Headed to S Dakota

[LandKO]

Our long planned trip to S Dakota (Black Hills) is set to begin next Monday.
I used Trip Wizard to plot the route from Central Arkansas to the Rapid City area.
We were planning to take I-40 to I-49 and at Kansas City, pick up I-29 to I-90.
Our first nights stop is at Nevada Mo. and the second night at Onawa Ia. so we really need to stay as close as we can along the I-29 route.
However, on the local news tonight, I learned that I-29 is closed from just north of St, Joseph Mo. to Omaha Nebraska due to the flooding from the Missouri River.
Went to the Iowa and Mo. traffic websites and their suggested detour is to take I-35 out of Kansas City to Des Moines Iowa, then I-80 west to I- 680 to where it joins I-29 north.
This adds about 100 miles and a couple of hours to that day’s travel.
I was looking at alternate routes and it looks like I could pick up US-71 off of I-29 just north of St. Joseph and take it into Iowa to I-80 west. This only adds about 40 statute miles to the trip.
Does anyone have experience taking US-71?
Or, can anyone offer another route.
Thanks for any input.

[be happy]

I took the route a week ago. Took 36 out of st joe, then 75 north. You could take 75 to Omaha then to 29. Hwy 75 is a good road, we left at Neb. city but I see no reason it would change up to Omaha.

[Mr Sunshine]

IMHO, I would also take 36 and 75, but I would cut west to Lincoln, then I-80 to Grand Island, then 2 to Thedford, then 83 to I-90.

All that 2 lane won't end up taking you much more time than the interstate. There isn't much traffic.

Enjoy your time in the Black Hills!

[LandKO]

Today was the first day of our trip to South Dakota. We’ve had our Freedom Elite since last September, but partially due to DW’s health issues, this is our first on the road trip (we have had several “local” outings to make sure we knew how everything worked)
We left Little Rock at 10 am with expectations of a 5-1/2 hour trip to Nevada Missouri, our first night’s stop.
Kept the cruise control set at 63-64mph. The Ford V10 got a workout going through the hills of NW Arkansas which I thought would really affect overall gas mileage (more on that later).
I’m glad I replaced the factory front and rear sway bars with the heavy duty Roadmaster sway bars. It made a big difference especially when being passed by semis. Although, at 63-64mph, just about everyone was passing us.
What I didn’t expect was the effect our Toad had on handling when going down fairly steep grades. I could feel the toad trying to push us and it made the steering feel somewhat lighter, not to the point where I didn’t have total control.
Our total trip time for today was right at 6 hours and that included a stop for fuel. And overall gas mileage was 7.5mpg, which I thought was pretty good for having to drive up and down all those hills.
Tomorrow’s should be better, however we will have to deal with detours between St Joseph Missouri and Omaha.

[LandKO]

2nd day out was a mix of good and bad weather and road conditions.
IF the Missouri River wasn’t flooding, our trip to Onawa Iowa would have been a straight shot, I-49 to I-29 at Kansas City up past Omaha and on to the Onawa KOA.
However, things being as they were, our GPS took us around Kansas City via I-435 to I-29 which took us to St. Joe Mo. where I knew there would be a detour at U.S. 71. I had expected that we would take 71 up to I-80 and then head west. However mr. GPS told us to turn west when we reached U.S. 34 in Iowa. This would take us back to I-29 which is now open northbound from Council Bluffs Iowa. Seemed like a good idea at the time.
U.S. 34 in western Iowa is at the best, in bad condition. There were parts of the highway that had been “patched” so badly that it was driving on a washboard. At the speed limit of 55mph it was jolting us so badly we had to slow down. And of course, that was about the time the weather turned wet, real wet.
The detours, weather and road conditions turned what should have been a 5 hour trip into a 6-1/2 hour trip.
On the lighter side, we did get 7.8 mpg on this leg. Gas prices however ranged from $2.11 a gallon in Missouri to $2.50 a gallon in Iowa.
Tomorrow, on to S Dakota.

[halfprice]

Originally Posted by LandKO

Today was the first day of our trip to South Dakota. We’ve had our Freedom Elite since last September, but partially due to DW’s health issues, this is our first on the road trip (we have had several “local” outings to make sure we knew how everything worked)

We left Little Rock at 10 am with expectations of a 5-1/2 hour trip to Nevada Missouri, our first night’s stop.

Kept the cruise control set at 63-64mph. The Ford V10 got a workout going through the hills of NW Arkansas which I thought would really affect overall gas mileage (more on that later).

I’m glad I replaced the factory front and rear sway bars with the heavy duty Roadmaster sway bars. It made a big difference especially when being passed by semis. Although, at 63-64mph, just about everyone was passing us.

What I didn’t expect was the effect our Toad had on handling when going down fairly steep grades. I could feel the toad trying to push us and it made the steering feel somewhat lighter, not to the point where I didn’t have total control.

Our total trip time for today was right at 6 hours and that included a stop for fuel. And overall gas mileage was 7.5mpg, which I thought was pretty good for having to drive up and down all those hills.

Tomorrow’s should be better, however we will have to deal with detours between St Joseph Missouri and Omaha.

What are you towing and what brake system are you using

I don't feel our jeep at all

Save travels. This weather sucks

Jerry

[Lt Keefer]

I don't feel our CR-V behind the Hurricane at all. What kind of hitch set up do you have? Is the towbar at an acceptable angle?

[saddlesore]

We leave Sublimity Oregon this Friday nite or early Saturday morning, headed to Rapid City/Box Elder SD to establish our new South Dakota State residency..
have reservations @ Sacora Station (former Covered Wagon CG) for the week in Piedmont SD.. might see you guys...

[LandKO]

Originally Posted by saddlesore

We leave Sublimity Oregon this Friday nite or early Saturday morning, headed to Rapid City/Box Elder SD to establish our new South Dakota State residency..
have reservations @ Sacora Station (former Covered Wagon CG) for the week in Piedmont SD.. might see you guys...

We are scheduled to arrive at Holy Smoke RV Park in Keystone SD tomorrow, Thursday, and will be staying until Monday. Yes, it’s a quick trip that is scheduled around DW’s Doctor appointments back home. We originally met in SD in 1967 and are revisiting to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.
Safe travels.

[Bob Denman]

Congratulations on the Anniversary!
Post some pictures for us...

[LandKO]

Thanks for your good words

[LandKO]

Originally Posted by halfprice

What are you towing and what brake system are you using

I don't feel our jeep at all

Save travels. This weather sucks

Jerry

We are towing a 2004 Jeep Liberty with a Roadmaster Falcon All Terrain towbar.
The braking system is the Stay-in-Play Duo.
The braking system should not factor in the condition I though I was having because the brakes were not applied.
What I was experiencing was a “light” feeling in the steering while descending steep inclines. I attributed this to the weight of the Jeep pushing on the RV..
At all other times, I do not feel the Jeep behind me at all.
I do have a Roadmaster steering stabilizer installed.
Here is a photo of the tow bar.

[LandKO]

The third day of our trip was uneventful. Left Onawa Iowa at 10 am and arrived at Presho SD shortly after 3pm.
When we were still northbound on I-29 my Scangague showed we were averaging 8.2 mpg. Once we headed west on I-90 I noticed the average mileage was slowly dropping.
I looked on my GPS to see what elevation we were at and realized we were slowly gaining elevation. Sioux Falls SD is at 1470 Ft above sea level and Presho is at 1775 Ft above sea level. They are 170 miles apart, so that translates into an average of 1.7 Ft rise in elevation per mile. I think that explains the reduction in gas mileage.
On to the Black Hills tomorrow.

[Rich&Cathy]

Originally Posted by LandKO

The third day of our trip was uneventful. Left Onawa Iowa at 10 am and arrived at Presho SD shortly after 3pm.
When we were still northbound on I-29 my Scangague showed we were averaging 8.2 mpg. Once we headed west on I-90 I noticed the average mileage was slowly dropping.
I looked on my GPS to see what elevation we were at and realized we were slowly gaining elevation. Sioux Falls SD is at 1470 Ft above sea level and Presho is at 1775 Ft above sea level. They are 170 miles apart, so that translates into an average of 1.7 Ft rise in elevation per mile. I think that explains the reduction in gas mileage.
On to the Black Hills tomorrow.

Safe travels. Leaving for Sturgis SD in 3 weeks. Happy Anniversary!

[LandKO]

Day 4.
We left Presho at 10 am. It was all uphill from there, literally. Presho’s elevation was 1775 ft above sea level. By the time we got to Wall S.D. We were at 3000 Ft.
Made it to Rapid City about 2:30 MDT. Gas mileage sucked. Overall Average was less than 6mpg and instantaneous mileage was often in the 3-4mpg range. It seemed as if we were spend more time in high rpm mode than the normal 2200-2300rpm when traveling on flat roads. It was even worse on the roads from Rapid City to Keystone (about a 20-30min drive). Mileage there was often in the 2.5 range.
I use cruise control most of the time I’m on the highway. I suppose if I just let the mph bleed off going up hills, I’d probably do a little better on mileage.
Anyway, we currently sit at 4700 Ft elevation.
I learned something about my GPS today.
We stopped at the visitors center at Rapid City, and was talking to one of the guides there. I mentioned I was using GPS and she cautioned me about the accuracy of GPS in the Black Hills. The Black Hills are primarily granite and granite will affect GPS accuracy. Sure enough, when I arrived at the actual location of our campground, GPS was telling me I still had a half mile yet to go..

[greenfield3]

We lived in the Rapid City area in the 1980's and would love to hear about the camp grounds you stay at! We hope to go back there in the next couple of years!

[LandKO]

Originally Posted by greenfield3

We lived in the Rapid City area in the 1980's and would love to hear about the camp grounds you stay at! We hope to go back there in the next couple of years!

We are only staying at one in the Black Hills on this trip. Holy Smokes RV Park in Keystone.
Nice little campground. Full hookups but no public restrooms or showers. There are a lot of campgrounds in the area, from large KOA’s to small family owned operations with a half a dozen sites. Most cram the sites very close together.
That’s why we prefer COE campgrounds when they are available. Unfortunately, none here.

[LandKO]

Day 5







Weather was cool (upper 50’s) but otherwise a good day for sightseeing.

[LandKO]

Day 6
Visited the South Dakota Air and Space Museum next to Ellsworth AFB.
SD Air & Space | Things to Do in the Black Hills

[MJC62]

Great thread! Are you visiting Custer State park? We can't drive through South Dakota without a drive through CSP. We always bring a bag of unsalted peanuts in the shell to feed the begging burros.