NYC to LA

[DaveyBoyManc]

Hey guys 😊

I posted on here a while ago about doing NYC to LA in 14 days next April. I've had serious internet issues since & have not been able to reply to the replies I got from some of you. Can't even find the thread now so just wanted to thank those of you that gave me advice.

We've since changed a good few details (routes, times, travel mode etc).

Originally there were 4-5 of us doing it in a pick-up, over 14 days. We've now changed to travelling in my friends RV, and now there are 7 of us doing the trip - over 21 days. As I'm from the UK, it'll take us 2 days to get back from LA so we've got 19 solid days of road-tripping, with the remaining 2 days to get back.
There are now 4 of us out of the 7, who can drive, so we'll be taking it in turns to do shifts at the wheel.
Here is a list of the stops we'll be making. Let me know what you guys think please :-)

New York City NY
Red Bank NJ
Atlantic City NJ
Philadelphia PA
Washington DC
Smoky Mtns NC
Nashville TN
Memphis TN
New Orleans LA
San Antonio TX
Hamilton Pool TX
Waco TX
Fort Worth TX
Roswell NM
Meteor Crater AZ
Grand Canyon AZ
Four Corners AZ
Horseshoe Bend AZ
Las Vegas NV
Sierra Nevada NV
Myers Flat CA
San Francisco CA
Los Angeles CA

[Lifemagician]

By clicking on your own name and going to find posts or find threads, you will find your previous thread.

Your itinerary looks fine to me, though I have not checked the distances between your stops. You might consider going to Four Corners and Horseshoe Bend before the Grand Canyon, and then enter the Grand Canyon on route 64, along the Colorado River. There are many view point which are easily accessible along that drive, and a spectacular entrance into the NP. Besides the drive from Four Corners to the Grand Canyon, especially that bit between Kayenta and Cameron is a very scenic drive.

If Meteor Crater is a must for you, then it is a fair bit of bactracking, either way you do it. But going to Four Corners before the GC will enable you to enter the GC the same way the Colorado does, and leave the GC on 64 to Williams, before heading to LV. It would be worthwhile to do the detour on old route 66 from Seligman to Kingman on your way to LV.

Do you plan on staying within the GCNP? If so, be sure to book your accommodation as soon as the booking window opens.

Lifey

[DaveyBoyManc]

Ahhh, so that's how you find it. Thanks for that :-)

Great advice! Never thought about the alternative route through GC. I'll check that out.
There are a few places on the list where we'll literally only be spending a few hours at a time (Red Bank, Philadelphia) and probably a few others, depending on the times. Still may need some tweaking, as far as stop-offs are concerned. I'm not too bothered about Nashville & Memphis, so figured if we head down from NC through Atlanta on the way to NO, it may save some time, considering they would be 'over night' stays.

Haven't yet quite managed to look into RV parks, and not sure on state specific speed limits - which I'm hoping doesn't make too much of a difference where travelling times are concerned.

[DonnaR57]

In an RV, you may find yourself going a little slower than you would if driving a car. Not so much the speed limit. But, an RV doesn't have the ability to go from 0mph to 65mph in -30 seconds like many cars can do. It will also take you a lot more time (and $$) to fill up the tank. Finally, with 7 people, every stop is going to take longer than you think it will.

The NO to San Antonio run is about 550 miles, btw, which is a good 11 hours in a car, probably more like 12 or 13 in an RV.


Donna

[DaveyBoyManc]

Right, that's what I though (time-wise). Good point about the stops too. Maybe it WOULD be a better idea to leave Nashville & Memphis out then, so as to try & get some time back. I can always go see them some point in the future I suppose.
Some of our long drives are a daunting thought, but with us taking it in turn to drive, I'm hoping we don't need any unnecessary stops.
Thanks for the tips Donna. Any more would be greatly appreciated.

[Lifemagician]

In your first post you mention picking up a rental car. If this is an RV trip, it changes quite a few things. For one thing, you will find most RV parks on the outskirts of most cities. Since other than in a few of the major cities you are not going to be able to rely on public transport, you would have to take a taxi to commute into any of the cities if you plan to visit bars or restaurants or see the city. I would also urge you in that case to reserve your spot in the GC as soon as the booking window opens. Keep an eye on the website.

I would also then give Meteor Crater a miss. There is Sunset Crater much closer to the GC, which you would be able to visit after Horseshoe Bend and before the GC.

Lifey

[DaveyBoyManc]

Sunset Crater WAS on the original list, so I'll swap it back for Meteor Crater if it'll save time. One thing id hate to do is rush this trip - so anywhere that takes us too far off track, I'd like to try & avoid.

We were originally using my friends pick-up, but have now managed to get an RV, so as to try & save having to be in specific places to bed down - and to give us more time on the road.

The plan was to spend a few hours at the GC, and then drive to 4 Corners, where we'll be spending the night - so we won't be staying near GC.
Some sights we wanna see, will need to be 'open' (during daytime hours), other sights don't necessarily need to be. It's proving a bit difficult to plan so that we end up in certain places during opening hours - but I suppose the planning is all part of the fun :-)

Thank you so much for your advice guys. It really is helping a lot - so if you have any more ideas, they'd be greatly appreciated.

[DaveyBoyManc]

Sorry, just realised what you meant. By 'pick-up', I was referring to my friends pick-up truck. Not sure of the correct term :-/

[Southwest Dave]

You will need to check that your friends RV has enough seat belts to accommodate 7 people when on the move as being buckled up is the law in most [if not all] States. We love to travel by RV when in the States, but trying to do a lot of miles in a day [500 plus] isn't really fun for anyone. As mentioned, everyone in the vehicle needs to be restrained and are not allowed to move around the vehicle while in motion and the dinnette benches are not the most comfortable to be seated on for long periods. The real joy for us comes from those nights around the campfire in a State or National park, out in nature, but parking and visiting City's can be awkward and time consuming due to the size of the vehicle, and it appears to me that you plan on a lot of City's. If you were heading more direct towards the National parks etc of Colorado and Utah and the GC before the coast, I would say great. With the miles and City's you are adding going south, I would actually consider renting 2 cars and stay in Motels. It's not to say what you have planned won't work and be enjoyable, but you do need to weigh up the pros and cons of travelling by RV with such a big group and another plus for 2 vehicles is that if a couple of people get grumpy with each other during the trip you can rotate who goes in which vehicle to freshen things up. An RV is a big vehicle to drive but can start to feel small as a home with just 4 people, with 7.. ?

[DaveyBoyManc]

See, this is what I love about this forum - I could never have considered this stuff without the help of people on here :-)

There are a guaranteed 6 of us going - and possibly 7. But at least 6. Will need to talk to my friend about the seat-belt scenario. I'd love for us all to be together, rather than in seperate vehicles. I might need to rethink some of the route so we can add more outdoorsy type of places, rather than cities.

Again, thanks for the advice. It's all a huge help & I'm glad I joined here. To be honest, I never knew much about the geography of America until I started planning this trip, so it's all a learning curve for me.

Thank you :-)