The last day of our RV trip west
was a long driving day of over 400 miles and mostly on I-40 across TN. I didn’t realize how nice it was to drive the
light traffic roads of the West until we got on the very crowded I-40, making
the drive long and tense. But we got
home safe and sound around 5:30pm on Sep. 28, for a 29 day trip.
Here’s a few
of the things we learned.
1.
Roads and traffic are generally much better in
the less populated western states. South
Dakota’s roads were the best and Iowa’s were the worst (but still not as bad as
we found in Arkansas last year) – going thru Missouri and Kansas will be our
preferred route.
2.
Avoid large cities like the plague as the road
surfaces are terrible, there is always construction going on, and there are
lots of drivers in a big hurry.
3.
Make a long driving day 300 miles and the normal
more like 200-250 miles, so a nice evening and afternoon can be spent exploring
the area – especially for one night stays.
We did a 75 - 100 miles/day longer on this trip.
4.
Rather than trying to see so much area, with
only 2-3 days allotted per stop, go less places and spend 4-5 days, or more, to
be able to really see an area.
5.
Try not to be on the road on Sundays and
holidays as road service is much less available.
6.
September is a good time to travel where we did
as the weather had cooled and there were no crowds - we had some places nearly
to ourselves.
7.
If we plan to continue RVing, we must get a car
that can easily be towed without the dolly as it is a pain to fool with.
8.
Get the RV in as good a condition as possible
before hitting the road.
9.
It’s hard to imagine the vast mid west’s food
producing ability until you’ve seen some of it.
10. Over
3826 miles, the RV got 8.5 MPG or about 47.7 cents/mile in fuel cost.
11. Thoroughly
research the area to be visited to maximize our time there.
12. Get
a Truck Route Atlas and know where the fuel stops are on the non-interstate
roads.
I'm now
responding to your comments and hoping you will stop back by - photos best if
enlarged by clicking on them.
Have a great
day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.
One Year
Ago: Eggplant Parmesan
Two years
Ago: My Last Day In Marco
Larry
9/28/12
event date
Wow, there's a lot more to RVing than taking the comforts of home with you. I agree on spending more time at each stop. I would think you miss a lot, including some much needed rest & down time, when you're always on the road. My father called it "getting the car out from under him."
ReplyDeleteGlad you guys are home safely. I had no idea how much gas an RV uses. We have a friend who had a 5th wheel and the big truck it takes to pull those things doesn't get good mileage either.
Sam
It's good to go but always good to come home - I don't think full time RVing is in our future. I like your dad's expression.
DeleteThat's a good list Larry. The only time we've been RV'ing was a trip to Tetons/Yellowstone. We went in September and I agree, a great time to travel. I'm glad you hadn't discovered "avoid big cities like the plague" until after this trip. Sure was a treat to have you visit.
ReplyDeleteI'm still willing to drive into cities to see special friends :-)
DeleteLarry, We love shoulder season traveling w/light crowds and mild weather...and as you know, we love road trips! However, we've never been gone for anything close to 29 days... That would be a real adventure. We tend to be a bit more frentic with our road trips...more than 2 days in the same spot would be unusual and of course, Motels 'R Us. It was nice that you could take your 'babies' with you on this adventure. I haven't seen any blogs from Sweetie or Coco re: their perspective of this adventure. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave & Laurie
ReplyDeleteI'm still trying to teach them to type, but I'd say you can get their main perspective from my header shot :-)
ReplyDeleteActually, I don't think 8.5MPG is bad at all for an RV. Plus, you don't have to deal with moving in and out of hotels or with people wandering into your room to clean it. I'd prefer an RV to travel (but my dearly beloved hates to travel), and that price seems good to me. A month on the road with the pups must have been fun. Oh, and I agree with the ease of driving in the rural western states. Makes you want to scream when you get back to the eastern circus!
ReplyDeleteAfter spending time in Laramie, I knew would appreciate what I was talking about. The fuel mileage was actually a half MPG better than I expected.
DeleteIt sounds as though you learned a LOT on this journey, Larry. I hope to do a similar route to yours one day after retiring. I've always wanted to see the West by road.
ReplyDelete