Seeking Long Trip Advice

[Calico]

Coming into this conversation late, but my biggest concern would be finding campgrounds that are not booked solid, especially when you get close to the national parks. Food, you can get anywhere, as well as clothing if you were to run out, but since you need to be plugged in Daily, that would be the only hitch.
Do your research on 'away from the main drag' type of campgrounds that may not be booked solid, and perhaps get a membership to Harvest Hosts, although they will not offer hookups at all locations. It's really tough to just wing it when you have to plan ahead. Good luck!

[Pabs4]

You have received some great advice! We just returned last week from a 19 day trip. I would definitely identify varied entertainment for the kids while on the road. Like others said, board games, card games, if they have electronic devices they can use those if you don’t mind them being “plugged in” for a lengthy time. I’m not certain if the tv in your rig will turn on while driving, but I downloaded several movies from Netflix onto my iPhone when I knew my husband and I would be staying in Custer State Park with no cable or air tv. We bought an adapter to connect my phone to the tv via the hdmi cord at Walmart, and it worked perfectly. No internet needed.

Speaking of Custer State Park, I wish we had stayed there our entire visit to the Black Hills. It was beautiful, and peaceful. We stayed at Blue Bell Campground. There were kids all over the place riding bikes and scooters, and playing ball. We had electric hookups and they had a place for you to fill your freshwater tank. It was $30.00 per night. If we are ever in that area again we will definitely camp there!

Laundry days need to be planned. Bring your own detergent and dryer sheets as well as a collapsible hamper to carry your clean clothes back to your RV.

Enjoy your travels, and let us know how it goes!

Pam

[haironfire]

Thank you to everyone for the great conversation and advice! I really appreciate the different perspectives.

One clarifying point to my original post regarding the requirement to plug in. We don't necessarily HAVE to plug in every night but in reality we do. The one thing I absolutely hate about our Windsport is that with the two electric refrigerators (although we usually have the small one in the outdoor kitchen off), our batteries die in no time. In reality we can squeak about 10 hours in between charges but the draw is just too high to be self-sufficient for very long. We would have to run the generator twice every day just to maintain electric service.

I am also slightly concerned about the lack of reservation availability in the parks these days. Due to the nature of travelling I prefer to remain flexible and not on a rigid timeline, but that just doesn't seem possible these days.

As for daily driving time, this is a great point and something I have thought about more due to your comments. While we have done one or two 13.5 hour marathon trips in the past I think I will spread our travel days out a little more than we were originally thinking. Great advice - thank you!

Entertainment for the kids will surely need to be planned well. We will also try to incorporate them into the planning as well so they have some small bit of interest.

As for a tow vehicle we are thinking of finding a small used something to flat tow.

Thanks for all the comments! I'm learning a lot - keep them coming.

[Scubawise]

It is a lot lot less stress driving 4 to 6 hours max..

[Travelin' Texans]

Make the journey part of the trip, by traveling scenic routes not just interstates, not just the destinations.
When we were fulltiming we took a grandkid every summer for as long as they wanted to stay, couple of them lasted a month & one only lasted a week, but we tried to go the kid friendly parks. Jellystone, KOAs & some private parks have activities for kids, ours loved those places.

[chunker21]

Longest trip was 4 months, Alabama to Alaska and back. Took 30 days to get to Canadian border in WA and about 30 days returning home. There's grocery stores along the way so don't hoard food or anything. I took some basic tools to fix small things but had no intention of rebuilding the engine along the way. Since you indicate desire to hit national parks, I'd suggest getting reservations now. For non NP stays, hit the out of way spots for less congestion and more chances to operate on the fly. I put all my bills payments on autopilot and trip-prepped the house. You'll get a ton of suggestions for that. Arm your computer and phone with travel related aps and get paper maps too.

We would travel a day to 2, stop for 3-4, and repeat. We made reservations for the first half, and figured out the 2nd half as we went. Your comfort level with that may vary.

[Lt Keefer]

I do a 30 day trip every summer and never worry about taking too much food. We live in America and have grocery stores in every town. We do not travel more than 250 miles a day. The trip is not so much about the travel, but the stops along the way. We do not stop at National Parks or touristy things like Disney. Our lives are crowded enough when we are home, so why bother with crowded parks and amusements when on vacation. It defeats the purpose of the trip. We use apps on our phones. One to find rest stops during the day and one to find campgrounds for nights. At every stop, we make our next stops reservation. We get gas every morning before hitting the road for the day.

[blw2]

Jealous here!

3 kids here.

A few years ago we did a 3 week trip. Destination Grand Canyon. It was really too far for that amount of time, but we made it work and had a great time. Your longer timeframe sorta steers to a different method...maybe....but there's probably still some useful advice in what we learned


Anyway, as a point of reference....my gameplan was the primary destination....with a secondary destination half way on the way out and then again on the way back....drive hard to the mid point, stay a day or two, go to the canyon, stay several days...repeat on the way back. What we ended up doing was different....and it kinda worked.

1st point.... on travel days, we tried to do something every day to get out. Visit a museum, walk a trail, etc.... It was good for the kids and for us too. Some days our stop was mid-day, others it was a way to end the day....

I like the idea of suggesting short drive days..... but I'm hesitant to buy into a specific number. Depends on your situation. But stopping for an activity daily sorta forces the practice.

To make time, we were trying to stay in parking lots as much as possible. I found that I could only go about 2-3 nights in a row without finding a campground to plug in....it was so that I could relax and sleep. I'm A bit on guard I suppose and don't sleep quite as well in a parking lot.

My 2nd point..... be flexible and don't plan more than a day or two out for travel.... flow with moods..... If you like a place, stay longer than planned, etc...

We found roadtrippers.com useful in finding things to do along the way.

[Scubawise]

Originally Posted by blw2

Jealous here!

3 kids here.

A few years ago we did a 3 week trip. Destination Grand Canyon. It was really too far for that amount of time, but we made it work and had a great time. Your longer timeframe sorta steers to a different method...maybe....but there's probably still some useful advice in what we learned


Anyway, as a point of reference....my gameplan was the primary destination....with a secondary destination half way on the way out and then again on the way back....drive hard to the mid point, stay a day or two, go to the canyon, stay several days...repeat on the way back. What we ended up doing was different....and it kinda worked.

1st point.... on travel days, we tried to do something every day to get out. Visit a museum, walk a trail, etc.... It was good for the kids and for us too. Some days our stop was mid-day, others it was a way to end the day....

I like the idea of suggesting short drive days..... but I'm hesitant to buy into a specific number. Depends on your situation. But stopping for an activity daily sorta forces the practice.

To make time, we were trying to stay in parking lots as much as possible. I found that I could only go about 2-3 nights in a row without finding a campground to plug in....it was so that I could relax and sleep. I'm A bit on guard I suppose and don't sleep quite as well in a parking lot.

My 2nd point..... be flexible and don't plan more than a day or two out for travel.... flow with moods..... If you like a place, stay longer than planned, etc...

We found roadtrippers.com useful in finding things to do along the way.

.yes we are doing this all winter

My 2nd point..... be flexible and don't plan more than a day or two out for travel.... flow with moods..... If you like a place, stay longer than planned, etc...

[Scubawise]

Official Travelers' Cheat Sheet on Roadtrippers: Our Review

https://www.pilotplans.com/blog/roadtrippers-review