Great American Road Trip (1 Viewer)

ceejayt

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We have been planning this for some time now as part of our retirement and it is finally coming together for next year. From February to September we will ship our motorhome to Baltimore and spend 8 months touring North America.
Once you start planning, you realise just what a big country this is and how vast some of the distances are and we have a lot to tick off on our bucket list. Anyway, the map below shows what we believe we can achieve in 34 weeks (and around 14,000 miles). I have a week by week plan including mileage distances and main sights to visit.

Starting October when I get back from my 500 mile walk for charity (just giving page here!!!), I will keep this thread and my blog updated with progress and information which I hope will be of interest to others who may plan to do something similar.
The Tour.jpg
 

Cleve

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Well done and all the best. I hope to do something similar but it is a couple of years off yet!:france::wine::france:
 
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ceejayt

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Well done and all the best. I hope to do something similar but it is a couple of years off yet!:france::wine::france:
thanks. Well I hope the information in here helps you down the track. It's daunting but doable

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Would be interested in the cost of the shipping, and good luck with the trip.
Cheers
Ed

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injebreck99

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Any USA tour should never fail to visit the Western Rockies IMO, good luck with the tour.
 
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Wow, brilliant, something we hope to do in future, will be following closely :)
 

klaatu

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I'm guessing you're going clockwise?

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Your lines look a bit straight to me could do with a bit more flex, I think chatting to people on route will give you ideas and other destinations as you go..
Michael Portillos has a great tv series about American railroads as we speak. Find out about the local history of an area and enjoy a little at a time.

The US is a huge and interesting country with a mix like you don't get anywhere else. Sometimes if there is somewhere miles away that has some appeal then you always have the option of parking your motorhome in a secure place and hopping on a plane for a few days. Internal flights are cheep as chips and it would break up what could be a lot of unnecessary driving. Looks like a great trip however you go about it....(y)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06zzfy5
 
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CWH

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Wow!

Have a read of "Blue Highways - a journey into America" by William Least Heat-Moon. Written 1983 but an interesting travelog. He follows the backroads rather than the mainroads. We did the same on our trips to USA - never used the interstates except to get to or from the airports. We didn't do the whole country though! just up & down the Rockies from Arizona & New Mexico to Montana & North Dakota - love the mountains so much we did this area every time; can't count how many times we crossed the Continental Divide. We were in a car too, not a MH, using motels; and didn't plan anything other than the flights & the first night (they won't let you in if you don't have somewhere to go) - we like to just make things up on the hoof depending what we see and stuff we're told about on the way.

You're going to have such a great time, I'm already excited for you! And I'm so looking forward to your updates & photos.

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ceejayt

ceejayt

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Would be interested in the cost of the shipping, and good luck with the trip.
Cheers
Ed
Shipping one way Antwerp to Baltimore is €4000 but that is for my 9m van. You lay by the cubic metre and they say every cm counts and my vehicle is 68.3 cubic metres at 47 euros per cubic metre and then various customs charges etc on top.
In addition, optional marine insurance is 0.9% of the value of the vehicle - which we will be taking in case of loss at sea.
Slightly cheaper shipping back and then there is the cost of motorhome insurance whilst we are there which will be something like US$2k - still to confirm that.
Other Problems/things to think about:
House won't be insured after more than 90 days absence - trying to work that one out
Motorhome insurance can be suspended whilst we are away (NFU)
Switching our car insurance to fire, theft and accidental damage whilst we are away and SORNing both vehicles
Trying to get travel insurance for 8 month trip - again, current insurance limited to a 60 day trip

So, a few things to muddle through yet!
 

BreweryDave

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What a fantastic plan - good luck!

I assume you've covered this in your planning - but wouldn't it be cheaper to by an rv over there with a buy back option rather than a fortune in shipping and expenses??? Just wondered since I thought of doing that!
That said - the RS Elysian is a top van!
 
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ceejayt

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What a fantastic plan - good luck!

I assume you've covered this in your planning - but wouldn't it be cheaper to by an rv over there with a buy back option rather than a fortune in shipping and expenses??? Just wondered since I thought of doing that!
That said - the RS Elysian is a top van!
That used to be straightforward because many dealers would offer a sell and buy back option but that does not appear to be the case now. Two years ago we hired an RV with cruise canada for 10 days, paid a fortune and hated it - you do need your own stuff and this way we take all our home comforts with us.

Let's say £9,000 all in for shipping there and back - that's a 34 week holiday for around £37 per night - any other costs would be the same - except fuel which will be MUCH cheaper in my more humble 3 litre diesel than some 6 litre gas guzzler.

In the papers you see many cruise offers for perhaps 30 or even 60 nights that cost more than this - I think shipping is good value and you have a known quantity with the vehicle.

:)

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ceejayt

ceejayt

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Wow!

Have a read of "Blue Highways - a journey into America" by William Least Heat-Moon. Written 1983 but an interesting travelog. He follows the backroads rather than the mainroads. We did the same on our trips to USA -
Thanks - just bought it on iBooks - looks interesting. I also have an old copy of Frommers Travel America by RV but the best book I have at the moment is Dream Routes of the Americas
 
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CWH

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Thanks - just bought it on iBooks - looks interesting. I also have an old copy of Framers Travel America by RV but the best book I have at the moment is Dream Routes of the Americas
Let me know what you think of it!
 
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Looks fabulous. I understand your plan is more elaborate than the map posted but if not covered Monument and Zion are also a must.

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Feb 22, 2008
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Looks fabulous. I understand your plan is more elaborate than the map posted but if not covered Monument and Zion are also a must.
 
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ceejayt

ceejayt

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Looks fabulous. I understand your plan is more elaborate than the map posted but if not covered Monument and Zion are also a must.
There are just so many 'musts' and it is a balance between doing so many miles and being able to bimble along and stop off at will. I have tried to allow for both.

I have been to Vancouver a couple of times with work and have always wanted to go to Alaska. Never realised that it would be 1000 miles from Vancouver just to get to Alaska before you start touring - and then, of course, all the way back again.
Similarly, we ar5e going to 'do Yosemite' but will have to skip Yellowstone because it is a 1000 mile detour from the route.
However, the route is 'advisory' on a week by week basis and subject to change at our whim should we decide something looks more important.

Don't want to be so prescriptive it takes the fun out of it.
 
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Sounds utterly wonderful.

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injebreck99

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Wow!

Have a read of "Blue Highways - a journey into America" by William Least Heat-Moon. Written 1983 but an interesting travelog. He follows the backroads rather than the mainroads. We did the same on our trips to USA - never used the interstates except to get to or from the airports. We didn't do the whole country though! just up & down the Rockies from Arizona & New Mexico to Montana & North Dakota - love the mountains so much we did this area every time; can't count how many times we crossed the Continental Divide. We were in a car too, not a MH, using motels; and didn't plan anything other than the flights & the first night (they won't let you in if you don't have somewhere to go) - we like to just make things up on the hoof depending what we see and stuff we're told about on the way.

You're going to have such a great time, I'm already excited for you! And I'm so looking forward to your updates & photos.

That's our sort of trip to a T, done it many times the same as yourselves, we never get tired of travelling the Rockies area, Wyoming is our favourite state, and Cody WY is our favourite town.
 

CWH

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That's our sort of trip to a T, done it many times the same as yourselves, we never get tired of travelling the Rockies area, Wyoming is our favourite state, and Cody WY is our favourite town.
Same here for favourite state and town, though there are loads of others that we liked too. The museum in Cody is absolutely fantastic. One of the ranches we worked on is just near Greybull, about 50 miles to the east.
 
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A technical question, what happens about 240v electrics I assume you have fitted and the 110v you'll be using in the US?

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lorger

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After a short 3 week USA road trip last year we have vowed to go back once we have more time so will follow this with interest. Good luck
 

klaatu

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Do you anticipate any problems with visas? As I understand it, you can get a 6 month visa for the US. You would then need to apply for a further 6 months when returning to the US from Canada. I have read conflicting reports where some people say that this isn't a problem (particularly if you can show that you have travel booked for a return to the UK) and others who say that it is now very difficult to get that second visa.
 
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deleted-member02

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I'm sure you've done masses of research and planning.
Don't know if you're familiar with it but I've found the Wynn's blog very interesting, hope you have a great adventure !
http://www.gonewiththewynns.com

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