How Do You Plan a Long Trip

[FreeWheeler]

We just returned from 9 1/2 week 11,000 mile trip. I started planning (in earnest) in Jan and we left June 1. My truck shredded a serpentine belt, lost A/C and the trailer actually lost the entire wheel in the desert somewhere between Monument Valley and Page, AZ. But ya take a deep breath and carry on.

I use Good Sam's trip planner for routing and time estimation, but I don't care for their CG ratings, so I love to use campgroundreviews.com to decide on my first and second choice of CGs. On this and the last (7800 mile) trip, I reserved CGs for all but about the last week (mostly because I wanted to ensure I could get a spot near the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Glacier or whereever). Had to do some re-routing for the lost wheel, but got to all the "bucket list" sites. Here are the stats...

66 Days gone
11,726 Miles driven
8,425 Trailer miles
995 Gal of diesel fuel used ($3197.89)
11.8 MPG
79 different beers enjoyed


Visited...
16 States
11 National Parks
7 Nat Monuments
2 Nat Rec Areas
2 Tribal Parks
10 State Parks
15 Relatives visited
7 Breweries
3 Wineries
Build in a few "spare" days just in case of mishaps. These can be used as extra "down" days to just relax, or to recover from a problem. The spare days can be to a destination that is not as important, or just unscheduled days. I'd recommend at least one day for every 2 weeks. Then go enjoy your trip!

[Ronjon50]

Excellent ! Thanks for the info

[sherman12]

Another good idea is email, or call, each state you are going to visit and request a state tourist guide be mailed to you. Most states have the option to email and download a copy, or mail the magazine type hard copy. I always opt for the hard copy because you can take read it for ideas anywhere, you know, on the throne, patio, work or peruse at your destination. Just got back from my South Dakota trip and used SD's travel guide to plan the Great 8.

[JohnD10]

I like to use my Rand McNally Tablet/GPS unit...when it works

I have yet another defective one.

[Teetime]

We just set up a 1500 mile round trip. The obvious first is campground reservations.

The second and equally important is Fuel Stops (diesel) that we can get in and out of.

Check everything out on a satellite view and know where you are going. Don't just trust your GPS.

[JohnD10]

AS for gas stations...

As long as you stick to them at internet (most) exits no RV should have a problem.

And, out here in the west I have a rule...

NEVER...EVER pass a gas station if you are at 1/2 a tank of less.

Here is how I came to that conclusion (read title of photo below):

[FreeWheeler]

My navigator (wife) will use GasBuddy to scope out what the range of diesel prices are for a particular area. Once I know the range, I can identify if a particular price is a good deal. In Mobile, there was a gas station charging $3.15/Gal. Two miles away was another that was 36 cents a gallon cheaper! It pays (saves) to know.