Traveling across the US by car/van

Bobw235

Bobw235

Senior Member
Location
Massachusetts
When I retire in a few months, I'm hoping to plan a trip of several months to see much of the country. My wife and I think it would be a great adventure to drive and have no schedule for returning home. I was hoping to hear from others who have made a similar journey, either here or overseas. I don't see us renting an RV, but we're debating renting a luxury van, or using our personal vehicle. I have loads of time to plan this trip and will be interested in your thoughts.
 

You certainly won't run out of things to see. Consider the weather when making your plans, though. No fun driving across the plains in two feet of snow. Arizona in August is...well....hell. Etc, etc. We've covered 45 of the continental 48 states in the past five years. If you're looking for some off-the-wall places to go, I have recommendations.
 
Traveling by car/truck/rv...with no specific itinerary...can make for a really nice vacation. When I retired, we loaded up the shell on the truck, closed the house for a couple of months that Summer, and headed for Canada. We entered Canada at International Falls, and headed West. Many days, we only made a hundred miles, or so. Some nights we found a nice campground...others we stayed in Motels. We really enjoyed the area around Edmonton, Alberta, and the Canadian Rockies. There is a triangle from Jasper to Kamloops to Banff, that has some of the best mountain scenery in North America. The mountains aren't as high as the Colorado Rockies, but they are newer, and far more rugged. We then came back through Glacier Natl. park, Montana and Idaho, and finished the trip visiting relatives in Denver, before returning back to KC. It was far and away the best vacation we ever had.
 

We haven't traveled across country completely at one time, but we've been camping in numerous states in the past. We like the slide in (pop-up) truck camper, that way we can take the pets with us and stop anytime we please. We don't worry about going to motels, etc. So if you have a truck, and you and your wife are the outdoor types, it's something to consider.

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I made a "circumnavigation" of the U.S. in a two-seater but that was over 35 years ago - I'm sure things have changed a lot, but one thing I can say is that you'll love doing it. Good luck!
 
I spent the better part of thirty years criss-crossing the nation in a cargo van on business. Now that I'm retired I harbor no interest in traveling. There are certainly many interesting places around the world that I have not seen, but as Underock mentioned in another thread, you can see any part of the world on the monitor of your computer.
 
Bobw235 said:
When I retire in a few months, I'm hoping to plan a trip of several months to see much of the country. My wife and I think it would be a great adventure to drive and have no schedule for returning home. I was hoping to hear from others who have made a similar journey, either here or overseas. I don't see us renting an RV, but we're debating renting a luxury van, or using our personal vehicle. I have loads of time to plan this trip and will be interested in your thoughts.
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Been there and done that, I'd rather fly to an interesting place, rent a car and explore.
 
What a great idea! You'll LOVE it! I see that you live in Massachusetts, so you're already aware - as jujube suggested - that you'll want to consider wintry weather potential as you plan your route. My friend and I did basically that 40 years ago. It would have lasted a good deal longer than it did had we had more $, but still it was the adventure of a lifetime. I recommend doing your best to have conversations with the locals wherever you are so you can really get a sense of place and history. We did that by trying to patronize what were clearly mom and pop restaurants, motels, campgrounds as opposed to franchises whenever we could. PLEASE post a blog for us during your great adventure! Have fun and be safe!
 
Amazing photo, seabreeze!

I like the cute tiny mobile homes that look like real houses with front porches skylights etc but are basically creative trailers…but I wonder if it would be cheaper and less claustrophobic to just stay in hotels using AARP or AAA discounts. You wouldn't be able to experience the great outdoors like seabreeze but if you factor in extra gas for larger vehicle, maintenance, insurance, property taxes, having to plan/buy/cook your meals, etc then hotels look pretty economical.
 
Appreciate all the advice and thoughts here. Not sure how this will play out. I have plenty of time to plan this and if our health allows (and the situation with my in-laws is stabilized), we're definitely doing this. Looking at Roadtrek vehicles just to get some sense of the possibilities out there for travel. Someone mentioned going up into Western Canada. That is definitely in our plans as we loved that visit several years ago when we flew into Calgary and drove up to Jasper. That is beautiful country. I think we'd like the option of either staying in our vehicle or in a hotel as we travel. When I do this (the power of positive thinking) I will most assuredly be blogging about it in one fashion or another. I figure this is a 2016 or 2017 trip. I retire as of March next year. Would love to do it then as we figure in 2017 to be relocating from MA to a better climate (weather and taxes).
 
We have never been out of Australia, however we have learned a few things from traveling in our caravan for two years..
If you have something in the van/ car you haven't used in 6 months and it's not an essential throw it out!
Always carry plenty of water !
When we shifted into our newly built home in 2006 after living in or van for the two years, most of the saucepans, crockery, etc we had stored, on unpacking was put into a garage sale box instead of the cupboard as you realise living in a van you can survive with just a few of the items and don't really need a cupboards full of stuff you never use
 
We have traveled from coast to coast and over both borders in a small travel trailer towed by a mid size SUV. We enjoyed sights that we would never have seen otherwise. You don't need a $200,000 motor home to do it.

I traveled on the job for 20 years, I have had my share of hotels/motels and developed a strong dislike for flying.
 
Manatee said:
We have traveled from coast to coast and over both borders in a small travel trailer towed by a mid size SUV. We enjoyed sights that we would never have seen otherwise. You don't need a $200,000 motor home to do it.

I traveled on the job for 20 years, I have had my share of hotels/motels and developed a strong dislike for flying.
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I'll have to explore that option.
 
Falcon said:
BTW... Somebody said that you can get into Canada with no/few problems, BUT you must need a passport to get back into the USA.

Still true? Anybody?
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True. You can get a passport card to travel into Canada or Mexico. The card is half the price of a passport book. The card is not valid for flying, only for car, boat or train.
 
Hi Bob -

I have traveled over 130,000 miles around the US via motorhome visiting some 46 states. I have travelogues of my trips with lots of photos on my website, fishwisher.com. Someone mentioned that you don't need a $200,000 motorhome, but how about $40,000 for everything you need? Or perhaps rent one.

If you compare the cost of driving by car or van and eating in restaurants and staying in motels to RVing, there simply is no comparison. I rarely stay at a RV park and almost always stay at a Walmart - for free. They are virtually everywhere. The vast majority of them welcome RVers. They are safe because every Walmart has a camera on every inch of their lot, and many have have security patrols as well - and the bad element knows that. Unlike an RV park, if you discover that you parked in a spot you don't like or have a noisy neighbor, you can move to another area. Most anything you may need is likely in the store where the prices are very low and you avoid the travel plazas that are notoriously high priced.

You can buy very good, low mileage, used RVs for under $50,000 or rent one but I have no knowledge of the rental game. I prefer the class A coach for the room and the fantastic view from the humongous windows. That view just can't be beat. A 30 to 32 footer will have all you need for comfort including hot and cold running water, shower, air conditioner, heater, TV, couch, stove, microwave, fridge, dining table, etc. Check the size of holding tanks if you decide to RV as they vary greatly. My coach has 67 fresh, 41 black, and 57 gray. I shower daily and can go four or five days before having to dump. When I do, some rest areas are equipped with free RV dumps, or you may have to pay $10 to an RV park to dump.

I have had only gas coaches, finding it unnecessary to spend the extra money on diesel. My 31 footer has delivered 7.5 MPG average with regular gas over thousands of miles. While driving 300 miles at that MPG will cost about $100 nowadays, you will save much more by eating your own food aboard and not needing to pay for a motel. You will have your own bed, sheets, etc and not have to wonder if your room was cleaned properly.

Whoa. I got carried away. I hope this info is helpful.

- Dale
 
Bobw, if you do return to the Calgary area again, do consider Drumheller (the badlands). Or perhaps South for a trip to the Bar U Ranch, Head Smashed in Buffalo jump, then carry on further south to Hiway 3 and tour west through the Crowsnest Pass. The Frank Slide is quite fascinating, I strongly suggest a visit to the interpretive site. If you wish to make this a nice circle of a trip keep on going west to Kimberley (lovely quaint town) or Fort Steele, then north to Fairmont and or Radium for the hot springs. Then back round to Calgary, this is a gorgeous trip and is comfortably done in 2 days.
 
Over the last ten years, I have traveled all over the US, mostly west of the Mississippi, traveling by plane, pickup truck, truck with travel trailer, truck with 5th wheel trailer, motorhome, and motorhome with towed vehicle. I kept extensive and accurate records and I can assure you that there is no way to get by cheaper. There's not a nickles worth of difference in how you travel. When you save money in one area, you spend it in another. I travel with my wife who has emphysema. Traveling by myself, I could cut back on expenses but with another with you, it ain't gonna happen!
For your trip, you need to carry your bed with you. Unless you want to stick to a rigid schedule, you will have trouble finding a motel room as in many parts of the country, they are far apart and by the time you get there and find it, they may be full.
One of the luxury vans with a bed and bath would be a good choice for some people but my wife and I like to stop out in the middle of nowhere, fire up the generator, turn on the a/c, fix lunch, take a nap, then travel on. We can stop in the middle of the desert or on the back lot of a truck stop or casino and spend the night with all the comforts of home including running my wife's air machine. Last summer, we picked up our daughter and three grandkids and took them to California with us, 7 days with six of us in a 31 foot motorhome, and it worked out great. Dropped the kids at our son's in San Diego and we went on a six week trip up through the mountains and back home to Missouri.
Break in Texas.jpg
 
We pull a fifth-wheel trailer - all the comforts of home. Last summer we took a month to make our merry way from Florida to California, 2 1/2 months in California and then a month to make our way back. This year, we've spent four months in the mountains of NC. Next year it looks like four months of New Hampshire and Maine. This is our sixth summer on the road and hope we can get several years more before packing it in. I'd love to do Alaska but don't think that's going to happen.
 
Lara said:
jujube….that's what I thought of doing once. It sounds so free spirited and fun.
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It's "fun" 95% of the time. The other 5% can range from disgusting (it's not like you can call down to the hotel front desk and say "the toilet is stopped up - please send someone up immediately to unstop it") to abject terror (pulling a large trailer up and down narrow mountain roads with sheer drop-offs and no guard rails) to "WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING???" (coming to a dead end or low underpass and having to back up half a mile because there's no place to turn around). You learn by your mistakes
 
I missed Dale's post before putting up mine. He pretty much hit the nail on the head and the only place I would have a different opinion is comparative costs for different kinds of travel. I can believe that Dale can travel cheaper in the motorhome than other means but it all depends on his situation and that of the person he travels with. Mine is different. Yours may be also.
One point he made is pretty important depending on how you are going to travel and that is the size of your fresh-black-grey water tanks. If you are going to stay mostly in RV parks, won't make any difference, but if you want to keep expenses down and stay at Walmarts, etc, better make sure you've got enough storage. A lot of rest areas used to have dump stations but many of them are now closed.
Like Dale, I prefer a gas engine. Mine is a V10 Ford and it has plenty of power. Fuel mileage is based on your foot and headwinds. Keep your foot out of the carb! I seldom run over 60 mph no matter what kind of road I am on and have averaged anywhere from 5.9 mpg in open country with a strong headwind to a little over 10 mpg on a week long swing down through Indiana and central Kentucky. A eight week trip in Aug-Sep from Missouri to California and back, carrying six people out for the first week and keeping the generator running all day that first week (to keep main a/c unit running) and quite a few nights over the whole trip, pulling a 6300 lb Silverado the whole way and traveling the mountains coming back as much as possible resulted in a 7.27 mpg average for the whole trip. The generator pulls out of the same fuel tank as the engine so I'm not sure what my actual fuel mileage was.
As for the picture window, this was at campgrounds next to the Little Bighorn Battle Field in Montana. This is why Mary also likes a class A:
Mary-at-Little-Bighorn.jpg
 
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About to hit the road for my trip out west. I mentioned a few weeks ago I planned to visit relatives in Santa Fe, NM and some in Las Vegas. Going to hang out in Sedona/Flagstaff for a couple of days and go by the Grand Canyon. On the way back planning to go to Zion/Bryce Parks but I see this morning there have been flash foods in Zion killing several people. Very sad for those families. That portion of the trip is the end of next week so will have to evaluate the conditions at the time.

http://www.weather.com/news/news/utah-flash-floods
 

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