US RV Trip

Chrisc

Chrisc

Chrisc

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So my lad finishes school in 2026 which coincides with my 40th. We're pretty big on trips to the US but i fancy something a bit different to mark the occasions.

Im thinking of hiring an RV and doing a bit of a tour of California. LA up to San fran via Yosemite national park etc. . ive tried to do a bit of research online and ive seen people mention that even though the cost of the RV per week may only be around $1200, the total costs can sky rocket with additional mileage/fuel and little extras needed for the the RV like gas etc. .

I just thought i would put it to you lovely bunch to see if anybody has any 1st hand experience of doing something like this?

Alternatively, ill just hire a car and stick to the origin plan of LA-Vegas-Pheonix

Cheers
 
I have never done it, simply because every time I priced it up as a whole (extra fuel, site fees etc) it's been way more expensive than car + hotels. The fact toy have a very large vehicle is another negative, even though the US is built for it, it still could add headaches if you have city stops and depending on the national park / attraction the car parks can be VERY busy.

Plus side I guess is you get to park up in some very scenic places if you book early enough. I like the idea but I don't think it's worth it for me.

You can still do touring without one, there are motels/hotels everywhere.
 
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Sorry can’t help, but that sounds epic. I went to San Fran in 99” and it was great, just a one off, out of the blue trip my dad booked for half term holidays. I will always remember that place as it was my first trip to America.
 
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Capt Doufos said:
I have never done it, simply because every time I priced it up as a whole (extra fuel, site fees etc) it's been way more expensive than car + hotels. The fact toy have a very large vehicle is another negative, even though the US is built for it, it still could add headaches if you have city stops and depending on the national park / attraction the car parks can be VERY busy.

Plus side I guess is you get to park up in some very scenic places if you book early enough. I like the idea but I don't think it's worth it for me.

You can still do touring without one, there are motels/hotels everywhere.
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yeah, you have pretty much hit all of my concerns, im going into the unknown really and the youtube videos ive watched dont really get into the difficulties of RV'ing. But im drawn to the adventure of it and perhaps even spending a night off grid in the middle of nowhere. There are a couple of companies that will let you hire for a couple of nights which might allow me to dip my toe in without too much investment.
 
beachBOYken said:
Sorry can’t help, but that sounds epic. I went to San Fran in 99” and it was great, just a one off, out of the blue trip my dad booked for half term holidays. I will always remember that place as it was my first trip to America.
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its supposed to have gone a bit down hill, but id still like to visit, its one of few places left in the US that i really want to see.
 
Chrisc said:
its supposed to have gone a bit down hill, but id still like to visit, its one of few places left in the US that i really want to
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In 99” it felt kind of untouched if that makes sense, not too touristy, despite its famous attractions like Alcatraz, pier 39 and the giant red woods across Golden Gate bridge, was quite as well, as went around February time, so perhaps that’s why, remember it had some no go zones as well which we inadvertently ventured into on the bus. :D
I would love to go again one day to see how it’s changed. If I remember I think we stayed in some travel lodge type hotel not far from pier 39.

Looking on maps I think it was the Holiday Inn we stayed at for the week.
 
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Have you ever driven a RV or a big lorry? A friend of mine did a big trip in an RV that he hired in the US (I believe it was winnebaygo or streamliner) and he was a lorry driver and he found it very stressful to drive something that big on some roads. Particularly ones towards seattle and the national parks can get hairy. On top of that they are VERY hard to park even in huge car parks over there and often you get moved on by security hence why you often see owners towing a little smart car or mini/fiat to go and get shopping/food etc..

Oh and the people talking about the additional costs are not wrong. The big RVs have huge truck engines in and are not known for fuel efficiency.
 
I have done this!

Back in 2010, I did a 1 month trip around Arizona by myself, New Mexico and Utah in a "Winnebago Mminnie Winnie" as a landscape photographer.

I picked the RV up from a place in Pheonix, it was the trip of a lifetime.

It cost me around $4000 for a whole month, including mileage (and an accident... )

It was my first time driving a vehicle in the US, I didn't have any major problems with it, it drunk gas (but I knew that).

Some handy hints:
  • WALMART!! - Literally any Walmart in the whole of the US, allows RVs to park overnight, so if you don't have a campsite for the night or whatever - just drive to a Walmart, park up somewhere at the back of the carpark, and camp there. You'll usually bump into a bunch of other RV campers there, it's super handy (and free - and there's security)
  • Make sure you get the mileage fees/rates/whatever agreed up front, some of the firms charge for the mile - the one I went with, did an unlimited mileage (but that's rare)
  • Be careful with security - a few times I ended up off the beaten track, and a foreigner in an RV can standout like a sore thumb - and there are some quite ropey areas in certain parts of the US
  • Book any campsites in advance, I used campsites purely to empty the sewage/dirty water tanks, and used Walmart for almost all of my other nights - those sites can book out in advance, so make sure you plan a few of those, for emptying tanks and getting things sorted out.
I actually narrowly avoided a serious accident, I was driving though New Mexico and some idiot came right onto my side of the road and forced me off the road and into a rock - smashing a chunk off of the RV (to avoid a head on). Had to wait for the state police to come out, and sort things out - RV was still drivable, but it shook me up. Guy admitted fault to the police on the spot and got a citation, but it did get sorted out.

Aside from that, it was the trip of a lifetime and I think i'll do it again at some point.
 
beachBOYken said:
Did you take a wrong turn?
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The larger American cities are much British ones in that you can find yourself in a neighbourhood where being obviously “not from around here” and driving a $100K+ RV is going to get you noticed by some wrong ‘uns.

On a family trip to Florida back in the mid 1980s, we took the wrong turn out of Miami International and ended up lost in a very iffy area. My dad pulled over and got out to ask a group of the three most obviously stereotypical drug dealers for directions and I believe to this day that some random white middle aged Englishman walking up to their spot with pen and paper in his hands and politely asking for directions blew their minds. One guy drew my dad a map with street names and advised us not to stop for anything but a cop until we were back on the highway.

My dad thanked them and the 3 guys still had a “WTF just happened?” look on their faces as we drove away.

Funny to think back about now, but it could have turned out very differently.
 
beachBOYken said:
Did you take a wrong turn?
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Sort of!

I was in New Mexico and ended up in a place called Farmington, I was parked in a random carpark, (nobody around, just chilling looking at maps and eating my lunch) when someone knocked on the side door of the RV.

I opened it up and there's this ropey looking bloke with hardly any teeth, he's like 'hey man, cool RV heh... .. blah blah blah' I'm like "er hi!" exchanged smalltalk for a few moment, then he left.. I got my **** together and decided to move. As I pulled away, I noticed a black SUV with the guy in - begin to follow me, I drove around Farmington for a bit - took a few intentional wrong turns and did a circle, guy kept following me.

In the end I drove to the Sheriff's office and he quickly sped off :D
 
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