UKC

bored with the daily routine, and haven't been on a proper trip for years; now have two children (7 and 5) to bring along though so have to be realistic and do something that they, and Mrs Eggs, would be happy to sign up to (ie no multi-day backpacking trips, or things involving ropes...)

i've always wanted to do a trip around the American west- having been on a couple of visits already, there are so many other places i'd have gone to had there been time. Previously hired car and stayed in motels; not that cheap. So wondering if hiring an RV might be an alternative way to approach it.

Considering 3-4 weeks, around california/oregon/wyoming/utah/nevada/new mexico- and try to visit major highlights along the way. obviously seeing all these states in that time isn't realistic, so looking for advice from anyone that's done something like this...

what sort of size of RV would be necessary for a family of 4? want to keep costs down, so 'just big enough' rather than 'roomy' would be the brief...

what sort of costs is hiring likely to incur, once 'optional' insurances are added?

what time of year would be best to go- i expect summer would be too hot in the southern states, and there will be lots of snow further north until then. So where would be best to go at easter? vs july/august? and is there a big difference in rental costs earlier in the year?

and any more general advice from anyone that has done something similar would be welcome...

might end up not being possible for us, but on a damp grey autumn morning, you've got to dream....



gregor

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

Ours were 9 and 6 last year when we were in the US. When work was over and holidays begun we were in Denver, and so took the pretty cool Californian Zephyr double decker sleeper train - sleeper unit for 4! - to San Francisco (strictly, Emeryville) and then hired a reasonably sized RV and headed for Yosemite.

We used fetchrvrental - worked well (kind of...) they are a clearing house for multiple agencies and so we were getting the RV from RoadBear. They make money on the 'extras' (like towels, sheets, plates etc!) which you can circumvent by going to Walmart and buying cheap ones. The model of RV we booked was out, so we ended up in a 33 foot monster which should really require an HGV license in the UK. It had a "furnace" i.e. gas space heater that was broken, so in the end we got the bigger RV (sleeps 8), all the extras, GPS, etc for less than the cost of the first rental. Our travel insurance also covered all the excesses and additional insurance so that helped too. There are 'overseas deals' for non-US residents that bring the costs down too.

Big RVs are *really* big. The V12 gets through petrol visibly and I think we got 8mpg on the motorway. Much better to potter around, they are really meant for sitting in and watching the widescreen TV whilst helping yourself to beer from the fridge as far as I can see. There are plenty of sites of varying degrees of beauty / industrial wasteland so worth doing some homework. At popular times definitely book ahead and actually staying in Yosemite may not be possible - but the bus service is pretty good from the outlying RV parks.

Best advice would be - if it's a long way hire a car. If you want to drive an hour or two a day, the RV is good fun for the kids but a bit like driving a slow and noisy juggernaut for the adults. Would definitely do it again but take longer over the journey - a philosophical note in general, maybe

Have fun

b

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

I used to run a travel bookshop in the US: If you are looking for some good guidebooks, the Moon Handbook series is recommended for the West, and a very popular and good guide is the Explorer's Guide to the Four Corner's Region: Where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona Meet (hope those are in the right order...). Should be able to get them through Amazon if you' re interested.

If you think you might end up in Arizona, watch CGP Grey's video, Daylight Savings Times explained and skip to 5.08. It won't help you plan your trip, but it's hilarious. I would've copied the link but iPad being uncooperative. Have fun, sounds like brilliant adventure !

In reply to damhan-allaidh:

Brilliant. What a mess
youtube.com/watch?v=84aWtseb2-4&

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

Thank you for the replies, helpful advice, and will look out for the guidebooks....

In reply to pneame:

Loved watching the you tube link!
A mate and I did a road trip a few years ago from Salt Lake City to San Francisco. We encountered much confusion near the Arizona border (with Utah) with the time zones. My phone switched time zone (if I remember rightly) whilst my mate's didn't! I ended up having to go to reception in the motel in which we were staying, to ask, "What time is it?!". The receptionist assured me he had been asked this many times! A couple of days later we had a helicopter flight into the Grand Canyon booked (highly recommend it). We had to drive several hours to the departure point and were warned about the different time zones in the reservations we would pass through.
An interesting place to stop is Four Corners, the only place in USA where 4 states (Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico) meet at a single point. I loved Utah (message me if you want further info) and could have spent much longer there. We also went to Death Valley. Worth a visit depending on the time of year!

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

Some more general advice - we were in South Carolina over Easter and got off the beaten track when we went to a State Park for a few days. It was fantastic, a wonderful opportunity to meet everyday Americans on their vacations in their RVs. Our accents made us instant celebrities and we had a wonderful time enjoying the fantastic hospitality we received. My kids (3&5) really enjoyed this part of the trip, they just liked hanging out at the playgrounds in the campsite with the other kids.

3 specific bits of general advice:
We stayed in some huts built in the 70s which were built over the lake, as we were off the international tourist trail availability was fine about 3 months before we left. Rather than hiring a huge RV, can you hire a car and stay in huts/cabins (unless you are towing a small car 'popping' anywhere from the campsite will be a colossal ball ache!).

As you state yourself there is so much to see. The risk of spending lots of time driving to tick 'must sees' is great. Don't succumb - give yourself time to enjoy it and relax with rest days at the local playgrounds!

Some of the families we saw had small radios to give the kids - meant the kids could go and play by themselves but they were always instantly contactable, seemed to work really well.

Have a great time!

In reply to ben b:

There are hundreds of state parks that are awesome to visit on a road trip. Many of the state parks - and some access points to national parks - live down very rough dirt tracks. It took very careful work to get down some in out hire car; no way I'd even contemplate it with an RV. Check that your insurance - including full damage waiver - is valid on dirt tracks...

If I went back I'd hire something with high ground clearance and all wheel drive.

Get a good guide to the state parks, can't recommend one as we borrowed one and I don't recall its particulars.

Motels are cheap anywhere except the big cities and Silicon Valley.

Oregon: Unpquah Hot Springs. Amazing place. Lots of great waterfalls in the area.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

I did a 10 week trip few years ago mainly in Utah and Nevada, with extra trips up to the Tetons, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Highway 1 from San Francisco to Los Angeles. My favourite places were the desert state and national parks - Arches, Canyonlands, Dead Horse Point, Zion and Bryce, and individual sites such as the Wave and Antelope Canyon. And it would be rude not to mention the Grand Canyon, which despite being quite touristy, is definitely worth the effort.

I'd second the recommendation for the Moon guides. When you're researching the places you want to go, watch out for the permit requirements. Some places only issue a limited number of permits per day. We got very lucky with permits for the Wave and the Grand Canyon, managing to get them the day before we wanted to do the trips, but a lot of people will book a long way in advance.

I was there in April/May/June. In April, it was warm enough to be hiking in t-shirt and shorts, but I did get snow at higher altitudes on my way to Bryce Canyon. By late-May, it was very hot - days over 40C were not uncommon. I do recall one day driving for half an hour from my campsite to a shop just to feel the benefit of air-conditioning. By July/August, I suspect it would be hard to stir yourselves into action.

I loved the desert landscapes. Completely different to anything I'd encountered before (despite a couple of trips to Morocco), and I'm contemplating a return visit in a couple of years, if I can overcome my aversion to US immigration interrogations on arrival. Try not to bite off more than you can sensibly chew - there's so much to see, and you'll ave to make choices between cramming in as much as possible and getting exhausted, or taking a slightly more leisurely approach and enjoying things a bit more.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:
Not long back from a roadtrip round Washington state and Oregon, and have done a few others round California, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. Fine places.

We generally go in September or October; the temperatures aren't too searing (usually) and the crowds aren't too deep. However, if you're taking the sprogs, missing school might be an issue at this time of year. At first we hired a car, took a tent and either camped or booked accommodation on the fly as we travelled; this year I arranged it all in advance by booking hotels/motels through booking.com. Whilst there is a great deal to see, don't underestimate the amount of travelling you'll have to do to see it and for this reason, I'd suggest you use a car rather than an RV and take things to keep the nippers amused.

Seattle, San Fran and Salt Lake City are all good places to start/finish. This year, for the first time, I paid to have the US map uploaded to the wife's satnav and that was really useful; £35 but worth every penny. I'd recommend you take one, it takes a lot of stress out of navigating.

I'd also recommend that before you go, find out where the nearest WalMart stores are to where you plan to stay. It's an interesting cultural experience visiting one; in addition to road food (you should take some; there may not be anywhere convenient for lunch) you should also get a couple of gallon containers of water.

There is, as always, much more to say. Ask if you want to know more.

T.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

The US National Parks have amazing free programs for the kids, especially good for a 7 year old. They complete a series of tasks and presentations over a few days, and can then be sworn in as junior rangers in an over the top ceremony that only the Americans could come up with.

I agree with some things that have already been said, keep the amount of driving down and let your kids enjoy where they are and consider doing part rental car and part RV.

Three has a data plan that will work in the states for the same price as here.

Pocket Earth is a great IPad app with off line maps and routes. Don't rely on cell phone data in out of the way places.

Stay away from Vegas. Unless you are drunk you will be sick of it in one hour.

Do you have any long lost relatives living over there? If you can arrange to visit a local off the tourist trail you will be treated like royalty.

In reply to Pursued by a bear:




This! A thousand times this. We used Navmii on my wife's ipad and having a searchable, movable, zoom inabble and outabble map was absolutely fantastic. I am the navigator in our driving team and the thought of doing some of the things we did with folding large scale maps makes me shudder. Even though the ipad GPS never synced with navmii to find us we got around just fine with a decent electronic map.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:
I worked for a season at Trail Ridge Road, at the summit of the road that went through Rocky Mountain National Park. I sold film and stuffed toys at 12,000 feet.

There was a normal 2 lane road that went to the top, or you could take the twisty old road. This road was not suitable for even the smallest RVs, but plenty of people ignored the sign. Once they reached the first side scraping turn, they still had 21 miles of twists to go, and no way to back down. At least every week we'd see somebody crying next to an RV with giant scrapes down the side.

The next biggest disasters were the hailstorms that would dent the roof of every car in the parking lot.

If you can get there, it's a great place.