Trip planning.

[Titans]

We are going west in the fall for a 3 week trip. I Am trying to plan all the stops and use RVParky to find campgrounds. I want to travel Approx 350 miles a day. (Per recommendations on this site) What do most folks plan? Do you do the whole trip and lock down campgrounds or shoot from the hip and do it as you go? What do the experienced traveling campers do?

[MikeW1]

We are going out west the first two weeks of Sept. I have all my multi-night camping booked already. We're shooting from the hip for overnighters.

[Pat&Renee]

if you are going to Colorado... you better book now....it fills up way before summer gets here..... ALL RV PARKS BOOK SOLID.....

[WhittleBurner]

Once upon a time it was easy to find spots on the fly, but not any more. Fall is a huge time for road trips. Retirees hit the road in droves for fall colors and camping without hundreds of kids running around. I miss camping on the fly and the flexability it offers.
We thought it was possible to go with no reservations in the fall a few years ago until we got to the 1st stop...sorry we don't have room for you. They could accomodate us for 1 night and we wanted to stay 4. No spots were available for another 150 miles, both public and private. We arrived there and got on line that evening to reserve the rest of the trip. Many State parks are starting to reserve 100% of the sites not leaving anything for transients to stop at...Lesson learned, reserve ahead especially in popular areas. For over nighters there is always truck stops or Walmarts

[theclarks]

Reservations all the way, decided we wanted to camp with friends at Maumee Bay in October, who camps that late on Lake Erie, well 5 weeks out tried to make a reservation and they were full up not a site available. . . .

[Capt Jim]

I use Google Maps to plan our trips and make reservations as far in advance as seems practical. Maps lets you search for campgrounds, read other people's ratings, and access their websites. Using the Directions function, you can see best and optional routes to the next destination in addition to the mileage and approx. travel time. Using the satellite view you can zoom in on an RV park and get an idea if it's anything like the website claims. I put the information into an Excel work sheet that goes into a travel notebook.
It looks like this:

DATE RANGE NIGHTS NAME CONFIRM y/n/# PHONE LOCATION NOTES

09/08/16 1 Golden Spike RV R021733 435-723-8858 905 W 1075 S, Brigham City, UT Exit 362 from I-15/Lft on 91/Lft on Medical Drive/Lft on W 1075 S

Yes, we have navigation systems in the truck and on our phones, but being a bit old-school I still like my hard copy and my map book.

Safe Travels.

Jim

[John612]

Anybody ran highway 74 south of Palm Desert towards Temecula in their rig?

First part of the road looks very windy, but looks like it straightens out after that.

Thx,
John

[Sportsdad60]

I was a PMP by trade (Professional Project Manager) so we always had a "Plan A" and Plan B" when traveling.
And we deployed a risk mitigation plan as well (Always be prepared for the worst, so carry the best)

I can't emphasis enough, plan plan plan. And then have an alternate plan.

If it's reservations, make em. You can always cancel up to about 2 days in advance
Use a spread sheet. Easier to control destinations, costs, time to travel, events to "do" once you arrive.

[ktnissen]

I try to plan out ahead 3 months. We full time and look at where we want to be in 3 months. Any servicemember knows about quarterly planning, near, short and long term.

Where are we going to be next year. What route are we taking, can we boondock or is it mainly campground such as the east coast. What national park can we hit or whose house can we moochdock off of for a week. For high priority targets like national parks, we make reservations. If it is over night at a casino parking lot I call beforehand to verify. Always have park B as a reserve.

Does this work, HECK NO, no plan survives first contact. We are currently scrambling in Arizona to find places to stay. HaHaHa

[Capt Jim]

Hey, Sport...I was also PMP which should be obvious from my post above.