Going Cross Country - Rig Size a Big Factor?

[JFRWARMD]

My husband and I are very close to buying a Solitude 384GK-R to go across the country from MD next year. Before we drop the big bucks we're wondering if we should be concerned about making that trip with a 40-1/2 ft. 5er. We're well aware of the costs associated with this trip but are wondering if there are enough campgrounds that will handle our length. We know the national and state parks will be off the list but how about others? If some folks that live in or have traveled to the western half of the country have any thoughts we'd be more than grateful to hear them. (P.S. I do all the driving because of motion sickness so I'm a little more concerned than hubby!)

[D2Reid]

First off national and state parks should not be off the list. We have a 40 footer and have stayed at many, you just have to do a little research. We are on our 5th lap around the US. If you plan on staying at pull through/big rig friendly places then you will be somewhat limited. Somehow we always find someplace to stay within 20 miles of our destination. You'll learn as you go.

We belong to Passport America, utilize Good Sam Club search engine over Woodalls, have owned Thousand Trails Membership twice, love the Reserve America reservation site, deal with the Recration dot gov site for federal lands.

Using these resources gets you started. Then take the time to call places you are interested in. Sometimes a little one on one conversation will reveal that the standards put into the reservation system are a little bit off and there are plenty of places for you to fit into. I also use Google Earth to get an overview of the parks and the surrounding area. It's not definitive, but can help a little.

RV Park Reviews is a good resource for getting a feel for the parks themselves. Take the reviews with a grain of salt. People tend to complain more than compliment and some people complain about petty stuff.

Safe Travels!

Dallas

[JFRWARMD]

Thx Dallas! I'm really surprised to hear that the national & state parks are not all out. Also thx for the list of resources. We belong to Good Sam & KOA, use RV Park Reviews (selectively), and always look at Google Earth. I'll check out the others you have mentioned.

Since you've been the route many times could I ask you how far ahead you plan for your next destination? The longest we've ever stayed somewhere was a 1-month trip to Michigan and we had reservations for our whole trip. That doesn't seem realistic for a multiple-month trip. Do you kind of "wing-it" as you go along, do you do a lot of advanced planning or somewhere in between? We're kinda trying to get a feel as to how to approach this big adventure. (I went cross country in a pop-up with my family when I was 17 but this is way different and times have changed!)

[Eric91Z]

I second the not ruling out State Parks. Many of the State Parks here in Iowa will easy handle 40-45 foot 5th Wheels and Class A's and do quite frequently. Even better, a number of those are paved sites, although electric only usually.

Depending on if you have kids or not, we also like the KOA's. Always have good pull through sites good for longer rigs as well.

[JFRWARMD]

Thx for the post, Eric! We don't have kids but we (almost) always love KOAs!

[JFRWARMD]

Eric, may I ask you where you get the little map "thingy" that shows where you are/have been? I like that!

[Eric91Z]

Eric, may I ask you where you get the little map "thingy" that shows where you are/have been? I like that!

There is a link under the Main General Discussion portion of the forum. In there is a link and directions on where you can go to make your map, save, and then add to your signature.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[tmrut5]

You will be able to stay in the Grand Canyon National Park. They have a RV park right inside the park, and most ideally located call Trailer Village. They have all pull thrus with many that are 50ft spots. Full hooks ups, and you can reserve a 50ft spot online. http://www.visitgrandcanyon.com/trailer-village-rv-park

[D2Reid]

Since you've been the route many times could I ask you how far ahead you plan for your next destination?

Well I don't have a good answer for this. We have been full timing for 6 years. So we work constantly on finding places we want to go see. Make a list. It's a really long list. Then family gets involved, "when are you going to come visit?". So typically we make a general plan for each season. Like this summer we plan on visiting the grandkids in Nashville, TN, Houston, TX and our oldest son in Seattle WA. We are picking up new Momentum in Durango, CO. We are getting an RV skirt made for it in Rapid City, SD. We are volunteer campground hosting in Deception Pass State Park in WA, Yosemite has been on our to do list for a while and so has Big Bend NP in TX. DW has decided being where it is hot is not where she will be. One word, menopause. Most people our age will understand this. Next winter we plan on skiing at Tahoe, Blacomb-Whistler, and maybe Park City, UT again. Anyone else care to try and figure out how we will get all this done?

That's general planning. Then comes the logistics planning, the actual route we are going to take, where we are going to stay etc. One thing we have discovered in the last couple of years is you need to lock in major holidays reservations if you are going to popular vacation spots. Like anywhere in Florida in February. All the popular National Parks book up around March. The Pacific Northwest has a short RV season, they have limited RV parks, book early.

We tend to make obligations, either family visits, or campground host volunteering. Dates get set months in advance. Those are fairly easy, got the location, got the date, make a reservation. Then there are the other times, we don't have to be there for another 45 days. Well what's in between that we want to see? Then we kind of roll with the flow. Check RV sites out a day or two in advance, plan on spending 2 days, stay 2 weeks, kind of thing.

I apologize for the wishy washy answer.

Our life is really really hard, I can't see the average person wanting to live this way, you have to be a little crazy.....

Dallas

[JFRWARMD]

Geez, Dallas. You and your wife sure get around. You're all over the place! Thx for the heads up on reservations, etc. Since we're looking at a 2018 trip we'd better get started right this minute!! Happy trails!