Is Our First Cross-Country Itinerary Reasonable? Too Much Moving for Newbies?

[BinaryBob]

In Cawker City, KS.  :  ;D

Blasphemy!
The worlds largest ball of twine is in Darwin Minnesota.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2128
In the bizarre State of lutefisk and yaah shur ya betcha......we take our twine VERY seriously......

 

[steelmooch]

Great people here.  . Not many places online where you get that nowadays. 

Thanks so much.  Yinz (in Pittsburghese) helped us into a more relaxed itinerary for our first big trip, which we'll no doubt appreciate this summer. 

T.S.: You've achieved rock-star status with us for sharing your "slide" story.  I'd have bet $1K that I don't have that that type of admission would not have been YOURS...but we love it...thank you...no pressure, but you and G.B. are now our "Lester Flatt" and "Earl Scruggs" of travel. 

Thanks, all...happy travels and happy holidays! 

 

[SeilerBird]

T.S.: You've achieved rock-star status with us for sharing your "slide" story.  I'd have bet $1K that I don't have that that type of admission would not have been YOURS...but we love it...thank you...no pressure, but you and G.B. are now our "Lester Flatt" and "Earl Scruggs" of travel. 

The slide story is only one of many. I was driving down the freeway in Las Vegas and looked out my passengers side mirror and saw that the slide was out. I have driven off from a dump station with the sewer hose attached. Someone waved at me at a signal light and pointed to it. Very embarrassing. I have driven off several times with the 110 plugged in. I have driven off with the antenna raised up. I have driven into a tree stump that did $3500 worth of damage to the front end of a DP. The stump was barely visible, less that a foot high. I hit a speed bump at 15 miles per hour that removed my drive shaft, another $3000. If you are screwing up you are not RVing.

 

[steelmooch]

Haha...good stuff...thanks for sharing.  I felt badly about the "propane cover flap" that we lost along the highway because I forgot to tighten it down...but we'll obviously do worse on down the road.   

 

[leew]

much enjoyment on your travels.  we are taking our first cross-country trip starting next week!  Heading out of the most northeastern tip of NY heading to TN for Christmas; then off to CA for New Year's and a new grandson.  Then coming back across I-10.  Stopping in AZ to see family; TX to see the River Walk;  LA to see the Alabama; FL to Moosehaven (gotta plan for those years ahead); NC to see family; PA to see friends; NJ to see family; then home to the freezing temps of NY.  stops will be a min of 3 days.
Took our maiden voyage last month.  All went good.  So here's hoping!!

 

[leew]

The slide story is only one of many. I was driving down the freeway in Las Vegas and looked out my passengers side mirror and saw that the slide was out. I have driven off from a dump station with the sewer hose attached. Someone waved at me at a signal light and pointed to it. Very embarrassing. I have driven off several times with the 110 plugged in. I have driven off with the antenna raised up. I have driven into a tree stump that did $3500 worth of damage to the front end of a DP. The stump was barely visible, less that a foot high. I hit a speed bump at 15 miles per hour that removed my drive shaft, another $3000. If you are screwing up you are not RVing.

I'm sorry you've had these experiences, but I'm glad I get to learn from others too. 

 

[SeilerBird]

I'm sorry you've had these experiences, but I'm glad I get to learn from others too. 

Naw it is just part of being an RVer with no patience.

 

[PopPop51]

Lots of good advice above.
A couple of thoughts:
Everyone finds their own comfort zone for balancing drive time with camp time, but  I've never spoken to an RVer who's said "I wished I'd driven more and spent less time at more places".
A lifetime isn't long enough to see it all, so make sure you take time to deeply enjoy the places you do get to.
Leave some places for your kids to discover for themselves when they grow up. I didn't see Grand Canyon until I was almost 30, or Yellowstone until I was over 50. I know I wouldn't have appreciated them nearly as much at age 10.
A day of sightseeing is even more tiring than a day of driving. I see at most only 1 day of rest in your plan, one of the days in your "3 night stay". Now, I can comfortably drive 8-10 hours a day, but only for two days in a row. Then I need a full do-nothing day to recover.
Do you really, really (really?) have to bring the dogs? Your trip will be a lot simpler if you leave them at home. It's only 3 weeks.
Putting non-essential things away the night before you de-camp can be a huge time-saver on departure morning. Put the bikes in their rack after the last evening's ride. Retract the awning after the sun goes down. Store all of the kitchen items that you won't absolutely, positively need for breakfast. Disconnect the TV cable when you're ready to go to bed.
To answer your question: Yup. I think you probably "should re-plan a bit".

 

[SeilerBird]

I agree with Paul, leave the dogs at home. They will survive without you and will get nothing out of seeing the Grand Canyon.

 

[Scott 3]

PopPop51 is absolutely right.  A time saver we use is that I do the outside prep to leave while my DW buttons up the inside.  When the cable (if there is cable) goes off she knows it is close to leaving time.  When the power goes off she brings in the slide and folds up the stairs.

For the kids, I always tried to buy driving time while they are sleeping to ease the pain if there is any.  Early morning starts or late night drives have been great as the kids and DW would sleep away the miles.  One of the tricks is having a simple breakfast plan on drive days.

 

[blw2]

Guess I'm late to the thread, but I would differ in my advice from some early on in the thread..... but conditionally.

In my thinking it depends on where these stops are and what your family likes to do.
As someone else suggested, if the stop is no more than a few hours at a museum, a meal out, and a little hike
Then I would suggest that maybe you could just stay hitched up....especially for the 1 nighters....but even for a couple nights.

Skip the awning
skip the patio chairs
don't hook up the water hose if you have enough in your fresh tank....
keep it simple
and treat your rig more like a motorhome.  You'd really only need to unhitch if you wanted to drive someplace tight and parking would be a bear....

We do it all the time in our MH, just plug in for power.  If we want to run into town, unplug and go.  Leave the chairs and awning rug at the sight if we have them out.

We sometimes like to travel this sort of way sometimes....quick hitting to see more different places and things.... so I understand where you were coming form I think.

 

[Scott 3]

Blw2 x2.  I like to have fresh water on board so we don't always have to hook up.  We definitely do not do a full set up every time nor do we disconnect the TT from the TV every time.  I also dump before we leave or at the next stop depending on timing and use so I do not automatically hook up the slinky unless we will be there for a while.

 

[JudyJB]

You mentioned doing all this in the summer.  If it were me, I would really rethink heading all the way down to the Keys in summer.  Temps will be hot and incredibly humid. 

And summer is definitely one time where you DO need reservations.  Many people who say they never make reservations end up in Walmart and such places.  I am guessing that you would do much better knowing you have a place to stay that has a pool or lake for the kids to swim in at the end of a long day.  Also, your kids will want a place to run around in and a state or national park is a much better place to do that than a spur-of-the-moment camp place. 

And while many people travel with pets, the poster is right that they will not enjoy the trip as much as you would without them.  Also, you will not be able to leave them in your car or RV in summer, so this will limit your activities.  Leaving them in the car in North Dakota for an hour or so is 100% different than leaving them in a vehicle for even 15 minutes in Florida heat in the summer.  Even hikes can be difficult with pets because some places do not allow them on hiking trails, even on a leash.  Ditto for most beaches. Consider what you will NOT be able to do with the dogs.

And ditto on all the paraphernalia, with a couple of exceptions.  Do bring scooters and balls and such so the kids can run off steam at the end of a driving day!  But do keep this stuff you put outside to the basics.  You really do not need an outdoor run, and most times awnings are useless, depending on how you park.  And use a checklist just before you pull out so you don't forget stuff.

 

[German Shepherd]

I agree 100%. I travelled all over this country for ten years full timing and only made one reservation. They are totally unnecessary except for very popular places on holiday weekends.

Thank you for all this advice guys, i was worried about this and what to do. I sure wish i can do what your doing,, ten years and only one reservation,, that statement alone gives me courage,, thanks to you all , i need all the advice i can get. 

 

[Frank Hurst]

I have been camping for 45+ years and have made very few reservations. However, it would always be wise to make reservations on summer weekends and on holidays and in high traffic vacation areas. One reason that we don't make reservations are the times that we are going to travel 300 miles in a day only to see something 75 miles up the road that we decide to spend half a day visiting. These spontaneous stops often are some of our most memorable moments. Don't try to do too much. One could spent 2-3 weeks in WV and the Smokies without adding the Florida part of the trip. Remember, this is a vacation trip, not just an itineration that you are checking off your list. DW moto is to "see it while we are here because we may never be back".

Hope that you and your family enjoy camping as much as my family has enjoyed camping.

Frank