novice questions! please help!!

[lozzapig]

hi all

what a great site! i am planning a long trip through america and am considering the feasability of do this in an rv! i hope my questions are not too stupid! and when you finnish laughing at them you will answer them! we are looking at a 25-30 ft rv

basicly we intend to do a fair bit of city touristing! so for example if we decide to go to chicago or washington dc or new york for a couple of days what would the practicalities be for the rv? could we drive around town in one? what about parking during the day? if we want to walk around the sites etc can we find easy parking for the rv? what about security? what is advisable?


where can you spend the nights in the city?

How much are we looking at for rv sites per night? is it practical to park outside a city and travel in every morning?

what about when we are travelling through miles of country side - can we just park up in the desert or country and spend then night? then continue with the journey?

i hope to hear from some of you guys soon

lozza

 

[turnipbwc]

novice questions! please help!!

Lozza,
First of all you are right, this is a good site. Your questions are not stupid. You are new and have to learn just like the rest of us.

If you are going to the bigger cities you might want to consider the Class B RV. There are all kinds of Class B's. I happen to own a Roadtrek and it has everything the big boys have, just not as much "walk around room".

My Roadtrek is 19" long and drives like a van and can be parked in any parking space. The gas miliage is the best and I get 16 MPG on a trip. You can check them out at www.roadtrek.com/Models.asp
A good place to look for used and new is Van City in St Louis. You can find them at www.vancityrv.com One of the best and biggest sites to look for any kind of RV's is www.rvtraderonline.com

Most campsites vary from $16.00 a night to $45.00 a night for full hook-ups. As far as staying in the city, You have an RV so find a campsite near a city. If you just want a place to spend the night, WalMart lets you spend the night in their lots. A lot of RV people are against staying at WalMarts. I have never stayed in any of the WalMarts and never will never unless it was an emergency.You will be hearing from others that will tell you more. Some of them are PRO'S and been on the road longer than I have. I have been camping and RVing for some 50 years and still enjoy it.

Finally the most important thing is to use common sense and to be careful at all times.
Good Luck,
Turnip42

 

[Kirk]

novice questions! please help!!

There is nothing wrong with your questions, and I'll do my best to answer, based upon my life as a fulltime RVer.

quote:example if we decide to go to chicago or washington dc or new york for a couple of days what would the practicalities be for the rv? could we drive around town in one? what about parking during the day? if we want to walk around the sites etc can we find easy parking for the rv? what about security? what is advisable?

We have been to Chicago and Washington, as well as San Francisco, Denver, Dallas, St. Louis, Phoenix and many other cities with our RV. The best way to visit depends upon the city you visit. For Washington DC, I found that it worked best to park in a campground near the metro trains and take them into the city. Washington has a very good public transportation. In San Antonio we usually stay at an RV park with city bus service just outside. But we also tow a small car and we use that in many cases. The practicality of driving and parking the RV is pretty reasonable until you get up to about 30' and then becomes much more difficult. A car or truck takes about 18' to park. So once you get much over 25' you will need two parking places or a very large one. The smaller towns are easier to deal with in a large RV than are the bigger cities. You will usually need to park the RV in a parking lot, rather than on the street. But many people do that with the RVs of 25' or so, especially the class C type. If you are visiting an amusment park of attraction of that type, they always have places to park an RV. That is true of most major attctions that are not in the inner city. Security is not usually a serious problem, as long as you use good judgment in your choice of location.

quote:where can you spend the nights in the city?
The best answer to that is in an RV park. Nearly all cities will have them. You can also stay in your RV in most truck stops, Wal Mart or K Mart if there is no city ordinance to prevent it and if you ask permission. Very few cities will allow you to spend the night in the RV just parked on the street.
quote:How much are we looking at for rv sites per night? is it practical to park outside a city and travel in every morning?
The cost of an RV park varies widely, depending upon where it is located and what the amenities are. Near major cities on either coast, expect to pay from $35 to $50 per night. In the middle of the country most RV parks charge more in the range of $25. In small town America you may find sites for as little as $15 and even free in some small town parks. State and county parks tend to be in the range of $16 to $25.
quote:what about when we are travelling through miles of country side - can we just park up in the desert or country and spend then night?
That will again depend upon where you are. You are not allowed to park on private property without the permission of the owner. There are many places in National Forests and on BLM land where you can do that. Many truck stops allow spending the night, and some states allow it in a rest area. Nearly all rural Wal Marts will allow it. But to just pull off the road anywhere is not generally allowed and probably not the best idea anyway.

 

[SnowbirdInFlight]

novice questions! please help!!

quote:Originally posted by lozzapig
what about when we are travelling through miles of country side - can we just park up in the desert or country and spend then night? then continue with the journey?

My husband and I like staying at the State Parks. The price is a lot better than most private campgounds and the sites are always well maintained and clean. For example in Louisiana we stayed at a State Campground and they took our Golden Age and we stayed with FULL hook-ups (50A, E, W, S) for only $6 a night!

 

[srobbins]

novice questions! please help!!

Driving an RV in a major city isn't the real problem--parking it is. Regardless of what kind of RV you get, you'll be too tall to fit in just about all parking garages, and it's not easy finding two street parallel parking spaces next to each other. For those city excursions, I think using your own car which you tow (referred to in RV circles as a "toad"), renting a car, or using taxis/public transportation might be a better solution.

Most cities have campgrounds in the suburbs or outskirts, but I can't recall any in a downtown area.

 

[hertig]

novice questions! please help!!

As mentioned above, you will want to either have a very small RV (class B - Van camper) of standard height (not extended top), a towed car, or carefully plan your trip to be able to use public transportation. You will usually not be able to either park a big rig or stay overnight in any vehicle within a big city.

On an extended trip, signing up for Passport America can be a good choice. If they have a campground where you want to be, it will be 50% of the regular price. I went from Arizona to Illinois and back (by a different route) and stayed at PA campgrounds every night except 1, for an average cost of about $11 or $12 a night.

As mentioned, there are many places (rest stops, truck stops, WalMarts, etc) you may be able to stop at for free; just be aware that they do not have electricity, water or sewage hookups. Thus, these are generally only good for a few hours rest or an occasional overnight. This is known as 'boondocking' and can be done with the proper equipment and practices.

Most RVs have a battery bank which provides some electricity. Some may also have a generator for high draw things like AC or microwave ovens. However, the place you stop at may limit generator usage.

Most RVs also have a fresh water tank. At first glance, it would seem like you would always want to keep this tank full. However, you don't want to pay (reduced gas mileage) to haul water if you don't need it. I only carry enough water to wash my hands and flush the toilet during 'lunch breaks' and then only add more water at the last place before the boondocking site.

As for sewage you generally don't dump every day anyway. Most campgrounds will have either a sewer port at your site, or at least a dump station you can use, and some 'RV friendly' truck stops (Flying J and Loves come to mind) have dump stations.