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East coast of USA


Jimalberta

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Howdy Folks....we are contemplating a trip from the west (Alberta) all the way to the east cost to explore and see the sights in the states of Maine, down to wherever...depends on time I guess. We are going to give it a time frame of about 3 months. We dont have a schedule  and do not book ahead. We presently have a 40 ft DP towing a Jeep Cherokee but I am hesitant about taking such a big rig to those congested areas. 

We are exploring options such as buying a B class MH and using it or maybe a small class C that can be parked in parking lots. I dunno. Basically I dont know what to expect down east. I know its more congested and more expensive than our usual forays into the deserts of the western USA.

are there lots of RV parks, state parks etc and can they be used without advance reservations?

I am hoping some of you have been and done this and can give us some much needed input.

thanks in advance....Jim

 

on edit ...we want to hit the highlights of the big cities and then enjoy some of the smaller biways and hiways for more of a taste of the rural life. 

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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56 minutes ago, Jimalberta said:

...enjoy some of the smaller biways and hiways for more of a taste of the rural life... 

Many of these types of roads in the East follow routes originally used by horses and carriage. They can have tight turns and little to no shoulder.  Many state parks were designed and built when RVs were much smaller. The roads may have tight turns and unlike the desert West there may be lots of trees. If your jeep is capable, another option might be a 19-20' travel trailer.

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We just spent most of last year doing exactly what you are looking at doing. We were in a 35' MH with a toad. We don't do Interstates and love backroads. We use an RV specific GPS which has saved us from problems with low clearances and a few bad RR crossings a couple of times. We had no problems with narrow or twisting roads anywhere in fact we like them best.

There are lots of campgrounds etc available. The only times we make reservations are holiday weekends or when we have to be in a specific place at a specific time to meet people. However if you are planning on visiting NYC or DC it may be worth doing some research to find campgrounds as they are few in number and in big demand in the summer.

We went as far North as Cape Breton and ended the year in Florida and had a great time.

Our Blog listed below with our signature can be searched by year, look at 2016 from May onwards and you can follow our trip.

Have fun and enjoy the Lobsters!!

BnB

 

2009 Monaco Cayman DP 38'

bnbrv.blogspot.com/

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Thanks for the replies.....we have decided to purchase a used class C MH and tow our Jeep Cherokee. It will give us a little more flexibility than a 40' DP. When we get home again we will sell the class C.

Scouser we will be checking your blog so as to get more specific tips on those areas.

 

?

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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One thing to be aware of is that many of the campgrounds in the northeast are full of seasonals, so even though it's big, it might not have any spaces, and even if spaces are available, you'll have a MUCH easier time with a smaller RV.  Your decision to not use your 40-foot moho is a sound one.

It can be done in a 40-foot motorhome (we did it), but the smaller it is, the easier it will be.

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Thanks Blues. Am I correct in thinking that the roads and traffic are more congested in the east than the west? I have no idea of what to expect in that area.

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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On another note we test drove a nicely kept class C 25 ft with no slide. Gulp...it was noisy and rough riding...no electric seat and no electric mirrors....both of which I am highly used to. It was also very small inside.  I am starting to think that the DP has really spoiled us.

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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It is what you are used to...we don't find it hard and we are 52 foot...

BTW, I booked a place in Maine the first part of Feb and it was full before my cheque arrived..and yup..many RV parks in Maine do not take plastic..

 

. Arctic Fox 29-5T

. Beagle co-pilots - Faffy and Lulu

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On 2017-04-05 at 8:38 AM, scouserl41 said:

We just spent most of last year doing exactly what you are looking at doing. We were in a 35' MH with a toad. We don't do Interstates and love backroads. We use an RV specific GPS which has saved us from problems with low clearances and a few bad RR crossings a couple of times. We had no problems with narrow or twisting roads anywhere in fact we like them best.

There are lots of campgrounds etc available. The only times we make reservations are holiday weekends or when we have to be in a specific place at a specific time to meet people. However if you are planning on visiting NYC or DC it may be worth doing some research to find campgrounds as they are few in number and in big demand in the summer.

We went as far North as Cape Breton and ended the year in Florida and had a great time.

Our Blog listed below with our signature can be searched by year, look at 2016 from May onwards and you can follow our trip.

Have fun and enjoy the Lobsters!!

BnB

Went to loom at your blog...would have liked to see some sort of index so I could target certain places..

 

. Arctic Fox 29-5T

. Beagle co-pilots - Faffy and Lulu

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17 hours ago, Jimalberta said:

Thanks Blues. Am I correct in thinking that the roads and traffic are more congested in the east than the west? I have no idea of what to expect in that area.

Comparing New England to the desert southwest in the U.S. -- they couldn't be more different.  Everything is just tighter in New England.  In Texas, 60 miles on a highway takes about an hour.  In New England, probably not.

I don't think there's necessarily more traffic, but the traffic can be "local" and therefore not in a hurry.  And the narrower roads don't help. 

We did it in the moho plus toad, and favored US highways because of our size--we were less likely to run into issues.  I remember a couple of routing possibilities where I looked down the road we could have taken as we went by, and I was glad we hadn't gone down it.

Campgrounds are a lot tighter in New England (and more expensive), and as I said above, can be full of seasonals, with limited (or no) space for transients.  We were there after Labor Day, when there were fewer tourists but campgrounds started closing for the season.  So less traffic, but fewer places to stay. 

It's a great place to be, but it's definitely more hassle than the southwest U.S.  That's just physics.

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The fall is wonderful in New England but when we were there last year we wanted to stay in the campground for the Columbus Day weekend and were told "Sorry the CG will be closed for the season on Saturday" so don't leave your visit too late in the year. The fall is peak season in the NE because of the fall colors but we always found a CG with space and only made reservations when we met my wife's brother in Lincoln NH because we had a specific time and place to meet up.

Like I said in my first comment "An RV specific GPS has saved us from problems with low clearances" etc. We had absolutely ZERO problems when using the GPS. I set places along the route to take us thru the towns and areas we wanted to see rather than just the fastest or shortest route and old "Nagging Maggie" did the rest.

BnB 

2009 Monaco Cayman DP 38'

bnbrv.blogspot.com/

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  • 1 month later...

Update on this thread. We just bought a class B van by Great West. Its a great van and will give me the ability to travel without a toad and hopefully park in more accessible places. When the weather turns bad or we get stir crazy we will stay in motels / hotels. Leaving for the east in roughly a week.

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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Thanks Blues , hope you are right.:)

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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Hope you are having a great trip!  Hubby and I are originally from NJ and are very familiar with NJ and eastern PA (having lived there for many years) - so please reach out if you have any questions about those areas!  We are currently workamping in South Jersey if you need a place to stop!  Weekends do fill up and also someone's comment above about seasonals is true - so be sure to book at least your weekends as soon as you have dates!  

Bill and Kelly

2014 Heartland Landmark Grand Canyon

2011 Ford F350 Super Duty Deisel Dual Rear Wheel Extended Cab XLT

<p> Callie along for the ride - Raskal and Cocoa now watching over us from above

new blog: bkamericanodyssey.com

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  • 3 weeks later...

Update on our trip. We decided to head south to New Orleans before we go to the east cost so we are currently just south of Memphis and will arrive in NO tomorrow most likely. Any tips as to where to stay and what to do in NO would be greatly appreciated...thanks.

we seem to be one step ahead of those storms. Had to stop under an overpass once to avoid hail.

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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  • 1 month later...

Well...another update. We are now home back in Southern Alberta. 

We had a great time... put 9,000 miles on the van in 8 weeks , saw and did a lot. Our itinerary in a nurshell:

went  south from home to Shelby MT , east to N Dakota , south through Memphis and Graceland down to New Orleans, did the big easy, toured plantations had a benete (sp) and did a swamp tour. Back up to Nashville did grand Ole Opry , east through the smoky mtns and toured the Biltmore at Ashville,  east to the Chesapeake , Norfolk did a harbor cruise and saw lots of navy ships. up to DC and did all the touristy stuff there,  rode some subways for the first time. The hop on hop off buses are great for getting an over all picture of a city. Then we went to Baltimore, Philadelphia over to NYC stayed in Brooklyn did more subways . Did all the NYC stuff then up to Cape Cod area hung out there at some beaches then up to Boston from Boston to Maine had to have lobster. Then we headed west to the great lakes through the Adirondacks to the thousand island area along lake Erie went to the locks. Over to Niagara Falls, up the middle of Michigan along the south shore of Lake Superior to Duluth north into Canada and home by way of Winnipeg.

Canada and USA are BIG ...soo much driving. Glad we did it wont do it again.

the van was a super excellent choice for a road trip. It rides so nice with its air ride handles more like a car than a MH easy to park and having a kitchen and bathroom along were great. We only ended up sleeping in it around 8 nights as it was soo hot and humid, campgrounds are hard to find and expensive. We found hotels were everywhere and cheap and roomy with wifi , AC , long showers , cable tv and free breakfast so why not?

We liked the east but love the west. Too many people and traffic out east. I will take the rocky mtns of Alberta and the desert of AZ with more appreciation now. But we had a super great time and found that people are the same everywhere fun and friendly.

now its time to sell that van again to the next adventurers.

 

 

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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On 7/27/2017 at 1:23 AM, Jimalberta said:

the van was a super excellent choice for a road trip.

Thanks for the update, and I'm glad it worked out.  As I said upthread, I think a livable van is the best of both worlds for a sightseeing trip, especially a really long trip. 

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