ditsjets7 said:
This is great information. Thank you. Looks like work is out. Now the question is is it feasible to get there, have enough time to enjoy Yellowstone, and get back in two weeks time?
I fear the easy but only realistic answer to this question is "no." As many others have tried to explain, you essentially have two ways of looking at this.
1) Drive 500 miles a day to give yourself a maximum of six days at your destination, meaning spending no less than 16 hours per day on the road and turning into a zombie by the time you get to your destination. This means taking no less than one full day recuperating before even wanting to go see the sights. This also means not spending ANY time seeing the sights while on the road to your destination, which for most RVer's is half the vacation. It will also mean cranky kids because they have nothing to do but sit and ask how much longer is it going to take.
2) Drive a more realistic 300-400 miles per day, still be tired when you get there, but at least functional, and take 10-12 days on the road, only leaving you one or two days at your destination, which kind of makes the entire trip and its associated expenses a waste of time and money. And driving 400 miles a day will still not give you time to smell the roses while you're on the road.
The people on this forum are experienced and have already made the mistakes you are contemplating making yourself. We are simply trying to share our own experience so you may have a more enjoyable vacation.
In May of 2016, the wife, two dogs and I took a five week trip from SW Florida to Las Vegas to the Midwest and back home. It was a 6,200 mile round trip. The first leg was to Tuscon, AZ and it took us six days to get there driving 350-425 miles per day. By day five, I was unable to effectively communicate with my wife when she asked me a question and by day six, I was a zombie. I needed time off the road to recover. And that was with no kids, unless you count the dogs as four legged children. Same thing on the way back. Shot down I-40 from Kingman, AZ after leaving Las Vegas all the way to Ft. Smith, AR on our way to Hot Springs. I was too tired to care by the time we reached Amarillo, TX because we were trying to make good time and not stay on the road any longer than necessary. I learned from that trip to keep my daily trips to 300-350 miles and simply plan on taking longer to get there so I can enjoy the entire trip, not just the destination. Something else to keep in mind is the possibility of a breakdown of some kind that may cost you hours or days. A tire blowout could set you back over a half day by itself, depending on how far away from a dealer you might breakdown. It is wise to build in an extra day or two in the event of some kind of emergency, especially in an older RV. Just because your tires and hoses are in good shape doesn't mean something else won't go wrong or breakdown.
My advice to you is to plan a shorter trip until your wife can take more time off. If you seriously want to see either Yellowstone or the GC and you live in upstate New York, I wouldn't think of trying to make either destination in less than four weeks if you really want to enjoy it. Consider that it will take you at least a week to see all there is to see in Yellowstone, and if you spend that long, you'll still feel like you missed something. But if you want to take a vacation that the entire family will enjoy and remember as a good time, take your time and make stops along the way that might take a couple of hours or even a day or two.
I just realized there was more than one page to this thread and you have already come to this conclusion. Sorry about that.
