:

Just the two if us.  We are planning to go campground to campground for about three months.  Hoping to see grand canyon, new mex, glacier, etc.  we plan to leave in april and we are in alabama.

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Peggyy, One correction on the mail. You can only get a 30 day hold on your home delivery but you can renew it on the day it expires.
You are leaving from Alabama so I wouldn't worry about Glacier as by the time you get there the road should be open. Start west and do the Golf coast then head toward California. You can start in the south and work your way north. See the Sequoias, Yosemite.
Or you can go up I-17 from Phoenix to Flagstaff on I-40 then west to Williams and the Grand Canyon. Then you can go west to Las Vegas and north through Nevada and Utah. There are at least 5 National parks in Utah. Then work your way up to The Tetons and Yellowstone then up to Glacier. We did most of this last summer but in reverse. Plan on staying on the west side of Glacier. The acess is much easier. and don't forget to take a tour on the red busses.
If You are interested I can give you RV parks and outher info. We did 14 national parks this last summer. 
Bill

Peggyy said:

Just the two if us.  We are planning to go campground to campground for about three months.  Hoping to see grand canyon, new mex, glacier, etc.  we plan to leave in april and we are in alabama.

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So, just and FYI regarding seasons, people that live near the Grand Canyon/Flagstaff won't plant a garden until late in April or May. Spring comes later at higher altitudes.

In 08, the wife & I took off for 6 months. The Plan was: There was no Plan.

After a week or two, we felt comfortable with 2-250 miles a day. Stayed Off the Interstates as much a possible. Stopped many times for the night.. ended up staying for a few days, to a week +.. to see things in what ever area we were in. Visited with many Friends & Relitives, [if] we traveled thru their areas.. but only stayed 3-5 days. Let family know we were going to be in their area(s).. so they could come & see US.

Set up all Bills to be paid automatically. Never had a "Destination" when we left in the morning.. +/-200 miles later, the DW fired up the Lap Top and found a CG or Park coming  up on the highway we were on..

The "Short" of the trip was: We traveled from Central California to Bath, MA.. to Orlando, FL, via Seattle, WA and El Paso, TX.. and Many, Many points in between. Yellowstone, Boston, Gettysburg, Washington D.C., Disney World, The Gulf Coast.. just to mention a few.

11,751 miles from driveway to driveway...AND LOVED EVERY MILE OF IT.. Because We Had No Plan. We "Ambled" Around.

We're going to do it again, only This Time.. we're going to Zig-Zag.. North to South, to see some places we've been to before... and some we haven't seen... YET.

Life Is Good..... Out There On The Road.     

markbarendt said:

So, just and FYI regarding seasons, people that live near the Grand Canyon/Flagstaff won't plant a garden until late in April or May. Spring comes later at higher altitudes.

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We'll be hosting at the FS campground outside the North Rim of the Canyon, and our campground opens May 15th.  Much nicer weather through the summer and way less crowed than the South Rim.  Close to Zion and Bryce Canyon and all the other parks in south Utah.

Old_Crow said:

We'll be hosting at the FS campground outside the North Rim of the Canyon, and our campground opens May 15th.  Much nicer weather through the summer and way less crowed than the South Rim.  Close to Zion and Bryce Canyon and all the other parks in south Utah.

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Some of the 4x4 roads out at the Kaibab plateau are worth exploring. We drove out to Point Sublime through a thunderstorm which was an experience!

It was beautiful, though we didn't manage to have our picnic outside  :  Photos don't do it justice.

We hosted there last summer and put a bunch of miles on the Jeep on our days off. 
We did Jumpup Point in a storm.  Really didn't get bad until we'd left the point and headed north towards Jacobs Lake on the FS roads.  The road we took came out on the west end of the big burn from '00 or '01.  Of course just about the time we topped out in the burned area is when the lightning and thunder really broke loose.
We were so glad we'd put the top back on the Jeep for that day!
You're right about the pics not doing the place justice.  I've got several hundred pics and only a couple of them really wow me when I look back.