cross country newbie

[Blueskiesbill]

Hey all!

Buying a 2019 Coachman Mirage 35BH for family vacations.  We have two daughters with special needs and in wheelchairs and a son.  Please fill me with links to important info, your own info, on anything you think is important.  We are starting our first RV trip (yes first ever) with a rented Tiffin Allegra and heading to Myrtle beach for 3 days then the smokey mountains for for four days.  We have a Modified van we will be pulling.  Should i use my jeep trailer, or just pull the van without trailer? 

we chose the coachman mirage as it had enough seat belts to accommodate all special needs car seats as well as our sons with room for one more when we decide to have another child and a shower large enough for daughters bath chair.  Do you have any pointers on things to bring, to do, not do, etc.? 

we are renting first to ensure this will truly work for our family, even though I am already buying our Mirage, and reserving spots for our summer 3-4 week long cross country trip.  We are looking to leave upstate NY and head straight to glacier national park, then to Seattle, then Yosemite, swing through the golden gate bridge for photo op, then grand canyon, then to San Antonio for the most awesome handicap water park ever, the to NO for a funny pic with daughters in wheelchair on Bourbon street with beads!  then back home.  Like i said any info or links or trolling is appreciated!  My wife and I were HUGE campers but these will be our first RV trips (add kids in their too!!!).

thanks and sorry for long read.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You might start with the Newcomers Need To Know section of the RVForum Library. See  http://www.rvforum.net/joomla/index.php/14-newcomers-need-to-know

Lot's of other good stuff in the Library too.

 

[Gizmo100]

Welcome to the RV Forum Blueskiesbill

Renting a RV before committing to buying is always a good idea. It gives you a chance to see things you would of never thought of first hand.

The only thing I will add at this point is RV steps and entry doors may not be wide enough when your trying to carry your daughters in and out of the RV. This may also apply to the bathroom door.

Read as much of the forum as possible and feel free to ask questions.

And best of luck on trip

 

[maddog348]

"...Should i use my jeep trailer, or just pull the van without trailer?....." 

You mean towing Either/Or Van or Jeep  ~~  Or towing both Van & Jeep. Whole 'Nother set of rules for that.

JM2?  ~~  YMMV

 

[Arch Hoagland]

http://www.remcotowing.com/Towing/Store.php 

Remco will tell you how to tow 4 down if possible.

3 to 4 weeks is going to be a bit of a problem for that big of a trip. . On a good day you might average 50 mph.  Lot of road construction in the summer.

Plus everybody and his brother are traveling in their RV's so it's important to make reservations around the larger cities. I live near Yosemite and RV spots are tough to come by.

My suggestion would be to keep your travels east of the Mississippi.  We used the Mississippi as our limit until we retired and could go on trips  for months.   

 

[Blueskiesbill]

Thanks everyone!  I?ve been doing nothing but reading!  And will continue.  Towing just the van.  It say I will need a dolly per that website, so I will just use my trailer.  Really excited for our trips!

 

[maddog348]

".....  Towing just the van.  It say I will need a dolly per that website, so I will just use my trailer...."  I am still confused .  Putting the van ON the trailer??

 

[Larry N.]

2019 Coachman Mirage 35BH

Is that a 2019 Coachman Mirada 35BH? I can't find a Mirage. What van are you towing? It appears the Mirada is only rated to tow 4000 or 5000 lbs (can't find a definitive answer) and a full size van on a trailer will be a lot more than that -- how much is dependent on the trailer, of course. And of course, as others have alluded to, you'll need to find out whether the van can be towed 4-down without damage. Many (most??) cannot.

 

[Blueskiesbill]

".....  Towing just the van.  It say I will need a dolly per that website, so I will just use my trailer...."  I am still confused .  Putting the van ON the trailer??

Towing just the van.  The website posted above and others I have read up on, say that our sienna has a tranny that cannot be flat towed.  It would need to be on a dolly or trailer.  So the van will be on my trailer that I use to tow my jeep. 

 

[Blueskiesbill]

Is that a 2019 Coachman Mirada 35BH? I can't find a Mirage. What van are you towing? It appears the Mirada is only rated to tow 4000 or 5000 lbs (can't find a definitive answer) and a full size van on a trailer will be a lot more than that -- how much is dependent on the trailer, of course. And of course, as others have alluded to, you'll need to find out whether the van can be towed 4-down without damage. Many (most??) cannot.

It is a 2019 Coachman Mirada 35BH, my bad if i called it a Mirage, been slipping on that alot.  Per the owners manual and the tow hitch, it is rated to two 8,000.  my trailer comes in at 1500 and the van at 5,500.  And yes the transmission on the sienna will not allow it to be flat towed.

 

[maddog348]

Blueskiesbill  ~~  Thanks for the clarification  ~~ sometimes stuff gets stuck sideways in my head and is hard to unstick.

TakeCare  ~~  TravelSafe  ~~  HaveFun

 

[Mooney 78865]

Hey all!

Buying a 2019 Coachman Mirage 35BH for family vacations.  We have two daughters with special needs and in wheelchairs and a son.  Please fill me with links to important info, your own info, on anything you think is important.  We are starting our first RV trip (yes first ever) with a rented Tiffin Allegra and heading to Myrtle beach for 3 days then the smokey mountains for for four days.  We have a Modified van we will be pulling.  Should i use my jeep trailer, or just pull the van without trailer? 

we chose the coachman mirage as it had enough seat belts to accommodate all special needs car seats as well as our sons with room for one more when we decide to have another child and a shower large enough for daughters bath chair.  Do you have any pointers on things to bring, to do, not do, etc.? 

we are renting first to ensure this will truly work for our family, even though I am already buying our Mirage, and reserving spots for our summer 3-4 week long cross country trip.  We are looking to leave upstate NY and head straight to glacier national park, then to Seattle, then Yosemite, swing through the golden gate bridge for photo op, then grand canyon, then to San Antonio for the most awesome handicap water park ever, the to NO for a funny pic with daughters in wheelchair on Bourbon street with beads!  then back home.  Like i said any info or links or trolling is appreciated!  My wife and I were HUGE campers but these will be our first RV trips (add kids in their too!!!).

thanks and sorry for long read.

That is going to be an awesome trip!  Memories you will never forget!