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  1. #11
    Site Sponsor orbiker's Avatar
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    I'm still new to the rv trip planning. We have done 2 week trips and do all the reservations ahead of time. We will be going full time in an year and a half. I too am trying to picture how to do months worth of travels. We are now almost ready to do extensive boondocking. 4 lithium batteries so far. Panels soon.

    I know from doing extensive motorcycle travels, the busy places you MUST have reservations. Maybe 6 months or more in advance. Even going to the Grand Canyon and tent camping, we scheduled campsite 6 months out and got the last ones. Utah is getting very, very busy clear into Sept and Oct.

    One load off my mind about traveling is being able to go to the truck stops and saving money on fuel with the TSD card.

    Safe Travels everyone, KEN
    Backpacker and tent camper all my life, including BSA as a kid and adult.
    Motorcycle trips across the USA with a tent - 1978 to Present.
    02-10-2005 - 2002 F350 SWD PSD and 2003 Citation 10'8S mostly for Crater Lake Ski Patrol.
    10-29-2015 - 2016 Grand Design 380TH. It's HUGE compared to a camper.
    10-19-2018 - traded truck for a 2016 Ram 3500 DRW Laramie CC 4 X 4 Long Box.
    03-16-2019 - Traded Momentum for a New 2018 374TH-R Solitude
    FULL TIME RV'er Nov 2021

  2. #12
    Site Sponsor ajg617's Avatar
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    My better half says I have to wait until July next year but we are looking at Solitudes now and just purchased our tow vehicle (cart before the horse maybe but needed a vehicle). New Hampshire to Idaho and western states as well as North Carolina and south is definitely in play to visit two of our children - probably multiple trips once retired.

    Pulled a 32' travel trailer from NH to TX, AZ, and CO in the late '90s with 5 kids and set up our extended stay area in Tucson before hand but in transit stays we decided along the route. Not sure I'd want to do that given some of the previous comments on how full sites have become. I'd pull the string on a Solitude now but I would like the GD warranty in place for the longer trips next year and we really don't know how we will use it - extended stay, boondock some - all TBD. Price on the remaining 2020s are a lot lower though so it's hard to resist.

    Congratulations Dandyrandy.
    Signed,
    Jealous-in-NH

  3. #13
    Big Traveler Wicked ace's Avatar
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    A suggestion on your warranty thoughts. Try to use your trailer often once you get it and probably not so far from home to work out the bugs and kinks. Getting into a dealer service bay and back out can be time consuming. You don't want to be dealing with failures that need attention when you are still weeks from returning. Just my thoughts.
    2018 F150 XLT 301a, Screw, 4x4, HDPP, Max tow, Andersen Ultimate w/ Curt Double Lock hitch.
    2019 Grand Design Reflection 150 series 260RD.... SOLD!!!!.

  4. #14
    Setting Up Camp
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    We have done three cross country trips in the last three years. On the first trip I reserved spots for Friday and Saturday nights and winged it in between. That works pretty well unless you are going to a popular spot. On our last trip we did a Deep South winter tour from California to Florida and back. Because that area is very popular that time of year I reserved everything six months in advance and still had trouble getting reservations in the more popular places.

  5. #15
    Rolling Along Spartacus's Avatar
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    First with us I like to plan on how far I want to drive in the first day we are pump up so we can drive or should I say I like to try to drive as far as I can. So I look at all of the states that I will be traveling through and pick out each campground along our drive and call ahead and book reservation, going we spent one night there and leave in the morning to get to our next campsite when we get there we eat and go to bed shortly the next morning. Coming back we also if we like a campsite just before we get back home we would stay there for anywhere from two to three days.

    We use Google Maps,https://www.campgroundreviews.com, https://www.goodsam.com trip planner, https://www.allstays.com/ to list a few but I do all of the planning and my wife just get in and sleep most of the way until we get there, lol.

  6. #16
    Site Sponsor orbiker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ajg617 View Post
    My better half says I have to wait until July next year but we are looking at Solitudes now and just purchased our tow vehicle (cart before the horse maybe but needed a vehicle). New Hampshire to Idaho and western states as well as North Carolina and south is definitely in play to visit two of our children - probably multiple trips once retired.

    Pulled a 32' travel trailer from NH to TX, AZ, and CO in the late '90s with 5 kids and set up our extended stay area in Tucson before hand but in transit stays we decided along the route. Not sure I'd want to do that given some of the previous comments on how full sites have become. I'd pull the string on a Solitude now but I would like the GD warranty in place for the longer trips next year and we really don't know how we will use it - extended stay, boondock some - all TBD. Price on the remaining 2020s are a lot lower though so it's hard to resist.

    Congratulations Dandyrandy.
    Signed,
    Jealous-in-NH
    Quote Originally Posted by Wicked ace View Post
    A suggestion on your warranty thoughts. Try to use your trailer often once you get it and probably not so far from home to work out the bugs and kinks. Getting into a dealer service bay and back out can be time consuming. You don't want to be dealing with failures that need attention when you are still weeks from returning. Just my thoughts.
    I agree.
    Get your rig early "Jealous". Most problems come within the first year, if not the first 6 months.
    We are calling it " practicing " full time, by going out as mush as possible. Through most of 2019 and 2020, so far we have been out at least once a month. Sometime just for 2 or 3 weekends, back to back and other times for a 7 to 10 day trip.

    Most dealers that you have purchased from will fix things pretty quickly. I have not heard good things about getting into a dealer that you did not purchase from. Once in a while you might hear of someone finding a good dealer while on the road.

    Safe travels, KEN
    Backpacker and tent camper all my life, including BSA as a kid and adult.
    Motorcycle trips across the USA with a tent - 1978 to Present.
    02-10-2005 - 2002 F350 SWD PSD and 2003 Citation 10'8S mostly for Crater Lake Ski Patrol.
    10-29-2015 - 2016 Grand Design 380TH. It's HUGE compared to a camper.
    10-19-2018 - traded truck for a 2016 Ram 3500 DRW Laramie CC 4 X 4 Long Box.
    03-16-2019 - Traded Momentum for a New 2018 374TH-R Solitude
    FULL TIME RV'er Nov 2021

  7. #17
    Setting Up Camp Russ Coble's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AustexGP View Post
    We did it both ways. Last September/October we took our first long trip from Austin Texas to Utah. I used the RV Trip Wizard to help plan the trip out to Utah. I knew we wanted to travel 5-6 hours per day, so we planned stopes in Lubbock, Albuquerque and then to Moab. From Moab we went to Herber City, then to Tropic. One the way back we left Tropic planning to stay in Flagstaff, but we made such good time that we ended up staying in Holbrook AZ and then came on back to Austin (we had a death in the family, so our return trip plans changed).

    If this is your first big trip, I would definitely would use a tool like Trip Wizard to plan the trip. As a member of our forum you are already a member of Trip Wizard. Using Trip Wizard you set up a driving radius and it will show you the campgrounds, restaurants, and fuel stations. In our case we knew how far we wanted to travel a day and about where we wanted to stop so it gave us a driving time and miles. That way we knew we could leave by 10am and have plenty of time to get to our destination. We also found that we could call a campground and cancel with no penalty since we were traveling through. The only thing it didn't show us was road construction and between Gallup NM and Moab there was a bunch. The mileage was correct but the travel time was way off.

    One nice thing about Trip Wizard it shows you the campgrounds by either KOA, Good Sam's or local ownership. Then you can go to campground reviews to review the campground before you book.

    Hold this helps. We are hoping to head east this fall and will use Trip Wizard again as a starting point.
    Agree...I use RV Trip Wizard extensively. Our first maiden voyage after retiring I planned our entire trip out using RV Trip Wizard. I hesitated reserving sites in advance and good thing I took this approach. After the first 2 days of travel to Arizona from Iowa, my wife said to me...in her "you better listen to me" tone that she wanted to take our time and explore each location we were traveling to/through. So now I allow 2 nights at each location/"waypoint" (some more depending on the location and POI). This also, IMHO, takes some of the stress out of the travel. We're retired now...so why am I rushing to get back on the road? Duh! My wife is always right. :-) Also, prior to hitting the road for our next destination, I call the next campground to reserve a site. This so far has worked. I only had 1 instance, where my desired campground was full (note: typically stay at a KOA or Good Sams Club), so I went with my alternate campground. Oh yeah...I also have a contingency plan in case something goes wrong. Yes, you guessed it....I'm a planner. The old Boy Scout motto..."Be prepared" has served me well for many year.

    I also limit my driving to 4-6 hours. For fuel, I locate Pilot, Loves or TA. This way I'm assured they'll have RV fueling stations. I now have a Diesel, so I can use the truck lanes and my new EFS card (TSD Logistics)....looking forward to this.

    Another option is to use Harvest Host. This is a paid membership, but staying at Harvest Host locations is free. Typically no hookups (water, electric or sewer) and are limited to 1 night stays. Kinda like boondocking at Walmart or Cracker Barrel...but much safer. Only requirement is you make a purchase from the Host (i.e. Hosts are breweries, wineries, farms, etc...). Harvest host also has a UI that is very similar like RV Trip Wizard in appearance. I haven't actually used my Harvest Host membership yet. But you can check out "Keep Your Daydream" or "Changing Lanes" (YouTubers)....they use Harvest Host all the time and really love them.

    To sum things up....Use RV Trip Wizard (or Harvest Host) to plan out your trip. Allow plenty of time to get from point A to point B. Don't plan out too much (reserve in advance)...take your time and enjoy the journey!

  8. #18
    Site Team WhittleBurner's Avatar
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    We used to go on the fly and never thought about reserving unless it was a real popular area . We learned the hard way on our first extended trip about ..1st stop at a state park in VA we got you want to stay here?? well you can for 1 night . I thought fall would be safe reservation free (hahahaha). We found everything booked up in the area and the SP people were helpful in trying to find us a spot. Our next destination was about 3 hours away and they had openings so we reserved a spot right then and got back on the road.
    That was our first realization that going on the fly was getting more difficult. Once settled in we got on line and reserved the rest of the trip allowing for an extra day or 2 at each stop to either spend a day chillin or doing what ever we found. This took place almost 5 yeas ago and RVing has taken a huge jump in popularity so going on the fly with a larger trailer will get even more difficult.

    I learned that most state park systems reserve 100% of their sites not leaving any for transient people. We prefer SPs and forests as well as NFS spots even the rustic areas are starting to take reservations now. Now we tend to plan ahead, more out of necessity not because we're planners.
    Nothing sucks more than driving for a full day to find there is nothing available and then find there is no place around to just park for the night.
    Marcy & Gary
    2014 Grand Design - Reflection 303RLS
    2022 GMC 3500 Denali Duramax Longbed SRW
    2015 GMC Denali 3500 - Retired
    2003 F350 - retired
    Michigan
    We're in trouble now, the dog are bloggin'!
    https://3dogsandatrailer.wordpress.com/


  9. #19
    Seasoned Camper
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    We hope to embark on our great adventure in late fall. I've been agonizing over which way we want to go (planning vs SOP), and am still up in the air. Our 5er (M399th) is too big for most SP/NP, but we're fine with boondocking for long periods on BLM or NF land. We think the trick will be to get on the road early and arrive relatively early. We'll definitely have to plan places to boondock in advance, so we have time to scope out access roads. A drone is in our future. A Harvest Home membership is also in the cards.

    For those that like the William's, AZ area, there's a great campground much closer to the Grand Canyon called the Ten-X (https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234488).

    It's dry camping (with restrooms and water spigots scattered about), but they have 3 sites that will handle rigs up to 50', and several that will handle smaller rigs. You can dump and take on water in nearby Tusayan, or inside the park itself.

  10. #20
    Site Team Ynot4me2's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AustexGP View Post
    We did it both ways. Last September/October we took our first long trip from Austin Texas to Utah. I used the RV Trip Wizard to help plan the trip out to Utah. I knew we wanted to travel 5-6 hours per day, so we planned stopes in Lubbock, Albuquerque and then to Moab. From Moab we went to Herber City, then to Tropic. One the way back we left Tropic planning to stay in Flagstaff, but we made such good time that we ended up staying in Holbrook AZ and then came on back to Austin (we had a death in the family, so our return trip plans changed).

    If this is your first big trip, I would definitely would use a tool like Trip Wizard to plan the trip. As a member of our forum you are already a member of Trip Wizard. Using Trip Wizard you set up a driving radius and it will show you the campgrounds, restaurants, and fuel stations. In our case we knew how far we wanted to travel a day and about where we wanted to stop so it gave us a driving time and miles. That way we knew we could leave by 10am and have plenty of time to get to our destination. We also found that we could call a campground and cancel with no penalty since we were traveling through. The only thing it didn't show us was road construction and between Gallup NM and Moab there was a bunch. The mileage was correct but the travel time was way off.

    One nice thing about Trip Wizard it shows you the campgrounds by either KOA, Good Sam's or local ownership. Then you can go to campground reviews to review the campground before you book.

    Hold this helps. We are hoping to head east this fall and will use Trip Wizard again as a starting point.
    I didn't realise that as members of this forum that we were also members of RV Trip Wizard. Do we use the same credentials to log in?
    Steph & Lise
    2019 F150 Lariat 2.7 EB
    2020 Imagine XLS 22MLE

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