Road Trip 2008 + Greetings

[nickyboy]

Firstly hi to you all

I'm Nick and i am writing to you from London, England.

Myself and 5 friends are embarking on what should be a trip of a lifetime on 1st September.

We have a Motorhome booked at Washington DC with Cruise America and have planned so far to drive to New York for 2 days via the East Coast then onwards to Niagara Falls before dropping into PA for 3-4 days and finally heading down to where my Dad lives in Charleston SC for a week.

Other than the obvious NYC and Niagara we are looking to head off the tourist trail and explore a bit of real America. The part of PA around Greensburgh/Ligonier i know well from my Dad living there for 6 years so that part is covered but i am looking for anywhere interesting between PA and SC that we can explore on the way. We've ruled out the Blue Ridge Parkway due to the fact we havent enough time to enjoy it properly.

Couple of other things:

What is the weather likely to be like up New York state in the beginning of Sept?
Whilst at campgrounds i'm assuming your site is reserved until you check out so taking the motorhome off site during the day doesnt mean we come back to find someone has pinched our spot??

Thanks in advance

Nick

[Mass Tim]

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!

What is the weather likely to be like up New York state in the beginning of Sept?

Usually the weather is very nice - a little cooler, but certainly not cold.

Whilst at campgrounds i'm assuming your site is reserved until you check out so taking the motorhome off site during the day doesnt mean we come back to find someone has pinched our spot??

That is generally correct, though most of the campgrounds I've been to don't require a "check out" except when renting cabins, and even then, not all of the time.

[Southwest Dave]

Firstly hi to you all

I'm Nick and i am writing to you from London, England.

Myself and 5 friends are embarking on what should be a trip of a lifetime on 1st September.

We have a Motorhome booked at Washington DC with Cruise America and have planned so far to drive to New York for 2 days via the East Coast then onwards to Niagara Falls before dropping into PA for 3-4 days and finally heading down to where my Dad lives in Charleston SC for a week.

Nick

Hello Nick, Welcome to the forums.

We embarked on our first trip to the states from the U.K last year,and we also travelled in an R.V and loved every moment of it.

Whilst at campgrounds i'm assuming your site is reserved until you check out so taking the motorhome off site during the day doesnt mean we come back to find someone has pinched our spot??

My take on this would be that if you wish to stay another night and you are not booked in, you would need to check availability before going out for the day and book yourself in again as opposed to expecting it to be left available by not checking out as most people just pack up and leave.
I have not travelled that part of the U.S.A so i can't help there,but it sounds like a wonderfull trip ahead. I maybe able to answer any questions you may have regarding the R.V. though.

Have a great trip!

[nickyboy]

Thanks for the info

Most campgrounds we are just staying one night but come like when we are in SC we will be booked in for 4 or 5 nights and obviously want to go off exploring the day. I've found the KOA near Charleston that looks real nice and only 15 mins drive from where my Dad lives.

Regarding the RV, what sort of realistic gas mileage would we be looking at? I've been told 7-10mpg from the Ford E350 V10. I've worked out our gas money based on averaging 8mpg, does that seem feasable?

[AZBuck]

Real world reports I've been able to find on line quote figures in the 10-13 mpg range for this vehicle. Still planning on 8 mpg would be the way to go, then you just might be pleasantly surprised.

AZBuck

[Southwest Dave]

Regarding the RV, what sort of realistic gas mileage would we be looking at? I've been told 7-10mpg from the Ford E350 V10. I've worked out our gas money based on averaging 8mpg, does that seem feasable?

We had the Ford V10 and driving economically we returned 9.5mpg although we were spending quite a bit of time on mountain passes.
When i say economically, I mean pulling away gently and when going up gradients try to feather the throttle [be light foted]so it does'nt kick down a gear to early and rev higher unecessarily,this will drink the fuel.

I remember when I put it in cruise control,the first time and started going up a slight gradient,that you would'nt really know was there. We were driving along all relaxed and very quiet, no cars around and taking in the desert landscape and peacefullness and then suddenly the R.V kicked down a gear and the revs on the engine shot up trying to maintain it's pre-set speed and made me jump out of my skin!
The moral of the story is don't use the cruise control unless it's flat it'll make you jump and drain a gallon in no time,lol! :-)

[Mass Tim]

The moral of the story is don't use the cruise control unless it's flat it'll make you jump and drain a gallon in no time,lol! :-)

I've noticed this with certain vehicles as well. We had a Dodge pickup that, instead of modulating the throttle, would lose upwards of 10mph and then attempt to regain that speed by going to 100% throttle.

That vehicle aside, I've found little use for cruise control in all but the most deserted sections of highway.

[nickyboy]

Thanks for the info folks

Just another question, when booking campgrounds where it says for example "check in time 2pm" is that the time you have to check in or is that the earliest you can check in? Some of the places we're heading to we wont arrive until early evening so i wanted to check.

Thanks

[PNW Judy]

If you have a reservation, that is. 2pm is simply the earliest you can check in.

Your campsite will be held all night if reserved ahead of time and paid for. However, if you don't show up by the second day, they will usually release it and give it to someone else.