Moving from Las Vegas to Philadelphia

[drbeth]

Greetings All! My husband and I will be renting a 30' class C RV and enjoying 9 days on the road when we move from Las Vegas, NV to Philadelphia, PA in early September. My husband would like to make stops at the Grand Canyon and Nebraska to visit family. Otherwise the trip is wide open. We'd love any suggestion about other places to stop along the way.

Oh, and I should tell you that we're fairly new to this whole RV thing, so any tips from veteran RV road warriors would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Are you renting the RV so you can enjoy a roadtrip while your stuff is being moved?

Or are you planning to move your stuff in the RV?

If its the second, I have to warn you that an RV does not make a good moving van. Once you factor in all of the RV's equipment, there just isn't a lot of extra storage room for more than some clothes and a few basic household items. You really can't pile up boxes in the RV's living area.

[Mark Sedenquist]

And if you do... (use the RV like a moving van) it will affect the handling and the trip will be much more work than fun....

[drbeth]

Yes, you've got it. We are renting an RV so we can enjoy the trip with our two pets (a dog and a cat). The vast majority of our stuff is being moved by a moving company, we'll only be taking what we need for the trip plus a few extra things.

[Midwest Michael]

Well, then the world is your oyster, but its really up to you to figure out what kinds of things you want to see and do. The options on a trip that goes nearly coast to coast are practically endless.

Just between Grand Canyon and Nebraska, you've got lots of National Parks and other world famous landmarks in the middle, places like Monument Valley, Arches/Canyonlands, Mesa Verde, the Million Dollar Highway, Rocky Mountain National Park, just to name a few. Even detouring up to South Dakota for Mt. Rushmore/Black Hills/Badlands might not be far out of your way, depending up on where in Nebraska you are heading.

That's just a small sample of course, the question is, what do you want to see?

[DonnaR57]

Tips from veteran RV'ers....okay!

First, when you check out the rig from the rental place, BOTH of you should do the walk through. Both of you should know how to hook up the rig to hookups such as electricity and water (easy) and sewer hoses (not so easy). Take some rags from home with you, if you can -- you'll be glad you did.

BOTH of you should practice driving it before taking it out on the road. Bring it down to a school or church parking lot that is fairly large and fairly empty. Practice making turns, parking it in a double parking spot, etc.

When you stop on the road at Wal-Mart, grocery store, etc., find spaces near the back of the lot for parking. Use their spots as a pull through. If you decide to spend the night at a store parking lot, make sure that it's okay with management (many times it's against local ordinances), and if it is, be sure you buy something there.

Are you towing your own car on either a tow-dolly or a 4-wheels-up trailer?


Donna

[drbeth]

So many options, Michael and so little time! We wish we could see it all. I did use the roadtrips map on this site just to get an idea of what's available to us.

[drbeth]

Thanks, Donna. Appreciate the suggestions. I have heard that managing the sewer stuff is not the easiest thing in the world. Any further suggestions there?

And, no we won't be towing anything - shipping the cars too.

[Mark Sedenquist]

have heard that managing the sewer stuff is not the easiest thing in the world.

It's not that bad. I lived in a motorhome for 6.5 years. Even though it's a rental I'd recommend purchasing the easy-clean hose attachments -- it makes for a much easier use of the sewer hoses. And actually, unless the hoses are brand new when you pick-up the RV, I'd purchase new ones. Some much nicer to be the only one whose used the hoses!

There is a RV super store -- called Camping World -- (a classic misnomer since it's all about RVing and not camping) where you can purchase all sorts of gear you've probably never thought of. Since you're in Las Vegas --there are two locations in town -- the largest is probably at the former site of Wheeler's RV -- on Las Vegas Blvd, just south of the M Resort & Hotel.

Here's the set-up I used for years -- it might seem like overkill for a rental -- but I'm not a fan of ever getting sewage on my hands....

One one end of the hose attach a Hydro-flush and leave the slide valve closed when you are in the park. Only open it when you're getting ready to go and want to clean the black line and hose. On the other end use one of the elbow fittings that goes directly into the sewer connection opening. I actually used hydro-flush connectors on both black and grey, but I used a custom set-up that won't probably work on Class C rental Carry a short section of hose that you use only for attaching to the hydro-flush.

Other tips: Read and print this checklist and take it with you when pick up your RV.

And then you might want to skim over some of the RV lifestyle articles we published over the years. Lots of good information about finding parks, expenses, etc.

And if you still would like to read some tips... here's a book about the subject of renting RVs! Actually the tips in Chapter 5 of the book can save just about anyone a chunk of money.

Mark

[drbeth]

Thanks, Mark. Fantastic! Greatly appreciated. Looking forward to the trip more and more everyday.