Hello Everyone,

Just having a look around your site.  It appears to have a lot of useful information.

My husband, myself and our two children (aged 12 & 10) will be heading over to your country late October /Early November.  We intend to purchase a class A in LA or Arizona and make our way across the top to NY and then head down to Florida and bounce along the bottom to end up back in LA at the end of January.  So 90 days... is that a big ask? 

We'd like to know (due to the snow) if Yellowstone is possible to see in the first 10 days of our trip (around the 5th of November or thereabouts).  We wanted to head to Mt Rushmore from there.  When does the snow really start coming down and causing major hiccups?

Coming from Australia, whilst we DO have snow in the Winter, it is only in the mountains and not something most australians have to deal with at all, so we're somewhat 'wet' behind the ears.

Also - Xmas time, where is a good place for a white Christmas.  Our Christmas is generally around 40degreesC (90-100F), so it will be a bit of a culture shock but one we're sincerely looking forward to.

Any answers, suggestions or general comments would be welcomed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello from Wyoming.

We usually see our first snow around the end of October, but the heavy snow months are usually January and February.  It will be the off season when you get here, so there won't be the crowds you see during our summer months.

 My spouse is from Australia.  You will find there are a lot of Australians in Wyoming. 

Hope you have a wonderful vacation.

 *smiles*

Hey there fellow aussies. I am in a similar situation to yourself. Just checking out the site trying to plan a trip, we are thinking or going in the christmas holidays this year, during school holidays, have 2 kids.  Would love a white christmas and are thinking that we will start in New York for the week between christmas and New York. Then rent an RV and go to Niagra Falls, down to Washington, then over to LA going via the grand cayyon. We are just thinking of spending 4 weeks crossing the country. I would love to hear from any one who could give us some tips, what to make sure we see, places to avoid, good camping spots, good company to rent an rv from, good web sites to check etc. It might also be good for you and I to compare notes. Let me know if you are interested.

cheers and happy holidays

Very good plan. We live in Michigan and thats only a few hundred miles from the Falls. Great in the winter. Anywhere along the top of the States is going to have a white Christmas. We try to travel the middle to lower 48 when we travel in the winter months. Best of luck and enjoy your vacation.

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Mike & Lorie Choler

I can understand the idea of wanting a white Christmas, as growing up in the UK we didn't see them often. But at the same time I would really be worried about driving safety in areas with lots of snow. Can you take a driving course perhaps that deals with difficult driving conditions, before you go?

 

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www.lakeshore-rv.com

"WyoAusToy" wrote: Hello from Wyoming. We usually see our first snow around the end of October, but the heavy snow months are usually January and February.  It will be the off season when you get here, so there won't be the crowds you see during our summer months.  My spouse is from Australia.  You will find there are a lot of Australians in Wyoming.  Hope you have a wonderful vacation.  *smiles*

 

Thank you.  We're heading across the top end first and whilst we sincerelyl hoped for a white Christmas, I think we may have had enough of the snow by the time Xmas rolls around.  We're flying to LA, hiring a car and driving to Vegas and then down to Arizona to collect the RV, then north from there.  I think we may be out of luck to see Yellowstone first week of November as some feedback has indicated they close the roads first week of November.

We intend to travel across the top and then head to New York and then down the east coast to Florida which is where I think we'll probably be by Christmas.  Then we'll bounce along the bottom, Texas and then east to Mexico and then back to LA.

So - what are the chances of doing that big trip in 90 days? It's a big ask, but it's not impossible I hope

We're really looking forward to it - it's been a long time planning to take 3 months from work,  so thank you for your well wishes.

 

"ozcampersvisitus" wrote: Hey there fellow aussies. I am in a similar situation to yourself. Just checking out the site trying to plan a trip, we are thinking or going in the christmas holidays this year, during school holidays, have 2 kids.  Would love a white christmas and are thinking that we will start in New York for the week between christmas and New York. Then rent an RV and go to Niagra Falls, down to Washington, then over to LA going via the grand cayyon. We are just thinking of spending 4 weeks crossing the country. I would love to hear from any one who could give us some tips, what to make sure we see, places to avoid, good camping spots, good company to rent an rv from, good web sites to check etc. It might also be good for you and I to compare notes. Let me know if you are interested. cheers and happy holidays

Hi there fellow Aussie,

Feel free to send me a private message and we can exchange email addresses... who knows we may end up in the same place at some point so it would be great to meet up !

I'm not sure about RV rental, I know my husband priced some and we thought for 90 days rental of a Class A we'd be looking at around  25k, so we thought we'd purchase one with a view to selling it at the end.  Husband has been researching like crazy regarding extended warranties and insurance etc and we're set with our bezillion and one books of what to see, what parks to camp at and who has what facilities .  Interestingly, when it comes to snow time and hire RV's, hubby read that the hire companies place anti-freeze in the water tanks which made us panic a bit, so now he's investigating something that will ensure our water doesn't freeze as we'll be needing it and don't want anti-freeze..

We'll be such tourists with a list of places on our must-see list, (the kids have their list, I have mine and hubby has his, so we've put together a rough plan.. but you know what happens to plans....  )

Anyway - thanks for your response, look forward to hearing from you and have a great holiday. 

 

 

 

 

"CampingOut" wrote: I can understand the idea of wanting a white Christmas, as growing up in the UK we didn't see them often. But at the same time I would really be worried about driving safety in areas with lots of snow. Can you take a driving course perhaps that deals with difficult driving conditions, before you go?   --------------------------------- www.lakeshore-rv.com

Hi there,

I'm not too worried about driving in the snow (probably because it's not me that will be doing the driving) but I appreciate what you're saying.  I imagine we'll be taking things very slowly in conditions we're unfamiliar with. 

Coming from an country where snow is extremely scarce, I can't imagine a facility of being able to embark on a driving course that would accommodate such conditions.  My husband has driven large road trains so I'm fairly confident that he'll be able to handle a Class A with caution and care.

Thanks for your comments. 

 

Hello *smiles*

It sounds like a wonderful vacation.  After speaking to my hubby (who besides being from Australia is also an RV Service Tech), he has given me some advice to pass on to you.  We do winter RV, so we have some idea what you are going to experience.  Be aware that during the winter the northern states are covered in snow with ice and snow on most roads.  There will be passes over mountains where you will have to have chains for your tires. 

As for the RV itself, you will want to have heated tanks.  You will want to make sure that the heaters are on the Fresh, Grey, and Black tanks.  You can not dump a tank that is frozen.  Also during the winter months, most campgrounds will have their fresh water taps turned off in the north.  Once you hit the southern states, you will be fine.  It would be a good idea to have skirts for the RV for when you are parked, so the cold weather does not get under the RV.

 It is true that renting an RV will cost you over $25k for 90 days.  They rent for around $280 a day.  That is a lot of money per day.  It is very unlikely that you will be able to buy a Class A RV for that amount though.

Another important thing to remember is that November, December, and January are months where you will find a lot of tourist locations closed.  Our summer offically ends the first weekend of September.  A large number of places close after that.  For example, Yellowstone closes most of its roads into the park.  They do keep the main road into Yellowstone open, but that is about it.  In the Black Hills of South Dakota, you will still be able to visit Mount Rushmore.  Though the shops and other tourist attractions around Mount Rushmore will be closed.

Please understand that we are not trying to discourage you from taking your trip.  We just want you aware of what you will be facing in the northern states during winter.  If you have any more questions or concerns, please feel free to leave me a message and I will get back with you. 

*smiles*

 

Thank you so much for your response.

Hubby has investigated heaters for all three tanks but your advice on the skirts was something that was sincerely appreciated.  Are they called 'skirts?' or do they have another name? 

We're considering purchasing from a dealer in Arizona and we've done our homework and we think we can purchase an RV for around the 30-35k mark.  If we sold it back on consignment for 20k or so then we're still in front.  We're looking at a Pacearrow or similar, 4 or 6 berth with pre 1996 with 30-50k on the clock.. there seems to be a few out there at the moment.  We're not fussed about decor or anything like that as we're not going to be 'bonding' with it for a long period of time, so if it has stripes and florals all in the space of one square metre, we're good with that

We need to purchase something post 1996 to get a 'bumper to ashtray' warranty and we've sorted insurance.  A few late night calls to the US has given us a lot of information.. we also need prepaid wireless ADSL which we understand can be purchased through AT&T over there...  This will enable my be able to take the laptop with and keep up with my emails , blog and work queries .

Hubby called Yellowstone and they said that the northern entrance is open all the time, but as we're coming from the south, it seems a long winded way of getting there so unfortunately we'll no doubt give it a miss.. they couldn't give us a clear date of closing the other entrances as it depends on the snow fall so I guess we'll head to the Grand Tetons and see how far we get...

My trusty RV campground software gives us email addresses and websites etc so at least with this incredible technology we'll know in advance which campground is closed and which ones are running with all facilities etc.

Sincerest thanks taking the time to respond.

 

 

 

 

Yes, they are called skirts.  They usually snap or hook around the RV to keep the wind and cold from getting under the RV. 

By the time you get to the Grand Tetons, you will know if you can get into Yellowstone or not.  They are only a couple hours away from each other.  Yellowstone is a sight to see, but the Grand Tetons are beautiful.  I am sure no matter what you get to see, you will have a wonderful vacation.

Your trip sounds like a fantastic vacation.  I envy you, because you will be going places I have never been.  Though I do plan to get there one day.  Each year, my husband and I try to see a new state.  Since there are 50 of them, it may take awhile.  So far, we have covered all the western states.  Anyway, good luck with your trip and enjoy yourself.  That is what vacations are for.

*smiles*