Houston -everything in between- LA.

[Koos]

Furnace creek

Hello,
Thanks for this forum, I like to read the information here.

What's the experience of Death Valley/Furnace Creek in September? We plan on arriving there somewhere halfway September, with an RV. The RV rental company gives a warning to operate the RV with EXTREME CARE (it's caps on their site too) in July and August. So what can go wrong? And how about September? Is the road melting? Will the engine overheat? Larger chance on tire blowouts?

I see that average temperature is about 105F during the day, it can be that hot here in Houston. Not a big problem I'd say...

Thanks,
Koos

[Koos]

Hello again!

So here is our big plan, please tell us what you think from your experience!

From Houston to North Texas, Amarillo.
West on I-40 and big pieces of Route 66.
Grand Canyon, two nights.
Route 66 to Kingman, Bullhead City, North to Hoover Dam, and Las Vegas.
West to Death Valley.
West to Inyo National Forest: Mt. Whitney Portal, June Lake, see some big trees.
Yosemite.
San Francisco.
South on Highway 1, hopefully some whale watching, and finally LA and fly back to Houston.

All of this will take three weeks. Too short in my opinion, but this is the deal, and every holiday is too short in the end.
The total distance will be like 3100 miles, so that's 150 miles per day. But we want to see some things on the way, so in the end some days will be longer than others. We want to stay in National Parks, (Texas) State Parks and we have a Passport America pass. For food we want to use the little kitchen in the RV for the most part.

Regards,
Koos

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

You won't have anything to worry about going through DV in your RV during Sept, as long as it is permitted by the rental company. Yes it will still be hot, but many other vehicles go through there. The reason RV companies have restrictions in the hottest months is because of the damage the heat could possibly cause in the rear of the motorhome, more to do with plastics and glued surfaces etc. [Well that is what was reported by a person connected to the industry.] Your trip looks like fun and with 3 weeks to spare will be reasonably comfortable. I take it you are planning at least 2 overnight stops on route to the Grand canyon ? One thing to remember is that it is slower going in an RV and if you are not familiar with them and the handling, it could be a long day to Amarillo and too far if you are picking yp the rental that morning. It takes quite a time to do the paper work and get shown how everything operates. In some instances [like Cruise America] you have to sit through a 20 min video before anything else.

I would recommend booking an RV site at Grand canyon and Yosemite ASAP. Even though it is out of peak season there are a limited number of RV sites.

When travelling on 2 lane roads like over Tioga pass and on Highway 1, if you have cars stuck behind use the turn outs to pull off the road and let them through. It's easier on everyones' nerves and you will normally get a friendly wave and toot of the horn for your trouble.

If you have any other questions just ask, but please keep all questions about this trip in one thread. That way it is easier for everyone to follow and you will get the best advice without things being repeated or lost in other threads, thanks.

[Koos]

Alright, thanks for joining them and for the quick answer.

No we weren't planning on going to Grand Canyon in two days, we want to stay there for two nights. And they're already booked. Yosemite is full, we cannot stay in the park. But we booked two places on either sides of the Tioga pass, so we'll have to do that in one day (driving the pass and visiting the valley).

Here's a more detailed plan:
1 - Houston to Forth Worth, to friends.
2 - Fort Worth to Caprock Canyon
3 - Caprock Canyon to Palo Duro Canyon
4 - Palo Duro Canyon via Cadillac Ranch to somewhat past Albequerque
5 - Alb. to Petrified Forest, stay in Holbrook
6 - Walnut Canyon and/or Sunset Crater, stay in Cameron
7 - Drive along Grand Canyon, stay in Grand Canyon
8 - Stay in Grand Canyon
9 - To Williams
10 - To Bullhead City
11 - To Hoover Dam, stay in Pahrump. We don't want to stay in Las Vegas, since we're travelling with little children and they would have more fun jumping in a pool at an RV park.
12 - To Furnace Creek
13 - Mt. Whitney Portal, maybe via Darwin to see a ghosttown
14 - June Lake
15 - Tioga Pass, Yosemite, stay west of Yosemite
16 - To SF, stay south of SF
17 - Not sure yet, thinking of whale watching in Monterey and staying in Montana de Oro SP
18-21 - Stay in LA vicinity (having some spare days)

One more question: Would it be nice to take the 178 from Pahrump and drive through Death Valley from the South (Ashford Junction), or would the 190 be just as nice?

Oh, and thanks for the tip of pulling over at Tioga Pass for other traffic, I'll keep that in mind.

[glc]

It's considerate pulling over for traffic everywhere out west on winding/mountainous roads - keep that in mind on your way down the PCH too!