Cross Country RV Trip Planning


N

ntx1962

New Member
Folks,
I'm very new to this site and to RVing. I'm researching a long trip - from Texas to Alaska and I don't know necessarily where to start. I know I want to go to the Juneau area, and I'm planning on the whole trip taking about 2 weeks, door to door. (Hey, I still have to work for a living.....)
I suppose I need to get an idea of routes, overnighting along the way and ferries. Do the ferries up in Alaska that take you to Juneau allow RVs? I can't find any info on the internet (granted, only looked for about a half an hour) regarding vehicle size/weight limits.
Or is this trip just too advantagous for a beginner?
Was hoping to take the family (along with pets) cross country to see the US and everything along the way.
 
S

SnowbirdInFlight

Senior Member
Cross Country RV Trip Planning

quote:Originally posted by ntx1962

Folks,
I'm very new to this site and to RVing. I'm researching a long trip - from Texas to Alaska and I don't know necessarily where to start. I know I want to go to the Juneau area, and I'm planning on the whole trip taking about 2 weeks, door to door. (Hey, I still have to work for a living.....)
I suppose I need to get an idea of routes, overnighting along the way and ferries. Do the ferries up in Alaska that take you to Juneau allow RVs? I can't find any info on the internet (granted, only looked for about a half an hour) regarding vehicle size/weight limits.
Or is this trip just too advantagous for a beginner?
Was hoping to take the family (along with pets) cross country to see the US and everything along the way.



I wouldn't think two weeks would be enough time.
 
O

obasfj

New Member
Cross Country RV Trip Planning

We did Seattle to Whitehorse in two weeks, too much travel too little time to spend. The Alcan from Whitehorse to Faibanks is a bear ( I'm told) ruts and pot holes. We got five dings and a crack on the way too and from Whithorse to Dawson Creek. Thare are Ferries from Seattle or Victoria BC up the inside passage (spendy) but easier on the body. Contact BC Ferry system or Alaska Ferry System fro info. Hope this helps.
 
S

srobbins

New Member
Cross Country RV Trip Planning

For ferry info, check out www.akferry.org.

I'll add my voice to the previous comments that 2 weeks just isn't enough for this trip if you want to see anything.

Why would you want to take an RV on the ferry to Juneau?
- RVs are very expensive to ship both directions
- You can't drive anywhere from Juneau
- You can't access your RV except when the ferry pulls into port, so you can't sleep/cook in it (there are minor allowances for pets, but they won't enjoy the trip).

If you really want to see Juneau, I'd suggest leaving your motor home in Washington state and then taking the ferry, and/or flying up from Seattle.

To learn more about visiting Alaska, check out a book called the Milepost. They come out annually, early in the year. However, for preliminary planning purposes, the 2004 or 2005 ones would suffice to get you started.

As far as cross-country, the basic rule of thumb is to try to limit yourself to 200-300 miles per day. Passengers (especially kids) start going stir crazy if you spend much longer on the road, and allow plenty of time to see things on the way (in other words, have some non-traveling days to "stop and smell the flowers", as well as take care of any mechanical problems you may encounter.
 
K

Krazeehorse

New Member
Cross Country RV Trip Planning

I have RV friends here in Ohio that flew up and rented a class C. That worked great for them and considering fuel costs, time constraints and miles of wear that weren't on their coach it wasn't too expensive.
 
J

jstephensca

New Member
Cross Country RV Trip Planning

I think you are FAR too ambitious in your idea of doing this trip in 2 weeks. You will travel at least 10,000 miles and to attempt that in 2 weeks is just not practical. You would have to average over 700 miles oper day. On top of that, the beauty of the trip is too fantastic to be "flying by". Slow down and smell the roses.

This is a minimum of a 4 week trip from TX

My 2 cents worth
 
P

Poppa

Member
Cross Country RV Trip Planning

I use rand mc nally for my travel planning seems to work pretty good. there have been several folks on the forum that have made that trip more than once. If you use the forum search section it may help.
 
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