My wife and I are planning a 10-day trip from Denver to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons in a rented Travato K; this is a tryout to see if a class b is right for us. We are interested in a mix of RV parks and being out away from the RV parks. I have no idea where to start to figure all of this out. Hoping the seasoned veterans on this forum can point us in the right direction.
Thank you for any help you can provide.
Pat
Do not fret too much. It will work out fine.
Basic RV 101:
Make sure your RV provider supplies a decent 30A power cord, water hose, and ask about leveling blocks (they may or may not provide). Blocks are not always necessary, but come in handy at times.
Take a small 16ga or 14 ga. extension cord and a 15A to 30A adapter in case you find a spot with only 15A service. You won't be able to run your a/c with it, but you can run everything else (even microwave briefly) and charge your batteries.
Make sure they show you dump procedures, breaker/fuse location, and general operation procedures. Maybe they'll have a checklist for setting up and breaking camp. Get their phone numbers and ask about who to call if you have a roadside breakdown.
Don't over pack clothes, food, etc. You'll find plenty of grocery stores and laundramats along the way. Most larger parks and KOA's have these essentials.
Travel 101:
Map out your trip, but allow flexibility for variations and delays. Use the vans' navigation system (if equipped), take a Rand/McNally map book, and get local guidebooks/maps at visitor centers.
I recently subscribed to "Roadtrippers" and like the fact it is easy to plot a custom route and the way it shows local sites/camping/attactions based on your preferences. Even if we don't visit them all on our next trip, at least we feel like we won't get home and realize we had driven within 15-30 mins. of something we regret not seeing.
Take some cash (just in case), but more importantly, make sure you notify your credit card companies that you plan to travel and where. Some are very quick to deny transactions as suspected fraud unless you clue them in on your travel plans.
Some people travel with advance reservations under pressure of having to stay on a strict driving schedule so they arrive as planned. We chose the travel under the pressure of having to decide daily where we'd spend the night. It was not as tough as we feared, and there were always the occasional Camp Walmart overnights that worked out fine.
Finally, get a Senior Lifetime National Parks Pass (or maybe in your case a non-senior one) for free entry and 1/2 off camping costs. And
always seek out a "Park Host" in any state or federal park land. These are civilians who assist park rangers after hours in exchange for a free site and hookups. With a single exception, we found them more helpful and more knowledgeable than official park staff. They were especially helpful in finding us a slot in an officially "Full" park. We stayed in numerous "Full" parks that had many empty sites (sometimes as many as 50%).
Bottom Line:
We too (me actually, my wife not so much) obsessed greatly before our first trip. We wound up overstocking food and the fridge (as if we'd find no groceries on the way
) and found we only had to wash clothes once or twice on multi-week trips.
Don't overstress. After all, isn't that the point of rving.
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