Roadtrip Chicago To San Fransisco. Options

[FromDk]

Hi all.
I have read through the forum, and think you have a nice forum.
Me and one of my friends have planned a trip to the U.S. in April-May 2012th Therefore, I would hear what tips and tricks you have because we have never been to America before.

We must start in the city of Chicago and end in San Francisco. We have 19 days to ride in.
We are from Europe (Denmark), so it's exciting to travel to the U.S..

I have following questions which I hope some will answer:

Which route should we take? We would like to visit St. Louis, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, Los Angeles, also running with Highway 1 to San Francisco.
Is there anything you should be aware of when you book places for your RV?
We have rented through Cruise America, it is a good company?
Can you sleep for free at Wall-Mart parking lots?

I very much hope that some will take the time to answer the above.

[Jerry S.]

Hi again,

From the term "C-25", I am guessing that you will be driving a 25 foot Class C motorhome.

The reason I opted for the southern route was:

1. In late April you can still have snow along I-70 through Colorado.

2. This route will take you back north after being as far south as St.Louis. This will add miles to your trip.

3. Once you get through Colorado into Utah, there is no convenient, simple way to get to the Grand Canyon (South Rim). Again, time and mileage.

4. You will still get to see parts of the Rocky Mountains on the southern route. There are some peaks over 12,000 feet near Albuqueque (thanks for the pronunciation lesson, TX) and Flagstaff.

Now that I know you are 2 young guys, I am not as concerned with the stress of long driving days. I still wouldn't do 500 miles in a day since , at that time of year the days (light) are still only 13 hours or so, and you lose an hour twice (Central time to Mountain time to Pacific time) westbound.

I'll let more tech savy people answer the technolgy question.

Gas:

If I am right about the kind of RV you will be driving, you will have a 55 gallon gas tank and should get no more than 10 miles per gallon. I have a 32 foot Class C and get almost 10mpg driving very conservatively. If you cruise along at 70 mph, you will pay for it at the pump. With your RV, at current prices (about $3.30/gallon), I would budget at least $1,000 for gas. This will likely be higher next April/May since gas prices tend to rise in the spring here in the U.S. If you use a credit card for gas purchases, some limit the dollrs purchase total - I have seen $75 and $100 limits. I have heard that some cards require a U.S. ZIP code to be entered for authorization. Finally, due to local gas taxes, gas prices vary from state to state and even within states. Check Gasbuddy.com for these differences. For your trip, Illinois and California are the higher cost states. I would not fill up the tank in Chicago and only put enough in further south in Illinois to get to the cheaper gas in Misssouri.

I do not see Sam's or P.A. cards being worth it on a trip this short.

I am sorry, but your question about meeting real Americans makes me think of Sasha Barron Cohen's "Borat" movie of more than a few years ago. My best advice is to be friendly and outgoing. Some will respond in kind, others will not. If you talk to 10 different Americans, you will get 10 different views of what a "real" American is. Your biggest problem will be that most of the fellow travelers you will meet who are Americans will be white, economically above average, older, and christian. That also describes most of the people on this site. That leaves out a majority of Americans (for example, one half of Americans have to be (by definifion) less than average economically.

I agree with Wprigge on the safety issue. My view is that concern like this are overblown by many. Even if there are thugs out there targetting RVers and tourists, old farts like me are more likely victims than a couple of young guys.
















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