Lessons learned in 2011 (national lampoons RV trip)

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daa1275

Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Posts
18
Location
coal city, IL
We purchased our TT late in 2010 so we did not get much of a chance to get out on the road. After a winter of planning, and dreaming, summer was upon us. Our First Big trip was to Orlando FL, FT. Wilderness Disney, the trip of trips. I spent months researching campgrounds along the way, making sure there was something for the kids to do when we arrived. We were travailing from near Chicago IL, to Orlando FL, About 1200 miles. We left on a Thursday night after I got home from work(first mistake) and rushed  to Cadiz KY, KOA. We didn't think we would arrive at a reasonable time so plan B was Wal-Mart camping,  but the campground called and said a late check in was OK. 3 am is when we pulled through our site in KY. Hooked up and hit the bed. 9 am we woke and packed up rushing to Macon GA In the mountains of TN we lost the upper radiator hose off the truck. Tow trucks won't bring out coolant. Our luck was that the hose just popped off and did not blow. After a case of drinking water added to the radiator, we made it safely to a gas station. Purchasing 2 gallons at $15 a pop(second mistake) we were able to carry on. We were gun shy about running the a/c so we hit ATL rush hour at 105 deg F. AT about this time my daughter, 7, announced that her eye was bothering her, it swelled up and she could Hadley see. I 75 south of ATL something appeared in the road, no where to go, hit it and blew the rear tire of the truck. Finally Macon GA, about 7pm, set up, left for BBQ and to find a Wal-Mart for tire the next day, and a med center for the 7yr old. Early Rise, Drop flat off at walmt, take daughter to immediate care,  long wait, supposed  to be in Disney at 3. Time to Slow down, called Disney and moved res over a day, no problem only cost $11. We got the med for the little one, it was a bug bite allergy, $200 tire for truck, and enjoyed the lake and campground for the rest of day. Finally Sun Woke well rested, and eased down to Disney for the best vacation ever. Just like the Griswolds no problems on the return trip.  From now on we will slow down and enjoy the journey!
 
daa1275 said:
Tow trucks won't bring out coolant.
This is why you should belong to Coachnet. Coachnet would have gotten you some coolant. And also this is why I usually travel with full fresh water tanks.
 
Hum,  hubby packed everything you can think of in here but I don't think we have any coolant, might look into that.  Especially out on those long lonesome stretches of highway. 

I belong to Good Sams but no longer to Coachnet, they were very good last year but he thought Good Sams offered so much more.  I think I may rejoin Coachnet too

I have been through the upper part of west Texas before.  I'm going to skirt the cities and take some of the lessor roads down and intersect with 290 to go the rest of the way in.  There are lots of decent roads out in there that take me south a lot quicker I think and not so much traffic, they are good secondary roads, sometimes not many RV parks though.  I'm like others, like to go around 60 and if we do have wind its easier for me on those roads then the very busy ones.  But I will take 40 almost to Amarillo.
 
I belong to Good Sams but no longer to Coachnet, they were very good last year but he thought Good Sams offered so much more.

That statement makes me very curious, since the arguments in favor of Coach-net always emphasize that it provide more services as well as better service.  If your husband ever has the time, I would be interested to hear his reasoning for that.

You don't need to carry coolant to avoid being stranded - just have water available. You can get the coolant later.
 
You have learned SEVERAL lessons from your trip ::) the MOST important is to SLOW down and enjoy the trip itself. Glad it worked out.
I am curious about Fort wilderness. Did you go with any of the package deals for meals while at the parks. Which park or parks did you goto? We are considering staying there once we save up the SMALL fortune to go back to DISNEY. 8 people gets very costly FAST at Disney. ;D
 
Ft. wilderness was the nicest park I have seen yet. We stayed 5 nights and got 4 days worth of park hopper-water park tickets. this allowed us to leave one park and hit another the same day. Total for Disney alone was just under $2000. In my family's of 4's opinion it was well worth it.We chose to prepare all our meals at camp to save money. Meal plans are nice for hotel guest, but didn't seem worth it to us. We would get up early and eat a big breakfast, pack a small lunch and drinks, then hit camp in the early evening for a healthy dinner. You can catch a bus or boat from the campground to any park so it was nice to relax for a couple hours before heading back. there is a wal mart near the park that has a large Disney section that has great souvenirs at  great prices. That is one option those who fly down and don't rent a car don't have. As of now I am planning to head back this year again, but we are telling the kids that we are going to AZ.
 
I belong to Good Sams but no longer to Coachnet, they were very good last year but he thought Good Sams offered so much more.  I think I may rejoin Coachnet too

I agree with Gary. Is your husband talking about Good Sam club or Good Sam Roadservice. The roadservice is what should be compared to Coach-Net and I don't know what Good Sam offers that is better or in addition to what Coach-Net offers. Considering the size of your current coach, I think you are very wise thinking about rejoining CN.
 
I guess you don't need to carry coolant, but it's cheeper if you do. I paid $4 a gallon at home when it was on sale. Don't run across sales on vehicle fluids at travel centers too often.
 
We all carry about 8 gl of emergency water if we need it and stop to think about it. It's in our water heater. I'm willing to be no one drains it before taking off on a trip. Even the first trip of the year it's full if you've pressure checked the system after the winter's over.
 
I have to thank my DW for gently (and not-so-gently) taking the hurry-up out of me. We do leave after work to go to the beach sometimes, but if it getting late at all we go at O-dark thirty in the morning instead. We are early risers so that suits us fine.
Hard to bring everything you need for a breakdown. I do all my own work so I pack the tools, but parts are a different matter. We did the AAA thing for a couple of years, but I had to use the tow for the first time this month and was totally disgusted with the service. I'll be looking at coach-net for the future.
 
We are working on slowing down and enjoying the trip.  Our problem is that we almost never budget enough time for a trip, and are almost always going to a "destination".  Seems important to get there as quickly as possible, but that usually puts too much pressure on to enjoy the travel part.  We're going to have to phase in to the slower lifestyle, I think.
 
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