Novel Fly/Drive Vacation Ideas...

When I was a kid, my dad would take 3 weeks off every summer, and we
would go on long, meandering road trips around the American West and
Southwest. These make up some of my best childhood memories.

We'd like to do that with our kids, but always run up against the
inevitable time constraints. There is just no way to get away from the
hotel for that long, but we're running out of time with out kid (my
son turns 17 this summer) -- so we're brainstorming some novel
vacation ideas.

For example, we would like to show the kids Yellowstone, Estes Park,
Colorado, and all of the beautiful scenery in the mountains. The best
way to do this is by car (or motorcycle), but we just don't have
time.

One possible solution: Fly Atlas to Denver, CO, and pick up a big ol'
rental RV. It seems you can rent one for around $600 per week (not
counting gas), and that would give us the "feeling" of a road trip
without the zillion hours spent getting there.

Anyone ever rented an RV? Are they a pain to drive? (I've driven
trucks, but never a motor home.) Anyone ever tried combining a flying
vacation with a road trip?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

In article . com,
Jay Honeck wrote:

One possible solution: Fly Atlas to Denver, CO, and pick up a big ol'
rental RV. It seems you can rent one for around $600 per week (not
counting gas), and that would give us the "feeling" of a road trip
without the zillion hours spent getting there.

Anyone ever rented an RV? Are they a pain to drive? (I've driven
trucks, but never a motor home.) Anyone ever tried combining a flying
vacation with a road trip?

You do not want to rent an RV and drive/camp the national parks out west.
Maneuverability on the winding, narrow, sometimes windy mountain roads
will give you pucker factor like you have never experienced in IMC.

(An old EAA'er in my chapter once commented, "You don't need seatbelts,
a 1-inch ball hitch will keep you in your seat.")

With respect, that's nonsense. I live "out west." The roads in season
are full of RV's driven by old retired folks and by foreigners, who rent
them in California. They are a real pain in the a** for the rest of us,
but they manage to get around just fine. Their survival on the roads is
evidenced by the vast numbers of them who have managed to fill the camp
grounds and then return home alive.

john smith wrote:


You do not want to rent an RV and drive/camp the national parks out west.
Maneuverability on the winding, narrow, sometimes windy mountain roads
will give you pucker factor like you have never experienced in IMC.

"Jay Honeck" wrote

Anyone ever rented an RV? Are they a pain to drive? (I've driven
trucks, but never a motor home.) Anyone ever tried combining a flying
vacation with a road trip?

No problem learning to drive one. Drive with your mirrors, a lot.

I know of three people that have rented, and all three had MAJOR breakdowns.
Two of the three got quick repairs, and one nearly had their trip destroyed.

Make sure you get a vehicle only one year old, at best.
--
Jim in NC

Forget Yellowstone, Glacier and the Tetons in the Summer. Those parks
are absolutely wrecked in June, July and August. I have already made it
quite clear to my relatives in Minnesota that should they ever decide to
come out here we would not ever consider joining them in going to those
parks. If you're going to go, go in September or October. By far the
best months.




Jay Honeck wrote:

When I was a kid, my dad would take 3 weeks off every summer, and we
would go on long, meandering road trips around the American West and
Southwest. These make up some of my best childhood memories.

We'd like to do that with our kids, but always run up against the
inevitable time constraints. There is just no way to get away from the
hotel for that long, but we're running out of time with out kid (my
son turns 17 this summer) -- so we're brainstorming some novel
vacation ideas.

For example, we would like to show the kids Yellowstone, Estes Park,
Colorado, and all of the beautiful scenery in the mountains. The best
way to do this is by car (or motorcycle), but we just don't have
time.

One possible solution: Fly Atlas to Denver, CO, and pick up a big ol'
rental RV. It seems you can rent one for around $600 per week (not
counting gas), and that would give us the "feeling" of a road trip
without the zillion hours spent getting there.

Anyone ever rented an RV? Are they a pain to drive? (I've driven
trucks, but never a motor home.) Anyone ever tried combining a flying
vacation with a road trip?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

john smith wrote:



You do not want to rent an RV and drive/camp the national parks out west.
Maneuverability on the winding, narrow, sometimes windy mountain roads
will give you pucker factor like you have never experienced in IMC.


Ah, baloney. I've driven them recently pulling a 26 foot 5th wheel.
Glacier has a portion of the Going to the Sun Road that they don't allow
vehicles over a certtain length. Other than that you won't have a
problem. Somebody may be looking down a several thousand foot drop but
that's about it.

The best drive ever is the Beartooth Pass road between Red Lodge and
Cooke City, MT. They just opened it up last Sunday for the season.
You'll have places on the road where the snow is 30' deep on either side
of the road. A cool little store near the top, the "Top of the World
Store". It's also cool to fly the area.

http://gorp.away.com/gorp/activity/byway/mt_beart.htm



Jay Honeck wrote:

When I was a kid, my dad would take 3 weeks off every summer, and we
would go on long, meandering road trips around the American West and
Southwest. These make up some of my best childhood memories.

We'd like to do that with our kids, but always run up against the
inevitable time constraints. There is just no way to get away from the
hotel for that long, but we're running out of time with out kid (my
son turns 17 this summer) -- so we're brainstorming some novel
vacation ideas.

For example, we would like to show the kids Yellowstone, Estes Park,
Colorado, and all of the beautiful scenery in the mountains. The best
way to do this is by car (or motorcycle), but we just don't have
time.

One possible solution: Fly Atlas to Denver, CO, and pick up a big ol'
rental RV. It seems you can rent one for around $600 per week (not
counting gas), and that would give us the "feeling" of a road trip
without the zillion hours spent getting there.

Anyone ever rented an RV? Are they a pain to drive? (I've driven
trucks, but never a motor home.) Anyone ever tried combining a flying
vacation with a road trip?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:
When I was a kid, my dad would take 3 weeks off every summer, and we
would go on long, meandering road trips around the American West and
Southwest.

We never did it in an RV, but my parents did the same thing. Most of
the time we drove the whole trip, but once we flew commercial and rented
a car; eastern Kansas to Seattle was a bit far to drive.

One possible solution: Fly Atlas to Denver, CO, and pick up a big ol'
rental RV.

Having driven one a very little bit, I've got a couple of suggestions:

1) Get some "dual" locally before you go.

It doesn't have to be exactly the same model as what you're going to
rent, but at least approximately the same size. IMHO, the main
difference between most large RVs and other vehicles is that the front
wheels are at best under your butt and at worst a few feet behind you,
which necessitates a different technique at street intersections. It's
not hard, just different. If you know somebody that has an RV, it's
probably worth buying them a couple dozen dollars' worth of fuel (or
giving them some bucks off of a night at the hotel, or whatever) and
driving around with them for an afternoon, both in town and out on the
freeway.

2) Get a good briefing on how all of the gadgets work.

It seems to me that even a big RV with all the toys is a lot like an
airplane - there are only a few controls that are absolutely critical
to making it go and stop (stick/rudder/throttle, steering/brakes/gas),
but a lot of other stuff that you have to know how to operate to have a
safe and enjoyable trip. On an RV, this is stuff like the dual battery
system, propane tank, fresh and waste water tanks, HVAC, kitchen
appliances, etc. Again, most of it is simple, but it's nice to have
somebody that _knows_ show you how to do it. You can learn some of this
locally, but ask when you pick it up for the specifics of the one you're
getting.

There is one argument for renting a car vs. renting an RV. Renting a
car means that you need to tent-camp or stay in a hotel, but since you
know the secret handshake, you can get hotel rooms for like $10 a night,
right? On the other hand, staying in somebody else's hotel, for
you, might be like some of the small-plane pilots I know that hate to
fly commercial - not because of the money or the hassle, but because
_they_ aren't in the left seat.

Matt Roberds

Forget Yellowstone, Glacier and the Tetons in the Summer.

Agreed, but the school schedule rules our lives for another few
years...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

2) Get a good briefing on how all of the gadgets work.

Good idea. I've seen some of these RVs, and it takes a Masters'
Degree to understand half the stuff on board...

There is one argument for renting a car vs. renting an RV. Renting a
car means that you need to tent-camp or stay in a hotel, but since you
know the secret handshake, you can get hotel rooms for like $10 a night,
right?

Yeah, we might just do that, although it would take away some of the
"coolness" of the trip. The kids have camped in our pop-up, and in
tents, but never in an RV.

As for the "secret handshake", strangely there isn't a "clearing
house" for hoteliers to swap rooms. I've thought about starting one
on-line, but don't have time to mess with it.

With many thousands of hotels in America, it would be a simple thing
to set up, so that hotel owners/managers could go on-line and swap
hotel nights with each other.

It would work great, and could be a pretty profitable little venture
on its own...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"