With the coming of spring, RVers’ thoughts turn to planning and embarking on their next adventure.
By Mike Wendland, F426141
March 2013
It’s March, the month that they say comes in like a lion and goes out as a lamb. For those of us who travel the land in motorhomes, that means freezing temperatures slowly go away as the month progresses and, once again, it’s time to hit the road.
Actually, two migrations take place this month. The earliest of the snowbirds, those who fled their homes in northern climes when late fall arrived, start making their way north again for spring. But many others, snowbound and winterized for months, are heartened by the gradually warming days of March and are able to drain the antifreeze and prepare to head out again.
There’s something exciting about that first trip of the year, no matter which way we’re headed. For us, the first trip was in January as we departed our Michigan home in order to chase motorhoming stories in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida.
The week before we left, I was out in the motorhome, packing, doing some simple maintenance, restocking . . . anything for an excuse to putter around in the coach. I sat out there much longer than I needed to, warmed by a little ceramic heater I brought along and powered by a big yellow extension cord from our house to the motorhome’s 30-amp line.
Only three months of idleness had gone by. Because I drive a Type B Roadtrek, it easily fits in my driveway, with no objections from my neighborhood association. So, we’re always close. I visited it at least twice a week during the long winter, running the generator, cranking the engine, brushing off the snow. Making sure mice weren’t inside.
I counted down the days until it was time to get away. The night before, I could scarcely sleep. Silly, isn’t it . . . a grown man . . . a senior citizen, no less, as giddy as a kid on the night before summer vacation.
I’m not alone, I’m sure.
For a lot of motorhome owners, much of the off-season is spent planning out the RV season. So it is with Graham and Jay Gibbs, F422076, from Ottawa, Ontario, who are beginning their third season in a Roadtrek 190. They’ll spend two months crossing Canada to get to Vancouver and then a month returning to their home by traveling back through the United States.
Graham spent hours plotting out his routes, researching the cities they’ll visit, limiting their distance to between 90 and 120 miles each day so they’ll arrive fresh with time to explore. He estimated his total fuel costs (250 gallons consumed for a cost of $1,250); food expenses ($50 a day for a total of $2,000); camping (40 nights at $40 a day for $1,600); and all sorts of other items, such as museums and excursions. He printed out the whole plan, with maps, Web sites, and daily tips on what to see. It ran 18 pages long. And that was just the Canadian portion of the trip. He was still working on the U.S. return route at press time.
And, yet, as organized as Graham is, he’s prepared to change plans as opportunities arise. “For this trip we will not make any campground reservations in advance, since we do not want to be tied to a schedule or even the route in case we hear about something really interesting that is not too much of a diversion,” he said.
I’m respectfully amazed at the detail of his preparations. I may apply some of the things he did as we plan for our big trip west in June to the FMCA Family Reunion in Gillette, Wyoming, using the same tool Graham uses, a $37-a-year service called RV Trip Wizard (www.rvtripwizard.com).
But for our first trip of 2013, in January, I was the exact opposite. I did no planning. I was heading straight down Interstate 75 from Michigan to Florida on a route I have driven a dozen-plus times. I was just so excited to get on the road that, well, I didn’t want to be bogged down with details. So, we just took off, committed only to reaching our final destination in a few days’ time.
And it all worked out fine. We stayed in a commercial campground and on a friend’s hunting plantation in Georgia before reaching the Tampa area, where we camped at the fairgrounds during the big Florida RV SuperShow.
In fact, at our first overnight of the new year just north of Lexington, Kentucky, at the Kentucky Horse Park campground, I found a half-dozen others making a similar trip. The park was open, but the water hookups were still off for the winter.
I visited with Richard and Kathy Anderson from Toledo, Ohio, who were on their way to Naples, Florida, in their Itasca Spirit Type C for their first trip of the year. They were as excited as I was to be on the move.
“Our last trip was October, and about three months is as long as we can go without heading out somewhere,” said Richard. “We’d be full-timers if it wasn’t for the grandkids. There’s nothing like the first trip of the year.”
At the southbound I-75 rest stop in Jellico, Tennessee, there seemed to be more motorhomes than cars. Many RV travelers were taking their little dogs on a walk.
“The first trip is like spring break used to be for us,” said Ed Wilcox, who held leashes attached to two little terriers in matching red sweaters. “Even the dogs are glad to be back on the road,” he said. Ed was headed for the Daytona Beach, Florida, area in a Winnebago Vectra Type A.
The road calls, doesn’t it?
You may not have had a chance to get your rig moving yet, but the new traveling season is here.
See you out there . . . on the open road.
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