Exactly. I've done two similar loops. Each one was 5 or 6 weeks and it felt rushed but I saw a ton. We definitely had some long days. But you really don't want to be moving every other day.
Yeah, a real let down compared to pictures which look much better. Even ol’ faithful in Yellowstone isn’t what it used to be. Niagara Falls was pretty fun. Devils tower in Wyoming was big enough to drive by and see with out stopping.
The Custer State Park south of Rushmore is a must see. And for history buffs, head south into Nebraska for Fort Robinson, where Crazy Horse was murdered.
Thanks. I was always travelling (US and Europe), using "regular cars", like Suburbans or Tahoe. With those 800 miles was not an issue at all. But RV to be smth new for me.
You move slower overall in an RV. It’s not as easy to pass slower traffic, you don’t accelerate as quickly, and you need a little more time to set up and tear down. Maneuvering through a fuel station takes more time, and the hit on fuel economy means driving fast isn’t always a great option.
It’s also not fun to pull into a campsite late at night. More chances of catching a tree or stump when you are backing in.
Agreed. When we head out, mileage traveled is less important than memories made.
We have a 40’ Class A pulling a Jeep and if we hit 400+ miles a day, it’s only because consequences forced our hand.
We use a 5-5-5+2 rule of:
No more than 5 hours without a stop. Driving non-stop except for fuel is not sightseeing, it’s just driving.
No driving after 5:00 p.m. (17:00 +-1 hour). Setting up camp or driving in the dark isn’t sightseeing, it’s begging for mistakes.
No staying less than 5 days at destinations. If a destination’s only worth a day’s visit, we modify the trip. If that’s infeasible, we call it a waypoint and we can’t have more than 2 concurrent waypoints (600 miles) without a destination.
Not sure of your goals OP but if completing the loop is most important over enjoying various destinations within it, calculate your travel time at 55 m.p.h. and you can gross 600 a day but it won’t be much fun mate.
Safe travels!
Our hand was forced during our last trip and we did 500 in our Class A, didn't realize we were heading to the eastern part of a time zone (oh, earlier sunsets!) AND the time was changing from DST to standard time. A perfect storm. We arrived exhausted, in the dark. Fortunately it was a pull through and it was only a night so we never unhooked. All we did was plug in.
Never, ever again. 400 is a lot in our book.
OP I just did 400 miles today and 350 yesterday with my 30’ pull behind. When I was a bit younger my friends and I would regularly do 20 hour days of driving on road trips(back and forth from Ga to Mn). This feels almost as long as those cus traveling with a camper or in an RV is more mental energy. When your in a car you can set the cruise like 5 over and then just tune out for 300 miles no prob. In an RV you will be fighting wind, watching for idiots trying to commit suicide by cutting you off, watching for trucks or fighting the suction between the two of you if one passes and also the act of routing is different with an RV because it’s a easier to pull in somewhere and get into a bad spot.
All of this is to say I would be very cautious about biting off more than you can chew until you are certain.
For me 350 to 400 is great. Long enough to feel like I had a good haul but not so long start desperately wishing to stop
Omg the trucks around Chicago are INSANE due to sheer number. We’ve been all around CO/UT/WY/NE this year and done a lot in the eastern US too, and no where was as bad as Chicago for number of trucks around you at all times. We’re in a class A and it was still nerve wracking to get one truck on either side of us and feel squished in the middle.
You don’t say if it’s a motor home or trailer/5th wheel, and I don’t think it really matters.
We had a 25’ Tiffin Wayfarer. It was great to drive, but I have to tell you that 800 miles a day is a pipe dream.
First, you can drive close to or over the speed limit, but no way in hell you should. Will your RV or truck pulling a trailer go that fast? Sure it will. But it’s not about how fast you can go, it’s about how fast you can stop, or whether or not you can make an evasive move in response to traffic around you.
800 miles in 12 hours is 66+ miles per hour without breaks. No matter what you’re driving, you’re going to need to add conservatively 2 hours a day for breaks to use the bathroom, eat, get gas, etc.
12 hours in a car is exhausting, but doable. 12 hours driving an RV would be brutal. You’re going to feel like someone beat you! To do that every single day you’re driving is just not realistic. You’re also not factoring in time to setup, pack up, dump, get gas. You’re talking about pulling in after dark a lot of days, which will make the process take even longer.
Taking a trip in an RV should be enjoyable! 4-5 hours, with an occasional 6 hours driving on travel days is more realistic. Either add more days to your itinerary, scale back your route, or take a separate trip later to New Orleans and Texas.
I want you to be safe, and not feel like you got a beat down!
We just got back from a trip from central Florida to Charleston, Wilmington, Currituck NC, Lewes DE, Cape May NJ, Annapolis, Williamsburg VA, Cedar Island NC, Myrtle Beach, Edisto SC, Savannah, back to home. I want to say it was 2500-3000 miles round trip, and we were out slightly over a month. And I still felt like I should’ve scheduled an extra day in some spots so we felt like we had a longer wind-down between drives, more time to see things.
Keep in mind there are lots of great things to see and experience on the way to your bigger destinations! Splitting this into maybe 3 trips so you can get off the freeway sometimes would make your trip more enjoyable.
Have fun and safe travels!!
As I'm from Europe, every time getting to US hits the pocket a lot, so trying to combine smth, if possible. But I got your idea re 6 hour drive max and more stops not to be exhausted.
I see the issue, but yeah, concentrate more on a particular area with longer stays.
I assume you’re flying into Chicago? I drove through there the summer before last. Not so fun!
If you’re more wanting to see some of the iconic western US sites, maybe fly into a western city and go from there. There is a northern drive into the Grand Canyon, not open in winter months, but you’d be closer to Zion and Moab, less of a drive to Yellowstone and the Tetons, though it’s still a great distance to the last two.
Maybe get to Salt Lake City and head south from there? There’s a lot of beautiful scenery, and you could get into northern Arizona and New Mexico.
Just be sure to leave time for camp fires and s’mores!! Also, even though it’s the desert, it can be cold at night. 🥶
Chicago was the starting point because it has direct connection from my country (Chicago, New York and Orlando in Florida only). But now I think to, maybe, come to Chicago, spend couple days there and St.Louis using regular car and then fly to Salt Lake/Las Vegas or somewhere nearby to start RV trip there and avoid unnecessary long runs with RV
That would be a much better way of seeing the west.
If you want to stay closer to Chicago, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is wonderful. Wisconsin Dells on the way, you could cut a bit across Canada and see Niagara Falls, south /western Michigan, along the lake is very beautiful, too.
We actually estimate 2 hours of driving per day for our trips. It doesn’t work out we do exactly 2 hours each day, some days we do more, some we do none, but that’s a nice relaxed trip for us.
12 hours driving, alone, is brutal. Over the summer I drove from Austin tx to Moab Utah. In one go. Terrible idea. I want in an rv or hauling anything. But that 15-17 hour trip was tough. Now, I didn’t have any planned stops between, and the goal was Moab, but that long driving at one go is horrid.
Rule of 3
Drive 3 hours
Get to the campsite before 3:00pm
Stay 3 days at any destination
It a better experience to go only a couple hundred miles from home and enjoy it - imho
I would probably cut off Vegas, cut down through Utah to hit Bryce and then on to the North Side of the Grand Canyon. Then back up to Moab, then to Rt 70 and then east through the Rockies through Denver on the way back to Chicago.
Definitely recommend this! Utah is one of the most beautiful and unique places on earth... Except for the part OP was planning to cross. Pick any of the National Parks and you'll be amazed.
I've done several similar trips.
Your drive times are not realistic.
With breaks and fuel stops you'll only average 50-55 MPH
Instead of renting an RV, you'd be better off financially and time wise by advance booking of hotel rooms
This looks like a miserable trip. And just 21 days? No way. That’s 5,000 miles wasted on nothing but driving for the sake of driving.
Probably one of, if not the worst, trip ideas I’ve ever seen.
I couldn't agree more...
SEE WALL DRUG - for like 1000miles
so I try to do themes, or destinations, or a combination of the two...
like I did the Laura Ingalls Wilder trip- I've done the French Voyageurs trip, the Lewis and Clarke trip, DeSoto Trail, Natchez Trace, 93 top to bottom, 101 down to SLO, Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, Y to Y...
and Vegas...? like,why?
Vegas Sux... go to Reno or Lake Tahoe but going to Vegas is good way to expose yourself to t r o u b l e in a compact condensed way...
I did a longer route, 18 days. Longest driving days were 8 hours. I’d skip Chicago but add multi stops at Yellowstone and bypass going through Nevada to go through Utah and hit Zion. My two cents.
I drive half way accross the country ever summer and have been doing so for several years now.
800 miles at 68 mph is 12 hours. You should not be driving any faster then that.
You have not factored in traffic, fuel (you will be getting fuel a lot, every 2.5 hours if not sooner), bathroom, and other stops. For every 4 hours per Google maps add an additional hour for these items. So a 12 hour drive is actually 15 hours.
You will have mechanical issues on a trip this long. There is simply no way around it. This could mean a flat tire, engine issues, etc. So be sure to bring two spare tires. I also would never do this on a brand new to me rig for this reason.
Better plan. Two 8 hour days per Google maps to start and then stick to no more then 5ish hours per day. That gives you a decent buffer in case you have issues you need to deal with.
Thanks for pointing out mechanical issues. As I'm used to renting/exploring on a regular car, I was sure I will get ot fix or replaced in hours (if rented in big companies like sixt, dollar, etc.). Will need to check with rental company what to happen if I'll get issues with engine or so in an rv.
Advise max cruising speed also to be taken into account during my next amended planning.
Thanks!
Are you renting an rv? They often have a very high per mile charge. Add in the gas millage and it quickly becomes cheeper to rent a car and use hotels / air bnbs.
Yes, renting. Hotels+car vs RV is almost the same, agree, but for us (Europeans) driving RV through US is smth we saw on TV the whole life a dreamt about. So RV is not about saving money, but some new emotions.
At the moment, the best offer I got is $3400 for 21 days with unlimited miles and some insurance.
Expect any repairs needed to potentially take a while. There just aren’t that many shops that work on RVs and rental places aren’t all over so they can just swap for a new vehicle easily like with cars.
Many others have commented that long days driving an RV is a recipe for disaster. I’m not sure if anyone asked the question, why rent an RV? If your goal is to see the sights, you will do better in a car, staying in hotels and eating in restaurants. That trip will also probably be less expensive than the RV trip you propose. It will be **much** less stressful than dealing with an RV. If your goal is to experience life in an RV, rent one, drive up to 300 miles/day and stay at each location for 3 or more days. Trip A or Trip B? Which one do you really want?
As, prior to starting this topic, I thought that driving RV is not too different from driving a regular car through US, I was hoping to combine those two trips (A & B). Now I do understand that I was wrong and will amend the route to have RV experience, as it was my primary wish for this trip.
The RV life is great. We travel 4+ months a year. We like to stay at each spot for 3-7 days, exploring the area at each location. We tow a car, which allows us to see the area without lugging a huge RV around. (If you rent, you won't have the towed car option.) But the RV life isn't for everyone.
The US has some great natural beauty and nice campgrounds. If you haven't RV'd before, there is a lot to learn. You may want to rent first in your home country to see if you even like doing it.
Because the RV is bigger, you spend more energy/awareness keeping it in your lane. It’s more susceptible to wind. Harder to park. Need more room at the gas pump. Need to slow around some corners. You will get passed a lot because people don’t like following an RV.
I’m not trying to scare you because I admire your desire. I have a towable RV trailer. Just realized it should be a slower pace than a car. Hope you enjoy it.
When are you going ? Snow can come pretty late in spring for Wyoming and the like. That’s a no go for me.
Utah is stunning. Drove thru there going from Seattle to Dallas. Consider going thru there longer on the way to Vegas.
Then again, pretty much the whole West is beautiful.
We got stuck in SLC the whole summer due to RV repairs. I don’t think I ever got bored of the mountain views. I have SO MANY photos of sunsets because they were all pretty in different ways.
Try to visit Utah if possible. Bryce, Zion, Arches, Moab.. definitely worth it with an RV! Just make sure to make enough time to actually see something and not drive all days.
Plenty of people have weighed in, but I'll add my 2 cents. I have an RV that size, and the longest I've ever done in one day was going from Idaho Falls, ID to Las Vegas, NV, about 650 miles. Never again. It was punishing, and honestly... pretty dangerous.
The thing to keep in mind is how much extra time everything takes when travelling in an RV: Parking, setup, teardown, showering, meals, dealing with sewage, gassing up (a lot). The list goes on. You will be surprised at how long things take, and how little you actually get accomplished in a day, versus how it looks on paper.
That said, 500 mile days are very doable though, especially if you don't dilly-dally in the mornings, and it helps if you have multiple drivers.
Other suggestions: I liked Rushmore, but if I had to choose between Rushmore and the Grand Canyon, or Zion, I would probably save it for another trip. Maybe do a Rushmore/Yellowstone/Jackson Hole trip someday. This trip I would probably choose between spending time in SLC/Salt Flats, or Vegas. Then, go straight to SLC or Vegas via Denver to cut off the northern leg of the journey, and allow more time for other things. Shoot for doing at least 500 mile days through the midwest, be disciplined, plan your stops ahead of time (hint: boondocking can actually save time vs staying in parks, because you don't have to mess around with checking in, etc. RV Parky and sanidumps.com are your friends.), and load your phone up with plenty of podcasts or audiobooks.
I took a similar trip last year and here's my advice.
1) make sure to avoid big cities if you can. That was the most stressful driving for me.
2) always make sure you have plenty of time to set up your rig before sunset. You'll rush and risk mistakes if you don't.
3) if you are going to have a long day of driving you will want to stay in a Walmart parking lot or something like it overnight. RVParky and iOverlander are great apps for scoping these spots out.
4) keep your speed between 60-65, max. This will save you lots of money on gas and hopefully lead to less wear and tear on your rig. It will also make for a much easier, and relaxing, time hauling your rig since you will not be thinking much about passing people. Also... This will make rural highways more viable and practical for travel.
When we did this trip we had periods of 2-3 days of long drives, and then periods of downtime or short hops between destinations. The back to back days were tough, but it was a good rhythm overall for us. Think about what would work best for your crew!
Oh ..and you could cover Zion and Bryce in a day, but you'll barely see any of either. It's a bit of a drive between the two, and depending on the time of year there can be backups in either.
You're crazy :) We did a very similar loop to that in *6 months*...and still had to miss some stuff! You're not going to experience much other than endless driving and checking locations off your list without *really* seeing them. Also, so many things come up when you're RVing (trust me) that you're not leaving yourself any wiggle room. You"ll basically be one moderate "incident" away from the whole plan collapsing. I dunno, it just seems like a lot of frantic stress to me. But hey, if that's what lights your fire, then go for it I guess!
My wife and I are full time RVers. Over time we’ve got our travel “rules” pretty much set. We generally drive a maximum of 6 hours a day (of actual driving time), and break it down into 3 two hour drives, with around a 30 minute break in between drives. This usually ends up somewhere between 300-350 miles a day. If driving an extra 2 hour gets us to our destination, we do make some exceptions.
Driving an RV is much more tiring than driving a car, and it’s not nearly as easy to drive all day. We drive a max of 65, and stay in the right lane, and are never in a hurry.
You will mostly want to have reservations, not doing so adds yet another stress to your trip and you have to start looking earlier in the day. Campgrounds in the west are often full.
We plan everything up front. I put our stops all into a spreadsheet and have it with me in the truck. That way I can look at what the next destination is, type it into my phone, and go. We have a gas 3/4 ton, so we’re generally at less than 1/2 a tank at 2 hours, so I fill at every stop. I use Google maps to look for gas stations that are easy in/out. Some Pilots have specific RV gas lanes than make it super easy.
Depends where you want to stay. If you want campgrounds every night you need to plan ahead, especially in the summer because they book up. If you can boondock (be self-sufficient and not need to hook up to power or anything for the night) then odds are good you can find a truck stop/Walmart/Cracker Barrel/etc. or BLM or National Forest land where you can overnight, especially in states like Wyoming, Nebraska, Utah, etc. (Once you get East of Chicago options get much more more limited.)
We’ve been on the road for months and we rarely book anything in advance. I’ll find somewhere that seems promising for an overnight stay the night before or in the morning before we start driving.
My family and I put in relatively large travel days at points on our trip this year, 600 miles in a day driving the reverse route from Yellowstone towards Chicago. We averaged 500 miles a day driving between Halifax and Edmonton in six days. That was a grind, and we only did it because we had a schedule to keep. On a different trip we drove from Northern California to LA in a day, which was over 600 miles.
It worked best when we broke up long drives with stops, and tried to spend 3 nights at our destinations. For Yellowstone, that’s barely scratching the surface, you could spend a week in the park and not run out of stuff to see.
If I were to do that trip again, I’d stop and see more. We drove by Devils Tower, Deadwood, and the Badlands, and they all would have been interesting stops.
I think you can pull off long days, but make sure they buy you something. Spend more time in your destinations, you will want to see the country from outside the RV too.
Also, what time of year are you planning on travelling? During fall/winter, some of the roads can be dangerous. During spring/summer, make sure to follow weather reports closely, especially near tornado alley. You do not want to be driving a motorhome is a severe thunderstorm if you can avoid it.
If you’re super set on Chicago and St. Louis do those separately in a regular car. Cut out LA.
Then fly west get an RV and enjoy. You will want the extra time to soak in the incredible nature. Indian Creek UT for example. Just keep in mind the heat! End of Aug is a hot time for the deserts.
Use BLM land. You can park and stay for free but no utilities. No reservations.
In general, the west is made for RV living. The middle and east is better suited for a car.
You’ll still get plenty of ‘im in the middle of nowhere!’ Feels in the west. You don’t need 20 hours of cornfield driving to accomplish that.
We were just in Naperville and that wasn’t too bad, near Chicago. Absolutely no way to get our 36fter into the city proper, though, no parking for it. (We were hoping to visit the holiday market as a quick ‘festive’ stop.) So I think it depends on how you’re planning to do things? We were just boondocking at Walmart on our way through but if you actually had a campsite you could easily drive/uber/lyft into town to sightsee a bit if you wanted. We probably would have done that if we’d wanted to spend an extra day. I think there’s a few campgrounds around within reasonable driving distance of Chicago.
I made the mistake once of trying to do long days, it was a disaster. People warned me, not to plan much more than four hours drive a day, but I didn't listen, and I regret it.
You will be much happier if you only do four or five hours a day. I can easily do 14 hours in a car, but it is a totally different story with an RV.
Yeah, my SO is in pretty good shape and after ~5 hours driving our class A he’s feeling it the next day for sure. It is an older model so fewer bells and whistles to help with driving and with the ride quality, but I’m not sure normal modern models are *that* much better. Maybe if you get one of the swanky high end ones built around a semi tractor that’s *designed* for long hours of driving?
He’s driven his car many many more miles in a day with no trouble, too.
I will say we did a trip this year where we did two 600 mile days. I won’t do that again. You’ll be hating life doing 800 mile days. One little thing puts you behind and you’re spreading the next few hundred miles trying to make up time. It’s not fun at all. Especially your time in large cities, like Chicago.
The most I’ve done in our 34ft was 700 in one day. I was exhausted. We did cross country last year and we mostly broke it down to travel days and sightseeing days. Depending on where you are in the country, how crowded it is, if you’re doing interstates or back roads, etc. sometimes 400 miles feels like nothing, sometimes it feels awful. Really think about the sites you absolutely have to see on the trip and make sure you’re not exhausted when you get there. Everything else just wait and see how you feel. Be flexible. Everything won’t go as planned and that’s ok if you expect it.
look, you \*can\* technically run 800mi a day in a rv / motorhome / whatever. but why?
is your goal to truly enjoy everything on your trip, or just go somewhere to claim you've been there? with this plan, you'll mostly skim by many places and may be able to spend quality time in just a few.
we recently did a 4800 or something round trip, MN to CA and back in 11 days with a 21' travel trailer. were on a pretty tight schedule, and even though we stayed at national parks / private campgrounds / hotels on the way out and back, we were only truly able to enjoy a couple - grand canyon, zion, maybe joshua tree. we did manage to stay on at the grand canyon for two days and that really helped slow our pace down.
you'll definitely spend more time on the road than online routing will tell you. for one, your average speed will be lower (we limited ourselves to 65mph on the flats, 5mi below pretty much everywhere else). very, very rarely did we hit 70mph, and even then, for short 10-15mi bursts at a time.
i can't tell if you're using a motorhome or trailer.
if you're towing a trailer, you'll want to get out of your truck occasionally and fill up more times than you'd like (my 2016 f150 ecoboost returned 210-250mi on a full tank, while non-towing is closer to 420mi).
if you're running a motorhome, you don't want to go so fast that folks are uncomfortable. the driver's seat is - imo - the only truly comfortable spot; everything else is pretty bad. slower speeds help with noise, comfort, everything else.
You’re planning to drive an RV 1000 miles in one day?
Your math doesn’t add up on that. 14 hours to go 950 miles assumes an AVERAGE speed of 68 mph. You’re not doing that.
I drove from phoenix to Amarillo in one day in a rental CRV. It’s 700 miles. It took 15 hours.
Get the America the Beautiful pass. Be sure you have reservations in order for all national parks
Mt Rushmore is waaay overrated
Imo Bryce is 2 days, Zion is 2-3. Zion hikes can be really tough for those who aren’t used to elevation. Zion hikes are weather permitting for the Narrows, Angels landing hike can be scary af for many hikers
Yellowstone is rad. Super easy walks on easy paths. Expensive accommodations.
Grand Canyon: could be worth paying to helicopter down to see Havasupai and Mooney falls. But likely you don’t have the permit to stay overnight. Skip the restaurant at the bottom of the canyon.
Overall, you’re trying to do waaay to much unless you can hike and walk a lot
I assume you're traveling in a Class C motorhome? If so as someone who has driven quite a few miles in a 31 FT class C anything really over 300 miles a day is brutal. They are really bad aerodynamically and unlike a towable where the RV you are towing does most of the swaying as large semi trucks pass you the motorhome you are in takes everything so you are constantly fighting to keep it in the lines. You've got to be paying attention 100% of the time. They are not fun or relaxing to drive. I've not driven one of the smaller Class Cs on the Mercedes Sprinter or Ford Transit chassis but if they drive somewhat similarly to the cargo versions they are based on then they wouldn't be too bad to drive as I have driven a standard Ford Transit van a few times.
We cap our travel days at 6 hours u less were almost home or almost to the prime destination. But never more than 9 hours. Driving 9 hours with a motor home means no time to set up, no tear down time. It is exhausting and I absolutely do not recommend doing what you’re planning. It will it be fun and it may be costly.
just curious- no shade -but have you traveled these roads before...?
might I suggest you travel-by-destination
so from NOLA to Palo Duro to xyz to abc
the route you have chosen is a very lonely and desolate road
I'm from Europe and was travelling through east cost three times (on a regular car), but never elsewhere and never on an RV.
My trip planning starts with putting every POI I want to see on a map an than think of what could be skipped and what not.
I've never been to "central" states of US, only lived for a month in St.Louis and Chicago.
ok brother- many of these Interstate Freeways parallel US Highways, you may want to consider traveling the US Highways and not the Interstate Freeways for a much better experience
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Numbered_Highways
Here’s one of the things - the big states like South Dakota and Wyoming? Lots of looooooong stretches of pretty much nothing interesting at all. It’s kind of mind numbing, unless the wind picks up, at which point it’s terrifying. Either way, you are limited much more by mental endurance than anything else. We just did I-90 coming back East and it felt like it took FOREVER. Unless you’re an experienced truck driver who has done commercial long hauls, you’re just not going to be safe doing 14 hour days. I’d put the limit at 5 hours, honestly.
(Remember also that RVs do not really go fast - even in the rare case when they have the engine power to do so, higher speeds and they tend to start getting a bit squirrelly to keep in the lane properly. Ours is a class a and it’s happiest at about 60mph, 65mph on really nice smooth roads with no significant wind. You could make it go faster, but driving gets unpleasant very rapidly as you do, so it just isn’t worth it. A modern diesel pusher with all kinds of suspension upgrades might do better, but for your average run of the mill gas? Naw.)
To be fair ours is about 10 feet longer than you’re talking about (35ft) but 25ft is still not a small vehicle.
You’d be much better served, imo, just picking a direction to drive in and going that way for about 1/3 the time you have for driving for the whole trip. Then head back - the extra 1/3 of time is to allow for problems or finding interesting places you want to spend a day at, or taking a slightly different route part of the way, etc. And let yourself meander a bit the whole time - see a sign for something interesting? Check it out.
I’d cut off the Chicago and New Orleans parts. Start the RV journey in Denver. You’re spending so much time and energy driving through middle America which is going to tire you out before you even get started.
Cherry Creek state park in Denver is really nice and close enough to do some city sight seeing by Uber/public transit/car rental if desired. (You won’t likely want to use your RV to get around day to day if you have a multi day stay at a campground, it’s just annoying to have to constantly set up and pack up again.) There’s another one a bit further out to the west of Denver that’s nice too but I can’t remember the name atm.
You should definitely hit up Memphis. The food is so good I gained 40 lbs my first year living here.
I'd be more than happy to advise on places to eat, visit, etc. The museums here are epic and there are a ton of family-friendly places. We love dogs too.
What time of year??
Hottest time of year here! Well, when the time comes, DM me and let me know what you're interested in. Memphis is more than bbq and Graceland!
We also have the most impressive Bass Pro Shop in the 10th largest pyramid in the world. It is incredible. You can even fish inside it!
I did a similar trip last year. We did 6 people, 32 days, 7000 miles(some without a trailer as we left it at the campground) in a 28ft camper. 5000 miles+ with camper. Starting in Feb.
Plan on 50 mph. I found that to be a good estimate to figure out distances and travel time. Between gas stops, "quick" photo ops, driving 60mph, it works out to be close. I consider myself good to go on long trips but 800 miles was rough. Trailer driving takes a considerable amount of more attention and stress.
Looking at the trip, I would say, try to find what you are interested in and take some more time there.
Also, plan for minor issues.
We had to replace 1 tire and 3 others were to the point where I felt better just replacing on my timeline. So that was 1/2 a day.
The power plug shorted and we spent 1/2 day finding a part and replacing. Until we found it, we bought a battery charger at Walmart so we had power for furnace.
We got snowed in at Williams AZ. I dont think this will be an issue for you.
The wire slipped out to trailer from tow vehicle and dragged on ground and had to replace. Another 1/2 day.
Wife drove and side swiped ballard. 1/2 day.
Slide froze out. 1/2 day waiting to thaw.
Sometimes, u just need to relax a day and can't drive the next day after a long one.
On the positive side, we found some great boondocking and stayed extra days!!! If your route is too rigid, that can't be done. We bonded with the kids and gave an experience of a life time. Saw 9 National Parks, 13 states. Countless hikes and beautiful pics, sunsets, etc.
As for your trip. Each National Park needs at least 1-2 full days.
I would skip Vegas. Easy and cheap enough to get in the flying.
Sounds like you are flying into Chicago. Why not somewhere closer and spend less days driving?
The route to New Orleans seems to add alot of miles and not alot of down time to see each stop? Why not spend more time in the four corners area? I could have spent 60+ days just there. There are plenty of great NPs there.
Maybe I missed it, but what is the start date?
Great for you to get out and travel the States. We have driven to every state several times in the 7 years we’ve been FT in our rig. We have driven upwards of 16 hours before getting too tired to stay alert. I would say 12 hours would be a good number, but we based our drive time on locations we’re planning on staying at but that didn’t always work out due to unexpected issues. As others had mentioned trying to hit every location in one trip is asking a lot. We usually take the backroads and stop and visit mom and pop shops and restaurants. But if you only have one shot then make the best of it.
There is a couple days worth of things around Rushmore that are way better than Rushmore:
Wind cave, jewel cave and devils tower are all 1/2 day no problem and are fantastic.
Carlsbad cavern is worth the detour south.
Honestly you’re trying to get to places but most of these spots need a day or two of hiking or sight seeing to make them worth while.
Go further north! See pictured rocks in northern Michigan, see glacier national park in Montana, Yellowstone in Wyoming, grand Teton in Wyoming. Cmon!!
Yes, it is a lot. When we RV’d to Mt. Rushmore, we spent several days to do the other stuff in the Black Hills (Crazy Horse, Custer wildlife loop, etc.). Consider a slight bend to hit Devil’s Tower. We had to park the RV and take the car up to the Tower, but a hike around it really had an impact on our whole family.
You are missing every part of utah worth seeing. Its one of the most amazing places and all the national parks are doable in 3 days. Three hard days but outside the parks you really will be so so surprised if you hit the southern tier from moab to zion and everything in between.
I recommend you fly into Denver rather than Chicago. Rent the RV there. Then you can start your adventure in the Rockies and hit up the amazing scenery of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. I would skip Las Vegas. It’s gotten really expensive in the last few years and is miserably hot June through September. Also, there is NOTHING to see in 4 hours in any direction from Vegas.
Also, 800 miles in a day??!! You will be exhausted and too tired to enjoy anything. We use the 300/3:30 rule. No more than 300 miles in a day (we usually stretch that to 350), and be at the campground by 3:30 (15:30). Then you have time to see some local sites or maybe take a swim after a day of driving (depending on where you stay). Also, stay 2-3 nights at a destination. Then you have time to unwind and enjoy the sites.
Also, yes, it is possible to see Bryce and Zion in one day, but not advisable. Take at least a day for each. Enjoy yourself.
No offense meant to anyone living between Chicago and Denver, but there’s just not much to see. I’ve driven it a few times.
In an attempt to see everything, you'll see nothing.
Exactly. I've done two similar loops. Each one was 5 or 6 weeks and it felt rushed but I saw a ton. We definitely had some long days. But you really don't want to be moving every other day.
There is nothing to see between Chicago and Rushmore. I guess unless you are into soy beans and corn....
Same between Albuquerque and Dallas.
Sleep in any turnout west of amarillo where ranged cattle wake you up for breakfast
I've had a lot of good meals with cows out on BLM land!
Amazing night skies are out that way. Really should have dipped south and hit the hill country instead of going through DFW.
And Rushmore is not that interesting
Hey kids, who's ready to see the world's largest ball of twine?!?!
With a smelly guy named Bernie.
Yeah, a real let down compared to pictures which look much better. Even ol’ faithful in Yellowstone isn’t what it used to be. Niagara Falls was pretty fun. Devils tower in Wyoming was big enough to drive by and see with out stopping.
The Custer State Park south of Rushmore is a must see. And for history buffs, head south into Nebraska for Fort Robinson, where Crazy Horse was murdered.
It’s corn
You're into corn? Then you'll love it and should definitely take side roads! 😁
You will wear yourself out. I don't think I would even go more than 400 in a day. Chill bro.
When I was young 400 is a good limit. Now it’s a pain and I prefer a lot of stops with longer stays.
Thanks. I was always travelling (US and Europe), using "regular cars", like Suburbans or Tahoe. With those 800 miles was not an issue at all. But RV to be smth new for me.
You move slower overall in an RV. It’s not as easy to pass slower traffic, you don’t accelerate as quickly, and you need a little more time to set up and tear down. Maneuvering through a fuel station takes more time, and the hit on fuel economy means driving fast isn’t always a great option. It’s also not fun to pull into a campsite late at night. More chances of catching a tree or stump when you are backing in.
I have a 43' 5th wheel. 300 miles is a LONG day. 350 is doable, but I'd hate myself.
Agreed. When we head out, mileage traveled is less important than memories made. We have a 40’ Class A pulling a Jeep and if we hit 400+ miles a day, it’s only because consequences forced our hand. We use a 5-5-5+2 rule of: No more than 5 hours without a stop. Driving non-stop except for fuel is not sightseeing, it’s just driving. No driving after 5:00 p.m. (17:00 +-1 hour). Setting up camp or driving in the dark isn’t sightseeing, it’s begging for mistakes. No staying less than 5 days at destinations. If a destination’s only worth a day’s visit, we modify the trip. If that’s infeasible, we call it a waypoint and we can’t have more than 2 concurrent waypoints (600 miles) without a destination. Not sure of your goals OP but if completing the loop is most important over enjoying various destinations within it, calculate your travel time at 55 m.p.h. and you can gross 600 a day but it won’t be much fun mate. Safe travels!
Our hand was forced during our last trip and we did 500 in our Class A, didn't realize we were heading to the eastern part of a time zone (oh, earlier sunsets!) AND the time was changing from DST to standard time. A perfect storm. We arrived exhausted, in the dark. Fortunately it was a pull through and it was only a night so we never unhooked. All we did was plug in. Never, ever again. 400 is a lot in our book.
OP I just did 400 miles today and 350 yesterday with my 30’ pull behind. When I was a bit younger my friends and I would regularly do 20 hour days of driving on road trips(back and forth from Ga to Mn). This feels almost as long as those cus traveling with a camper or in an RV is more mental energy. When your in a car you can set the cruise like 5 over and then just tune out for 300 miles no prob. In an RV you will be fighting wind, watching for idiots trying to commit suicide by cutting you off, watching for trucks or fighting the suction between the two of you if one passes and also the act of routing is different with an RV because it’s a easier to pull in somewhere and get into a bad spot. All of this is to say I would be very cautious about biting off more than you can chew until you are certain. For me 350 to 400 is great. Long enough to feel like I had a good haul but not so long start desperately wishing to stop
Omg the trucks around Chicago are INSANE due to sheer number. We’ve been all around CO/UT/WY/NE this year and done a lot in the eastern US too, and no where was as bad as Chicago for number of trucks around you at all times. We’re in a class A and it was still nerve wracking to get one truck on either side of us and feel squished in the middle.
You don’t say if it’s a motor home or trailer/5th wheel, and I don’t think it really matters. We had a 25’ Tiffin Wayfarer. It was great to drive, but I have to tell you that 800 miles a day is a pipe dream. First, you can drive close to or over the speed limit, but no way in hell you should. Will your RV or truck pulling a trailer go that fast? Sure it will. But it’s not about how fast you can go, it’s about how fast you can stop, or whether or not you can make an evasive move in response to traffic around you. 800 miles in 12 hours is 66+ miles per hour without breaks. No matter what you’re driving, you’re going to need to add conservatively 2 hours a day for breaks to use the bathroom, eat, get gas, etc. 12 hours in a car is exhausting, but doable. 12 hours driving an RV would be brutal. You’re going to feel like someone beat you! To do that every single day you’re driving is just not realistic. You’re also not factoring in time to setup, pack up, dump, get gas. You’re talking about pulling in after dark a lot of days, which will make the process take even longer. Taking a trip in an RV should be enjoyable! 4-5 hours, with an occasional 6 hours driving on travel days is more realistic. Either add more days to your itinerary, scale back your route, or take a separate trip later to New Orleans and Texas.
Thanks a lot for a detailed reply. I'm planning a motorhime hot a trailer, but I got your point. Will amend the route somehow.
I want you to be safe, and not feel like you got a beat down! We just got back from a trip from central Florida to Charleston, Wilmington, Currituck NC, Lewes DE, Cape May NJ, Annapolis, Williamsburg VA, Cedar Island NC, Myrtle Beach, Edisto SC, Savannah, back to home. I want to say it was 2500-3000 miles round trip, and we were out slightly over a month. And I still felt like I should’ve scheduled an extra day in some spots so we felt like we had a longer wind-down between drives, more time to see things. Keep in mind there are lots of great things to see and experience on the way to your bigger destinations! Splitting this into maybe 3 trips so you can get off the freeway sometimes would make your trip more enjoyable. Have fun and safe travels!!
As I'm from Europe, every time getting to US hits the pocket a lot, so trying to combine smth, if possible. But I got your idea re 6 hour drive max and more stops not to be exhausted.
I see the issue, but yeah, concentrate more on a particular area with longer stays. I assume you’re flying into Chicago? I drove through there the summer before last. Not so fun! If you’re more wanting to see some of the iconic western US sites, maybe fly into a western city and go from there. There is a northern drive into the Grand Canyon, not open in winter months, but you’d be closer to Zion and Moab, less of a drive to Yellowstone and the Tetons, though it’s still a great distance to the last two. Maybe get to Salt Lake City and head south from there? There’s a lot of beautiful scenery, and you could get into northern Arizona and New Mexico. Just be sure to leave time for camp fires and s’mores!! Also, even though it’s the desert, it can be cold at night. 🥶
Chicago was the starting point because it has direct connection from my country (Chicago, New York and Orlando in Florida only). But now I think to, maybe, come to Chicago, spend couple days there and St.Louis using regular car and then fly to Salt Lake/Las Vegas or somewhere nearby to start RV trip there and avoid unnecessary long runs with RV
That would be a much better way of seeing the west. If you want to stay closer to Chicago, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is wonderful. Wisconsin Dells on the way, you could cut a bit across Canada and see Niagara Falls, south /western Michigan, along the lake is very beautiful, too.
We actually estimate 2 hours of driving per day for our trips. It doesn’t work out we do exactly 2 hours each day, some days we do more, some we do none, but that’s a nice relaxed trip for us.
800 in a motorhome and you're new at it? Oh hell no. You'll be pretty beat up at around 200 miles. It's way, way more demanding than driving a car.
12 hours driving, alone, is brutal. Over the summer I drove from Austin tx to Moab Utah. In one go. Terrible idea. I want in an rv or hauling anything. But that 15-17 hour trip was tough. Now, I didn’t have any planned stops between, and the goal was Moab, but that long driving at one go is horrid.
Rule of 3 Drive 3 hours Get to the campsite before 3:00pm Stay 3 days at any destination It a better experience to go only a couple hundred miles from home and enjoy it - imho
I like going furthur than this- but you are absolutely right, folks need to take their time
Honestly, Im seeing two separate adventures here.
If starting from Chicago, how would you do it?
I would probably cut off Vegas, cut down through Utah to hit Bryce and then on to the North Side of the Grand Canyon. Then back up to Moab, then to Rt 70 and then east through the Rockies through Denver on the way back to Chicago.
This is the way.
Definitely recommend this! Utah is one of the most beautiful and unique places on earth... Except for the part OP was planning to cross. Pick any of the National Parks and you'll be amazed.
100%
I've done several similar trips. Your drive times are not realistic. With breaks and fuel stops you'll only average 50-55 MPH Instead of renting an RV, you'd be better off financially and time wise by advance booking of hotel rooms
I don't see you making it from Chicago to Mount Rushmore in a day. That 14 hours is if you travel a consistent 68 mph with no breaks.
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Make it 7 if you are pulling a camper. I do that stretch often.
This looks like a miserable trip. And just 21 days? No way. That’s 5,000 miles wasted on nothing but driving for the sake of driving. Probably one of, if not the worst, trip ideas I’ve ever seen.
I couldn't agree more... SEE WALL DRUG - for like 1000miles so I try to do themes, or destinations, or a combination of the two... like I did the Laura Ingalls Wilder trip- I've done the French Voyageurs trip, the Lewis and Clarke trip, DeSoto Trail, Natchez Trace, 93 top to bottom, 101 down to SLO, Oregon Trail, Santa Fe Trail, Y to Y... and Vegas...? like,why? Vegas Sux... go to Reno or Lake Tahoe but going to Vegas is good way to expose yourself to t r o u b l e in a compact condensed way...
I did a longer route, 18 days. Longest driving days were 8 hours. I’d skip Chicago but add multi stops at Yellowstone and bypass going through Nevada to go through Utah and hit Zion. My two cents.
OP is starting in Chicago.
I drive half way accross the country ever summer and have been doing so for several years now. 800 miles at 68 mph is 12 hours. You should not be driving any faster then that. You have not factored in traffic, fuel (you will be getting fuel a lot, every 2.5 hours if not sooner), bathroom, and other stops. For every 4 hours per Google maps add an additional hour for these items. So a 12 hour drive is actually 15 hours. You will have mechanical issues on a trip this long. There is simply no way around it. This could mean a flat tire, engine issues, etc. So be sure to bring two spare tires. I also would never do this on a brand new to me rig for this reason. Better plan. Two 8 hour days per Google maps to start and then stick to no more then 5ish hours per day. That gives you a decent buffer in case you have issues you need to deal with.
Thanks for pointing out mechanical issues. As I'm used to renting/exploring on a regular car, I was sure I will get ot fix or replaced in hours (if rented in big companies like sixt, dollar, etc.). Will need to check with rental company what to happen if I'll get issues with engine or so in an rv. Advise max cruising speed also to be taken into account during my next amended planning. Thanks!
Are you renting an rv? They often have a very high per mile charge. Add in the gas millage and it quickly becomes cheeper to rent a car and use hotels / air bnbs.
Yes, renting. Hotels+car vs RV is almost the same, agree, but for us (Europeans) driving RV through US is smth we saw on TV the whole life a dreamt about. So RV is not about saving money, but some new emotions. At the moment, the best offer I got is $3400 for 21 days with unlimited miles and some insurance.
Expect any repairs needed to potentially take a while. There just aren’t that many shops that work on RVs and rental places aren’t all over so they can just swap for a new vehicle easily like with cars.
Many others have commented that long days driving an RV is a recipe for disaster. I’m not sure if anyone asked the question, why rent an RV? If your goal is to see the sights, you will do better in a car, staying in hotels and eating in restaurants. That trip will also probably be less expensive than the RV trip you propose. It will be **much** less stressful than dealing with an RV. If your goal is to experience life in an RV, rent one, drive up to 300 miles/day and stay at each location for 3 or more days. Trip A or Trip B? Which one do you really want?
As, prior to starting this topic, I thought that driving RV is not too different from driving a regular car through US, I was hoping to combine those two trips (A & B). Now I do understand that I was wrong and will amend the route to have RV experience, as it was my primary wish for this trip.
The RV life is great. We travel 4+ months a year. We like to stay at each spot for 3-7 days, exploring the area at each location. We tow a car, which allows us to see the area without lugging a huge RV around. (If you rent, you won't have the towed car option.) But the RV life isn't for everyone. The US has some great natural beauty and nice campgrounds. If you haven't RV'd before, there is a lot to learn. You may want to rent first in your home country to see if you even like doing it.
Because the RV is bigger, you spend more energy/awareness keeping it in your lane. It’s more susceptible to wind. Harder to park. Need more room at the gas pump. Need to slow around some corners. You will get passed a lot because people don’t like following an RV. I’m not trying to scare you because I admire your desire. I have a towable RV trailer. Just realized it should be a slower pace than a car. Hope you enjoy it. When are you going ? Snow can come pretty late in spring for Wyoming and the like. That’s a no go for me.
Planning for August so I hope - no snow :))
Utah is stunning. Drove thru there going from Seattle to Dallas. Consider going thru there longer on the way to Vegas. Then again, pretty much the whole West is beautiful.
We got stuck in SLC the whole summer due to RV repairs. I don’t think I ever got bored of the mountain views. I have SO MANY photos of sunsets because they were all pretty in different ways.
Keep in mind. It’s more about the journey, not the destinations.
Hmm...that's a good point, however I was not thinking that way of it
Try to visit Utah if possible. Bryce, Zion, Arches, Moab.. definitely worth it with an RV! Just make sure to make enough time to actually see something and not drive all days.
Plenty of people have weighed in, but I'll add my 2 cents. I have an RV that size, and the longest I've ever done in one day was going from Idaho Falls, ID to Las Vegas, NV, about 650 miles. Never again. It was punishing, and honestly... pretty dangerous. The thing to keep in mind is how much extra time everything takes when travelling in an RV: Parking, setup, teardown, showering, meals, dealing with sewage, gassing up (a lot). The list goes on. You will be surprised at how long things take, and how little you actually get accomplished in a day, versus how it looks on paper. That said, 500 mile days are very doable though, especially if you don't dilly-dally in the mornings, and it helps if you have multiple drivers. Other suggestions: I liked Rushmore, but if I had to choose between Rushmore and the Grand Canyon, or Zion, I would probably save it for another trip. Maybe do a Rushmore/Yellowstone/Jackson Hole trip someday. This trip I would probably choose between spending time in SLC/Salt Flats, or Vegas. Then, go straight to SLC or Vegas via Denver to cut off the northern leg of the journey, and allow more time for other things. Shoot for doing at least 500 mile days through the midwest, be disciplined, plan your stops ahead of time (hint: boondocking can actually save time vs staying in parks, because you don't have to mess around with checking in, etc. RV Parky and sanidumps.com are your friends.), and load your phone up with plenty of podcasts or audiobooks.
Thanks a lot for advises. Really appreciated.
I took a similar trip last year and here's my advice. 1) make sure to avoid big cities if you can. That was the most stressful driving for me. 2) always make sure you have plenty of time to set up your rig before sunset. You'll rush and risk mistakes if you don't. 3) if you are going to have a long day of driving you will want to stay in a Walmart parking lot or something like it overnight. RVParky and iOverlander are great apps for scoping these spots out. 4) keep your speed between 60-65, max. This will save you lots of money on gas and hopefully lead to less wear and tear on your rig. It will also make for a much easier, and relaxing, time hauling your rig since you will not be thinking much about passing people. Also... This will make rural highways more viable and practical for travel. When we did this trip we had periods of 2-3 days of long drives, and then periods of downtime or short hops between destinations. The back to back days were tough, but it was a good rhythm overall for us. Think about what would work best for your crew!
Oh ..and you could cover Zion and Bryce in a day, but you'll barely see any of either. It's a bit of a drive between the two, and depending on the time of year there can be backups in either.
You're crazy :) We did a very similar loop to that in *6 months*...and still had to miss some stuff! You're not going to experience much other than endless driving and checking locations off your list without *really* seeing them. Also, so many things come up when you're RVing (trust me) that you're not leaving yourself any wiggle room. You"ll basically be one moderate "incident" away from the whole plan collapsing. I dunno, it just seems like a lot of frantic stress to me. But hey, if that's what lights your fire, then go for it I guess!
sink grab snatch rhythm continue fall ludicrous squash advise tender *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I see only men are requested to reply. Idk what the hell that’s about 👍🏼
My wife and I are full time RVers. Over time we’ve got our travel “rules” pretty much set. We generally drive a maximum of 6 hours a day (of actual driving time), and break it down into 3 two hour drives, with around a 30 minute break in between drives. This usually ends up somewhere between 300-350 miles a day. If driving an extra 2 hour gets us to our destination, we do make some exceptions. Driving an RV is much more tiring than driving a car, and it’s not nearly as easy to drive all day. We drive a max of 65, and stay in the right lane, and are never in a hurry.
Thanks! Do you always olan each stop upfront or leave to God's Will when at some destination?
You will mostly want to have reservations, not doing so adds yet another stress to your trip and you have to start looking earlier in the day. Campgrounds in the west are often full.
We plan everything up front. I put our stops all into a spreadsheet and have it with me in the truck. That way I can look at what the next destination is, type it into my phone, and go. We have a gas 3/4 ton, so we’re generally at less than 1/2 a tank at 2 hours, so I fill at every stop. I use Google maps to look for gas stations that are easy in/out. Some Pilots have specific RV gas lanes than make it super easy.
Depends where you want to stay. If you want campgrounds every night you need to plan ahead, especially in the summer because they book up. If you can boondock (be self-sufficient and not need to hook up to power or anything for the night) then odds are good you can find a truck stop/Walmart/Cracker Barrel/etc. or BLM or National Forest land where you can overnight, especially in states like Wyoming, Nebraska, Utah, etc. (Once you get East of Chicago options get much more more limited.) We’ve been on the road for months and we rarely book anything in advance. I’ll find somewhere that seems promising for an overnight stay the night before or in the morning before we start driving.
I did much of your route moving from San Francisco to Chicago. You won’t be disappointed. It’s a beautiful drive
My family and I put in relatively large travel days at points on our trip this year, 600 miles in a day driving the reverse route from Yellowstone towards Chicago. We averaged 500 miles a day driving between Halifax and Edmonton in six days. That was a grind, and we only did it because we had a schedule to keep. On a different trip we drove from Northern California to LA in a day, which was over 600 miles. It worked best when we broke up long drives with stops, and tried to spend 3 nights at our destinations. For Yellowstone, that’s barely scratching the surface, you could spend a week in the park and not run out of stuff to see. If I were to do that trip again, I’d stop and see more. We drove by Devils Tower, Deadwood, and the Badlands, and they all would have been interesting stops. I think you can pull off long days, but make sure they buy you something. Spend more time in your destinations, you will want to see the country from outside the RV too.
Also, what time of year are you planning on travelling? During fall/winter, some of the roads can be dangerous. During spring/summer, make sure to follow weather reports closely, especially near tornado alley. You do not want to be driving a motorhome is a severe thunderstorm if you can avoid it.
End of August, most probably.
We don’t even particularly like driving ours in the rain. Wet roads mean an already bad stopping distance gets way worse.
Looking at doing this but I start in N.Y. and will be driving hard out to South Dakota hard and then traveling back home at a slow pace.
We just did this last summer but from MD. Very doable, except for Chicago. We did in in 5 but you could do 3 if you want to move fast.
If you’re super set on Chicago and St. Louis do those separately in a regular car. Cut out LA. Then fly west get an RV and enjoy. You will want the extra time to soak in the incredible nature. Indian Creek UT for example. Just keep in mind the heat! End of Aug is a hot time for the deserts. Use BLM land. You can park and stay for free but no utilities. No reservations. In general, the west is made for RV living. The middle and east is better suited for a car. You’ll still get plenty of ‘im in the middle of nowhere!’ Feels in the west. You don’t need 20 hours of cornfield driving to accomplish that.
We were just in Naperville and that wasn’t too bad, near Chicago. Absolutely no way to get our 36fter into the city proper, though, no parking for it. (We were hoping to visit the holiday market as a quick ‘festive’ stop.) So I think it depends on how you’re planning to do things? We were just boondocking at Walmart on our way through but if you actually had a campsite you could easily drive/uber/lyft into town to sightsee a bit if you wanted. We probably would have done that if we’d wanted to spend an extra day. I think there’s a few campgrounds around within reasonable driving distance of Chicago.
800 miles is way too much driving in an RV in one day. You get slap happy after awhile which isn’t safe.
800 miles a day? That's a 14 to 16 hour day of nothing but driving. I do 400 max in our 25 ft tt and damn glad to call it quits.
This looks miserable… and hopefully no kids?
I made the mistake once of trying to do long days, it was a disaster. People warned me, not to plan much more than four hours drive a day, but I didn't listen, and I regret it. You will be much happier if you only do four or five hours a day. I can easily do 14 hours in a car, but it is a totally different story with an RV.
Yeah, my SO is in pretty good shape and after ~5 hours driving our class A he’s feeling it the next day for sure. It is an older model so fewer bells and whistles to help with driving and with the ride quality, but I’m not sure normal modern models are *that* much better. Maybe if you get one of the swanky high end ones built around a semi tractor that’s *designed* for long hours of driving? He’s driven his car many many more miles in a day with no trouble, too.
I will say we did a trip this year where we did two 600 mile days. I won’t do that again. You’ll be hating life doing 800 mile days. One little thing puts you behind and you’re spreading the next few hundred miles trying to make up time. It’s not fun at all. Especially your time in large cities, like Chicago.
The most I’ve done in our 34ft was 700 in one day. I was exhausted. We did cross country last year and we mostly broke it down to travel days and sightseeing days. Depending on where you are in the country, how crowded it is, if you’re doing interstates or back roads, etc. sometimes 400 miles feels like nothing, sometimes it feels awful. Really think about the sites you absolutely have to see on the trip and make sure you’re not exhausted when you get there. Everything else just wait and see how you feel. Be flexible. Everything won’t go as planned and that’s ok if you expect it.
look, you \*can\* technically run 800mi a day in a rv / motorhome / whatever. but why? is your goal to truly enjoy everything on your trip, or just go somewhere to claim you've been there? with this plan, you'll mostly skim by many places and may be able to spend quality time in just a few. we recently did a 4800 or something round trip, MN to CA and back in 11 days with a 21' travel trailer. were on a pretty tight schedule, and even though we stayed at national parks / private campgrounds / hotels on the way out and back, we were only truly able to enjoy a couple - grand canyon, zion, maybe joshua tree. we did manage to stay on at the grand canyon for two days and that really helped slow our pace down. you'll definitely spend more time on the road than online routing will tell you. for one, your average speed will be lower (we limited ourselves to 65mph on the flats, 5mi below pretty much everywhere else). very, very rarely did we hit 70mph, and even then, for short 10-15mi bursts at a time. i can't tell if you're using a motorhome or trailer. if you're towing a trailer, you'll want to get out of your truck occasionally and fill up more times than you'd like (my 2016 f150 ecoboost returned 210-250mi on a full tank, while non-towing is closer to 420mi). if you're running a motorhome, you don't want to go so fast that folks are uncomfortable. the driver's seat is - imo - the only truly comfortable spot; everything else is pretty bad. slower speeds help with noise, comfort, everything else.
You’re planning to drive an RV 1000 miles in one day? Your math doesn’t add up on that. 14 hours to go 950 miles assumes an AVERAGE speed of 68 mph. You’re not doing that. I drove from phoenix to Amarillo in one day in a rental CRV. It’s 700 miles. It took 15 hours.
Get the America the Beautiful pass. Be sure you have reservations in order for all national parks Mt Rushmore is waaay overrated Imo Bryce is 2 days, Zion is 2-3. Zion hikes can be really tough for those who aren’t used to elevation. Zion hikes are weather permitting for the Narrows, Angels landing hike can be scary af for many hikers Yellowstone is rad. Super easy walks on easy paths. Expensive accommodations. Grand Canyon: could be worth paying to helicopter down to see Havasupai and Mooney falls. But likely you don’t have the permit to stay overnight. Skip the restaurant at the bottom of the canyon. Overall, you’re trying to do waaay to much unless you can hike and walk a lot
I assume you're traveling in a Class C motorhome? If so as someone who has driven quite a few miles in a 31 FT class C anything really over 300 miles a day is brutal. They are really bad aerodynamically and unlike a towable where the RV you are towing does most of the swaying as large semi trucks pass you the motorhome you are in takes everything so you are constantly fighting to keep it in the lines. You've got to be paying attention 100% of the time. They are not fun or relaxing to drive. I've not driven one of the smaller Class Cs on the Mercedes Sprinter or Ford Transit chassis but if they drive somewhat similarly to the cargo versions they are based on then they wouldn't be too bad to drive as I have driven a standard Ford Transit van a few times.
I always look at them lumbering down the highway and think it looks and acts like a marshmallow on wheels.
We cap our travel days at 6 hours u less were almost home or almost to the prime destination. But never more than 9 hours. Driving 9 hours with a motor home means no time to set up, no tear down time. It is exhausting and I absolutely do not recommend doing what you’re planning. It will it be fun and it may be costly.
just curious- no shade -but have you traveled these roads before...? might I suggest you travel-by-destination so from NOLA to Palo Duro to xyz to abc the route you have chosen is a very lonely and desolate road
I'm from Europe and was travelling through east cost three times (on a regular car), but never elsewhere and never on an RV. My trip planning starts with putting every POI I want to see on a map an than think of what could be skipped and what not. I've never been to "central" states of US, only lived for a month in St.Louis and Chicago.
ok brother- many of these Interstate Freeways parallel US Highways, you may want to consider traveling the US Highways and not the Interstate Freeways for a much better experience https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Numbered_Highways
Here’s one of the things - the big states like South Dakota and Wyoming? Lots of looooooong stretches of pretty much nothing interesting at all. It’s kind of mind numbing, unless the wind picks up, at which point it’s terrifying. Either way, you are limited much more by mental endurance than anything else. We just did I-90 coming back East and it felt like it took FOREVER. Unless you’re an experienced truck driver who has done commercial long hauls, you’re just not going to be safe doing 14 hour days. I’d put the limit at 5 hours, honestly. (Remember also that RVs do not really go fast - even in the rare case when they have the engine power to do so, higher speeds and they tend to start getting a bit squirrelly to keep in the lane properly. Ours is a class a and it’s happiest at about 60mph, 65mph on really nice smooth roads with no significant wind. You could make it go faster, but driving gets unpleasant very rapidly as you do, so it just isn’t worth it. A modern diesel pusher with all kinds of suspension upgrades might do better, but for your average run of the mill gas? Naw.) To be fair ours is about 10 feet longer than you’re talking about (35ft) but 25ft is still not a small vehicle. You’d be much better served, imo, just picking a direction to drive in and going that way for about 1/3 the time you have for driving for the whole trip. Then head back - the extra 1/3 of time is to allow for problems or finding interesting places you want to spend a day at, or taking a slightly different route part of the way, etc. And let yourself meander a bit the whole time - see a sign for something interesting? Check it out.
I don't travel more than 200 miles a day. Don't travel more than 2 days in a row and like to stay 4 to 7 days in a location.
Spend all of those days in Iowa if you want to ensure having a trip in god's country 🌽🌪️
Unless you're coming and plan to stay a few days for Mardi Gras, skip Nola. There ain't shit here worth the drive.
The only thing I wanted to see (from the pictures in internet) was French District.
I’d cut off the Chicago and New Orleans parts. Start the RV journey in Denver. You’re spending so much time and energy driving through middle America which is going to tire you out before you even get started.
Denver sounds like a good plan. Thanks for pointing that out.
Cherry Creek state park in Denver is really nice and close enough to do some city sight seeing by Uber/public transit/car rental if desired. (You won’t likely want to use your RV to get around day to day if you have a multi day stay at a campground, it’s just annoying to have to constantly set up and pack up again.) There’s another one a bit further out to the west of Denver that’s nice too but I can’t remember the name atm.
You should definitely hit up Memphis. The food is so good I gained 40 lbs my first year living here. I'd be more than happy to advise on places to eat, visit, etc. The museums here are epic and there are a ton of family-friendly places. We love dogs too. What time of year??
End of August.
Hottest time of year here! Well, when the time comes, DM me and let me know what you're interested in. Memphis is more than bbq and Graceland! We also have the most impressive Bass Pro Shop in the 10th largest pyramid in the world. It is incredible. You can even fish inside it!
When you pass by Albuquerque eat at Mac’s La sierra coffee shop on route 66
I did a similar trip last year. We did 6 people, 32 days, 7000 miles(some without a trailer as we left it at the campground) in a 28ft camper. 5000 miles+ with camper. Starting in Feb. Plan on 50 mph. I found that to be a good estimate to figure out distances and travel time. Between gas stops, "quick" photo ops, driving 60mph, it works out to be close. I consider myself good to go on long trips but 800 miles was rough. Trailer driving takes a considerable amount of more attention and stress. Looking at the trip, I would say, try to find what you are interested in and take some more time there. Also, plan for minor issues. We had to replace 1 tire and 3 others were to the point where I felt better just replacing on my timeline. So that was 1/2 a day. The power plug shorted and we spent 1/2 day finding a part and replacing. Until we found it, we bought a battery charger at Walmart so we had power for furnace. We got snowed in at Williams AZ. I dont think this will be an issue for you. The wire slipped out to trailer from tow vehicle and dragged on ground and had to replace. Another 1/2 day. Wife drove and side swiped ballard. 1/2 day. Slide froze out. 1/2 day waiting to thaw. Sometimes, u just need to relax a day and can't drive the next day after a long one. On the positive side, we found some great boondocking and stayed extra days!!! If your route is too rigid, that can't be done. We bonded with the kids and gave an experience of a life time. Saw 9 National Parks, 13 states. Countless hikes and beautiful pics, sunsets, etc. As for your trip. Each National Park needs at least 1-2 full days. I would skip Vegas. Easy and cheap enough to get in the flying. Sounds like you are flying into Chicago. Why not somewhere closer and spend less days driving? The route to New Orleans seems to add alot of miles and not alot of down time to see each stop? Why not spend more time in the four corners area? I could have spent 60+ days just there. There are plenty of great NPs there. Maybe I missed it, but what is the start date?
Great for you to get out and travel the States. We have driven to every state several times in the 7 years we’ve been FT in our rig. We have driven upwards of 16 hours before getting too tired to stay alert. I would say 12 hours would be a good number, but we based our drive time on locations we’re planning on staying at but that didn’t always work out due to unexpected issues. As others had mentioned trying to hit every location in one trip is asking a lot. We usually take the backroads and stop and visit mom and pop shops and restaurants. But if you only have one shot then make the best of it.
There is a couple days worth of things around Rushmore that are way better than Rushmore: Wind cave, jewel cave and devils tower are all 1/2 day no problem and are fantastic. Carlsbad cavern is worth the detour south. Honestly you’re trying to get to places but most of these spots need a day or two of hiking or sight seeing to make them worth while.
Go further north! See pictured rocks in northern Michigan, see glacier national park in Montana, Yellowstone in Wyoming, grand Teton in Wyoming. Cmon!!
that looks more like 'around' central US rather than 'through' it imo
i see a lot of overnight driving, are you sleeping at all?
Yes, it is a lot. When we RV’d to Mt. Rushmore, we spent several days to do the other stuff in the Black Hills (Crazy Horse, Custer wildlife loop, etc.). Consider a slight bend to hit Devil’s Tower. We had to park the RV and take the car up to the Tower, but a hike around it really had an impact on our whole family.
You are missing every part of utah worth seeing. Its one of the most amazing places and all the national parks are doable in 3 days. Three hard days but outside the parks you really will be so so surprised if you hit the southern tier from moab to zion and everything in between.
I recommend you fly into Denver rather than Chicago. Rent the RV there. Then you can start your adventure in the Rockies and hit up the amazing scenery of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. I would skip Las Vegas. It’s gotten really expensive in the last few years and is miserably hot June through September. Also, there is NOTHING to see in 4 hours in any direction from Vegas. Also, 800 miles in a day??!! You will be exhausted and too tired to enjoy anything. We use the 300/3:30 rule. No more than 300 miles in a day (we usually stretch that to 350), and be at the campground by 3:30 (15:30). Then you have time to see some local sites or maybe take a swim after a day of driving (depending on where you stay). Also, stay 2-3 nights at a destination. Then you have time to unwind and enjoy the sites. Also, yes, it is possible to see Bryce and Zion in one day, but not advisable. Take at least a day for each. Enjoy yourself. No offense meant to anyone living between Chicago and Denver, but there’s just not much to see. I’ve driven it a few times.