Long Trip

What's the best way to do a long trip? If I stay at Walmarts can I carry water for showers? What's the best way to find camp grounds and dump stations? How long do most people drive pulling a trailer? I'd like to travel and not have to be some where at a certain time. Thanks for the help Don

Don, I've never stayed at a Wall Mart (or Home Depot). When we travel, we are normally able to find Forest Service or National Park/Monument campgrounds within a day's driving range. There are a number of books you can buy that show the locations of these. And, there are "recreational" maps of States that show their locations also.

There are also online resources showing "free" or low cost public campgrounds.

Most of the campgrounds we stay at have toilets of some kind, so that minimizes our use of the HiLo toilet. Ours normally only has a small amount of #1 in it (with a disinfectant) and I don't have any trouble leaving it in the trailer until I come across a dump station somewhere.

As far as bathing, rather than do a genuine shower, we tend to do "sponge baths", which uses less water and works fine until we get somewhere where there is a campground shower or one in a nearby town (often located along with a laundry). I usually have about 10 gals of fresh water in the trailer when on the road.

I HAVE driven about 500 miles pulling the trailer, but my usual max distance is more like 400 miles. A distance of between 200-300 miles is the most enjoyable. I've found that having a very comfortable tow vehicle is a must, and am extremely happy with my truck.

- Jack

Hidonlo said:

What's the best way to do a long trip? If I stay at Walmarts can I carry water for showers? What's the best way to find camp grounds and dump stations? How long do most people drive pulling a trailer? I'd like to travel and not have to be some where at a certain time. Thanks for the help Don

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Don, there are several free campground finder apps available. Good Sam has a pretty good one. As for Wal-Mart, I've never done it but here's a good link to get you started.

Overnight Parking Etiquette – Walmart Locator

Hidonlo said:

What's the best way to do a long trip? If I stay at Walmarts can I carry water for showers? What's the best way to find camp grounds and dump stations? How long do most people drive pulling a trailer? I'd like to travel and not have to be some where at a certain time. Thanks for the help Don

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Don, like Jack, I have driven 500-600 miles per day, but it is a very trying drive. We very seldom make reservations as we do not like to be anywhere on a certain day. Our trip last year was 8700 miles and we had one campground reservation. On one occasion we had trouble finding a campground and the local Wal*Mart did not allow overnight camping so we ended up at a motel. If you do an internet search for "sanitary dump stations" you will find a list of dump sites in just about all of the states.

Don, it is very common these days to spend the night in a WalMart parking lot or a Cracker Barrel parking lot. Also very common are dump stations at most interstate rest stops. They are generally located on the way out of the rest area.

notanlines said:

Also very common are dump stations at most interstate rest stops. They are generally located on the way out of the rest area.

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Except in California

Here in Indiana we don't have dump stations in the rest stops either. Thanks for all the help. Trying to pull some info together because I was thinking about the rally in TX. My sister lives in San Antonio and visit both in one shot. I think it would be around 1200 miles.

I use a great app called " all stays". I don't make reservations usually unless I'm headed to popular spots during " in season". 400 miles n a day is usually my max. I usually plan enough ahead that I don't need to stay in parking lot over night. All stays shows private, fed, state , and county cgs. I don't travel with water in my tanks usually. But, I'll usually have five Gallons or more in a portable water carrier in the bed of the truck. Rick

Here is a website that will spot the RV dump sites for you on your trip. Some states have none on the interstate and some have a lot. Greg, this will be a learning experience for you. I know you will be SO excited about the added dump stations in your state. Rest Areas with RV Dump

hilltool said:

I use a great app called " all stays". I don't make reservations usually unless I'm headed to popular spots during " in season". 400 miles n a day is usually my max. I usually plan enough ahead that I don't need to stay in parking lot over night. All stays shows private, fed, state , and county cgs. I don't travel with water in my tanks usually. But, I'll usually have five Gallons or more in a portable water carrier in the bed of the truck. Rick

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There is also a version that shows military campgrounds, if you have access to them. We just discovered the app earlier this year and downloaded it but have not used it as yet. Here is the link:

Military Campgrounds FamCamps RV Parks

notanlines said:

Here is a website that will spot the RV dump sites for you on your trip. Some states have none on the interstate and some have a lot. Greg, this will be a learning experience for you. I know you will be SO excited about the added dump stations in your state. Rest Areas with RV Dump

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That IS exciting news, Jim! I had heard awhile back that California had closed most of it's rest area dumps due to budget issues but gladly, it appears I was wrong- thanks for the update! As they say, when ya gotta dump, ya gotta dump!

I'm finding, at least in Northern Wi , that medium sized towns in areas where camping is common, have a " dump" set up at their water treatment facilities. It's self service and fees are requested, but it's handy if you have been camping in a national forest cg without one and don't want to drive all day with tanks filled. My All Stays app shows them and I assume the other apps mentioned here do, also.

Rick