YELLOWSTONE 2016 - INTRODUCTION

July 4 - 21, 2016. We rented a Class C motor home from Cruise America to drive from our home in Florida to Yellowstone National Park. This trip will be myself, my husband, our son, our daughter and our past exchange student (2012) who flew in for the experience! We are meeting up with my in-laws - it will be MIL, FIL, SIL, BIL and their 4 kids! I spent a long time doing research and working on lists of stuff in preparation for this trip. The trip was 14 days and approximately 4,000 miles!

I bought a very detailed USA map and we spent a lot of time mapping out options for routes. 

I made a packing list and checked everything off as I loaded it into the RV.  Now my packing list became a sort of inventory list - it helped to know what we have and it helped to keep track of stuff along the way. 

I staged everything right by the front door and as soon as we got the RV home, we made a line of people carrying stuff and loading it up. 

Funny enough, we did not make any campground reservations at all. The only reservation we had was for our spot in Yellowstone. We had paper maps and all the apps needed to navigate this massive trip!

One thing that is super nice about a Class C motor home is that everyone can sit around on all the furniture while it’s driving. The kids snacked and napped a lot! I made “cowboy caviar” to snack on for the ride. 

When the RV is driving, the refrigerator isn’t running, so we bought a cooler to keep stuff in.  We bought a cheap cooler, and that was a mistake. It needed ice replenished often. Eventually, we splurged on a quality cooler and that made a huge difference. 

Also, when the RV is driving, the AC units in the RV aren’t running. And it got very hot, very fast. Eventually we bought a box fan to direct AC from the truck cab into the RV. 

Our RV had some very lose steering and the steering wheel shook and vibrated a lot, making it super hard to handle. I only drove it for about an hour. I would say if you’re thinking of renting an RV, be sure to drive it for a bit to make sure you can drive it easily.

YELLOWSTONE 2016 - CAMPGROUNDS

We didn’t have reservations for any campgrounds on the drive. We used apps to find campgrounds near us, and we would call or just stop in.  At this time in the world, it was simple to find a spot.  From what I hear from people in the current year, it’s hard to find camping spots. I don’t know if I would suggest just winging it like this nowadays.  But for us, this was the best part of the trip. Just driving with no appointments or stress to get somewhere. If we wanted to stop early or keep driving longer, we could without any concern. 

These are all the campgrounds we stopped at during this 14 day trip. 

🏕️ Calhoun Campground 

🏕️ Sundermeier RV Park

🏕️ Sioux City North KOA Holiday

🏕️ Happy Holiday RV Resort

🏕️ Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park

🏕️ 7th Ranch RV Camp

🏕️ Mystery Mountain Resort

🏕️ American RV Park & Kamp

🏕️ Crossroads RV Park

🏕️ Indian Campground & RV Park

🏕️ Okatoma Resort & RV Park

YELLOWSTONE 2016 - THE RENTAL RV

Cruise America is a good way to try out an RV. But their rigs are beat to hell - they rattle like crazy and you will need to do minor repairs. Aaron brought a tool kit, which came in very handy. We had to repair the door knobs, the latches on the doors and cabinets, etc. 

I also bought a big collection of mixed sizes of bungies, and we used them a lot. There were 3 vents on the roof, and those things would catch air and rattle like crazy. A few times they would fly open. The bungies were the only thing that helped. 

At one point, the heat shield under the RV came lose and was dragging on the ground - we stopped at a gas station and Aaron had to remove the heat shield. Thankfully, we were in Florida when that fell off.

The steering is very loose and hard to control, you end up really fighting to keep the RV on the road if it is windy. 

We got the biggest RV they had and it worked well for our family of 5. But be aware, if you have tall people in your group, you will have difficulty. My husband and I dealt with the bed being too short for our legs, so our feet fell off the end. It wasn't so bad because I generally don't sleep fully outstretched, but it could get uncomfortable. My son, who is at least 6'1" took the upper bed over the truck cab, and it was very comfortable for him, he fit fine up there. My daughter, who is about 5'4" fit well on the couch when it was flipped out into a bed. My exchange-daughter, who is probably 6' was stuck with the dinette bed, and she could never fully stretch out while sleeping. You have to put your legs over the edge on the side if you need to stretch out. 

The stove only had one burner attached and working. Thankfully we didn't need to use it for cooking. We cooked outdoors. 

For the most part, it was a good experience. The RV was relatively clean, but clearly it was VERY used. Mechanically we survived - nothing broke down, which was a relief! The air conditioner was hard to control, either we were dying of heat waiting for it to cool off the RV or we were freezing to death. There didn't seem to be much of an in-between. It was an expensive experience, two weeks was a few thousand dollars in rental. The gas mileage is about 10 miles to the gallon. Its a good experience in general - but I assume having your own RV is a hell of a lot better! 

YELLOWSTONE 2016 - APPS

My phone was my absolute savior on this trip! I used GPS maps the entire time - it was fantastic. But the best apps I have are these - get these if you're ever going on a road trip or a camping trip!

First, join Good Sam club - you get 3 cents per gallon off of gas at all Pilot and Flying J gas stations/truck stops. That can really add up with an RV. Plus, many campgrounds give you a discount for being a member of Good Sam, so that helps!

Get the Good Sam app - it can help you find campgrounds near you, using GPS or by inputting the city/town you're looking at.

The app I think I used the most is the All Stays app. You have to pay for this, but I honestly used it nonstop during this trip. It helped me find campgrounds and it helped me even find truck stops, gas stations, Sams, etc. Its a great app, but it takes a little time to tinker with it before you get the hang of it.

I also got the Roadtrippers app - and that was great also.

Strangely, I had to use all three of these apps to find campgrounds. Some campgrounds were listed in only one of the apps, not quite sure why that is, but I would just go through and find the campgrounds I was interested in, and then I would take a screen shot of that page - that way I wouldn't have to keep going back into the apps to find the campgrounds we were interested in.

The MyPilot app is also super important - it is an app that tells you where the closest Pilot of Flying J gas station/truck stop are located. Since we have the Good Sam discount, it was great to try to always get gas at the cheapest location!

Cruise America has an app also - but it is mostly regarding the RV, care, emergency issues, how to instructions, etc. We didn't really use that but it was good to have in case something major happened.

Of course, use whatever GPS map service you like. I prefer to use Google Maps but I also had Apple Maps opened to help me either find a gas station or an alternate route without interrupting the map that is currently running. It was actually nice to have more than one GPS map service!  Waze is also super important to have. If you are in an area that might get traffic congestion, I suggest using Waze. It can help reroute you away from traffic jams. You might be confused as to why Waze is sending you off the road, but trust me, its doing you a favor! We have avoided many traffic jams using this app.

YELLOWSTONE 2016 - MUSINGS ON RVs

Will we buy an RV now that the trip is completed? I still don't really know. I have a lot of thoughts on this - we talked about it the entire trip. See, here are the thoughts on each type of RV.

Class A RV - those are so badass and beautiful and they look so cool. However, they are hard to maneuver and there are some places you just can't go with a Class A. They must be hard to drive on windy roads or mountainous roads. Yes, we could tow a vehicle with a Class A, and that would be helpful, but gas mileage must be hideous if you're towing!

Class C RV - This is what we rented. These are great for lots of sleeping spots. I don't really mind the Class C, but a good one - with slides and about 30' long would be a MUST. I suppose we could tow a vehicle with a Class C, but I didn't see many people with those towing.

Fifth Wheel - These are so amazing inside. I seriously can't believe how nice a Fifth Wheel is. The best part of the Fifth Wheel is once you park at the campground, you can unhook the truck and have something to drive around town with. The bad part of the Fifth Wheel is that no one can ride in the back, everyone has to be in the truck.

Travel Trailer - So, we could always get a general tow-behind trailer. We could have a nice truck or suburban and tow our travel trailer. Some of those are remarkable inside and have interiors like lovely homes. The good part of this would be we could use a Suburban type vehicle to tow it, so we could have a nicer ride. The bad part is that no one can ride in the back. The good part is that we could park the trailer at the campground and just take the truck/SUV and drive around to see the sights. 

So you see, there are good points and bad points to just about every one of the RV options. Another important point is that we cannot store the RV in our yard or driveway. We would have to pay to store it offsite, and that kinda sucks cause I would like to be able to use the RV at a moments notice instead of driving over to pick it up, and the cost of storage will simply add to the overall cost of owning an RV. 

So there you have it - no decision has been made!

YELLOWSTONE 2016 - MUST HAVES

A few things that are a MUST HAVE for an RV trip - 

🍞 A toaster - wow, did this thing come in handy! You can take it out of the RV when you get to the RV park and plug it in. We often set up a table near the electrical outlet and would make breakfast there. 

🍚 A rice cooker - the one we have doubles as a crock pot. We used it a few times. Once we made rice to add to dinner. And once we made Chicken Curry and veggies. Coming back to the RV to have some dinner cooking away is a real blessing. I'm glad I didn't bring the crock pot, I want to avoid bringing breakable things and the rice cooker did the job.

📜 Throw rugs - we brought 5 small throw rugs with us - they were very important. They helped keep the RV clean and made it a little more comfy to walk around. Also, don't forget to pick up a welcome mat for outside the RV door, you can wipe your feet before coming into the RV to cut down on sand or dirt. 

🧹 Broom - daily sweeping is a MUST! A good broom makes it easier.

🧼 Shower supplies - let me tell you now, everyone should have their own shower supplies and caddy. We thought we could have one big caddy full of all the shower supplies, but it was inconvenient. Its best if everyone has their own stuff, and small sizes are nice.

🩴 Dollar flip-flops - those are a life saver! You do NOT - I repeat DO NOT - want to put your beautiful little tootsies directly onto the ground in a campground shower. I don't care how nice the place is - you don't want to get any icky on your feet. Wear those flip flops in the shower, the entire time. Wear them when you head back to your camper. We kept multiple pairs of flip-flops in the camper, they're great for just stepping outside quick for something, but they're vital for shower time.

🎙️Walkie-Talkies - these things were the BEST! We needed them so much because so many areas we were in had zero cell phone reception. This allowed us to keep in touch while driving, and even while we were grabbing stuff in a local Walmart. Super handy. Plus, if something important did happen, to try to pull out your cell phone, dial the number, hope they pick up, etc. is just crazy. Pressing a button for instant communication - so important!

📟 Portable WiFi (or a MiFi) - we bought one from a Walmart in Rapid City. It helped boost the cell phone reception when it was bad. The WiFi allowed the phone to be online and function well. Our stupid T-Mobile plan had hardly any areas of coverage and when we ran out of that, we used AT&T roaming. But T-Mobile only allowed so much roaming and we ran out of that also. The portable WiFi really filled in the gap.

📲 We also bought a cell phone signal amplifier. The one we bought was from Wilson. It didn't do much for the cell phones, but it really did help the MiFi to get more signal. I can't say this is a MUST HAVE but it might help in a pinch.

🧊 Another thing I wanted to remember - the cooler. We bought a cheap-o cooler from Walmart. It barely kept the ice frozen for the day. We ended up dumping water and refilling ice way too often. When we were in Wyoming (I think) we stopped into a Walmart for supplies and we bought a much better quality cooler. That made a big difference. However, the more I talked to people about coolers in general, the more people said how much buying a Yeti cooler (or comparable) was worth the money. I couldn't see spending $300 on a cooler, but on this trip, it would have made such a difference. Yes, the RV has a refrigerator, but it works minimally while you're driving, and once you plug into electricity, it takes a while to cool down enough. A good cooler, where the ice won't melt right away, would have allowed us to almost have another refrigerator. If we ever do take another RV trip, I think I will invest in one of those coolers - they say the ice won't melt for like 72 hours. That would have been super handy on this trip!

🪙 I can't forget to mention a very humble item, but one of the most important items to take on an RV trip - QUARTERS! Wow do you go through quarter on an RV trip. First, you will need them for any toll roads. But most importantly, you need a crap-ton (technical term) of quarters to do laundry. Some places charge $2 in quarters per load, and just as many to dry. You can easily go through $12 or more on a few loads of laundry. So before you go, get about $20 in quarters. You will be glad you did.

YELLOWSTONE 2016 - WHAT WE DIDN’T NEED

Some things I brought but didn't need - 

🔭 We brought an amazing telescope.  See, in our theory, we were going to be way out in the middle of nowhere and we could see stars better cause we are in the mountains with less humidity.  The reality - every campground is filled with lights. Street lights, the lights at the main office or laundry room or bathrooms. Turns out, the middle of nowhere still has a lot of light pollution!  If we were staying in a place for multiple days, I can see using the telescope because we could take a specific evening and dedicate it to going out in the country and using the telescope. But even then, we don't know our way around well and the chance of ending up on a scary road or animal encounters, etc. is also a consideration.  

🏮 Solar lights - this was a great idea in theory. Put out some solar lights at the campground and it will be nice at night. In practice, the lights have to be stored in the sunlight to charge all day, which is nearly impossible. And even if you get them charged, we didn't stay long in one place, so our lights weren't necessary. Most of our stop overs were just over night and we didn't even spend much time outside of the RV at night because we were sleeping. I did see one camper that was using rope lights to trace around their RV parking spot. That looked nice and since they plug that in, it seemed to work.

🪑 Hammock and even camp chairs - we didn't spend much time at each camp site. Now, if we were to spend multiple days at one spot, maybe these things would be important. But since most camp sites have picnic tables, we didn't bring out the camp chairs. And since we weren't camping in a park or the woods, we didn't bring out the hammock. Great ideas in planning, but weren't that important in practice.

📺 The television - we brought a TV, and even the Wii.  The theory was - what if its raining or something goes wrong, the kids can watch some shows or play some games. The truth is, we never, not even once, touched that stuff. It was a good "what if" plan, but it wasn't necessary. Everyone has phones and stuff, and since it never rained, we never felt the need to find something else to do.

💃🕺 Dressy clothes - we didn't bring anything crazy, but we did wonder - what if we go to a nice place for dinner? what would we wear? So we brought one thing that might be a bit nicer than the average camp-wear. We never used it. Food was a "get it while you can" sort of thing. There was zero time for anything fancy or special. Since it was only one piece of clothes, it wasn't a big deal, but the truth is, while RVing or camping, the last thing on your mind is going out to dinner.