Need Advice On R.v. Trip On West Coast

[FZAVALA]

This is my first time driving a 32 foot RV. Me, wife and twin 7 yr old daughters are planning to drive from Los Angeles up to Seattle or maybe just Oregon on April 3 2006. We have 8 days .

Any advice on where to go with two 7yr. olds, what roads to take, any advice for a first time RV driver?

Thnx

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America forum.

The two 7 year olds (boys? girls? one of each?) will love the adventure and have a great time on this trip. Just be sure to plan a couple of substantial breaks each day at a beach or park so that they can just run, enjoy being outdoors, and burn some energy. The west coast has been the subject of a number of discussions, and you should probably look into these recent threads (Thread 1, Thread 2, Thread 3), for more detailed ideas. Do the kids have particular interests that you want to indulge along the way?

As to piloting an RV, that's not something that I have a lot of experience with, but we do offer a number of Links and More Links that you should find useful. One thing that you should be aware of is that many states have laws that require slow moving traffic to pull out when they accumulate some number of other cars behind them. These laws are seldom obeyed, but pay attention to how you're affecting traffic and try to be a good neighbor. With a rig that big, and as a first time RV'er, I'd stick to the major roads, at least until I got some experience. You don't have to necessarily stay on the Interstates, but I wouldn't wander too far off those or the wider US highways before I was sure I knew how the rig handled in a curve, how good its brakes were, how steep a grade it could handle, etc.

Finally, the pace of your trip will largely depend on whether that 8 days is for a one-way journey or a round-trip. Either will do, but the one-way would allow plenty of time to see and experience quite a bit more at a bit more of a relaxed pace.

AZBuck

[FZAVALA]

I will check out the threads 1 - 3 and thanx for your advice.

[Mark Sedenquist]

This is my first time driving a 32 foot RV.

If this is a rental RV -- you really should read this report and print it out and take it with you when you go to pick it up.

planning to drive from Los Angeles up to Seattle or maybe just Oregon on April 3 2006. We have 8 days .

That is an excellent span of time. Here is a thread I posted on about another family doing a similar trip this summer. Here is another one about a trip from San Francisco north -- althogh it has references to the wine country which is probably of little interest to your children, there are some other great suggestions!

We also publish monthly articles about all aspects of RVing and tips for easy eating on the road.

Happy Planning!

Mark