Los Angeles to Crater Lake Roundtrip in an RV (Suggestions please)

[SoCalDad]

Hello all-

My wife and I are renting an RV in July and plan on taking our kids (7 & 9) on a roadtrip to Crater Lake and back from Los Angeles. We intend to head up the 5 through CA on up to Crater Lake and then hit the coast on our return. We are hoping that some of you could provide suggestions for points of interest to hit along our route. As of now our main sights to see are Crater Lake and the Redwoods, but we are eager to get some input.

Also, this is our first time RV'ing, so any tips or helpful hints would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[SoCalDad]

Forgot to mention, we plan on spending about a week...our thinking is that we could get up to crater lake pretty quickly (2 days max) and then spend the rest of the time traveling the coast.

Thanks!

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

An RV can be a wonderful family 'Lifestyle' choice but as long as you realise that it is not a budget friendly choice. A car and Motels often work out cheaper by the time you add mileage charges, campground fees and high fuel consumption to the rental fees. If you live locally you could avoid bedding and kitchen kit fees or else you will find them to be another extra. We love to RV and when you collect your vehicle you will be shown how everything operates and after a night or 2 you should feel settled into your home on wheels. Of course you have to allow more travel time, especially on the twister roads.

You can certainly get up to Crater lake in two days, but you might want to arrange an early pick up for your RV, as normally this would be from 1pm onwards and then add time for orientation and paperwork and if you haven't driven a large vehicle before, it will take a little time to adapt. Meandering back down the coast through the Redwoods would be a nice way to spend your time, but if you want to take the coast from SF to LA you will have to allow at least 2 full days to do so. So to pick up the RV, drive to Crater lake and spend a day will be 3 days gone and by the time you get to the coast and drive the Redwoods for a couple of days your time is limited for adding to that although it should be a relaxing drive.

With a week to have fun with the kids have you considered just spending 2 or 3 days camping in Yosemite NP and then driving back down the coast from SF, I think it has more to offer for less time and money spent in the vehicle.

If you have any specific questions about renting an RV or your trip, just ask.