Highway 1 next month

Hi, we re an experienced motorhoming couple from uk. We are planning to visit CA for 10 days towards the end of March. We re planning to travel from LA to SF on the motorway and then back down the pacific coast highway. We're  currently planning to do it by car because we ve heard that it can be difficult in an rv but are wondering if we got a smallish c class as its March it might be quieter?

What do you guys think?

Btw Our own a class is lhd and i also drive semi,s

Many thanks
Jon

My very first trip in a rented motor home some 25+ years ago, I was driving a 30'class a home from Los Angeles and ended up on Highway 1.
It was a bit stressful to me because of my limited experience driving a motorhome, but we made it unscathed.

Thanks jeff

Could i also ask what kind of mileage should i book?

And if anyone has any reccomendations for rental companies?

Btw we re currently renting a persons motorhome in new zea land via chare a camper

Highway 1 is certainly doable in a Class C - you'll see many of them. There are sections of the road that are pretty skinny, some to the extent that they are restricted to 40 feet and under (north of San Simeon). I took our 38 footer up that section a couple years ago and you definitely need to pay attention. However an experienced semi driver should have no problem. There are some nice parks along Highway 1, but they can book up so you will want to start looking at availability. You might be early enough that it's not too much of an issue. We stayed at Plaskett Creek, a very pretty state campground just across the road from the ocean. No hookups or cell service.

I've been up and down highway 1 several times. You'll do fine in an RV.

Make sure you fill up on fuel first.  There are a couple gas stations but very expensive.

jonegood said:

Thanks jeff

Could i also ask what kind of mileage should i book?

And if anyone has any reccomendations for rental companies?

Btw we re currently renting a persons motorhome in new zea land via chare a camper

Click to expand...

The two rental outfits you see the most of are El Monte RV and Cruise America. I don't have experience with either.

If you're asking about miles per gallon of fuel I think you'd be safe to estimate 10mpg, probably a little better on freeways.

I have lived on both ends of PCH and traveled it many times in everything from a small car to a 39 foot DP. Just obey the law and you will do fine. Don't forget to stop at the Elephant Seal colony, Hearst Castle and spend the night in Morro Bay.

Thanks for all feedback so far, it sounds very doable.

My mileage I mean that it seems the rental people want us to prebook the amount of miles we would travel, looking at it on google looks like LA to SF then to san diego and back to LA = about 1500 miles?

Mileage you quoted sounds like it's in the neighborhood.

All I know about CA is you need a boat load of money to visit there for any length of time.
Especially in any of the tourist traps.
Also in Northern CA it can be cool temperatures compared to Southern CA in March.

Have fun in CA it's like no other place on Earth.  ;D

jonegood said:

Thanks for all feedback so far, it sounds very doable.

My mileage I mean that it seems the rental people want us to prebook the amount of miles we would travel, looking at it on google looks like LA to SF then to san diego and back to LA = about 1500 miles?

Click to expand...

1500 might be high, looks like 1000-1200 but 1500 would allow lots of side trips. You'll get the money back if you don't drive that far

Thanks for all the info so far,

Wheres the best place to stay in SF? The only one I've found that takes RVs so far is the Rv resort15 miiles out of the city and $78/night, is there anywhere closer and cheaper?

jonegood said:

Thanks for all the info so far,

Wheres the best place to stay in SF? The only one I've found that takes RVs so far is the Rv resort15 miiles out of the city and $78/night, is there anywhere closer and cheaper?

Click to expand...

We've stayed here more than a dozen times. Close as you will get. Expensive though.

http://sanfranciscorvpark.com/

Having toured the west for over 10 years by hiring a car and staying in motels, I'm not sure I would rent a motorhome if I only had 10 days. I think it might be more expensive that way, but your need to do the sums.  When we looked into it seveal years ago we decided against it. At that time yout paid for MH then additional fees for bedding and for kitchen equipment etc. which all added up. I guess it depends on if you are restricted by budget or not and how much you want to be in a motorhome.  Having said that be were finding prices going up over the last few years we did the hotel thing, but guess rental prices would be doing the same. Be interested in how expensive it is.  Also you can't drive the MH until the day ate you arrive for safety reasons.

You haven't said what you plan to do apart from drive. I'd second Tom's suggestions and add Monterey aquarium, 17 mile drive at Pebble Beach, Carmel is a quaint town and the beaches along here are beautiful.

You will be close to Death Valley, Sequoia National Park, Yosemite and a few places to see the Redwoods. There are enless places to visit in CA.

I'm in the UK so if you wanted to chat anything over send me a message and we can have a telephone conversation  ;D

Just read this on another forum.  Very strong storms hitting CA coast thru next week.  Dick

"Cracks in a support column under the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 in Big Sur continue to grow, causing an indefinite closure of the road."

"At 5pm on Wednesday, car and pedestrian traffic were stopped completely. Caltrans crews plan to reassess the bridge?s stability on Feb. 21, but there is no guarantee the bridge will open again on that date."

?It?s a situation that is still evolving,? says Caltrans spokesman Jim Shivers. ?It?s too soon to know if the bridge will need to be replaced.?

nvrver said:

Just read this on another forum.  Very strong storms hitting CA coast thru next week.  Dick

"Cracks in a support column under the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 in Big Sur continue to grow, causing an indefinite closure of the road."

"At 5pm on Wednesday, car and pedestrian traffic were stopped completely. Caltrans crews plan to reassess the bridge?s stability on Feb. 21, but there is no guarantee the bridge will open again on that date."

?It?s a situation that is still evolving,? says Caltrans spokesman Jim Shivers. ?It?s too soon to know if the bridge will need to be replaced.?

Click to expand...

So that's why.... I kept trying to come up with an answer to the OP's mileage question and Google wouldn't let me map all the way down the coast. Didn't show closed, just wouldn't do it.

We were trying to plan a route for summer and couldn't understand why it wouldn't let is go through Yellowstone - duh, road closed right now ? luckily you can change the date!

Thanks for the offer jackiemac but we're  currently motorhoming in new zealand. We did really want to use this as a trial run for rv ing in US.

While we're sorry for the localS more directly affected  by it - this is a bit of a pain.  Is there a realistic diversion? Or does it mean  going to carmel  and then returning to i101 and rejoining at san luis obispo? That looks like one of the best bits.

Thanks again

You could rejoin in Paso Robles, but I do not know how RV friendly the 46 is.

SeilerBird said:

You could rejoin in Paso Robles, but I do not know how RV friendly the 46 is.

Click to expand...

That section of 46 from Paso Robles to Highway 1 is very RV friendly. Several places to pull over and you pass many wineries. There is a beautiful view of the ocean from the top of the coastal range. 

Arch Hoagland said:

That section of 46 from Paso Robles to Highway 1 is very RV friendly. Several places to pull over and you pass many wineries. There is a beautiful view of the ocean from the top of the coastal range.

Click to expand...

Thanks Arch I always wondered what it was like. In the 70s I used to tow my boat up to Lake Nacimiento from Ventura to go water skiing (it is the best lake in soCal for water skiing) and so I drove the part from PR to LN a hundred times. One time we forgot to make the turn to LN and had to make a U turn and so we used to joke that they needed to put a sign up about a quarter of a mile past the turnoff that said 'If you are going to Lake Nacimiento you f'ed up' and then we would laugh like crazy. Only made that mistake once. I knew it was a good road to the turn off but I never did take the rest of the road to the coast, but I always wondered.