Yellowstone Trip Planning help needed

[steve.barnett71]

We are heading to Yellowstone from Indiana on 6/27. Our current route has us coming in from Cody, into the East entrance, through the park and then out the south entrance to stay at Headwaters at Flagg Ranch.

Should I be concerned pulling my Momentum 320G through the park?

Also, when we leave Headwaters we plant to go south on 89, any issues there?

Thank you!

[Juiceman]

I have taken that route and driven most of the roads in Yellowstone and surrounding areas (not always with a trailer). The roads in Yellowstone can handle a trailer, but they are 2-lane roads with sometimes only a center line, and no room to put the outside paint lines. I assume you are a good driver and can put your tires on the edge of the pavement on a narrow road and not fall off. Adjust your mirrors so you can easily watch your trailer wheels. It is more likely to encounter some weekend yahoo or a person renting an RV who can't keep himself on the right side of the center!

I assume you will head in from Cody and around the lake and head south without wandering around the park with that rig. I doubt any of the campgrounds can take that big trailer. Those roads on your path are not over any passes, mostly following the rivers. You will have a lot of curves and some tighter than a long rig can stay in the lane. Be sure to look ahead and plan for those wide swings with the truck. A travel partner would be recommended as they can look around the corner before you can!

My real worry is that you will not see the best parts of Yellowstone. The northern area has some of the most interesting sights in Yellowstone, please don't miss it. Maybe you can unhook and see the park with your Tow Vehicle.

[steve.barnett71]

I have taken that route and driven most of the roads in Yellowstone and surrounding areas (not always with a trailer). The roads in Yellowstone can handle a trailer, but they are 2-lane roads with sometimes only a center line, and no room to put the outside paint lines. I assume you are a good driver and can put your tires on the edge of the pavement on a narrow road and not fall off. Adjust your mirrors so you can easily watch your trailer wheels. It is more likely to encounter some weekend yahoo or a person renting an RV who can't keep himself on the right side of the center!

I assume you will head in from Cody and around the lake and head south without wandering around the park with that rig. I doubt any of the campgrounds can take that big trailer. Those roads on your path are not over any passes, mostly following the rivers. You will have a lot of curves and some tighter than a long rig can stay in the lane. Be sure to look ahead and plan for those wide swings with the truck. A travel partner would be recommended as they can look around the corner before you can!

My real worry is that you will not see the best parts of Yellowstone. The northern area has some of the most interesting sights in Yellowstone, please don't miss it. Maybe you can unhook and see the park with your Tow Vehicle.

Thank you Juiceman. I was not clear on our stay. We will be staying 6 days and doing as much exploring as we can once we reach Headwaters at Flagg Ranch. Just wanting to make sure my route into and through the park to get there is ok.

[traveldawg]

I agree with Juiceman - you'll be fine on the roads. There is a long pull from Cody up and into Yellowstone, the Mountain Directory West book describes it as 6% to 7% for about 4.5 miles. I don't recall many curves along that stretch. But once inside the park all you have are some narrow roads and curves.

Last year there was construction in Fishing Village and the road was hard packed, well maintained dirt/gravel while they were repairing/re-constructing it. again - no big deal.

[MooManChu]

We are heading to Yellowstone from Indiana on 6/27. Our current route has us coming in from Cody, into the East entrance, through the park and then out the south entrance to stay at Headwaters at Flagg Ranch.

Should I be concerned pulling my Momentum 320G through the park?

Also, when we leave Headwaters we plant to go south on 89, any issues there?

Thank you!

What are you towing with? I also have a 320G so I know the "feel" for pulling it and I've towed a travel trailer to Yellowstone from Ohio a few years back. If you've towed mountain passes and such, than I'm telling you info you already know however it is worth mentioning those 6-7 grades for long miles really is hard on the TV, particularly the tranny. I know its apples to oranges with a SD truck and 5ver however some of those passes had my ecoboost F150 engine and tranny overheating towing a 6,000 lb TT in 50 degree weather. just my 2 cents.

[steve.barnett71]

What are you towing with? I also have a 320G so I know the "feel" for pulling it and I've towed a travel trailer to Yellowstone from Ohio a few years back. If you've towed mountain passes and such, than I'm telling you info you already know however it is worth mentioning those 6-7 grades for long miles really is hard on the TV, particularly the tranny. I know its apples to oranges with a SD truck and 5ver however some of those passes had my ecoboost F150 engine and tranny overheating towing a 6,000 lb TT in 50 degree weather. just my 2 cents.

I am towing with a 2017 F350 SRW 6.7L Powerstroke.

[MooManChu]

I’ve got the same truck. Our experience with this trailer has been the height forcing us to think about where we’re traveling. The park roadway itself may not be your biggest risk. My only recommendation is mapping your trip at a high level of detail and spending a few (hundred) bucks on a RV GPS unit like Garmin or app subscription. We run Copilot with a low bridge clearance subscription also. I don’t like surprises. These tools can guide you based on your actual dimensions and reroute and/ or warn in hazards. I’ve been using it for about six months and does a decent job routing. We’ve got a lot of low train bridges here in OH and got jammed up a couple times having to uturn based on height.


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[steve.barnett71]

I’ve got the same truck. Our experience with this trailer has been the height forcing us to think about where we’re traveling. The park roadway itself may not be your biggest risk. My only recommendation is mapping your trip at a high level of detail and spending a few (hundred) bucks on a RV GPS unit like Garmin or app subscription. We run Copilot with a low bridge clearance subscription also. I don’t like surprises. These tools can guide you based on your actual dimensions and reroute and/ or warn in hazards. I’ve been using it for about six months and does a decent job routing. We’ve got a lot of low train bridges here in OH and got jammed up a couple times having to uturn based on height.


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Thank you. I am confident in the truck but just want to verify the route. I have been using RV Trip Wizard but just recently discovered that it defaults to "Normal Routing" which ignores height, length etc... In "RV Routing" it does not allow routes through national parks. It is adding hundreds of miles to our trip to Yellowstone.

[MooManChu]

Thank you. I am confident in the truck but just want to verify the route. I have been using RV Trip Wizard but just recently discovered that it defaults to "Normal Routing" which ignores height, length etc... In "RV Routing" it does not allow routes through national parks. It is adding hundreds of miles to our trip to Yellowstone.

I want to be clear. At 13.5 height the clearance becomes more concerning if you get into construction or there is an accident or whatever and traffic is rerouted off the interstate. You can have big problems. I’ve been there. No fun having to backup and turnaround 60 feet of trailer and truck. Im a fan of copilot since you can upload you’re own Points of interest (POI).


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[FlyKat]

Hi. We are also heading to Yellowstone on 6/24, staying at Headwaters at Flagg Ranch, & will be coming in from Laramie. It is our 1st time visiting Grand Tetons & YNP & we are brand new to the RV world as well as just picked up our Transcend 32BHS 3 weeks ago. We broke it in last weekend in the Texas wine country! Our tow vehicle is an Expedition Ecoboost.
We will be there for a week & then heading to South Dakata to see Badlands, & Mount Rushmore.
We are staying at the KOA/Mt. Rushmore.
Have heard wonderful things about West Yellowstone & actually found some available RV spots there today. Any advice on best location to see the most while there? We will be traveling with our 4 daughters & dog! Thank you!