Cross Country Trip?

[williep13]

I know this is not the right place to put this thread but it seems like the correct area does not get much attention, as well as pulling a toy hauler cross country is a bit different than other rigs. The family and I (wife, 13 yr old daughter, 5 yr old son) will be taking a cross country trip from WA to NC this July/August. We have about 30 days to take out time and see some things we want to see.

Was wanting to know from anyone who has made this journey or invested research what are some areas to avoid and also what are some of the must see items as your going cross country? We have our list of items but curious what others have experienced. Also any tips or tricks to traveling cross country will be great! I am a newbie so have little experience, but we will be living in the RV from end of May till we leave just to get use to the lifestyle.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[hddecker]

You are going to have a great adventure. We have been doing high mile trips for a long time.

We never plan our trips, we just point the rig in the general direction that we want to go, we would have a destination in mind, but no plan on the route to be followed.

Our style of travel began when we started camping on the bike, towing a tent trailer. This was before the internet made getting travel info easier, so you planned as you went.

We stayed off of the Interstates for the most part, sticking to the US and state routes as much as possible. As far as must sees, they are a totally individual thing depending on your interests. For us that is the landmarks, culture and people in the area we are visiting.

By not planning a route, we will come across things that we would otherwise miss. We may find a spot that deserves a few days to a week.

It's a big world out there and you will never be able to see it all, but what you do see makes for lots of great times and good memories.

[DesertRat]

Haven't made a cross country trip but have taken quite a few of 5,000 miles round trip.
First thing I would do is map out a general route. Go online & check overnight or longer term areas to spend the night. GasBuddy is a good app for finding fuel stops. Are you looking at following I-90 to I-29 & going south? If so I would plan on seeing Yellowstone, Devil's Tower & Mt Rushmore just to name a few majors on that route.
Most importantly is have a good time. My grown kids remember rafting on the Yellowstone River out of Cody Wy. Taking a tour of a Buffalo ranch, seeing Mt. Rushmore at night. Things like that. I remember feeding the bears from our car window in Yellowstone as a kid.
RVing makes great memories that will stick with you for life.

[RVNevada]

Willirp13, We have taken a few trips for 30 days, and its going to be hard to see a lot of things, From Nevada to Texas was one of our trips and we were only able to spend a couple days in Texas because it was time to get back….Just the driving days, you take up a lot of time unless, you plan on driving more then 8 hrs per day, and if you run into a lot of Traffic, as the driver, pulling that load and watching for other drivers, you going to get burned out quick…Good luck, and pick some good spots, and enjoy

[EricNSTL]

X2 on Yellowstone, Devil's Tower & Mt Rushmore. Do yourself a favor and spend some time at these places. Devils tower is a great place for a 1 night stop with a few hours to go to the monument, some of us has posted a few pics from the Devils Tower KOA. I could spend weeks at Yellowstone. Also, the Smokey Mountain National Park is worth stopping at as you approach North Carolina. If you wanted some suggestions for camping places at these areas, just mention it.
My travels are different then hddecker, I have every stopped planned so I have no surprises. However I plan to change that when I retire many years from now. We will get in the truck and go!

[lcv800]

I've been going out to Yellowstone, Black Hills, etc. every year for the past twenty, going to Sturgis. I suggest you go early in July and miss the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in hte first part of August unless you want to deal with over 500,000 bikes (nice people but very crowded). Also a bit of price gouging.
Rusty

[calewjohnson]

I have made two cross country trips in 24 months (FL to CA and CA to MD). The first was with a smaller TH, took about 40 days and the only interstate was I-10 between JAX and Pensacola. US highways the rest of the way. It was a phenomenal time. Made no planned route, some days were 250 miles and others were less than a hundred. Ended up in some pretty remote places.

The second trip was with the Voltage. We did a lot of family visits this time and took about 30ish days. We stayed at truck stops and rest areas this time. Days were longer also, as we wanted to see certain family at certain times. Due to an emergency, we drove the Milwaukee, WI to Spartanburg, SC in a single day....let me tell you, 891 miles is no fun, and took a couple of days to recover.

My kids have seen a lot more than their peers have seen, they just don't appreciate it yet, maybe they will someday.

Cale

[hddecker]

Originally Posted by calewjohnson

My kids have seen a lot more than their peers have seen, they just don't appreciate it yet, maybe they will someday.

Cale

They will, they just haven't had enough time to reflect on it.

I have one 43 and a 45 year old, it took the 45 year about 441/2 years to figure out the ulife a home really wan't that bad. Your kids have to have kids before it starts to sink.

[Pushin4u]

Jellystone campground in Cherokee, NC... Great scenery, awesome people, pool, stocked trout stream to fish in, etc!!! It is right outside the Great Smokey Mountain National Park, on the quiet side of the smokeys...

[azdryheat]

I recommend getting reservations a day or two in advance. One example: we pulled into Minneapolis on a Friday afternoon, without a reservation, only to find that all of the parks in the area were full. Had to drive 90 miles to the south to get a space.