Planning Our First RV Trip

As Newbies, my wife and I are planning our first RV trip. We live near Kansas City and are planning a 2 week trip to visit our son in Portland, OR. I wouldn't be so concerned about the timelines except my wife is still working, so we have to come up with a travel plan that gets us there and back within the two week period she has off (I'll be so glad when she retires and we don't have to worry about timelines!).

Right now, when we travel by car, I generally won't drive more than 8 hours a day, and of course we have experience knowing the kinds of hotels we stay at, so our travel planning seems pretty simple. Now that we're going to be traveling by RV, I'm wondering if driving 8 hours a day to our destination is a reasonable expectation in an RV. According to Google Maps, our trip from KC to Portland will be about 1769 miles and if we are able to average 60 MPH and drive 8 hours per day, we should plan on 4 days to get there. I'm just wondering if my expectation of driving 8 hours per day and averaging 60 MPH is reasonable? Also, since this is new to us, I'm wondering how difficult it will be to find campgrounds along the way? My expectation is that we'll do a mix of boon docking and full hookup campgrounds but I have no experience in locating either of these kind of places. I guess the bottom line is that we'd appreciate any advice on trip planning, especially reasonable expectations on how far we could drive in a day and then the best way to find places to stay along the way. Thanks for any advice you have to offer!

never mind

Interesting. So a two week trip to Portland isn't possible in an RV.

On long trips like you are planning I drive from about 6am and stop between 10pm and midnight. I start looking for gas at a little below half a tank and try not to let the needle get below 1/4 tank. Sometimes we eat when we stop for gas and other times we pull into a rest stop and make sandwiches in the TT. I try to find either a rest stop, Walmart or truck stop for the night. I like either Flying J's or Pilot. I couldn't tell you what I average as far miles per hour. I look more at how miles per day I need to go. I know others will tell you driving that many hours a day is crazy but that is what I am used to. We normally have one of the grandkids with us (5 & 7). Good travels and have fun.

never mind

I tow our TT at 60 mph on Interstate highways.  I find that if I plan for average 55 mph I usually come out pretty close to my estimated time.

Mapquest estimates a 25 hour trip from Kansas City to Portland. If I were planing this trip I would allow 2 1/2 days. That's pulling my TT. So 5 days round trip. If I had 10 days to two weeks then I could plan staying for 5-9 days. Have you ever driven long distances before? If you don't know your limitations then maybe you shouldn't try it . But I really think this is doable for you at 8-10 hours a day.

never mind

SeilerBird said:

1800 miles in 2 and a half days. 700 miles per day. Wow. 

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Yep. We were in the military for 24 years and all our family lives in Florida. When I took leave we wanted to make the best of it so learned to drive 12-15 hours a day to get to our destination as fast as possible. When stationed at Barksdale AFB in Bossire City, LA we had a 1973 GMC Gremlin. It must have had. 30 gallon tank. My wife would fry two chickens and we would fill a cooler with sodas. Didn't stop for gas until we hit the Florida panhandle and on to Daytona Beach. It's just what we're used to.

I don't believe you'd ever be able to achieve 60 MPH 0n average in a MH. I think it would be much closer to 50 MPH for an average. For me, I wouldn't think about doing it in a MH unless there were 3 or 4 drivers. I think one way would be closer to 5 eight hour days and that would only leave 4 days to visit. Then you'd have to turn around and drive back. I would go in a car. The average MPH would probably much closer to 65 MPH.  In a MH, you'd have to drive closer to 12 to 13 hrs. a day to make it worthwhile

So much depends on how comfortable you are with time in the seat. You really won't average more than 50-55 mph, driving at a 65 mph speed. If you are comfortable with more than 8 hours a day you could do that. We have a tendency to drive long days to get to a destination, but we do take a nice relaxing break at lunch and alternate drivers every two or three hours.

If I drive 700 miles a day I would count on 14-15 hours on the road. That would be about 12 hours of actual driving. That's factoring in gas stops. At 700 miles and 12 hours I would average about 58 mph.

never mind

In all our RV travels, running at 65 mph on major highways, or the speed limit if lower, we tend to average about 50 mph overall, including rest stops every couple of hours (bladder and old bones), and a 20-30 minute lunch stop. Your comfort and endurance, along with your (and your family's) likes and dislikes will play a big part in how far you get in a day. Do keep in mind that RV parks aren't quite as plentiful as motels, even if you consider state and local parks (sometimes a hassle for just overnight, and often require reservations well in advance for weekends/holidays).

So I'd suggest that you reduce your average speed (for calculations) to between 50 and 55, then consider that it actually takes a bit more concentration driving an RV than it does just driving a car, thus wearing you out a bit quicker. So, as you probably noticed there are varying opinions from various people as to what is "reasonable" to do.

Since I'm one of those who, in my pre-RV days, would drive 12-16 hours a day, when needed, and have occasionally spent more than 10 hours (including rest stops) on the road in my RV, I'd suggest that if you and your family can stand the gaff that 8 or 9 hours a day can work, provided you don't get so tired/sleepy that you become unsafe on the road. But I'd not recommend a steady diet of this.

I'd also suggest that you get the Allstays Camp and RV app, which provides a listing of almost all camping facilities in the U.S., whether KOA, Independent, Forest Service, COE, State and National Parks, etc., along with the facilities they provide, relative expense, map and directions, and will even dial the phone to call an RV park to check on site availability. We've been using this for years, and typically about mid-afternoon we start looking on Allstays for sites in the area we plan to stop for that day, usually two to three hours ahead of us on the road. Mostly we get verbal assurance that spaces are available for us, but occasionally we make a reservation if there is any question whether they'll get full before we get there.

SeilerBird said:

Not in an RV.

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Actually, Tom, some people can do that on occasion -- I've done it (yes, in an RV), but I don't make a steady diet of it. At my age I need somewhat longer to recover after a day or two like that, than I used to need. Mostly I keep it shorter, but...

When I drive to FL towing a 5vr, 1600 miles, the first day we put in 13 hours, the second day 12 hours and the 3rd day 4 to 5 hours.  I set the cruise at 63 MPH. That averages about 53 MPH. We stop every 3 to 4 hrs. for fuel, lunch or bathroom call. The first two days are very long days.

never mind

Since we're still working, our vacation days are limited. We sometimes have to push hard to get there, then push hard to get back home. For me, 500 to 600 miles a day is pushing hard. A realistic number is 50 MPH on average, when you include meals, fuel and potty breaks. That equals 10 to 12 hours on the road, and I can't do that for any more than 3 days.

Hey Tom, I am surprised you deleted your comments. Was it because someone disagreed with you? I doubt that the people you disagree with would delete their comments because we don't all think the same way. You should get thicker skin. No one will agree with all comments, no matter who makes them. Thick skin is required around the internet.

UTTransplant said:

Hey Tom, I am surprised you deleted your comments. Was it because someone disagreed with you? I doubt that the people you disagree with would delete their comments because we don't all think the same way. You should get thicker skin. No one will agree with all comments, no matter who makes them. Thick skin is required around the internet.

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No, I just hate arguing on a forum. I got sucked into it and decided to duck out.