RV Road Trip: Denver loop

Hi everyone

We are a group of 10 first time RV renters with 8-9 days for the following itinerary between June 27 and July 6, 2009. Can you please let us know if this 3800 mile trip is doable? Would we have quality time to see sights?
Are there any other interesting, quirky must-sees on the way? We have never been to a rodeo and want to go to one as well

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...9148,56.25&z=5

Summary of the trip:
Pick up Cruise America RV Rental, Denver, CO ->
New Belgium Brewery, Fort Collins. CO ->
Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD ->
Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Black Hills SD ->
Hot Springs, SD ->
Billings, MT ->
Bozeman, MT ->
South Entrance Rd, Albright Visitor Center Museum, Yellowstone National Park, WY ->
Grand Teton, Moose, WY ->
Jackson, WY ->
Salt Lake City, UT ->
Cross over intersection of 4 states: AZ, UT, NM, CO (near Nos Pos, AZ) ->
White Sands,NM ->
El Paso, TX ->
Roswell, NM ->
Return RV rental, Denver, CO

**Rodeo in WY or MT

Thanks a bunch!

Doing that many miles in that period of time can be done, but it's not going to give you any time to experience any of those places. That's over 400 miles a day which is at LEAST 8 hours you have to be DRIVING - and considerably more on secondary roads. I think you are biting off way more than you can comfortably chew and need to trim that way down - or find at least another week to add to the trip.

Hello and welcome to the R.T.A forums.

Quote:

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We are a group of 10 first time RV renters with 8-9 days for the following itinerary between June 27 and July 6, 2009. Can you please let us know if this 3800 mile trip is doable? Would we have quality time to see sights?

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You are biting off more than you can chew I'm afraid.

As glc pointed out, you could physically get around, although that would be pretty exhausting in an RV, you won't have much free time to enjoy any of the natural wonders you will come across. I presume with 10 of you there will be 2 RV's which will be even tougher to cover the ground and keep with each other.

You are going through some amazing landscapes with many NP's and to get the most of your time in the RV you want to spend some quality time in them.
Personally I would visit Rocky NP and either choose the Northern route with Badlands, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Bryce, Arches and Colorado NM or the Southern portion of your route only and see some of the great parks like Mesa Verde, Canyon De Chelley,Monument valley, Grand canyon, Zion, Bryce canyon and Arches etc.

Either that or cut out the Northeastern part of your trip and go more direct towards Yellowstone and your most Southerly part of your route and go through Santa Fe.

Thanks a lot for your advice, glc and Dave

Based on your recommendations, I cut down the 3800 mile trip to 3000:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...25&ie=UTF8&z=5

Is this doable?

3800 or 3000 miles, we plan to stop only at the following places:
Rocky Mountain National Park
New Belgium Brewery, Ft. Collins
Corn Palace, Mitchell
Crazy Horse
Mt. Rushmore
Badlands
Hot Springs
Yellowstone
Grand Teton
Jackson Hole

(If we go with the 3800, White Sands, NM and Roswell, NM)

Are the above stops doable if we go with the 3800 mile itinerary?

Even with the 3000 mile option you are pushing boundary's in my opinion.

Yes, you can cover the ground, but it will take almost 350 miles a day to do so, which in an RV, I would say is close to 7 hours a day travelling and then a few hours and a nights camping at the places you have listed. It really is about how you want your trip to work and if you are happy to be on the go and breeze through these places, it is doable. That said you could spend 5 days in Yellowstone and the Tetons etc.

It really is down to how you want to spend your time.

I can't make a comment on the Corn palace as I have never been there and if it's what you want to do, or there is another reason for heading that way then fine, but for me the time spent on the 500 mile "diversion" would be better spent in Yellowstone or the Tetons.

I agree with Dave. Sure you can do the drives you've laid out, but if all you're going to be doing is spending 8-10 hours a day on the road and spending an hour each night setting up camp and another hour or two gathering the crew to get back on the road each morning, just so you can drive through some of the most beautiful places on Earth, then I have to ask: What's the point? With only 10 days, I'd seriously recommend that you keep this trip as well under 3000 miles as you possibly can. The first thing I'd jettison is Mitchell, SD. While the Corn Palace is neat, and makes a worthwhile stop if you happen to be driving by town on I-90. It is NOT worth the extra 500 miles of driving required to add it to your itinerary. Spend that extra day in Yellowstone instead, a MUCH better use of your time. Again, you should not be trying to add things to your trip, even at the 'reduced' 3000 mile length. Leave out Mitchell, aim for 2500 miles and enjoy the trip and the scenery, rather than just spending all day and all night in your vehicles.

AZBuck

I saw your post and I see your using Google Maps. I don't know how big your RV is but for 10 people I'm hoping it is a Large or Extra Large. It seems you would be well advised to have GPS on board and it might be appropriate to secure a commercial unit.

I know of a website that serves Truckers and Rvers, you can find a lot of information and prices about PC based and portable GPS Navigations units. The PC miler and World Nav are currently the industry standards, as far as I know. Feel free to do your own due diligence and remember Google is your friend.

We are a group of 10 first time RVers on our first road trip!

The 10-day trip in last week of June encompasses Denver - Rocky Mtn National Park - Hot Springs, SD - Crazy Horse, SD - Mt. Rushmore - Billings, MT - Yellowstone - Jackson Hole (rodeo) - Grand Teton - Arches National Park.

For the night, I am debating between boondocking and camping at a full service facility with electric hookups, etc. We are renting two RVs (30' and 25') from Cruise America and are wondering what your advice is.

Hot Showers and stove are heated by the propane tank. Electricity is required for microwave, A/C and wall outlets.

Assuming moderate use, does anyone have an estimate of how often I would need to refill the propane tank and use dump stations?

Hi,
We mixed it up between no service sites and hook ups and topped up as and when we could. In the NP campgrounds they often do not have hook ups but often they have dump stations and fresh water facilities. They also have toilet/shower blocks so using them can save on water usage and storage and helps ease the morning rush for the shower and loo.
It's tough to give an estimate for water, either topping up or emptying out but you can find public dump stations, some free and some charge. Propane shouldn't be a problem. Four of us [all adult] used about 1/2 a tank over a fortnight. I would say 3-4 nights for water. You should have a push button start generator on board so you can run the appliances without flattening the battery, but these are usually charged at about $3 an hour by the rental company. If we wasn't hooked up we didn't run it for more than hour a night, just if the AC/lights /Micro were being used to take the load.

We are a group of 11 on our first RV road trip doing a Denver loop via Rocky Mtn National Park - Hot Springs, SD - Crazy Horse, SD - Mt. Rushmore - Billings, MT - Yellowstone - Jackson Hole (rodeo) - Grand Teton - Arches National Park: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sour...25&ie=UTF8&z=6

Can you please help us fill any missing cost estimates?
RV Rental Cost
Camping + dumpstations/RV*refilling*fee: $100/day
Gas
Food (Breakfast, lunch,* dinner, snacks): $30/person/day
Drinks
Entrance fees for parks, entrance fees for memorials and musuems: $50/person/day

For a major expense like your RV rental, you'll really need to get quotes. This is the sort of thing where you can get hard numbers, so you won't need to start guessing estimates.

With $30 a day per person, you've got a lot of money to work with, and you should certainly be able to fit drinks within that.

For gas costs, you can use the fuel cost calculator on the left side of the screen. Remember, you'll probably drive at least 20% farther than your point to point distances from a computer program, and I'd be surprised if you get more than 10 mpg with the RVs, but that will depend on the models.

A national parks pass will cost $80 and cover everyone inside a single vehicle for admission fees (camping and other extras are not included) for an entire year. If National Parks are a large portion of your trip, then you are being very generous there.

Of course, its always better to budget too much, than not enough!