First extended camping trip in the works

[thatdjguy]

We're planning our first big trip. 11 days, 3 sites for next year. Any tips of advice?

[GaryWT]

Advice, have fun, don't stress out and don't over do it. Keep it simple. Enjoy.

[sourdough]

Be familiar with your trailer and how it works. Relax and focus on having fun. Maximize the fun by doing your homework on the places you're going to and know what there is to do/see. Plan your days (fit that's what you like to do) so you can fit everything in, OR, you can be like us. I make a list of all the things there are, put them on the list in the priority we would like to see/do them, then do them when we feel like it. That way we don't feel pressure to go, go, go and can enjoy things as they come. You might want to sleep in or cook out one evening etc. etc. Go with the flow. Also, make your driving days easy. We plan on 6-7 hours max. for a driving day.

[Wantoride]

Just something to consider. Our first 2 week trip involved the Catskills, and Massachusettes mainly the Catskills though. All our reservations were made online. When making the reservations, call and make sure electric and water is available if the website says it is. 2 of our sites, one in New York had said electric was available, not! The sencond is water. If it's not available on your site, don't forget to fill up on your way in or you'll be lugging a 5 gallon jug. The upside is we now know we can nurse the battery for 6 days, not bad. And also, make sure your tow vehicle has the fuse in the fuse plug for charging the tt battery while towing. Ours didn't and after 3 hours running the truck with the tt plugged in and hoping we charged the battery enough it was still dead. Had to run jumper cables from the tow vehicle to bring the slide out in. Glad we had propane , at least the refreshment stayed cold. We still had fun.

[LuvsPalmTrees]

Make sure you relax and have fun. Keep the beverages cold and enjoy the trip. We decided when we purchased this TT we would stop being the crazy people that had to rush to get to our campsite. Now we take our time, packing and making sure we have everything and taking the time driving to our destination. Half of the fun is getting to the destination. Have a great time.

[thatdjguy]

The wife and I are very fortunate. She's a teacher, and I'm a DJ...I work mostly weekends with busy times being April-Nov....then it slows down for me. Most of our trips are Sunday-Thursday types so I can work. I think next year I'll black out a weekend to make this happen. Aside from DJing, I do outdoor movies on giant, 12 foot screens and I do photobooths. This year, I've offered my movie in exchange for camp dues--it's worked!!! One night of work in exchange for 4 nights at the outter banks, yes please!!! Next year we'll do Skyline Drive, Smokey Mts, and then a spot in NC "Roanoke rapids". It's gonna be sweet, and maybe reduced pricing when I book and offer up the goods! Thanks for the advice friends.

[notanlines]

DJ, if I might be allowed a recommendation for you. Very near Deep Creek Lake in Accident, Maryland is a small RV park named Bumble Bee RV Park and Campground. Very, very nice people, fair prices and a great restaurant in Accident called Annie's Kitchen Country Restaurant. How about a nice four day week-end near the lake?

[thatdjguy]

I can dig that!

[BirchyBoy]

If you haven't made any plans yet, try to keep your mileage between locations to 350 or less. That doesn't sound like much but any more can be very tiring, for everyone. Don't forget to take a break every couple of hours, too.

[{tpc}]

I would also suggest, if not full hookup, a waste tote and/or water totes for fresh water.

Its not much fun to be a couple days in and then have to (un)set up to take a trip to the dump.

I agree on the mileage between stops and or taking a break if you begin to feel tired. Even though you might not want to, even an hour of rest will help recharge you. I've stopped in route to sleep before. Better than an accident for sure.

[mcsearch1]

Check all your key mechanical and electrical systems on both TT and TV before you head out. Nothing takes the wind out of your sails faster than a blown tire or a TV drive train problem, unless your looking to cash in on your AAA membership.

[thatdjguy]

great tips guys and gals--thanks! We don't want to travel anymore than 5 hours per clip...so that should be within the time range. We have a 3 and 6 year old--so planning stops will be no problem with the way the pee! Also--every site will be full on hook ups--it's kind of a must have. Actually--Skyline Drive doesn't have any. Hmmm, might be interesting!

[gtsum2]

Just got done with a 16 day, 2600 mile trip. Learned a few things along the way. We did anywhere from 300 to 450 miles in a day. I think 300-325 is about right if u want to be able to enjoy the day at a new site. We had reservations for part of the trip and that worked but for the over nighters where u r rolling in and then out the next day, I wouldn't do reservations again. To constraining and not enough flexibility for us. Always check tire pressures before starting day also. Hit up a blue beacon truck wash to get the grime and bugs off also. They r located all over the place and they do a good job. Takes like 15 minutes max

[notanlines]

GTSum2, if I might ask, what was the charge for your RV at blue Beacon? I've never even thought about them, I thought they were only a commercial truck wash.....thanks.

[gtsum2]

Originally Posted by notanlines

GTSum2, if I might ask, what was the charge for your RV at blue Beacon? I've never even thought about them, I thought they were only a commercial truck wash.....thanks.

$70 for both the rig and the truck. That included the Rain-X wax as well. They did a good job. They charge by the foot on the trailer. Only took like 10-15 minutes also

[rrohrer]

we average about one ten day trip a yr. I usually make sure to check tire pressures, change oil in tow vehicle before leaving. try to deal with any maintenance issues before out on the road. 350 miles a day or less sounds good, though I've done more cause I had to. enjoy. also maybe put stuff in the rv fridge to eat on the road(sandwiches etc). then u aren't stuck just having to eat crappy fast food when stopping for lunch.

[johnm]

2 years ago we did a 3.5+ week trip out west (for us). From Rochester, NY to Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone, Rocky Mtns then back home with lots of little sightseeing in between. Lots of campgrounds and almost all were electric only sites (for us at least). It was a whole lot of fun. 5500 miles driving and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. One of the biggest "helps" was we have a truck that is more than capable of towing our RV so there was NO stress to me on the driving part aside from long days. I've had it the other way where the truck could barely handle the RV and those trips were a lot harder. Also my wife is a great co-pilot for map reading (AAA trip tik and travel books) and she can separate our boys when needed. They were 8 & 10 at the time.

We pre-make our lunches so we're not sitting in the rest stop for so long. When it was time to eat lunch, we'd pull off at some rest stop, use the facilities, stretch/walk around a little, grab the food and get back on the road. Works really well for us.

I've also learned to not bring all the food with us. Bring what you need for a couple of days and then support the local area by shopping for your groceries in town.

[JeffS]

We leave in mid August for a 6 week trip west , obviously being retired has advantages. We keep the daily mileage to 300 - 350. This allows for a leisurely breakfast, time to stop to see anything interesting we encounter along the way and ample time to relax or explore once setup in the campground for the night. We have found that the trip can be almost as enjoyable as the destination.

BTW audio books are great when on the road.