When we first decided to take an RV trip it was during the time of Covid and we weren’t really able to travel abroad. An RV trip during Fall break was a great way to avoid the mess of restrictions. Big problem was, I had no idea where to start planning. I did a lot of research before even starting to book. Our first trip was a partial Grand Circle trip. I learned quite a bit on this trip, but honestly, I was prepared and while there were things I did need to improve on we had a blast!
Picking your route/destinations
I started by looking at what my options were for RV trips. We narrow it down to Grand Circle and some of the California parks. We chose an abbreviated version of the Grand Circle because we had to make it back for a cross country meet. We went from Las Vegas to Zion, Bryce, the South rim of the Grand Canyon and back to Las Vegas.
There are many other options in the US from Florida, Maine, Yellowstone/Teton combo, and the Pacific Northwest to name a few. Pick the parks in an area you want to see, and I promise you the internet holds a preplanned itinerary. A new AI based RV trip planner called Adventure Genie is a great tool that will help you customize your route.
RV rentals
When planning a trip for an RV of course after picking your destination and itinerary you need an RV. A common misconception is that you drive it from home. Nope! Do not do that. Fly to the city nearest your travel plan and rent in that city. There are several options to rent from Cruise America, Outdoorsy, RVShare, Indie camper and Road Bear.
We have used Cruise America every single time, because they just make it easy and have great deals. Road Bear is another great option, but Saturday pick-ups need an appointment, and it just makes things a little more tough to coordinate. Cruise America has deals and discounts throughout the year. Even if you book and there isn’t a discount, if one comes up before your rental, they will let you call and add it to your plan, saving you money. So, always sign up for their promotional emails if renting from them.
Flights for your trip
When flying in to pick up an RV take into account the times allowed by the RV rental company. Most are later in the day, at least afternoon. I believe 2pm is the earliest we have ever been able to pick up. I like to fly in that same day and try to time going straight from the airport to the RV rental facility. If you are flying into Las Vegas and using Cruise America, it’s 15 to 20 minutes from the airport. Then, lucky you the Walmart is around the corner where you can pick up all your supplies.
When flying home from your RV trip it is best to do it the day after rental return if possible. If you are flying back east from Vegas or California this prevents you from arriving home incredibly late with a drive home from the airport is awaiting you. We return the RV to the rental center by 11am. You can fly out directly after, but we have found we like to stay for at least a night in Vegas and have a nice dinner, or when we did California, we were in San Francisco, and we took in a few sites before heading home the next day.
Packing
Always pack light! This is for many reasons. You will have access to washing your laundry at most RV parks, unless you plan on boondocking (not this girl) the parks have laundry that’s easily accessible. You don’t want to do laundry every day, so plan for every 3rd day, when packing.
Space for storing items and luggage is limited as well. We normally take 3 full sized suitcases and at least 3 back packs. The fit under the Cruise America RV with chairs and firewood. The items I always pack extra of are socks and under garments. This seems to be the items that we need the most of. Feet have to stay clean and dry on RV trips, because they go hand and hand with hiking.
Food for the Gluten-free folks
An RV trip is actually a very easy trip to take, because we always have our own kitchen with us! When you rent from a rental company, they always sell you a kitchen kit with pots, pans, utensils, plates, bowls, and knives. We do purchase the kitchen kit and wash it well to avoid cross contamination.
We also add a few kitchen items when we get to Wal-Mart to pick up supplies after we get our rental RV. The first 2 items we add are an air fryer, just the most inexpensive one, and then an inexpensive cooler. The cooler is a must have. The refrigerators in any RV do not work consistently if not on level ground. We found when driving long days through the mountains it didn’t cool well. We kept our drinks in the cooler and the other items in the refrigerator, so not to crowd it, therefore it would stay cooler. The air fryer just gave us more options to cook with. We could grab gluten-free caulipower pizzas and half of them to cook in the air fryer, gluten-free chicken nuggets, fries, etc. We were not just limited to grilled chicken, hamburgers, steaks, hot dogs, pastas, and gluten-free wraps.
Both cities that we have launched out of on RV trips have had markets such as Trader Joe’s, Sprouts, Wholefoods, etc. to grab gluten-free items. Having a kitchen and a campfire to cook on makes RVing an easy vacation to eat on. Oh, and don’t forget the larger extended lighter to start campfires with. Makes life easier.
Personal kit items
These kits are sold to you through the RV rental company for around $75 per person. They normally contain a dish cloth, 2 bath towels, 2 wash cloths, a pillow, pillowcase, sheet, and a sleeping bag/comforter per person. You can save money by purchasing these items at Wal-Mart. A bundle of 18 washcloths cost $4.88, white mainstays bath towel is $2.94 each, mainstays flat sheet $8.84, mainstays 4pk dish cloths$3.12, and a light weight sleeping bag is $14.97 (These prices are at the time of the article being published and are subject to change. Please check before heading out on your RV adventure). My husband and I share a comforter anyway having the extra was waste. Some may say buying the items is wasteful, but I actually found a place to donate the bedding in a drop box, and I leave the towels and washcloths the company reuses them.
In general, these are just a few tips to get you started. I have full itineraries with campsites, estimated miles driven, shopping and packing lists I will add soon. Thanks for being here and reading along!
