LA-NY with hubby, baby and a Great Dane, help please!

[Journey's Mom]

Hi there,

I am new to this forum and have spent time pouring over many of the threads and found all of the info infinitely interesting but have some specifics I'd love your opinions on. At the end of March we are starting out in Los Angeles and need to end in NYC, we have a 14 month old baby and a 10 year old Great Dane. We are planning on renting a 32' RV and would like the trip to be somewhat leisurely, but not quite a full blown sight-seeing adventure. How does 7 days sound? We'd love to be able to "take a break" and see/do something each day, but not spend the whole day doing an activity or driving too far to get to it.

Any help or advice on a route, itinerary, dog-friendly lodging (anything!!), would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

What is your reason for choosing an RV for your trip? In fact, what's your reason for doing this trip in the first place? Quite frankly, if you're only going to be on the road for 7 days, it just doesn't seem like it would be enough time to make renting such a vehicle worthwhile. Since this is a one way trip, I'm also curious about what you are doing to get your dog back the other direction?

Seven days would basically be enough time to do what you've laid out, you'd have to be driving for most of the day every day, but you'd have enough time for a few stops at to make sure that both the dog and the child can get the out of car time that they will need.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome.

I too am a little confused as you are planning to rent a 32' RV and then ask about dog friendly lodging. Surely the purpose would be to sleep in the RV ?
If you did rent an RV I would recommend something smaller with just the 4 of you but it doesn't sound that feasible with the time you have.

The RV will also be the most expensive option for your needs, especially when you factor in the 10mpg return you will get.

7 days won't really give you much time to sit back and take it easy either although you will be able to cover the distance with relative comfort. To put that into context we reckon on averaging 57mph on a trip which includes time for short stops for food, gas and a stretch of the legs. This puts you on the road for 7 hours a day for 7 days to complete your journey, probably more in a 32' RV.

This is a great resource for places for rest and relaxation just off every major Interstate.

[Journey's Mom]

We live in LA and need to relocate to NY for approx 3 months. I won't put the dog in cargo on a commercial airline and figured that the only other way to get him there was to drive. I figured that if we were going to have to drive with a dog and a toddler that the big RV would provide the most comfort/space. As you can tell (!!) I have never done anything like this before and wasn't sure if people generally slept in the RV every night or took breaks and stayed in hotels too...I guess we could take a little longer to drive if it would make a nice difference in the overall experience. Lastly, I could consider hiring someone to drive the dog across the country (in my Honda Element) and the humans could fly. All opinions welcome as I am really trying to decide what is best for all!! Thanks!

[Southwest Dave]

If the Honda is your daily driver and would be convenient for your stay in NY would it not be best to drive it across country yourself. You could pack light and have some of the other stuff you need for your 3 month stay sent by a carrier.
I would of thought it would be the most convenient and cost effective way around it. Of course you could fly, but around here if we get an excuse to take a road trip, we take it. ;-)

[liza714]

I did about a thousand miles this summer in a rented 25' rv with two adults, two 14 yr olds and two border collies. The 25 ft rv was fine for us.

I think a great dane would be a lot of dog for a honda element as sometimes my border collies dont seem to fit in my saturn vue. Also, I would be less likely to trust someone with my dogs than my car. Are you planning on towing the honda behind the rv? If not how would it get to NYC (not that anyone needs a car in NYC)?

If I had to do the cross country thing with kids and dogs I would rent an rv but be aware you arent really supposed to be up and about while the rv is driving but its way more convient than a toddler in a car.

[glc]

You are going to have a very difficult time finding hotels that will allow a dog that large. Even "pet-friendly" hotels/motels draw the line on size somewhere. The RV makes the most sense here logistically, but it's going to be expensive from the rental cost standpoint, fuel cost, and campground fees.