Planning an extended trip, looking for advice.

[mikakuja]

We are in the beginning stages of planning (more like discussing), an extended trip starting from our location just outside Vancouver BC Canada. Our furthest destination point will be the Florida Keys. We would like to do a circle route including some of the central states, East Coast and lower states. We are not looking to include the West coast on this trip. We are not new to travel with our truck and trailer however we have never traveled the US with one. We are looking for advise on the best routes, sights, camping, do's and don't, etc. Keep in mind that we are only in the planning stage and have not committed to dates or time frames yet.

I should mention that our trailer will have a 400w solar system, inverter, etc and a back up generator. We are set up for boondocking, so full hookup sights will not always be a necessity.

Looking forward to your advise and comments...

[mikakuja]

Hmmmm.... Apparently I have left this too wide open.

Yes I realize that this is an ambitious trip and no we don't have any unrealistic goals of seeing and doing everything. As we have not yet planned any particular routes I have left the question open for ideas. As I have already received a few really great ideas from one of the other RV forums I will be starting to map potential routs and post them here as well.

We are planning on at least 3 months for the round trip.

Although we are set up for boon docking we have no intention on avoiding hook ups. We love a good full hookup site with a pool and all amenities.

We are looking to see historic sites, tourist attractions, beaches, etc.

We like to hike but due to my wife's physical limitations we are limited to shorter easy sight seeing type hikes, nothing difficult.

I have done some research on camping and it seems that there are a decent number of state parks and KOA's to stay at. That being said, is there any recommended memberships?

We are not planning to see Disney World or any of the theme parks, did that when the kids were younger.

I am not concerned with break downs and or upkeep on my truck and trailer.... I have a fairly large tool kit and can pretty much repair anything is thrown at me.

Just foir clairification, I am not looking for someone to plan our trip out for us. I am just looking for ideas from places that others may have visited and really enjoyed. these ideas will help to better plan out this trip

Thanks

Mike

[youroo]

We just returned from a 3 month trip,we travel in the spring and fall,we don't reserve any C/Gs,this type of travel would be hard during the summer time with familes! We Don't use Interstates,you Miss way to much,we travel at 50-60 MPH,your already ahead of the Game,"See the USA in a GMC/ Chevrolet" Youroo!!

[Mr Havercamp]

Take a swing through SW/Central/Northern PA

Do a search for Ohiopyle State Park and Laurel Highlands. If you want some seclusion try Allegheny National Forest, Sinnemahoning or Worlds End State Parks. Just don't plan on having internet or cell service.

[Capt. Mike]

If I were in the very early planning stages, I might look at a route something like this: In the US, go east through Washington, Idaho into Montana, turn south to hit Yellowstone and the Tetons.
Continue south through Colorado (Pikes Peak, Colorado Springs) and down into Texas (San Antonio, the Alamo, the Hill Country, Galveston/Houston).
Turn east and follow the Gulf Coast to Florida.

When you leave Florida, follow the East Coast up through the Carolinas (Charleston, Myrtle Beach) into Virginia (Yorktown, Jamestown, Williamsburg) and on to Washington, DC.

Go Northwest from Washington to Niagara Falls. At that point you can either go back into Canada and work your way home or stay on the US side and hit Ohio (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Pro Football Hall of Fame; Wright-Patterson AF Museum).
Skirt around the south side of Chicago and turn north up into Wisconsin (Wisconsin Dells), then northwest to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Duluth, then head back to Vancouver from that area.

IMO, unless you just want to say you've been to Key West, That's a long way to go down there and back. There are a lot of really pretty places in Florida (St. Augustine, for one) that would fit into my route better than Key West would.

Whatever you decide, enjoy! It sounds like you are going to be planning a GREAT adventure.

[flagstaffman]

First I would suggest you purchase a Good Sams Membership about $25.00 per year, that will get you a 10% discount at several campgrounds. I would also suggest that you purchase a Passport America membership which cost abut $40.00 per year. This membership will get you 1/2 price at any part participating campground. Both of these memberships will pay for themselves on your first visit. Your Good Sams membership will also allow you to purchase items at any Camping World in the country. I would also obtain both a Good Sams campground directory and a Passport America directory to have if you do not have good wifi reception. There are so many wonderful campgrounds but until you have a better idea of the approximate route of travel it would be very hard to recommend some to prevent you from hopping all over the place. Hope this helps.

[D_B Travelers]

I hope your trip is all you wish it to be. Some things we found while on a 30 day trip in 2015:
*-Be flexible in your travel plans, things happen or you will find something you had not expected that you want to see.
*-Plan on plenty of time at each destination to see what you want to see, and relax also. Don't rush from point to point trying to see everything in a day or two, you will just wear yourself down. Big point on our next trip.
*-Plan on something breaking and keep smiling. We drag our RV's across some of the nicest highways AND some of the worst. Have basic tools and repair items for electrical, plumbing, and exterior repairs. Be sure you have a way to jack up a flat tire, wrenches, extra bolts/nuts/screws, and screwdrivers. And Gorilla tape; much better at holding a damaged panel than Duck tape. IMHO
*-Do get the suggested Good Sam and Passport memberships, also look into the Travel Assist plans that will get you and your RV home should something really unforeseen happen that makes it impossible for you to drive.
*-Make sure your phone has a built-in hotspot so you can provide internet WiFi for your own iPad or computer. Parks have notoriously poor internet when searching for the next campground or national point of interest. Also helpful when looking for interesting things near your current campground.
*-Refuel at 1/2 tank - always. What the heck, get out stretch your legs, shop for some priceless souvenirs, etc.
*-AND lastly, have a great time!

[lablover]

We left in May for a 3 month trip to the Colorado Plateau from Maryland. We stayed in National Parks, Monuments, Forests and State Parks. Not sure if you are seniors or what your citizenship is or if it even makes a difference but if you qualify for the Senior Pass, you will save a lot of money on entrance fees alone. We have solar as well and would advise staying in the parks even though many do not have electric. You will save time and $ and can get a jump on the day, heat and crowds by staying in the parks especially since your time is limited.

[ependydad]

Wow, I just mapped it. I thought my friends had a long trip going from Seattle to the Keys.

What time of year are you thinking? I assume moderate temperatures and a time where you don't have to worry about parks being closed to inclement weather.

Looking at the map and loosely considering some routes for things I've always wanted to do/have done:

- Salt Lake City

- Colorado Springs

- Gateway Arch in St. Louis, MO

- If you're into shows, maybe go to Branson, MO (I found these targeted for older and, often, more religious than we are)

- Drop down to Memphis, TN

- Maybe drive some of the Natchez Parkway

- Hit the Space Center in Huntsville, AL

- Stone Mountain near Atlanta, GA is neat to see

- Jacksonville is very nice

- I'd follow one of the coasts down Florida - on the east, you could stop at one of the beach front campgrounds (either in the panhandle at Camp Gulf in Destin; or at Red Coconut in Fort Meyers, maybe); on the west, you could stop at the ocean front Beverly Beach Camptown... OR, hit the state parks if you can get in.

- The Everglades can be a great destination- just pack plenty of DEET-filled bugspray

- The Keys themselves are wonderful; Bluewater Key in Key West is my absolutely favorite RV park (I just hate robbing banks to be able to go)

Returning home:

- Do the opposite side of Florida

- Go up to Charleston, SC

- Go up Skyline Drive

- Visit Washington, DC

- Go to Gettysburg or Philadelphia

- Go to Detroit to the Ford Rogue and do a factory tour

- Head east and stop in Elkhart, IN to the RV/MH Hall of Fame

- Stop in Chicago

- Go to the Mall of America

- Go see Mount Rushmore and to Crazy Horse Memorial

- Up to Glacier National Park

[Crusadernoob]

We love Savannah, GA and also feel that the Outer Banks is a MUST! A few great lighthouses, beaches, Jockeys Ridge, Wright Bros. museum, I personally could spend a few days, and we do when we go. St. Louis is nice just to spend a day, tour Budweiser, go up in the arch, catch a baseball game downtown. Also been to the Mammoth caves in Kentucky, nice place for a day stop.

[markb422]

There are some good route planning apps and software that you can use. They highlight attractions and historic places to stop along the route. You can set the distance you are willing to go off route.
I am using MS Streets and Trips to plan a similar trip and will do the northern tier of states going west from Michigan through the UP of Michigan to Montana then south and east along a southern route and back north on I65 or I75. You could go all the way to I95 if you want to do the east coast of the states. I am going in the oppisite direction but you can reverse it.

[huckelbuck]

If you don't have it already ,I would get the app allstays($10.00) I find myself planning the next nights stay when I have good cell reception.Best app ever.shows rv park & dry camp info & pictures.Gives all options in your intended area of stay,a must!

[markb422]

There are some apps and software that do not require data or wifi. Some are free and you can download only the states or provinces that you plan to travel through. They have thousands of points of interest.

[RamblerGuy]

The RVparky app is very good for finding campgrounds. I can't remember for sure but I think it's free.

The Good Sam's campground guide is good but be aware that it doesn't list all state parks or all private parks. If you don't find a campground in the Good Sam's where you want to stay, check other sources such as state park websites or just Google campgrounds or RV parks associated with a nearby city.

[keith_h]

As some have said along the East Coast Savannah, Ga - Charleston, SC - The Washington DC area. I would also recommend the Philadelphia area. It has the historical stuff but also several very good art museums, it is near Valley Forge and the Wyeth art museum in the Brandywine Valley. I would also try to get to the Outerbanks in NC and if you like old warships the USS North Carolina in Wilmington. Wilmington also has Fort Fisher and one of the state aquariums. There are also New England states to consider.

If you are going go through the Midwest I think a stop in Chicago is well worth it. Just be forewarned that the closest campground is about an hour and half drive to the west.

I think the thing you need to determine first is how many driving days do want to have? Do you mind stopping for a day or do you prefer a few days at a time? If you were to do with the routes you are thinking of following I think the places you will be able to visit will become obvious. Three months is a lot of time but I sure wouldn't wan to spend most of driving from place to place.

[mikakuja]

Wow! A lot of great info, Thanks!!!

I will try to answer a few of the questions..

As far as travel time goes, we want to avoid the peak season in Florida. I am thinking if we leave near the end of August we should be OK. Definitely open to suggestions here.

We are not seniors so getting discounts is pretty much out the window..
We will be getting the Good Sam membership, the sooner the better as it gives us discounts on parts, etc up here.
As far as mapping software, that is a great idea. Haven't got one yet but it's definitely on the list.
I haven't decided on what we will do phone wise, but having one to use as a hot spot is a must for us. I will also look into a wifi and phone boosters.
We have BCAA RV premium membership so I'll have to look into what they cover south of the Boarder.
I have good medical coverage but will look into what the fine print excludes us from, and if necessary purchase extra insurance.
Love the ideas on the RVparky, allstays and other apps suggested relating to travel. We have never used them traveling up here as we generally know exactly where we are going ahead of time.
As far as being flexible, yes definitely, couldn't agree more..... One thing we have learned is that there are always unplanned adventures that pop up, we are certainly open to plan changes along the way. Things that we don't get to do are just an excuse for another adventure.

I am really trying not to overthink everything but at the same time I want to be prepared mentally for the journey as it will be our longest to date.

I am in the process of jotting down all of the suggested places to visit and deciding with my wife what really stands out to us.

loving the suggestions so far as there is a lot that we would have never thought of...

Thanks again, and keep the suggestions coming.

I am also pondering the idea of posting up a series of videos starting from the planning of the trip to the return home. Yes, it creates a little work for me along the way, but I think it might be fun. And a new experience for us as well. Let me know what you think.

[twoclaws]

Originally Posted by flagstaffman

First I would suggest you purchase a Good Sams Membership about $25.00 per year, that will get you a 10% discount at several campgrounds. I would also suggest that you purchase a Passport America membership which cost abut $40.00 per year. This membership will get you 1/2 price at any part participating campground. Both of these memberships will pay for themselves on your first visit. Your Good Sams membership will also allow you to purchase items at any Camping World in the country. I would also obtain both a Good Sams campground directory and a Passport America directory to have if you do not have good wifi reception. There are so many wonderful campgrounds but until you have a better idea of the approximate route of travel it would be very hard to recommend some to prevent you from hopping all over the place. Hope this helps.

Also with Good Sam Card you can save 3 cents a gallon at Pilot and Flying J fuel stations with Flying J's having RV Fuel lanes (easy in and out) only a few Pilots have RV lanes. These fuel stations have an app for phone and hard copy brochure of locations is available at stations. We also found "some" Casinos have campgrounds on premises with full hook ups and at these paid $10 to $25 dollars. As noted above Passport America a good idea but each Campground has own restrictions. An app and hard copy directory available. Good Luck

[frogsandhogs]

We just spent 7 weeks on the road traveling from Wisconsin to our winter home in Texas. We did a western loop. We spent 5 weeks this spring doing an eastern loop on the way back north for the summer. If we really want to be at a certain place on a certain date, we plan around that. Otherwise, we just wing it. Some days we travel 80 miles, some days 350. Don't travel freeways unless you have to, use regular highways. Stay away from KOA campgrounds, not worth what you pay for. Stay at Army Corp of Engineer parks, county parks, city parks. We have found some of the nicest, unexpected parks in small towns. Talk to local people. They will clue you in on where to eat, and sights that may not be well known. For sure Good Sam and Passport America. National Forests in areas allow boondocking for free or a minimal fee. Same with State forests. Don't over think it. Make a list of places you know you want to see, and use that for planning your general route, then use state maps or a good atlas to figure out the rest. Don't carry too many supplies, tools. You will never be too far from stores, and part of the fun is shopping locally or in store chains you have never tried. Relax, enjoy the journey, journal your trip and don't sweat small things.

[Zargonians]

We did an 11 week trip this year and saw so many great places. We left at the end of July and saw snow in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in early September. We pretty much planned out our entire route and made most all of our reservations in advance. In hindsight, I think we may have been ok with not being so rigid, but we were worried about having a place to stay in the National Parks like Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Tetons and Rocky Mountain. Even making reservations eight months in advance, we were unable to stay in Yellowstone or the Rocky Mountains. There are campgrounds in these parks that don't take reservations, but the parks are huge and driving from campground to campground to find a place to stop did not appeal to us, so we made reservations at private campgrounds outside the park. The Grand Tetons National Park campgrounds don't accept reservations at all, so we did take a chance and were just barely able to get a site large enough in the campground we wanted to stay in. We used RV Trip Wizard planning software. It shows all the campgrounds along your route so you know what's available where you are going. The only downside to that software is that you must have cell service/wifi to access. My sister uses the Allstays app on her smartphone and loves it, but the same applies with having cell service or wifi. We stayed at a few RV "resorts" and this is definitely not our style of camping. Too many rigs too close together for our liking. We prefer national parks, state parks, and Corps of Engineer campgrounds. They usually have larger sites. We did spend one night at a free space in a National Forest that was really nice. We have Good Sam's and Passport America. The campgrounds that accepted Passport America generally had a limit of five nights stay at the Passport America rate (1/2 off). We tried to stay at least 4 or 5 nights at each location to maximize sightseeing opportunities. We stayed 7 nights at Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and in Colorado as there is so much to see and the parks are so huge. Three months sounds like a long time, but it will pass very quickly and you are planning to do many more miles than we did. We put just over 10,000 miles on our truck, which included sightseeing trips after parking the travel trailer. One of our favorite places besides the National Parks along our route was the Black Hills in South Dakota. Mount Rushmore is a must see there, but there are so many beautiful places in the Black Hills! Custer State Park has several campgrounds in the area. As far as camping in Florida before the season, you will probably have no problems at most places. If you go in the winter, some places book up a year in advance! The Florida Keys are beautiful, but there are many places along both Florida coasts that are just as beautiful in our opinion. We love the west coast and Panhandle of Florida beaches the best, but the Atlantic coast has some gorgeous places as well. Whatever you plan, you will see some extraordinary sights along the way. Enjoy your trip and the memories you will make along the way!

[mikakuja]

Thanks for the advice. I've also searched out several families and couples who have YouTube channels and websites. The difference between their travels and what we would like to do is not really all that different, with the exception being that they work while traveling. I actually have to return to work at the end of the trip.
All of your suggestions support my thoughts of picking a date to reach our destination (Key West), which is really just a destination point at this time. If we don't make Key West I won't be disappointed. This gives us a set time to plan a out a generalized route with a list of sights we would like to see along the way. I am all about winging it from there, my wife on the other hand may twitch a little, probably alot with winging it.... She is more rigid and loves to plan and have things set up in advance. I think that at least to start out with it will be a compromise for both of us.