Planning a 240 day 10776 mile trip across the country

 The Planning

We start with our high value destinations.

For us planning a 240 day trip starts with a few simple questions which we answered about 5 years ago when we started to RV.

Our first question is where do we want to go,  what do we want to see,  and what do we want to do.  We think RV trip planning is like goal planning,  start with your big rocks and put them in a jar,  then add smaller rocks,  then add some sand,  then fill up your goal jar with water to pack in the most fun filled travel. 

We are trying to visit all 48 contiguos states and see all the national parks in those states. This year's trip was easy,  what states haven't we been to? How many national parks are in those states then figure out other fun outside stuff that is near by or along our route and finally fill in with overnight stops,  quirky roadside attractions and potential fuel stops. 

One other big rock we have added to our itinerary is airstream rallies. We have found so many larger rallys where we meet new people that because of airstreaming we have an instant connection.  Making new friends after 50 seemed like it would be hard but airstream and the airstream club had made this so easy.  The international rally is in rock springs WY this year so that was a stop as we headed out to the west coast. While we were planning our trip south from Washington state we noticed the Potlatch rally was on our way and with in days of where we would be at that time.  After adjusting for that rally we also noticed Pismo Beach rally lined up with our location and timeline. What luck. 

So our big rocks are Nevada, WY, AZ, WA, OR, CA, and Texas. And all the national parks in those states.  Big bend in TX will be our first national park on this trip.  We will then work our way north west to great basin in NV. Then after the international rally,  head over to the north cascades and Olympic national park. 

Then weave our way south from national park and state parks to the next national park. 

We get to see some amazing places,  wildlife and meet some great people along the way,  stay with us as we start out journey,  post pictures, and document our travels to share some great places,  great memories,  and some of the cool people we encounter. 

Top 7 items for your first RV trip

You top 7 items and a few bonus items for your first RV trip.

 

1.You should have a power cord(30 or 50 amp based on your specific connection) if you plan to connect to power in an RV park. If your boon docking your power cord may connect to a generator and you may needed an( 30 to 50) adaptor.

2. A Fresh water hose or full fresh water tank. We like the blue zero G 25' with a camco water filter.  this should be a potable water hose and not a general garden hose if you dont want the general garden hose taste.

3. Sewer hose - all that water from your freshwater tank or park connection has to go somewhere and that is normally your black or grey water tank. You will need a way to drain those tanks. We like the Valterra 15' dominator hose. 10' has been to short and 15 has worked great as an in between the 10 and 20' versions. your airstream can hold 2 10' versions but they just take more work to set up and tear down vs starting your camping earlier.

4.Leveling blocks or a way to level your rig side to side / front to back for a comfortable nights rest and for your RV refrigerator to work correctly. We like the lynx 10 pack. They are bright orange so less likely to drive off and leave them. We also hear some good things about Anderson drive up leveler but know too many people that have broken them on rocks and gravel after just a few uses. Leveling side to side is the first part of backing into you camp site.

5. Chocks to keep your MH or trailer where you put it. We like the big rubber blocks or x chocks if you have tandem wheels. Just remember to put these out as soon as your leveled and before you even think of unhooking. This is really step 2 of backing your trailer into your camp site. once your leveled put the chocks in tight especially if the site has some incline as the trail may want to slide a few inches once it pops off the ball of your tow vehicle. be safe and use a good chock.

6. Surge protector. We like the progressive mfg 50 amp model for our airstream. This saved us on our first trip as the power in the camp ground  kept going out and the  2 AC's would have been toast.

7. You should have a wrench or socket that fits your lug nuts. A big breaker bar to make it easy to loosen lug nuts and a cheap torque wrench to put the lug nuts back on our check them every few hundred miles on a new trailer since they tend to come loose until you get some road grime in there. As part of this tire changing kit a ramp or bottle jack able to sustain 50% of the full trailer weight would be very helpful. If course knowing where to put the jack is also every important to know before you need it. Technically this kit has 3 items in it but if you get a flat you will need all 3 to fix it. Or even if you call a service or somebody stops to help you, it's better to have the tools to complete the jobs.  Check your lug nuts before every trip(even  just down the driveway)

We have also included a bonus item

Your check lists

We have the following check lists and you can find a link to the detailed lists we use here.

Pre departure - these are items we do the day before we leave if we want to get a jump on packing or if we have some extra time.

Departure - this is our detailed list for inside and outside the day we are leaving. As an example our outside list starts as you walk out of the trailer and goes around the trailer in a clock wise direction.

Arrival- we have both internal and external and we use these even if we just stop for lunch. Better to check and verify than forget you left the waterpwater on while traveling.

Storage- this check list helps us get ready to store the RV for a few weeks or a few months. This could also double as winterization check list. Things like empty the hot water tank and turn off propane.

Day 19 covid quarantine

Covid day 19,
It's about 12 days from when our#2020 caravan was supposed to start. We should be trying to use up all the food in our refrigerator, packing the airstream, loading up the truck and generally getting ready to embark on another multi-month long trip across the country. Visiting National parks and states we haven't been too yet. But on day 19 it's a little depressing to not be enjoying the nervous excitement of packing and getting ready for extended adventure. Don't get me wrong. We are very grateful that we are healthy, working, and using our quarantine time to increase our 2000 price puzzles skills and get some more hours as a part 107 pilot. Both things are easily done while safer at home.
So as we think about cancelling over 35 camp ground reservation and how we might salvage the summer of 2020 we just wanted to share our feelings that it's ok to be a little down for a few minutes or hours. But then think about your new 2020 season as we are confident it will be like no other season. Filled with great adventures, even if those adventures are going to the grocery store and finding toilet paper filling the shelves.

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First Trip completed.

Our first Trip down many more to go.
That right we completed our first trip about 2 hours aways and everything went pretty good. We got packed up and ready to leave on Sat about noon.
Friday evening we loaded up some groceries, and did our internal checklist. We did end up leaving a few items not marked complete (like leave the AC on since it was over 90F).
Saturday morning we started our external checklist reinstalling the hitch, checking awning, torquing lug nuts and adding air to the tires. By noon everything in side and outside were checked off.

We had about a 3 hour drive and arrived at Cedar key about 3pm. We grabbed our paperwork ( the office called just before 1pm to let us know they would close at 1 and we should grab our paperwork and pull into our site.) We did just that having checked out the campground layout before hand we knew exactly where to go. The spots were well marked and we pulled right in. Our first time we had to level(but really think we would have been fine without it).

What is wrong witht the AC, its hot out here.

We slowly got set up checking each step on our checklist. After connecting power we got set up and turned on the AC as the temps about 96 and it was hot out. But after the AC was on for about 1 hour it stopped. Oh crap it was way to hot to not have AC for a week or even the night. The control panel in the airstream had an error code and the surge protector had a P7 error. We quickly worked to figure out how to reset the AC ( FYI it will reset after about 2 minutes on its own) but we were trying several button configurations. to no avail. Then after giving up to regroup and look up more info the AC rest on its own. After a few hours the AirStrream cooled off and we were able to get inside and start our first camping trip. The AC and actually all the power went out several times that day and throughout the week in the hot afternoons the power would go out. (we eventually figured out the surge protector was doing its job since the Hertz were going over 60.

The rest of the trip was un eventful as we used everything, showers, toilet, stove, sink, AC, water pump and city water, hot water heater, everything we could. It all worked as it should and our first trip was amazing. MaryAnn was even heard saying this wasnt camping it was staying in fancy hotel room outside in nature.
The truck did great getting 14.7 MPG pulling the trailer even through stop and go traffic for 2 hours.

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Getting ready for our new Air Stream RV.

Here is a list of all the stuff we gathered together for our new Air Stream

We thought we would be picking up our Air Stream  at the end of March 2018 but after it was damaged being unloaded from factory we are still waiting for our trailer. But that has provided us more time to prepare. We a trying to not buy much in order to verify what we need. When we bought our boat it came with everything we needed as the couple lived in it for 4 years in the Bahamas so we didnt have to go through the trouble to figure out what we needed or where to put it. I am kind of looking forward to doing this in the RV.

Camping Equipment:
Power
    Progressive power surge protector
    Dual 30 amp to 50 amp converter.
Water
    Drinking water hose
    Charcoal drinking water filter
Sewer
    20' dual connection sewer hose and connectors

Internet Connectivity
    Weboost OTR from Wilson

Misc items:
    Velcro straps multi sizes
    3M command strip towel holder

We did it!

Thats right we did it. 

We went to the Tampa RV show on Friday  Jan 19th. Today Jan 21st we were able to make a deal on a 30' Flying Cloud RB. We are now Airstream owners.

We are very excited but also a little nervous. Not about the new trailer but all the stuff we have to do.
Below is the short list of things we have to do

• Buy a truck - we waited to until we settled on a trailer before we bought a truck to make sure we matched the truck to the trailer.
• Find someplace to keep the trailer once we bring it home.
• Start to plan some trips

Well a little anticlimactic day since we did everything via phone and email and while we sit here and watch videos on the Flying Clouds and create lists of all the things we now have to do to get ready to pick up or trailer by about April.

Airstream 2018.5 30' Flying Cloud RB

Still have to figure out how to set up and office in the bedroom so I can work from the road. Which means we have to put on Cell phone booster, get a big antena and see if we need a router and wifi booster. We expect to mostly be in campgrounds to get started but need good connectivity to keep working fora few more years before we go snowbird.

Well will be hard to sleep tonight and a busy week trying to get these things started so thats all for today.