First trip with my first RV

[vik1]

Hi.

I just bought my first RV in USA
I would like to know if I have somethings to know as the road signs, is there any road signs reserved for RV, some rules to follow on the road....

So many questions, if you have some ideas, you welcome.

And now my road trip this August.

It begins in Lehigh Acres FL, it's the place where the RV is waiting us.

Here is some ideas.

In Florida:
-Sanibel, Captiva
-Sarasota (classic car museum)
-Réserve Fort De Soto
-St John's pass village and boardwalk
-Clearwater
-Tampa, Bush gardens
-Ocala (parc de Silver Springs)
-St Augustine
-Jacksonville

Georgia:
-Savannah
-Atlanta

South Carolina:
-Charleston

Between North Carolina and Tenessee:
-Great smokey mountains
-Sevierville (muscle car museum)

May be:
-Nashville
-Lynchburg (Jack Daniels)
-Bowling green (Corvet museum)

What do you think about it?

Do you have some ideas about these places, some advices to park the RV in Citys, Good, nice and quiet places to past nights...

Places to add that I wouldn't have thought...

Thanks

[johnnyrv]

tarpon springs, mt dora, cedar key, golden isles georgia

on some rest areas there is a truck/rv parking sign

[ronfisherman]

Jim Shoe wrote:
You can skip the Corvette Museum. Its currently closed and will be for some time. Turns out that they built it on top of a giant sink hole and it sank, taking the corvettes with it. Very sad. Some of the corvettes were one of a kind.
Here's the link.

Corvette Museum only closed for a short time. Then reopened with limited access to the area where sink hole happened. Corvette Museum.

[cgmartine]

Vik1, you've just made the best choice of your rv'ing life by joining these forums. You will get lots of help from everyone, but there is nothing like experience and doing it first hand. Good luck, and hope you enjoy this wonderful country. Aside from its natural wonders, one of the premier experiences is in driving some wonderful asphalt ribbons, some not as well maintained as others, but nonetheless, are a unique and are a joy to drive to different destinations in America the beautiful! Good luck!

[Yaj]

Just a heads up. we're very close to Lehigh Acres this winter and on the news all we hear about is bad things happening in Lehigh Acres be careful when you're there.

[Jim_Shoe]

You can skip the Corvette Museum. Its currently closed and will be for some time. Turns out that they built it on top of a giant sink hole and it sank, taking the corvettes with it. Very sad. Some of the corvettes were one of a kind.
Here's the link.

[jamesa403]

Just so you know, All Walmart stores have large parking lots, and you are welcomed to park there overnight if you can't find a campsite for the night. Also, when coming to a stop, start stopping a lot sooner than you normally would in a car. Take all corners in town slow, otherwise you might find a lot of doors open inside, and you get a real "load shift" causing the RV to sway a lot more than normal, perhaps causing a tip over.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

For Sevierville TN area the Creekside RV Park in Pigeon Forge TN is on the shuttle stop line that will take you to Sevierville or Gatlinburg.
In Ocala, Don Garlits Drag Racing Museum if you like drag racing.
Parking RVs in larger cities isn't usually an option unless the tourist attraction has parking for larger vehicles.
Highly recommend the Corvette Museum and Assembly Plant tour (visit their website for important tour info). They do have space for RV parking.
Enjoy your trip!

[vik1]

glkids2 wrote:
you never mentioned what kind of rv pop up,tt,5whl.class c,class a and roughly how big. It can make or break a suggestion

Oh yes you're in true.

It's a Four Winds Five thousand 30ft



Thanks so much for all your advices.

I didn't understand everything, but I'll take a little time to translate everything.

[Bordercollie]

Get and use a GPS to get ready for off ramps and transitions, do not make hasty lane changes, watch for cars and motorcycles to your right side/blind spots using your side mirrors. When in doubt, pass up the off ramp, etc., use the GPS to get you back on track. Be aware of the "overhead" and don't hit overhanging tree branches or other structures, get out and look all around the RV for posts, rocks, that you might back into. Be sure that all wires, cables, and hoses are disconnected and put away before you leave, check for kid stuff etc., that might be left behind. Make sure that TV antenna is down before driving off. Tie something to the steering wheel to remind you that the TV antenna is in up position. If you feel or hear any thumping sound while driving, stop and check for a bulge in a tire. Have an emergency road service contract for breakdowns. We have always gotten
Trip-Tiks etc., from AAA(Triple A). We use their RV Premium Road Service. Have a cell phone and keep it charged.

Don't let cars trucks behind you bully you into going faster than you feel safe. Learn to use lower gears for going down hills to avoid danger of brake fade or up hills to avoid engine overheating. If bad weather/winds makes driving unsafe, get to an RV park. Listen to weather reports and warnings. Tornados and hail storms are happening in the south and mid-western states currently.

[glkids2]

you never mentioned what kind of rv pop up,tt,5whl.class c,class a and roughly how big. It can make or break a suggestion

[Dennis_M_M]

Most highways in the US have yellow "advisory" speed signs on curves and on/off ramps. It is wise to heed those when driving a large unit like an RV, especially the ones with a picture of as truck tipping.

[mr61impala]

You have a nice list there.

While in Florida you might check out Bok Tower Gardens, Tarpon Springs and Weeki Wachee while you are in Florida, all are a step back in time.

If you like such things there is an excellent museum in Ocala, Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing.

The Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virgina is a lovely drive, the speed limit is 45 mph which is really nice for an RV. Lots of things to see along the way too.

Mammoth Cave is really close to the Corvette Museum and factory in Bowling Green.

You can spend months, even years looking around here.

[WyoTraveler]

Hank85713 made a good point. On two lane roads when impeding traffic and more than 5 vehicles are behind you pull over and allow them to pass at next opportunity. You can be cited for not doing it in many states.

[ronfisherman]

Visiting the Corvette Museum would be on top of my list. If you make it there hope you can do a visit to Corvette Assembly Plant. GM Plant Tours.

[Hank85713]

To be honest have never seen the majority of the signs above and we have traveled around the USA a fair amount. Most advisory signs will be in Blue, a camper trailer with a pipe down indicates that there is a dump station. Most other signs will just be written out for ya. Brown ones normally found in the towns/cities. But if you see a sign with a trailer (most common I think) it will be indicating its something RV related, camp ground etc.

Rules of the road is to 1. first and foremost know the rules of the road for driving itself. 2. Do not impeded the flow of traffic, you are not to self impose speed limits you might like on others. 3. Stay right or toward the slow lanes if not doing the speed limit. 4. Have some courtesy for others as you would like them to have some for you. Used to be folks would pull over to allow vehicles behind them to go by if they were holding up traffic. Now they just ignore the ones behind them it seems. I would also recommend the possiblity of having a CB radio. You dont know how many times I have seen problems with RVs and you cannot get the driver/passenger attention. Put the squelch up and volume down to just being audible and listen for close signals they could be trying to tell ya something. There was an article some years back about a guy pulling a towd and he ignored the horns etc behind him. He said he just thought folks PO'd because he was holding up traffic. Turns out he had a flat tire on the towd and the tire was worn away and the wheel was sparking on the highway. Cost him I think around $200000 for causing a forest fire!

Watch your reaview mirrors and be aware of where you are all the time.