So You Want to Try the RV Lifestyle

This blog consists of my random ponderings based on my experiences.

A Road Trip is Not a Cruise

I am a road trip kind of guy. My wife and I get restless after two nights in the same place. A road trip is not a leisurely vacation. You may need a vacation to recover from your vacation. The adventure is in the trip, not the destination. Every day you wake up wondering what you will see that day. What is around the next curve? What interesting people will we meet? We almost never reserve campgrounds. It is more fun to let the day unwind without a plan.

You will spend a lot time with your family in a space that is probably smaller than your living room. Everyone needs to be a little "forgiving." Again, this type of vacation is not for everyone. But with a sense of adventure it can create memories that will last a lifetime and grow more colorful with each retelling.

My cousin understands this as he is getting a used travel trailer for this trip to determine if this type of vacation works for his family. But he is already talking about seeing the "Largest Ball of Twine in the World" in Kansas and other photo ops, so they are off to a great start.

So You Want to Buy a Used RV

Water is the number one enemy of an RV. Climb on the roof and give it a visual inspection. It will be covered with a sheet of rubber with gobs of caulk everywhere. Check all the seams. Has there been a major repair? If you ever add caulk, do not use silicone. Get the self leveling sealant made for rubber roofs.

On the inside open every cabinet door and look along the back walls. Do you smell mold? Run your hands along cabinet bottoms and walls checking for warping caused by moisture. Look under the beds. Look under the couch and sink where the exterior wall meets the floor. Look in the corners of the storage area. Any sign of water damage is a big red flag. It may not be a deal breaker but be very careful.

On the outside sight down the exterior sides. Are there any bubbles in the sidewalls? Check closely around the windows and any vents. Leaks often start here. A leak in the side walls can cause delamination and there really is no fix once that happens other than a trip to the factory to replace the wall.

If you find no water problems, check out the suspension. That is the weakest component on any modern RV. Your average farm wagon has better suspension. Do not start your road trip without inspecting these parts. If everything is original equipment you most likely have problems. The spring shackles are soft steel about 1/8" thick. They will last about 10,000 miles. See my experiences here and here. Check the spring hangers for cracks. Check for broken springs. Remove all wheels, check the brakes and replace the grease seals. You are almost guaranteed to have one or more brake shoes soaked in grease.

If the tires are the originals, they will be "China Bomb" special ST tires. Some people have no problems with them but many do. When one explodes it will cause on average about $3,000 of damage because RVs have no metal in the wheel well. The exploding tire will take out the black polyester type material under the RV along with insulation, the plastic wheel skirt and some plumbing depending on which side blows. Collect as many of the tire pieces as you can as the Chinese company will often reimbursement you for some of the damage. Apparently it is cheaper to reimburse damages than to make a quality tire.

The gross weight capacity of your RV will be either the axle rating or the tire weight rating plus the tongue weight. In other words if you load your RV to its weight rating, either your tires or your axle will be at their rated maximum. Also the springs are matched to the axle so if the axle is at its maximum the springs will be also. So make sure your RV has a cargo carrying capacity of at least 2,000 pounds or so. There should be a yellow sticker on the inside of the screen door with the capacity for that RV. In older RVs it may be on the inside of a cabinet door. There will also be a sticker on the front, road side exterior wall with the GVWR of the unit. Pay close attention to weight ratings. Water is 8 lbs per gallon. It does not take long to add 1,000 lbs of weight to an RV.

On your first trip, while fully loaded, stop at a Flying J truck stop and weigh your rig. I think it currently cost $12. You will get three weights. Front truck axle, rear truck axle and trailer axles. This will put your mind at ease or determine you have a problem. Also if the "China Bombs" explode, the weight receipt helps to prove you were not overloading the tires.

If you decide to stay in the RV lifestyle, replace the ST tires with LT load range E tires. I like Michelins. Install a wet bolt kit with larger shackles. This will solve most of your problems. Just check the brakes once a year and visually check the springs.

What Do I Need in my RV

We buy large quantities of plates and plastic spoons and forks from someplace like Sam's Club. Who wants to wash dishes while on vacation? The gas oven is small so it tends to burn the bottom of breads or biscuits. A small toaster oven works better. A crock pot is great especially if you plan to be in one campground for two nights.

If you have a generator for the back of your truck, that opens up lots of possibilities. The "Great American Road Trip" usually starts with 2-3 days of hard driving and ends the same way. WalMarts are very RV friendly. If you have a generator you can pull into a WalMart (if there is no local ordinance against it) or Flying J (just ask the desk where they would like you to park) and get a few hours of sleep without the hassles of finding a campground. The generator gives you air conditioning, TV and power for toys. And if you set it up to power the RV on the road you can run that crock pot all day long and have air conditioning when you stop for lunch.

Other Tips

Have the boys keep a journal and encourage them to make entries every day. It could be the things they see that day, the weather, where you camped, distance traveled, even fuel stops and miles per gallon you are getting. If they like the RV road trip lifestyle they will someday take their kids to the same places. Their kids will enjoy reading the journals. While in Yellowstone National Park in 2004 my Dad pointed out my oldest son, Bradley, was 10 years old. I was 10 years old when I first visited Yellowstone National Park with Mom and Dad in 1969.

I kept a journal and my folks still occasionally call me to check it because they can't agree about something we did on one of our trips a long time ago.

Take lots of photos. With your family. Twenty years from now a photo of the Grand Canyon will be nice but there are millions of those on the internet. Only you will have photos of your family at the canyon and those will be precious to you. Also take photos of your camper in scenic locations.

Camp once at a high elevation and look at the stars. For that "Largest Ball of Twine" and other photo ops check out the phone app Roadtrippers and the website RoadSideAmerica. For campgrounds we like the phone app "Camp & RV" by Allstays.

Find an online RV forum for your specific brand of RV and ask questions. The folks on those forums are friendly and helpful. If you plan to visit more than a couple of national parks, just get the annual pass. It is cheaper.

Get photos of your family and signs. Especially those with high elevations or small populations.

Places to See

First, that is going to be a lot of driving for two weeks. Let's start in Colorado. If you like trains, there is a neat train ride in Georgetown, the Georgetown Loop Railroad.

Video

Return to I-40 and enjoy over 100 miles with no services west of Green River. At Salina take US-50 and stop at Great Basin National Park just inside Nevada. Do some hiking in the snow and try to see the glacier. From there take US-6 to Lee Vining, California or stay on US-50 to experience the "Loneliest Road in America" into Carson City and Lake Tahoe, then take US-395 south to Lee Vining.

You said you want to enter Yosemite from the west and see Sequoia National Park. I would recommend you camp in Lee Vining and take a long day trip to Yosemite. Then go to the Mariposa Grove to see some redwoods instead of trying to include Sequoia National Park. My boys and I did this in 2007. You are trying to fit a lot of things into two weeks. This will save you some time and the drive south the next day on US-395 from Lee Vining is beautiful.

Enter Death Valley from the west early in the day if you can. If you want to hike to a water fall in Death Valley check out our experience and if you want a love story, read about the camera we found here and the two years we spent finding the owner.

In Death Valley walk out on the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. I much prefer the northern rim of the Grand Canyon. From Death Valley you could get on I-15 in Las Vegas, go up to St. George and go to the north rim via Jacob Lake. Plan to see the sun rise and experience the cool morning temperatures at the canyon. Then on to the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. Get over to US-160 to US-163 through Monument Valley and Mexican Hat to 4 corners.

If you prefer the south rim of the Grand Canyon, I would exit the south side of Death Valley. This allows you to visit Badwater Basin at 282 feet below sea level.

Then I-40 to Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon. If you are determined to see 4 corners, from the Grand Canyon take US-160 but exit north on US-163 and go through Monument Valley and Mexican Hat on the way to 4 corners. Be sure to get a "Forrest Gump" photo in Monument Valley. The video below contains the spot where Forrest Gump stopped running and believe it or not, the spot is labeled on Google Maps.

Video

If you want to skip Monument Valley and 4 corners, camp in Flagstaff and take a day trip to the Grand Canyon. Sedona is just south of Flagstaff and we plan to visit there this summer. East of Flagstaff on I-40 you can check out the Meteor Crater (pricey) then you must stop in Winslow and get a photo "Standin' on the Corner".

Petrified Forest National Park is a must see and is adjacent to I-40. Canyon de Chelly National Park is nice but that is off your route. We will be there this summer also. We camped in Holbrook once and there was a Navajo dance in the public square.

If you stay on I-40 you can take I-25 to Santa Fe which is a picturesque town. If you are a WWII buff Los Alamos is just north of there where the atomic bomb was developed.

There are lots of Route 66 stuff on I-40 since I-40 basically replaced Route 66 in this area. There are still original sections of the road. If you go thru Amarillo stop at the Cadillac Ranch.

Last year I made some way points on a map for some odd stuff to visit the next time I am in the South West. Check it out here.

I have a map with almost every campground I have ever visited. For the early days I just have an address or vague description. But for the last 12 years or so I have GPS coordinates and comments about how I liked the campground. See that map here.

Cousin, if you have any questions just email. I hope this has given you some things to consider.