Great American Road Trip (2 Viewers)

[CWH]

Could have been, it was about halfway down the street on the left side after coming round the bend coming up from Ft Washakie.

Possible; it's certainly on the left! It's many years since I was there, when the clientele WAS all cowboys (including ourselves) through the non-snow days, then jet-skiers in the winter.
I just love the Wind River area.

 

[injebreck99]

Possible; it's certainly on the left! It's many years since I was there, when the clientele WAS all cowboys (including ourselves) through the non-snow days, then jet-skiers in the winter.
I just love the Wind River area.

I love that area too, in fact, WY is definitely my favourite state.

 

[CWH]

I love that area too, in fact, WY is definitely my favourite state.

Spent many hours in the saddle in WY, rounding up & driving cattle... the stuff of dreams

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[ceejayt]

So, following some very long queuing at the US Embassy in London (you know that feeling like at a theme park - every time you think you can see the end in sight - it isn't) - we have our B1 tourist visa enabling us to visit the US with our motorhome for up to 6 months.

If you want the detailed version of the process I have blogged it here.

The route planning has been changed somewhat and I will keep giving updates here on the shipping process etc but as of today, we are one step closer and we have our flights booked for April 10th.

 

[Spud]

Hi, I trust you booked your flights after you had your visa's confirmed!

Spud

 

[ceejayt]

Hi, I trust you booked your flights after you had your visa's confirmed!

Spud

Actually no, but because we had two weeks planned in Orlando from April 10th so now I am switching the return date to early October (keeping within the 6 month limit) . I also now need to take out the travel insurance for the US which for 180 days for myself, wife and 13 year old grandson is £594 - I only have cover for expenses incurred after the cover is taken out

It was a relief to get the Visas and much easier than I had imagined - I went prepared with lots of paperwork but the only thing they asked to see was the Grandson's birth certificate and consent letter from parents. Didn't ask about finances etc. I guess when we actually fly they are going to want to see we have return flights and we will get another grilling on arrival in Orlando.

Of course, Trump may change all of tha (and not for the better)t.

C

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[PeteH]

Could have been, it was about halfway down the street on the left side after coming round the bend coming up from Ft Washakie.

Just before the "General" Store?. We ate at the bar cafe right on the corner. Rustic Pine?.

Would second getting assistance cover from Good Sam, Another thing to look out for is Campground America. You can get 50% of sites in midweek some places. For about 30bucks a year. Used to be available in Campingworld Stores?. KOA Membership gets you a small discount as does Good Sam.

Wouldn't worry too much about Trump, I suspect in the final analysis he will be better for Americans than the woolly Liberals and the rest of Europe thinks. When was the last time the sort of retoric he was espousing in an election actually carried through?. Obama was trying to put stuff though, in the end it was well watered down?. And the Clinton`s? what did Bill achieve?. Apart from more Wealth and a reputation as bad a D-T

 

[ceejayt]

Just an update - I have been quite active on rvforum.net over the last week getting route suggestions and changes - they have been a great resource so far.

My route maps can all be found under this menu heading North American Road Trip - I would say the first six stages are pretty good now - waiting for suggestions on stages 8 through 11 and if anyone on here has any suggestions then chuck them in - all suggestions welcome!

Chris

 

[Gaston aires]

We RV,d just a little corner of Colorado once. Took us 3 weeks. Fantastic area, but vast, over 1000 miles.
Good luck, and try not to hurry and do too much, better to do less but properly.
Phil

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[ceejayt]

A further update on procedure and costs of taking the trip for those that are interested.

100 days to go to departure

 

[ceejayt]

That 100 days went quickly. Six months in North America is nearly upon us.

Tomorrow we leave for Antwerp - heading down from sunny (?) Yorkshire, channel tunnel, overnight stop at Cite Europe then Wednesday to the docks at Antwerp. I will post a precis on the experience of getting through customs checks etc

You can track our progress over the next 6 months as we have a live tracking map which you can see here. It updates at 10 minute intervals whilst switched on and you can also send and receive messages directly through the map or even send a location request if it is switched off and will be advised of our location the next time the unit is switched on.

The tracking will only be on for the next couple of days after which the vehicle will be on a boat to Baltimore - we pick it up on May 1st and the tracker will be switched on again at that point. We have the trip broken down into 11 legs and you can see each leg and our planned sight seeing stops from the North American Road Trip menu with the first leg being Washington to Foxburg The plans are pretty detailed - I doubt we will manage it all and may well do other things instead but it is a good start. Other than the first two nights after picking up the vehicle we have booked nothing and plan to keep it that way, travelling and stopping as the mood takes us.

Stocked up with Three Feel at Home SIM cards and we have the iBoost long range wifi so hopefully we can keep regular updates flowing.

Definitely both nervous and excited now.

 

[fred flintstone]

Good luck, hope you have a fun filled trip.

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[flatpackchicken]

Good Luck, Hope you have a great time hope to be keeping track, by the way I see you got 3 x 3 sim cards nice one, but to make them last longer than 2 months at a time just turn on when you need it as it does not just last 2 months from when you turn it on as every day you use it counts down only. I used my one for 5 months in Sicily and 3months in Scandinavia total 8 months and they did not turn it off.
Regards Garry Flatpackchicken

 

[Kingham]

@ceejayt This is the first time I've seen your plans as I wasn't on the forum when you originally posted, but WOW !!... That's one hell of a road trip.

Best of luck and I hope all goes well.

 

[jongood]

Sounds a wonderful trip, hope you have a fab time.

How are you finding camping costs?

We ve been in california for the past 12 days and had looked long and hard at RV but ended up going for car and motel but looking around some of the campgrounds/ SPs were surprised at the prices they were charging. We called in a quite grotty campground at Big Sur and they started at $80 a night and saw some roadside overnight permitted parking on Ca1 and it was $28/night.

I spent some time on the RV Forum and was told that california was very expensive and less boondocking but really interested to know how the rest of the country compares for future reference.

This was suggested as a good app for campgrounds and parking etc.
https://www.allstays.com/
But again, they dont seem keen to tell you how much.

Jon

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[Larrynwin]

Sounds a wonderful trip, hope you have a fab time.

How are you finding camping costs?

We ve been in california for the past 12 days and had looked long and hard at RV but ended up going for car and motel but looking around some of the campgrounds/ SPs were surprised at the prices they were charging. We called in a quite grotty campground at Big Sur and they started at $80 a night and saw some roadside overnight permitted parking on Ca1 and it was $28/night.

I spent some time on the RV Forum and was told that california was very expensive and less boondocking but really interested to know how the rest of the country compares for future reference.

This was suggested as a good app for campgrounds and parking etc.
https://www.allstays.com/
But again, they dont seem keen to tell you how much.

Jon

When on RV trip in 2012 KOA campsites cost us around 28$ a night and we used them for our complete stay of a month and 3k miles.

 

[ceejayt]

Sounds a wonderful trip, hope you have a fab time.

How are you finding camping costs?

We ve been in california for the past 12 days and had looked long and hard at RV but ended up going for car and motel but looking around some of the campgrounds/ SPs were surprised at the prices they were charging. We called in a quite grotty campground at Big Sur and they started at $80 a night and saw some roadside overnight permitted parking on Ca1 and it was $28/night.

I spent some time on the RV Forum and was told that california was very expensive and less boondocking but really interested to know how the rest of the country compares for future reference.

This was suggested as a good app for campgrounds and parking etc.
https://www.allstays.com/
But again, they dont seem keen to tell you how much.

Jon

Will have to wait and see sin camping costs. We have got a Passport America card which halves the costs at a number of sites. So far, only booked two nights outside Washington for when we arrive at a KOA and that was $67 a night. I expect to spend a lot less than that when outside of the most popular places, plus some boon docking and Walmarts to keep costs down. Will keep a track and keep you posted for sure.

Have the all stays app thanks and a number of others as well.

 

[cliffanger]

Only just seen this thread - hope you have a good trip to Antwerp, and a fantastic experience in the US. Looking forward to following your adventures.

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[ceejayt]

Well, all dropped off at Antwerp - what's the collective noun for many many hairy arsed lorry drivers? There were plenty off them at the port but all very friendly. Pretty easy procedure in the end with helpful staff but one or two issues to work out - the detail is here for those who want to know what they would need to do if they ever chose to do this.

 

[jongood]

So far so good....

We were parked on the shoulder of CA1 last week when we saw an eighties B classe Hymer with Swiss plates go by.

 

[PeteH]

We, mixed full sites with a mixture of boon-docking, Walmart, and National/State park sites. The Passport America, got a Hammering 50% off (Off peak), usually midweek. KOA can be expensive, (only 10-20% discount) we used it sparingly. The "Good Sam" card usually gets a Decent discount. Look out for "Local" Camp-grounds there are odd ones (Kalona Idaho, an Amish settlement, is one such). "Fairgrounds" too sometimes can be accessed when not being used. We camped for free (with EHU) At Athens Fairground (Texas) AND got free into the Friday Night Rodeo!!. As well as getting ourselves into the Local "rag"!. The young lady who interviewed us, said we had probably seen more of the USA than Most Americans!.

Sadly you have just missed the "Brit`s" rally near Quartzite Arizona. (February), Great "hooley". Lots of decent advice from people who are doing the "Full Time" or extended travelling, and meet up most years in the desert. We where with over 20 units in 2012 and still have occasional contact with a couple, originally from Hull, who migrated over 50yrs ago. (we also met someone who lives in our village!, Weird?)

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[ceejayt]

Thanks. Getting excited now for sure

 

[veevee]

This is not a specifically camper view but we were in the USA in September and October last year and for about 10 days last week. Both times we were either on public transport or less so had a car.
It's just our feeling but on top of the large £ GBP devaluation that some actual prices in the US have risen quite a lot compared to our previous visit 2 years earlier. Our approach was it's tough to take the devaluation and it made us work a little harder to get value for money. When we had done our best we didn't beat ourselves up to get the extra small savings that may have taken a lot more effort, we said we are lucky to be here and just enjoy every moment.

 

[ceejayt]

Quick update:
The van was loaded OK at Antwerp so can stop worrying about that and just worry about the unloading and collection. Unfortunately the ship is delayed - original pick up in Baltimore was going to be May 1st - now looks like May 5th - waiting to get confirmation (and racking up a hotel bill at the same time).

I know some will be interested in costings...
The freight cost came to €58.4 per cubic metre, in addition I took out full cover marine insurance at a cost of 0.9% of the value of the vehicle. Pretty expensive insurance on a new vehicle but research tells me that 24 cargo ships are completely lost at sea every year - wasn't willing to risk it.

I have just bought a T Mobile PAYG card for the iPhone. Also expensive US$75 per month with unlimited North American calls, text and data - will be using this in the phone but also popping the SIM out a lot of the time to pop into my Huawei 4g router that I got from Motorhome WiFi and will use a sa hotspot in the MoHo (when it eventually arrives). US$65 a month gets you 6Gb of data

Itching to crack on now bit will sped the next few days exploring Baltimore and Washington - plenty to do and see.

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[ceejayt]

Motorhome gas arrived in Baltimore and been unloaded. For a text from the GROWLER saying they had set the alarm off and a google map position so I could see it was at the port. We pick it up tomorrow morning - very excited to say the least!

 

[Spud]

Can't wait to follow your journey. Hope all goes well tomorrow. Keep us posted.
Spud

 

[ceejayt]

Can't wait to follow your journey. Hope all goes well tomorrow. Keep us posted.
Spud

Will do - hoping it's all in one piece when I collect tomorrow and then first stop will be to fill up the gas after which we are booked here on the waterfront for two nights and then plan to go to Washington for some sightseeing for a couple of days. Not cheap - around US$60 per night for these first two sites but then gets much cheaper as we head out into the country and start using the State Parks

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[cliffanger]

Really looking forward to your trip - hope all goes well tomorrow.

 

[CWH]

Will do - hoping it's all in one piece when I collect tomorrow and then first stop will be to fill up the gas after which we are booked here on the waterfront for two nights and then plan to go to Washington for some sightseeing for a couple of days. Not cheap - around US$60 per night for these first two sites but then gets much cheaper as we head out into the country and start using the State Parks

Not surprised that site is more expensive - it's gorgeous! (Extended stay rates look good though.)

 

[ceejayt]

Phew! Picked it up and all in one piece. Got gas and diesel and now heading for the site.

Made much more complicated because they don't let you collect your vehicle yourself. A third party has to go and get it. He couldn't work the alarm etc. Kept setting it off.

Very early start this morning so going to take our time tidying and prepping over the next two days.

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