Newbie...Ohio to Colorado...thanksgiving 2017

So we have never traveled by rv before but are considering renting one for our 16 to 18 day vacation. It's my husband and I, plus our 5 and 1.5 year old kids (and possibly 2 dogs). What is the best route to take and is this even wise in mid to late November?

Thanks

I'd go on I-80 to I-76. I'm assuming you are going to the Denver area.

You can probably estimate averaging, at best, 50 mph. The days are getting shorter then and you really want to arrive at the RV park each day before dark.

Calculate gas mileage to be about 8 mpg or so.

If snow storms hit you don't want to be driving in them, especially if it's windy.

I think I'd try to leave the dogs at home. 

Have you ever used an RV before?  If not I'd suggest renting one for a long weekend and get familiar with them.

If you are unfamiliar with driving a larger vehicle, you will have a bit of a challenge. Add the possibility of weather related issues, and it can be quite the adventure.

I've run both I-70 and I-80 a number of times. In My not-so Humble and quite Personal Opinion, The easiest route to Colorado from most of Ohio is to use I-70.  70 is fairly easy, with only Indianapolis and Kansas City offering any real challenge for City driving. St Louis gets all but by-passed using the I-270 route around the Northern side of the metro area.
Having said that, Western Kansas can have a fairly unpleasant cross-wind to deal with, and if you are not familiar with driving an RV, that can be quite scary. I-80, across Nebraska follows the Platte River valley most of the way and the winds are less of a problem.

The real challenge is to track the weather. November can be terribly unpredictable. You need to be cognizant of the weather all the way across the country. You will want to know before starting out in the morning that the destination for that day will be clear when you get there that evening.
The systems will be tracking west to east and if you see one coming, you need to be prepared to sit through the thing in a relatively safe and comfortable location. Especially with children and pets depending on you for their safety.

We've made the drive back and forth many times, in all seasons. November on the plains can be gorgeous, or it can be a major pain in the backside. Just plan you trip with some flexibility in the schedule. You may need to sit a day somewhere to wait for a storm front to pass. Getting into a situation where you just have to push through because you're out of time would be a really bad place to be.








 

Agree with Larry.  That can be a dicey time of year - or beautiful.  Good weather reports are essential, especially going westward because you'll be driving into any storms.

ArdraF

Perkins2005 said:

So we have never traveled by rv before but are considering renting one for our 16 to 18 day vacation. It's my husband and I, plus our 5 and 1.5 year old kids (and possibly 2 dogs). What is the best route to take and is this even wise in mid to late November?

Thanks

Click to expand...

I think you answered your question with your last sentence:  " is this even wise in mid to late November".  I would not recommend Colorado for that time period unless you were well experienced with cold weather camping in an RV. 

If you want to go west for this time period, head to Oklahoma City, pick up I-40 and head to New Mexico or Western Texas in the area of Big Bend National Park. 

Or head to the Gulf Coast around Biloxi, MS or east of Panama City, FL. 

If either option interests you, I suggest you start a new topic asking for suggestions on things to see and do for each location. 

If you can change your vacation time to mid Sept to early Oct then going to Colorado would work well. Early fall can be wonderful there.  You still want to be sure to keep an eye out for winter storms so you don't get caught in high country with snow and ice coming in. 

I have been in Colorado in late November for 28 of the last 38 years.
Weather in Colorado in November can be anywhere from mid-70s and beautiful sunny, to sub-freezing and a couple of feet of snow on the ground. Sometimes all in the same week.
In fact, usually, leading up to Thanksgiving, I often begin to entertain the idea of an outdoor picnic style Thanksgiving, like we used to have in Florida when I was a kid. But, the week before (sometimes just the day before) Thanksgiving, the weather always takes a dive, and we end up dining in. Thanksgiving weekend is not the time to be trekking across the western plains in a vehicle you are not familiar with, on roads you are not familiar with.
It can be done, and has been done, many times, but you need to understand what you could be getting yourself into, and you need to be prepared.


 

Another problem with traveling in November is that many campgrounds will be closed. Not all of,them, but you need to check on the ones you might be using.

Like others have said, it could be gorgeous or it could be big snowstorms. You just won't know until a few days before.