One-way RV from Upstate NY to Rocky Mts., Fly home from Denver

[starteacher]

We are planning a trip in mid-August with the ultimate goal of leaving our son at college in Boulder, CO. We will have 6 people, ages 13 - 45 with 5 drivers so we feel we could cover some serious ground in the first couple of days in order to get "out there". Everyone tells us driving straight across the country can get boring and that we should drive in an arc, instead, either going north or south. Any thoughts on that? We have about 14 days.

Lastly, any suggestions on what to see. We fully plan to drive past CO but not too far west.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

I'm not sure if you are suggesting driving to Denver in 2 days or not, but there is no safe or enjoyable way to do that. Every passenger has to belted up while travelling and no one is going to want to be sat on a diner bench for 16 hours a day and none will get proper rest that would put them in a fit state to drive. This would be a bare minimum of 2 overnight stops and that will feel like torture, I would recommend 3 stops to prevent it being miserable. Boring is simply a state of mind and you can make any drive enjoyable but if you want to get out there quickly, you will need to stick to one of the quicker routes using mainly Interstate and see if anything takes your interest along the way.

Have you considered flying out to Denver and doing a loop trip from there ? You are likely to face a huge one way drop off fee on the RV and it wouldn't surprise me if the gas you use just getting out there comes to $750 or more. A trip from Denver into Utah and creating a loop back to Denver gives you access to many great National parks, Monuments and recreation areas as well as some great scenic driving. This thread will give you an insight into some of the possibilities.

You will find a lot more info digging around the RTA pages and we will be pleased to answer any other questions that crop up.

[DonnaR57]

I am going to completely agree with Dave on this one -- just because you have 5 drivers, doesn't mean that you should try to drive straight through. Everything in an RV takes longer -- speed limits will be lower (you are likely to average 50 or 55mph), fueling up seemingly takes FOREVER, finding a parking spot in some places is going to be next to impossible. Believe me, we've had several types of RV's over the years, love the RV lifestyle, but it is not built for a "speed run" like you are suggesting! You will be getting about 5-7mpg, and IF you can find a one-way RV, you are looking at $750 "one way drop fee".

Also, if you are thinking it will be an easier way to get a kid to college: probably not!! There's simply NO storage space, particularly if you have 5 people that need to have sleep space. The RV rental place will probably NOT allow you to rent a U-Haul type trailer to tow behind it, either. (Lots of liability issues with insurances, and many more reasons.) As I have taken a daughter to college 1800 miles away, and my parents took ME to college 1500 miles away, I can tell you that an RV is NOT going to handle all the extra stuff that a college kid wants to take to college. Ship the stuff. It's probably cheaper in the long run....at least, it was for us.


Donna

[Lifemagician]

Let me chime in as well, with the same advice. I'd follow Dave's suggestion - ship the 'stuff' and fly/drive out west. With 14 days you will have enough time to whet your appetite to return to this region again and again, to really get to see all there is to see and experience.

That said, here's an article which might put you into a mindset to really enjoy whatever you end up doing.

Lifey