How to properly plan x-country trip with 43' 5er?

[ToddD]

2019 early summer, we're looking to do a month long cross country trip in our 43' 5er.

Given the length of the rig, I'm assuming I'll run into a lot of campsite limitations.

Is there an easy way to map this trip, or will it come down to picking our desired locations and then doing a map search in the area for campgrounds that have available sites for a rig this long?

I assume if we want to see some of the more popular tourist sites, we should be reserving as far in advance as possible.

So many possible ways to slice and dice a trip like this, it's a bit intimidating...

Thanks.

[Veebyes]

Cydog15 wrote:

2oldman wrote:
Prepare to dry camp when possible. No reservations, no crowding.

Why? Sounds dumb

The FHU sites go first. Why? I don't know. Any RV worth having should be able to go a few nights without running out of water or filling its holding tanks. Many are paranoid. Can't travel without having the full comforts of home.

The power only sites go next. Nice to have heat or cooling if weather dictates.

The dry camping/overflow sites go last. You need to arrive prepared for whatever the CG has if you don't like to commit to reservations.

[Cydog15]

2oldman wrote:
Prepare to dry camp when possible. No reservations, no crowding.

Why? Sounds dumb

[ken_burke]

ToddD wrote:
2019 early summer, we're looking to do a month long cross country trip in our 43' 5er.

Given the length of the rig, I'm assuming I'll run into a lot of campsite limitations.

Is there an easy way to map this trip, or will it come down to picking our desired locations and then doing a map search in the area for campgrounds that have available sites for a rig this long?

I assume if we want to see some of the more popular tourist sites, we should be reserving as far in advance as possible.

So many possible ways to slice and dice a trip like this, it's a bit intimidating...

Thanks.

. .
You will have problems with a 43 foot 5th wheel. It is part of the deal. We have a 37 foot 5th wheel, and have problems. You have to be extra carful.
Stay away from state parks or county parks.
Stay on the interstate and you should have no problems. When making reservations, make it clear the length of you rig.
Sometimes you might have a problem just driving through a campground. As the campground people if there are any sharp turns, or low branches, or low wires.
Find out what the road is like to the campground. Is it narrow, hilly, or really out of the way.
We would never get a 43 foot 5th wheel. Just too long.
You have to watch out for the swing of the back of the trailer when you make a turn. We have takien out an electrical box on the right when making a left turn.
happing camping

[GoPackGo]

A couple thoughts -

- Maybe list your general route to get some helpful suggestions.

- I would hop on an interstate and put together several long days until you get out of the eastern half of the country (I-80, then I-90 as an example). Same thing when returning.

- You won't run into the summer crowd until after the beginning of June. Memorial Day will be the exception. Remember that June in the mountains is 'Spring'. Not summer.

You know about all the big attractions like Yellowstone (I stay in Cody when I visit). Here's a few other places I like:

- Devil's Tower National Monument in NE Wyoming. We all remember 'Close Encounters - right ?

- Custer State Park near Rapid City, SD. Simply the most amazing state park I've visited. Bring carrots for the Donkeys and don't bump into the Bison.

- Highway 101 around the northern and western boundaries of Washington. And then down into Oregon and Norttern California.

- The Redwoods. A must see if you're anywhere close. They will make you believe in dinosaurs.

- Yosemite National Park is simply stunning.

[krobbe]

I plan on 8 to 11hr days to get to a region(my fav is the Northwest in July) and spend 3-4 days to explore before driving a day or less to the next 3-4 day location. I found out on my first across country trip that moving too often is tiring and stressful. I got home and needed a vacation from my vacation.
As far as reservations, I like to play it loose. When moving to a new location, Mon - Wed is a pretty good bet to get a campsite. Maybe can't do that in California though with the higher crowds.

[allen8106]

I had the same question when I did my first cross country trip. What I ended up doing was planning my trip based on what I wanted to see.

I then used RVParkreviews.com to determine if there was a campground near by. I summarized the campground average nightly cost over 10 different customers and averaged their reviews over 10 different customers, all in a spreadsheet. I then made my decision based on #1-lowest cost #2-best rating. Once I determined my top two or three campgrounds at each location I started looking at maximum lengths and whether or not my dog was allowed. Not all dogs are allowed at all campgrounds, especially those mistakenly considered vicious.

Now I'm only at 34' on my 5er but I only found one campground that came close to not fitting. That was a state park on the California coast and we barely fit.

I've been on two cross country trips in 5 years and based on what I saw there are very few campgrounds, private or public where a 43' rig won't fit. Are there some where it will be a bit snug, absolutely, but not many where you just won't fit.

I think many people over think this issue.

Because we are not retired and only have a certain amount of time off work we push as long as we can on drive days. We'll do anywhere between 8-12 hours depending on what we are trying to accomplish. When towing with a deisel the drive distance is no big deal for me but is for others. Just stating our preferences.

[ToddD]

Ok, based on comments here, we are adjusting our plans.

Instead of June, we're going to pull the kid out school early at beginning of May (her school allows this).

We're going to do 6 weeks instead of a month.

We're going to plan to land at major attractions on week days, to avoid weekend crushes.

And we're going to plan our trip with 250 miles max between stops, planning on most stops to be 2 days long, or longer, to avoid burn out.

I'm open to suggestions on must-sees, must dos that we can plan around, outside of the major attractions...


Thanks,

Todd

[ol_Bombero-JC]

ToddD wrote:
2019 early summer, we're looking to do a month long cross country trip in our 43' 5er.

Given the length of the rig, I'm assuming I'll run into a lot of campsite limitations.

Is there an easy way to map this trip, or will it come down to picking our desired locations and then doing a map search in the area for campgrounds that have available sites for a rig this long?

I assume if we want to see some of the more popular tourist sites, we should be reserving as far in advance as possible.

So many possible ways to slice and dice a trip like this, it's a bit intimidating...

Thanks.

Suggest you visit the Escapees HDT forum. The length on your 5th
is pretty much "standard" for the folks on the site.

They have a "user furnished" listing of campgrounds which have been verified by members in the Resource Guide on the forum.

It can be accessed - *here*

:C

[jamway]

Don't count out C. O. E. campgrounds because we have seen many that have sites long enough for your trailer. It is easy to check with https://www.recreation.gov/.

[minnow]

I’ll add my 1 1/2 cents to those who are wisely recommending either more time or less distance on your coast to coast trip.

We left Charlotte to Yellowstone to Seattle to San Fransico to Vegas back to Chatlotte. We didnt dilly daddle but didn’t rush either. We were gone 5 weeks and we didn’t take the RV either. Towing at lower speeds, having to camp outside of Seattle or San Fran. setting up/tearing down every day or so - all of that would of added a minimum of an additional week and a whole lot more scheduling stress to the itenary. Like others have said, unless you plan on driving ungodly hours every day, this woll not be an enjoyable trip for you or anyone else in your party.

[GoPackGo]

I've been fulltiming for 4 years now. I first decide how far I want to drive on a particular day, then pull up rvparkreviews.com and look at CGs and RV parks in that area. Then read the reviews and make a reservation for X days. I generally have advance reservations made for a couple weeks ahead (I like to stay at least a week when I stop). If you more or less know your schedule, you could do the same thing.

I do think you will have more luck fitting into private CGs and RV parks as opposed to national, state and COE parks in general, due to your length. And just about all private places take reservations, whereas some public CGs do not. Like someone else stated, I like to klnow where I'll be staying ahead of time so I try to make reservations.

One benefit of a reservation for you would be that you would be able to request a pull-through which might not be available if you just show up at 5:00 and request a site. Much easier for you (because of your length) if you're just staying one night.

Keep in mind that many of the public CGs (including National Parks) were designed and set up many years ago when campers were much shorter and there was no such thing as a 'slide out'. The sites are shorter and the interior roads can be skinny and have somewhat tighter turns. But I think most will agree that they do offer the best camping experience.

[time2roll]

ToddD wrote:
2019 early summer, we're looking to do a month long cross country trip in our 43' 5er.

2019? Need to list a couple spots you plan to stop and see. Then put days and distance to be traveled each day on a calendar.

And as others have said maybe half way across and spend more time at the destinations would make a better trip. If you want a week at Disneyland CA it might be better to just fly.

[MarkTwain]

Veebyes wrote:
Agree with many of the other posters. Basically either half your distance expectations or double your trip time.

One month from the east to west coast will be nothing but interstates, fuel stations & campgrounds. No time to actually see anything.

Totally agree about a month being NOT enough time to actual enjoy the RV trip you and sight see. Also if you are driving in snow conditions you will have to slow down your driving speeds in addition to the possibility of not being able to see much of the country other than snow. Driving marathon RV trips is not my idea of an enjoyable RV trip:):):)

[RVcrazy]

Please do yourself & your family a favor & shorten your miles. Do a bit of research into what you want to see most. Put those on a map. Look for which area has the most dots. We spent 3 1/2 mo in the Great Lakes area alone. Personally, I would choose Yellowstone for the westernmost stop this time. This would allow you to include Tetons, Mesa Verde, Black Hills, Mt Rushmore & Badlands. It would be very different from what you are used to for scenery & natural wonders. I would go early in summer. It gets hotter as summer progresses in these areas. Slow down & enjoy! (For future trips, I would do the west coast & Utah parks on two separate trips.)