Planning RV trip to the US Summer '06. Help!

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Essex Boy

New member
Joined
Sep 22, 2005
Posts
4
Hey folks. I've just signed up here. Next summer me and my best buddy Nick want to break the tedium of usual 'lads holidays' (a week of drinking in Spain with all the other guys) and do something difficult. I have always loved the states and have visited a handful of the bigger cities. But I believe that to get a real appreciation of 'real america' something like a driving holiday should be done. Hence this is why we want to a few weeks (and a lot of driving) and see some warts n all America.

Taking into account that we ideally want to pick the RV up in LA then drive south east, cover some of northern Texas, through Louisiana and the South all the way East to the coast in Georgia then up the entire East Coast and drop it off in New York. I was wondering if some of you could give us some tips on the best route to take for a 3/4 week trip, any recommendations of places to rent the RV etc. etc. Many thanks in advance.
 
Hello boyo and welcome to our forum. So you want to "drive the states" do you?

A little reading for you - click on the Library button in the toolbar above and:

  • Select What newcomers need to know and click on Where to rent an RV.
  • Select Miscellaneous and click North America Online Travel Resources.
  • Select Places to see and things to do and click Tour the western states.

I'm sure others will jump in with advice and suggestions, so keep checking back.

One request - come back and tell us about your trip, how the rental was, places you visited, campgrounds, etc so others can learn from your experience.
 
Hi and welcome to the RV Forum.  Tom has given you some excellent links.  To me your proposed route is not the most interesting drive in America,  I would suggest Going through Las Vegas, Southern Utah ( some of the most scenic places in the nation, Zions, Canyonlands, amd Arches national parks then take I-70 into colorado.

Keep us updated on your plans maybe some of us will be able to meet up with you somewhere.

 
I agree with what Ron said, then if you have time, go north to see the three crown jewels: Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Glacier.  Then you can head east to NY.
 
Essex Boy said:
Taking into account that we ideally want to pick the RV up in LA then drive south east, cover some of northern Texas, through Louisiana and the South all the way East to the coast in Georgia then up the entire East Coast and drop it off in New York. I was wondering if some of you could give us some tips on the best route to take for a 3/4 week trip, any recommendations of places to rent the RV etc. etc. Many thanks in advance.

Hoo boy.  You really have no idea how big this country is do you?  ;D

First of all you sound like you are taking the southern route, in mid summer.  This can easily be like a 2 week holiday in Hell.  We are talking some serious, 110?F heat.  It is going to be hard to avoid heat in the US summer, but you might as well get in some primo sightseeing as well.  Ron's routing is good.  Let me recommend an alternative.  Try leaving LA and going north on CA-14 and US 395 into the eastern Sierra country of Lone Pine, Bishop, Bridgeport, and wind up at Reno.  From Reno take I-80 into Utah and Salt Lake City.  From Salt Lake head north to Yellowstone.  From Yellowstone head to Glacier National Park.  Now you could loop back thru Mt. Ranier NP to Seattle and the Olympic Penninsula.  Then down the Oregon Coast to California and Redwood NP.  Then thru San Francisco, take US 101 south to Santa Barbara, maybe sidetripping on the Big Sur Coast of CA-1.  Back to LA and dump your RV.

If you don't want to do the loop and want to go to NYC, for some strange reason, then head east on I-80 or I-90 into the Middle West, the Great Lakes and upstate New York.

 
>>If you don't want to do the loop<<

That is still ambitious for a 3 week tour.  We did it in 4 weeks but misssed a lot.  We did see the main points Carl mentioned but have since spent weeks in various years filling in the spots we missed. 

The loop is doable and will not be too hot although 90 degrees F will not be uncommon.

look at the maps and plot the mileages and see what you feel would be a days driving distance.  We happen to like to NOT exceeed 300 miles, 500km.
 
That is still ambitious for a 3 week tour.  We did it in 4 weeks but misssed a lot.  We did see the main points Carl mentioned but have since spent weeks in various years filling in the spots we missed.

We did it in 5 weeks.  One could do it in 4 I suspect by bypassing some things.
 
Hi E.B.

One thing I would definately recommend is buying Microsoft Streets & Trips (very cheap on ebay). You can even run it on your laptop as Sat Nav (receiver required).

Enter all of the places you want to go to and it will calculate the best route for you - you even put your prefered travelling times (ie 10 til 4) and enter your lunch duration and it will give you a good idea of overnight stops, the days required and fuel cost etc.

Good Luck

Paul
 
Thanks all for the replies. I guess we were thinking rather too ambitious. I appreciate that it'd be hot as hell in the deep south in the Summer (we're gonna go May/June) but that is the area we'd really like to see. I'd love to see some of 'the loop' that you guys mentioned. As for seeing New York I'm not really that bothered, but seeing the South I'd really love to do, and also some of Texas (particularly Austin) - you're talking to a huge music fan and guitar nut here. So given we're gonna be out there nearly a month can someone chime in a give me a sketchy idea of what'd be a good route. I suppose New Orleans would be as far East as we'd go.
 
As for seeing New York I'm not really that bothered, but seeing the South I'd really love to do, and also some of Texas (particularly Austin) - you're talking to a huge music fan and guitar nut here. So given we're gonna be out there nearly a month can someone chime in a give me a sketchy idea of what'd be a good route. I suppose New Orleans would be as far East as we'd go.

Weeellll, OK. Austin will be the governing destination.? ?From LA, the logical route east is I-10, or whatever of it Rita leaves behind.? ?You can do a bit of sightseeing by taking I-40 which you pick up in Barstow, CA just outside of LA.? ?I-40 takes you thru Kingman AZ, Williams AZ, and Flagstaff AZ..? ?At Williams you can dart north some 40 miles and take in the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.? Beyond Flagstaff, the route will take you by the Meteor Crater and the Petrified Forest.? ?Side trips north can give you the Hopi reservation and Canyon de Chelly on the Navajo Rez.? The latter trip is highly recommended.? The campground at the Canyon is nice and the guided 4WD trips into the Canyon itself are spectacular.? ?If you go to the supermarket in Chinle, you will find yourself in a land where Navajo is the primary language, English the secondary.


In Arizona, I-40 you hit Albuquerque large city.? Here a trip north to Santa Fe is worth the time.? Then south to Las Cruces on I-25 and into El Paso, TX.? (I recommend taking a pass on a trip to Juarez, Mexico.? It is a dirty and dangerous city -- think old timey Liverpool without the charm.)

At El Paso, Carlsbad Caverns are within reach on a side trip.? ?Other than that,? its I-10 for a day to San Antonio, a pretty city with a Riverwalk and an Alamo, both worth seeing.? Then 2 hours north and you have Austin and Kinky Kinkerman country.? ?Then back to I-10 at Houston and into poor old New Orleans or whatever is left there.? After that you are in the South to drift where you would.? Myself, I vote for North Carolina as the gem of the South.? The Virginia Peninsula is worth a trip on the way north.? You can visit Williamsburg for the colonial experience and Yorktown for the end of colonial experience.

By the way, LA has some git-tar stops worth making.? McCabe's Guitar Shop, in Santa Monica, has a regular schedule of live music and all the guitars in the world for sale.? ?Down on Wilshire Blvd, next to MacArthur Park, is La Fonda, home of some primo mariarchi and OK Mexican food.? ?If you have not heard the plucking in mariachi music, you are in for a treat.

Enjoy.
 
Essex Boy said:
Thanks all for the replies. I guess we were thinking rather too ambitious. I appreciate that it'd be hot as hell in the deep south in the Summer (we're gonna go May/June) but that is the area we'd really like to see. I'd love to see some of 'the loop' that you guys mentioned. As for seeing New York I'm not really that bothered, but seeing the South I'd really love to do, and also some of Texas (particularly Austin) - you're talking to a huge music fan and guitar nut here. So given we're gonna be out there nearly a month can someone chime in a give me a sketchy idea of what'd be a good route. I suppose New Orleans would be as far East as we'd go.

If you're into Country/Western music don't forget Nashville, TN and Branson, MO.

 
If you stop at Carlsbad Caverns, try to do one of the 'specialty' tours....spelunking, old-timers, etc. And if you hit San Antonio, don't skip the rest of the missions in favor of the Alamo....San Juan, Concepcion, Espada, and San Jose are all great. And one of them (San Juan or Espada, can't remember which one) has demonstrations of old time skills like horseshoeing, weaving, etc. Not so many 'tourists' and more like the missions of old. Nashville is a great stopping place whether you like country music or any kind of music and you do not want to miss the Grand Ole Opry, especially if it's playing at the Ryman Theater. New Orleans should be back on its feet by next summer and Preservation Hall is the MOST wonderful place.....REAL jazz....don't miss it.

Have a great trip.
Wendy
 
Hi Wendy,

You are right about the other missions. When we stopped in San Antonio last fall we did that tour. The campground was Travelers World RV Resort, just south of the river. It was within a couple of miles to all the missions and an easy drive to the Alamo and the Riverwalk. We spoke with a priest at Espada. He was a riot and told us some very interesting stories of his life as a priest. I enjoyed those missions much more than the Alamo.

The Riverwalk is not to be missed either. They've done a great job in rebuilding that area.
 
I reccomend a route through southern Utah for the sheer beauty of the red rock country that is the Escalante Staircase.

From Las Vegas, go Zion, Kanab, N rim of Grand Canyon, back through Kanab to Bryce canyon, Escalante, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches, Moab, Monument Vally. Your eyeballs will be richly rewarded.
 
Guys, I can't thank you enough for the answers, not least Carl. That's some superb advise and sounds like a route that could be really awesome. I am a fan of country music so a visit to Nashville would kick ass. I also have a friend living in Charlotte, North Carolina so it'd be nice to drop in and see him and his missus.
 
Essex Boy said:
Guys, I can't thank you enough for the answers, not least Carl. That's some superb advise and sounds like a route that could be really awesome. I am a fan of country music so a visit to Nashville would kick ass. I also have a friend living in Charlotte, North Carolina so it'd be nice to drop in and see him and his missus.

The Grand Ole Opry has two shows on both Friday and Saturday nights. The Saturday show is more dazzle as they show an hour of it on TV. Both shows are live on radio so they have commercial breaks every so often. Some folks don't enjoy that but it's neat to watch the stage during the commercials. We try to catch the early show. There's always some activity going on. Right next to the Opry is a museum, which is free, that has memorabilia from many past entertainers. You can usually look up the entertainment for the coming week on the Internet.

 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
131,751
Posts
1,384,305
Members
137,525
Latest member
Sinbad
Back
Top Bottom