Newbie Aussies planning US holiday.1st time RVing,1st time US...

[Shel_Steph]

Hi, my husband and I are planning to come to the states in around 6 weeks and would like to hire an RV / caravan.

We are planning on being there for 14 - 17 days and are hoping to drive to the following places:-

Start Los Angeles to San Francisco to Los Vegas to Memphis to Nashville to Niagara Falls to New York.

If anyone could answer these questions, I would really appreciate it:-

1. What is the longest drive times we should do each day?
2. Are there any good RV parks in/near these cities?
3. How do you get from the RV park into the city (can we drive it in and park it somewhere or is there transport to and from the park)?
4. Do we need to book the parks in advance or can we just show up?
5. How much would we expect to pay at a powered park?
6. What type of RV should would be the best for us?
7. Any suggestions on a good company to hire from?
8. Is there anything else we need to know or be careful of?

Thanks in advance for helping us, I know I have a lot of questions.

Cheers
Shel


4.

 

[try2findus]

Re: Newbie Aussies planning US holiday.1st time RVing,1st time US...

Welcome to the forum Shel. We like to travel daylight hours when possible, not only for safety (ours and the road critters) but also to see the sights. There are RV parks in or near all of your destinations.

We suggest www.campingroadtrip.com as a resource for campground reviews. Search under campgrounds. You will get no better input than from RV'ers themselves. Folks we have met are honest when it comes to reviewing a good campground, as well as the not so good...

If you rent a 24 ft or slightly larger (Class C), you may be able to use it as you would an automobile to explore around the cities and tourist destinations. Much longer than that, and parking may become an issue in some of the more congested areas.

During the "off" season, we sometimes roll the dice when it comes to booking a site. We may decide to drive further or stop sooner. But that is just us. During peak travel times you would definitely want to consider reservations.

Most parks are reasonable and we are accustomed to paying between $15 and $30 for a 30 amp site with water, cable and usually wifi.

If you have never driven or traveled in an RV, I would suggest the class C or B. The B is just a large van converted to travel.

Pay attention to the warning signs posted around the campgrounds and parks. The people who run the campgrounds know what to warn us about. Watch your cab fuel level and don't let it dip below 1/4 tank because your generator will cut off (if you happen to be dry-camping).

I am sure other more knowledgeable folks will chime in with their wealth of information. Enjoy your trip and stay safe!

 

[Blueeyes]

Re: Newbie Aussies planning US holiday.1st time RVing,1st time US...

Were you just planning on driving & sightseeing from the highway on this trip? The distance you are planning on driving will be very tough to do in just a little over 2 weeks. You would not really have time to really see anything of the Naitonal Parks or the cities sightseeing sites in this short of a time. I also would recommend buying a Travel Life Campgound Directory from Good Sam. It lists many of the campgrounds in each state & rates them, shows the prices, & gives good directions to get to each. (And no, I don't work for Good Sam-I've just used this book for 10 years & approx 150,000 miles of travel). If I can help in any way about sites you might be interested in seeing please reply. Deb