Buying or Renting a Motorhome (RV) in America
INDEX
The RV
Rent or Buy Links to our RV Travels
Renting an RV New York, - USA & Canada, 2012
Buying an RV Across the South by RV - LA to Miami, 2011
Choosing the right RV Panama Canal Cruise, 2011
RV built-in facilities 30 USA National Parks & Monuments by RV, 2010
Registration and
Insurance Alaska & The Rockies by RV from LA, 2009
RV Storage Options
RV Clubs and Roadside
Assistance
Servicing the RV
Servicing the RV
The Trip
Planning the Trip
RV Parks and Park
Directories
National Parks and State
Parks
Choose the dates for
travel
Choose your Travel Route
Free Camping
Travel Costs
Ferries
Driving
Driving in the USA
GPS
Towing a Vehicle
Toll Systems
Other
Visas and Passports
Travel Insurance
Money & Cards
Phones & Internet
Shopping and Loyalty
Cards
Please Note: This post is in the process of being set up, as yet links from the index are not set up. My apologies for any inconvenience in have to search and scroll.
Rent or Buy
Whilst
owning the RV has a lot of pluses in it’s favour, if it were for a single trip,
the scales tip towards renting, there can be some tempting deals around,
particularly if it is not in the peak season.
For anything under 4 months, the time required to set it up plus the added
costs of owning, registration, insurance and storage or selling would, in my
opinion rule out buying.
After that
it can be a viable proposition to purchase, particularly if further trips to
the USA or Canada are
planned. In our case, we will have had
10 trips spread between family members over the 48 months of ownership, a total
of 25 months on the road.
Keep in
mind that this blog is written from an Australian’s perspective, consequently
any reference or comparison to Australian systems may, or may not, be relevant to other countries.
However,
the intent here is to explain some of the issues faced by Non-Americans when
trying to navigate through the systems.
Renting an RV
Some
of the big RV renters are USA RV RENTALS,
EL MONTE RV RENTALS and CRUISE AMERICA RV RENTALS, CAMPING WORLD
If you look
at the rental RVs on the road the majority are 24 or 26 ft “C” Class
The
hire RVs are generally 24 or 26 ft Class C, Ours is a 24 and we find it great,
it is classed as a 6 berth, but it is great for 2, the table is always up and
ready to use, the overcab bed is great for storage and the bed at the back is
made up all the time, toilet, shower, big fridge/freezer, built in furnace (LP
gas heating system) built in generator, 110 volt mains power air-con/heater, all
good,
For
hiring, you would need to check out the rates, keep in mind all of the extras,
Such
as bedding, outdoor table & chairs, GPS and mileage.
They
generally allow 100 miles per day and you would need to buy a block of mileage
before heading off, if you think you will do more. It can cost 25 to 40 cents
per mile for the extra mileage if you just leave it until the end of the trip.
We
did 170 miles/day on our National Parks trip in 2010,
220
miles/day on our Alaska
trip in 2009
and
120 miles/day in 2011across the south fro LA to Miami
Insurance
small print items are always a worry
Important
also to check out any area restrictions that might apply.
Some
websites to check out are:
And
the list goes on
In Alaska :
http://www.greatalaskanholidays.com/
is a major renter.
Their
website also offers some great suggestions for Alaska RV destinations
It
also seems Mid April to Early September is the range for the RV season in Alaska.
Another
is : http://alaskabestrvrentals.com/
In Canada
A
few sites to start looking there are :
Buying an RV
The Cost of Owning an RV Stored in USA
The
purchase of the RV which could range from $20k and up, depending on your taste.
A good 6
berth “C” class would probably set you back $35k
Then there
are the fixed costs:
Annual
Registration $120 pa
(will vary depending on the state of registration)
Annual
Insurance 1st
Year $1200, 2nd year
$850 pa
Storage $1440 pa (12
months LA) or $600 pa (12 months in Atlanta)
Good Sam
Membership $20 pa
Good Sam
Roadside Service $110 pa (Platinum)
Good Sam
Mail box $10 per month (plus mail forwarding costs)
Buying the RV
One
shouldn’t loose sight of the fact that compared with Australian and European
prices, RVs are at comparatively bargain prices in the US. I have to say that to try to
screw the last $ out of the purchase price could end up being a disaster and
the exercise wrecked.
Buying second-hand
from a dealer,
Be aware
that the RV will, by law, have been stripped of everything except for the
mattress.
Allow $3500
- $5000 to re-stock with bedding, linen, cutlery, crockery, cooking utensils,
water hose, sewerage disposal hoses and fittings, electrical lead, Snow Chains,
First Aid Kit and of course it is essential to have a GPS.
Plus allow
several days to purchase and set up the equipment before travelling.
Some suggested
sites to start looking on the internet are:
To get an
idea of RV values the NADA site can help, it requires a zip code for your
required area such as 32513 for Pensacola Florida or 92801
for Anaheim California the site is:
Lazydays
have great setup in Tampa Florida. They have now set up a branch in Tucson Arizona,
They
have a huge lot of used RVs, they will give you a golf buggy to tour around the
lot and pick out an RV that you like, once purchased you can camp on their site
whist it is all sorted and being in Florida can make reg & Insurance easier,
The only down side to them was that we could not browse their website for
prices as they do not list them, make an enquiry on a unit and they will email
the price. Also the cost to get to Florida
made it less appealing. In hindsight, it would have been the cheaper way for us
to go. By looking at their website you can see the range of RVs that they have
to offer. They seem to stand by what they sell.
Buying second-hand, private
sale.
Certainly you
could get it for the best price and it will probably come with all the fittings
and furnishings. The problems here are: no warranty, and getting around to view
them. To find one on the internet, you may find the need to travel all over the
country to view them. This of course is costly and time consuming. There have also been horror stories of buyers
from overseas having paid the funds over before they get into the country,
being confronted with a vehicle, a lot less quality than what was expected or
in fact advertised. Once the sale has gone through, you are stuck with it. I
would like to be able to “Kick the Tyres” before handing over the cash.
Another warning that has just been reported, where a deposit apparently does not tie the seller to the person who paid the deposit. An Aussie was negotiating the purchase of an RV in Alaska, stated that he would send a deposit and was told, "Yea that's fine, but if I sell it to someone else before you get here, tuff.
Another warning that has just been reported, where a deposit apparently does not tie the seller to the person who paid the deposit. An Aussie was negotiating the purchase of an RV in Alaska, stated that he would send a deposit and was told, "Yea that's fine, but if I sell it to someone else before you get here, tuff.
USA in general is a very pet friendly
country, and that is born out in the fact that pets are welcome in 99% of RV
Parks, National Parks, State Parks. Etc.
Accordingly they become a part of the RV community and have left their
mark on some RVs on the market. I note
some sellers advertise “No Pets”.
Something to look for, if it may bother you that dogs or cats (or both)
have been living in it.
Buying second-hand
using an intermediary
Still a
gamble, we tried this method, cost an arm & leg in inspection fees and we
still ended up with a lemon that we traded in after two weeks. Cut our losses
and put it down to experience.
Ex Rentals
Our
unit is an ex rental and as they change them after 2 -3 years to keep their
fleet modern, it is not a bad option, They are usually well maintained
mechanically.
Most
ex-rental RVs are sold off through the dealers
Three
of the big RV renters are USA RV RENTALS,
EL MONTE RV RENTALS and CRUISE AMERICA RV RENTALS, It could even be worth contacting them direct
to get on to an ex rental unit before it goes to a dealer.
I
am told that Cruise America is offering deals for international buyers and have
an arrangement with the Arizona
State to accept
registrations there. But check out the registration costs before committing, I
have been told it is excessive.
Payment Options
For details of payment, when purchasing the RV refer to the "Money and Cards" section
Choosing the Right RV
Selection and Size of RV
There are a
lot of huge RVs in the USA,
many of which are driven to a single location and set up for the holiday
season. Many are set up as permanent accommodation. They look great have all
the bells & whistles but they are a pain to drive once off the main highways.
If the RV
is to be used for travel and sightseeing some compromises have to be made.
We found
the “C” Class models were best for travel, they are available in all sizes. From
22ft to 33ft
If you look
at the rental RVs on the road the majority are 24 or 26 ft “C” Class, which is
an indication of the popular sizes
Again in considering that we were intending to
visit a lot of the National Parks, we noted that some of the access roads
restricted travel to 26ft long vehicles
Transport
on ferries and storage parks are also paid on a per foot basis.
Many of the
later model “C” class brands have been incorporating one or two slideouts,
which increase your living space but maintain a small size for driving, Some of
the rental companies are offering them as an option now, so those will soon be
drizzled onto the used RV pool also. But
be aware that to use the slides the RV is required to be perfectly level for
them to operate, This would seem to be an inconvenience if it is just an
overnight stop, so make sure that the RV is still usable without extending the
slides.
Model of RV
As late a
model as possible is best. Lets face it, most products today are made to
replace not repair and often have a built in 10 year life span, I do not see
that the RVs are being made any differently.
I note that
some storage facilities will not store vehicles over 10 years old.
Originally
we purchased in Seattle, through an
intermediary, we ended up with a bomb and traded it when we got to Boise Idaho,
the 1st RV was supposed to be max 30 ft and it was sold as that, but on
collection it was 34ft. It was also a
1997 model and apparently in that era the water and other pipes were below the
floor line, which caused freezing issues all the time during winter, later
models have all the pipes above the floor line. Our current RV which is
the one we bought in Boise is a 24ft Fleetwood Jamboree 2005 model and we find
that just fine, it is a 6 berth but as you would be aware, you would have to be
desperate to travel with 6 in it, It is great for 2 for extended travel, Another option is engine size, we bought a
450 Ford V10, they also have the same size RVs with the 350 Ford engine, I
would assume it would be a saving in fuel, with the 350.
We
went for the 24ft, a 26ft was on offer at the same yard and it had a walk
around bed across the back and would have been a better option, as it is we
have to enter the bed and crawl up to get in, not a big drama but the other
would have been better. The extra $1500 was the decider after coming back from
having to trade in the one that we bought by engaging a “tyre kicker” to
organise the purchase, big and costly mistake, in hindsight we would sooner
allow a week to do the inspections ourself.
It
can very tempting to go for the luxurious “A” Class, and some do and are very
happy with it, but be aware that they come with restrictions as to where you
can drive them and that you are going to be driving in a strange environment,
eg. Left Hand drive, and many of the smaller roads do not have the side verge
that we take for granted. You can find trees or boulders right on the edge of
the bitumen. Often the best solution, if tempted to go for the larger “A”
class, is to go the whole hog and tow a small car. If your mode of holiday is to stay for
extended periods in an area and thoroughly explore the region, before moving
on, then this may well be a good option.
RV Built-in
Facilities
LPG Furnace
Most RVs,
are fitted with a gas furnace, which is a necessity, particularly if travelling
anywhere near the snow.
The
LPG system is different to ours in Australia
and also that of Europe and the UK,
in that it is a large permanently fixed tank, accessed through an outside
hatch, and is only filled by the servo attendant. No Cars run on LPG.
Electric Connection at RV Parks;
The
American electrical system operates on 110 volts as compared with Australia, Europe and UK where they operate on 240
volts It is therefore advisable to take
a 12v/240v inverter with you if you are also taking any electrical items that
may need charging from a 240v outlet.
There are
three connection outlets at most sites 50 amp,
30amp and 15 amp
Most
“C”
class RVs use the 30 amp unless it is a monster with twin aircons. “A”
Class RVs are more likely to have the 50
amp connection. It is a good idea to carry a couple of adaptors 50 male
/ 30 female and 15 male / 30 female. We have needed each of them at
odd times.
Generator
Most Rvs
have a generator installed from new, they are built in and generally only
require maintenance when the RV is serviced. A common model is the Onan 4 or
5Kva (they are quiet).
It is
certainly worth having and should be a criteria when selecting.
It is
essential that the generator is operated at least once per month and if it is a
petrol generator, make sure to have a stabilizers fluid added to your fuel tank
for the last time that the generator is operated before storage. Onan recommend
their “OnaFresh Fuel Preservative and Stabilizer”
Sewer Connections
As with the
electrical system, the USA
use a sewerage system different to those in Australia,
Europe and the UK. Rather than the removable cassette, the US
RVs have a fixed blackwater tank, to which a flexible hose is connected and
plugged into a sewer point in the ground near the rear driver’s side of the RV. Once connected, a slide gate is opened to
drain the blackwater tank into the sewer point. The sewer gate is then closed
and the grey water tank gate opened, this action flushes the hose. We have a habit of flushing a bucket of water
through the toilet bowl to clean the blackwater tank, then a bucket of water
through the kitchen sink to clean out the grey water tank.
Registration and
Insurance
Registration / Insurance
When buying
an RV it has to be registered to a person who has an address in the state where
it is to be registered. Herein lies a
problem, unless you have a friend or relative prepared to lend their address to
your purchase.
Sometimes
to overcome the problem, the salesman will use his address to get the sale done,
however the problem re-arises when renewal comes up and not knowing whether you
will get any mail forwarded on to you from the salesman.
Many states
such as California and Idaho require the RV to be presented for
inspection annually for re-registration.
California and Canada
are particularly hot on having regular “Emissions” Certificates for the RV. California requires one
every 2nd year.
It appears
that Florida
does not require inspection and the RV can be registered for 2 years at the one
time.
We found
the answer was in joining “Good Sam” which is an equivalent to Australia’s RACV, RACQ or NRMA Whilst they are
based in Florida,
it operates nationally.
Good Sam
membership can provide:
An
excellent Roadside Service specific to RVs.
A home
address for Registration using Florida
as the home state.
The same
address for Insurance of the RV
Contact to
an Insurance Company for RVs
A mail
collection and or forwarding service, through their “American Home Base Inc.”
Mail out of
the “Highways” monthly journal
It should
be noted that to arrange a USA
mailing address before you enter the country, it cannot be done through Good
Sam, However you can arrange it direct with “American Home Base” overt the
internet. http://www.amhomebase.com/
I would advise anybody to get the US
address set up first before attempting anything else-- Here`s the problem.Good
Sam would not provide an address until we were in the U.S.However, American
Home Base who actually operate the Good Sam service were happy to oblige with
the address through them direct and we completed the paperwork for the PO box
after we arrived. This meant that we were able to open a bank account with Bank
Of America
as soon as we arrived. The bank was happy with our Aust. Tax file No instead of
the ubiquitious social security No.
We could
not renew our initial insurance, which we had arranged in Idaho
when we bought the RV, as we did not have an Idaho address. Again the answer came through Good Sam and
our Florida
address, However there were some minor hitches in getting the insurance
accepted.
We went
through Gilbert RV Insurance Agency in Orlando
Florida Ph 407-382-9204. We had to explain that we
live in Australia and use
the RV for holidays, eventually that was accepted, it seemed that they were
concerned that it was our only home, as we do not have any other insurance in Florida.
Most important is to arrange the
mailing address with Good Sam before negotiating any deal, insurance,
registration, or any other contract.
We also found
it a hassle to have an extra person’s name added to the list of drivers for the
insurance company. To avoid the drama, list all probable drivers at the time of
setting up the insurance, for the year, if it is intended that they will be
driving the RV for more than a week. The Insurance company required a certified
copy of each persons’ State and International Driving licences. (obtained in Australia
from RACV, NRMA, etc)
No
problems with our insurance going to Alaska, I
know some companies baulk at Mexico
but ours doesn’t. although we haven’t and most likely won’t drive there.
Whilst in USA
just recently we were advised that the US Department of Home Security has
thrown a cat amongst the pigeons by declaring the use of the Good Sam Mailing
address inappropriate for the registration of RVs.
If this is
the case, it would seem to have far reaching effects, as many US citizens
have sold their house and live full time in their RVs and use a mail forwarding
service, such as Good Sam as their legal Address. It appears that the intent is to put a
barrier up for the likes of us “Aliens”.
We have our
RV registered under this address and as yet we have received no notice of any
change, however, please be aware that all may not be plain sailing.
A review of
the options available apart from Good Sam are :
Case 1.
Jeannette Rea from Johnnie Walker
Travel Homes, 5800 Boulder highway Las Vegas NV 89122 www.jwrv.com
comes highly recommended
Jeannette, the RV sales lady did all
the work for them so all they had to do was pick up the keys for her when they
arrived in the US.
Case 2
When we bought in Colorado Springs it was all up to us.
When you buy an RV/vehicle from a
sales place they do not register the vehicle like in Australia. They give you a
temporary notification allowing you 60 days to get it registered.
We didn't pay any sales tax/stamp
duty until you register the vehicle so be very aware of that as it could cost
you big time later.
You must have insurance before you
drive out of the sales yard and that insurance needs to be from the State where
you are going to register the vehicle. eg. We had Nevada
insurance but we had to cancel that and take out South Dakota insurance when we registered it
there,or that is what I have found.
We picked South Dakota to register as it has only 3%
sales tax BUT you need to get a SD driving licence which did include a written
test & drive. For the licence
we did need our I-94 departure card (B1/B2 Visa) With a USA driver’s
licence it make the insurance a lot cheaper.
It seems Sales Tax in Arizona is 6% so it
would be worth while checking out the state you are going to purchase in.
In South Dakota we had help from
Terri Lund
110 E Center St
MADISON SD 57042.
Terri also has a mail service called www.mydakotaaddress.com
Terri has been very helpful and
trustworthy.
Case 3
The vehicle rego in California with
a Florida address was no problem and we have just renewed it on line.(you only
need the smog test in Ca. every 2 nd year) Insurance was done through Michael
Diamond of Diamond Michaels Insurance in Sun City just out of L.A( which is
where we purchased the vehicle) and could not have been simpler. We contacted
him before we left Aust and did it all on line. He arranged cover for us
through Progressive Insurance with full comprehensive and $19,000 cover on the
vehicle for under $400. The added bonus is that Progressive are a recognised
national company which seems to overcome the state based insurance issues. I
would highly recommend him.We did need an international driving licence for the
insurance DMIA - Diamond Michaels
Insurance Agency 28125 Bradley Rd Ste
190, Sun City, CA 92586
(951)
679-1329
We have
just returned from our trip across the Southern States, and there have been
some developments, of which you should be made aware.
In the past
two months, a colleague from Australia
has purchased an RV, privately in Alabama,
picked it up and drove it to Florida
to effect the registration. The registration officials in Pensacola Florida
would not accept the Good Sam address as a legal address for the registration.
He was told that the “Department of Home Security” had intervened and had
declared it not suitable for a legal address.
The staff at Good Sam were beside themselves with the news and the possible
implications, as many US
residents have sold their homes and taken to life in their RV, using Good Sam
as their legal address.
Fortunately
in this case, the Australian buyer did happen to have a cousin who resides in Florida and was able to
use his address, so his problem was solved.
However
that leaves the rest of us up in the air. We have our own RV registered and
insured using the Good Sam address and have not been advised of any change. But
until it is cleared as to whether it was a kneejerk reaction by some official
of the Department or if it will flow through to us we do not know. Maybe it is
a stopper for new registrations not renewals.
We would
hate for someone to be faced with the same problem, based on our
recommendations and not have a handy Cousin to call on.
But all is
not lost, whilst in the USA
we were put in touch with an organisation called “Montana Corporate Services”
and they seem to have the answers to our registration and insurance issues as
Non Residents (Aliens). We have spoken to John McCluskey john@montanacorporate.com and we are satisfied that it is a way to go.
We have attached some brief details below, of their operation, as they were
relayed to us. If interested check out
their website montanacorporate.com, where a series of links end up giving the
complete picture.
Montana
Corporate also offer a mailing service, which seems a little cheaper that Good
Sam.
- http://www.montanacorporate.com
- 1 - Fill-out our simple Montana LLC
online form.
We'll prepare and file it for you.
2 - Buy your RV, boat or airplane in any state, and from any dealer or individual.
3 - We'll get your plates and FedEx them to you. That's it!
How it works
- The Limited Liability Company (LLC) form of business offers both the protections from personal liability of a corporation and the favourable tax treatment of a partnership. It provides for flexibility in the contribution and distribution of assets.
- Under this type of structure, you need not hold annual meetings, elect officers or issue stock.
- There are no stockholders. Owners are called members.
- The LLC can purchase assets like vehicles, boats and aircraft.
- Because the LLC is considered a Montana resident, no sales taxes are collected on any purchases.
- An LLC-purchased vehicle is not owned by you but by your Montana LLC and your business address will be 302 N. Last Chance Gulch, Suite 403, Helena Montana, not your home state address.
- You can also have a personal, Montana mailbox address for LLC members.
- Official Government documents come to us, not you, and we - as your Montana Registered Agent - forward official correspondence to your home address.
- The cost to form your LLC is $575 and is all-inclusive.
The Costs
- Your credit card will be charged when we file your LLC with the Montana Secretary of State.
- We'll send you an email copy of the draft Articles of Organization for your LLC prior to filing. About an hour after that, your Articles of Organization will be filed and your credit card charged $575.
Keep in mind that you will be saving by not having to pay Sales Tax on the purchase of the RV.
You have the option of automating future payments for maintaining your LLC's annual requirements.
Montana does not require proof of insurance to license a vehicle.
When you do insure your vehicle, speak with your insurance
agent and make sure he or she understands your vehicle will be licensed in Montana through your LLC
but may be domiciled elsewhere. If your insurer has a problem with that
situation, here are insurance companies other clients have used successfully: - Garden City Insurance
(Keith Nelson)
Email: info@gardencityins.com
415 N. Higgins Ave., Suite 5
Missoula, MT 59802
(866) 444-1084 [Toll Free]
(406) 549-8527 [Fax] - Farm and City Insurance Services
"Your RV Advantage"
1-800-331-1520 - American
Modern Insurance Group, Inc.
1-800-543-2644
P.O. Box 5323
Cincinnati, OH 45201-5323 - Progressive Auto Insurance
1-800-PROGRESSIVE - Aon Recreation Insurance
1-800-521-2942
There is no problem or barrier for a
non-US citizen to form an LLC in Montana
for the purpose of buying a motor home. We have clients from many countries,
including Australia.
With the use of a PMB (Personal Mail
Box) the member address can be the same as the Montana LLC address. More
details on PMBs can be found here: http://www.montanacorporate.com/PMB.asp
Here are some basic details:
There are just two steps required to
register a motor home or other vehicle in Montana.
·
Form a Montana LLC. This is
always the first procedure and can be done online.
·
Buy the vehicle (or
transfer ownership) in the name of the LLC, and license it in the State of Montana.
We assist you with both steps.
The total cost involved for both
steps is $1,295 for motor homes. For other vehicles like cars, trailers or
motorcycles, the total cost will be $995 plus the Montana State
vehicle registration fee.
You will not pay sales or property tax
on any vehicle licensed in the State of Montana
and no vehicle inspections or proof of insurance is required.
The annual cost to maintain your LLC is
$150 and includes all the functions required to keep the LLC in good standing.
Additional details can be found on our
website: www.montanacorporate.com
Don’t hesitate to email or call if you
have any questions.
RV Storage
RV Storage
It should
be noted that for storage of the RV in USA,
it is preferable to select a storage facility below the snow line of the US, a rough line is through San
Francisco on the West Coast to Myrtle Beach on the East Coast.
We met one
couple taking their RV from Canada
to store it in Southern California for the
winter, as it had caused too much problem during the severe winters in the
North. Crater
Lake NP
has an average of 44ft of snow per year (that is the highest in USA)
can you imagine a motorhome left out in that.
Apart from
the storage cost other issues to be taken into account are:
The cost of
internal flights from the International entry airport to the location of the
storage unit.
The cost of
travel, from the nearest airport.
Cyclone and
Tornado affected areas.
From Australia,
LA is generally the cheapest arrival city and transport from airport to Storage
unit would cost a max of $100 (taxi) there are other cheaper options. We used
an RV Park & Storage only 10 mins walk from Disneyland
and could use the Shuttles from LAX
Myrtle Beach, whilst it has an airport the cost
to get there from LA is via a 3 flight route costing around $500 ea return.
However the whole East lower coast is subject to possible cyclone and storm
damage.
On the East
Coast, Atlanta
is a better option, can be direct from LA at cost of around $300 ea return.
Some random
storage costs: Anaheim LA $120
/ Month
Atlanta $50+ / Month
Indianapolis $60+ / Month
Denver $50 / Month
Myrtle Beach $54 / Month
Storage
of the RV is not a big problem there are many RV storage facilities and whilst
they do not actually take responsibility for the unit, most have secured
entrances that require a code to get into, we started off with Anaheim
Fullarton storage in California and later shifted to one which was 10 mins walk
from Disneyland and is an RV park as well as storage, we used a similar one in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida and also in Atlanta, Georgia.
Just
google RV storage in the area that you want and see what is available,
We
do not winterise the RV, as we choose a storage facility below the snow line,
Some good
deals are available in Arizona, Yuma and Wickenburg.
An
undercover storage was found in Houston
Texas for $60/month
Shuttle
services operate from many airports and are considerably cheaper than taxis. It
is best to pre-book the shuttle via the web: for example SuperShuttle services
over 35 airports:
RV Clubs and Roadside
Assistance
RV Clubs
Good Sam publish a directory and is very good,
it includes state maps with all RV parks noted. Membership is $20 pa and offers
a great roadside service facility for $80 to $120 depending on the level of
service required, We chose the Platinum Service at $120 as it gives us a
complete backup service. Good Sam’s Roadside coverage services http://www.goodsamclub.com/default.aspx
Camp Club USA , Costs $50 per year to join, but that
gives you a copy of Woodall’s, another top directory, plus 50% disc on 1200 RV
parks in USA & Canada,
check out both websites.
An update
here is that:
Passport America has taken over the operations of Camp Club USA
, still the 50% discount applies however there are now over 1800 campgrounds across USA, Canada
and Mexico
available to you. Membership is still around $50pa but well worth it. You can
join online before you get there at www.passportamerica.com They also have a mail forwarding service. A
catalogue of their parks comes with the membership
Family Motor Coach Association
This is the
largest club specifically for Motor Coaches (“A” Class RVs)
Roadside Assistance
Be aware
that RVs do not come with wheel or tyre changing gear, no jack or wheel brace,
there usually is a spare wheel. It is considered too dangerous for owners to be
out changing wheels on the heavy RVs. So
roadside service is a must have option. The other requirement, of course, is
that you will need a mobile phone to contact the service provider.
We
found AAA helpful. Their roadside service is national, but their branches are
all state orientated, we joined AAA in Seattle, Washington, but when we wanted to register the RV in Florida our home branch
didn’t want to know us. We found that Good Sam is a national organisation and
gave us everything we required. Some time later AAA came back and tried to put
us on to a section that would recognise a non USA mailing address. Too late, we had
gone with Good Sam.
Is
a good place to start enquiries with AAA
Twice
when we had a tyre problem and rang Good Sam, it was the AAA local guy that
turned out. So they all work in together anyway.
The
problem often comes from their web site structure, when filling in an
application form for AAA, you will come to a drop down selection for “State”
and it will list all of the US states but will reject any thing such as Qld or
NSW, there can be a drop down for the country and Australia may be listed,
however they do not give an option other than a US state, similarly with
zipcode and an Aussie post code does nothing.
This of course can all be solved by getting a Good Sam mail address.
We
found this problem of web page design several times with US organisations,
whilst it gives the impression that they do not want to deal with any other
than US residents, I think it is more likely just short sighted web page
design.
Planning the Trip
Home Research
We use a Michelin Road Atlas to plot and plan our trip.
We do a lot of research into where we are going to travel, work
out what we want to see and joint the dots on the map to plot the travel
route. Using the internet, we would
google “tourism” for the particular city or area and select the most popular
item and decide what we want to see. Check out City tour operators and note the
preferred tour or just list those features that the tour will visit and prepare
to drive there in the RV. For National
and State Parks the relevant website will give a map and details of the park
and it’s features.
Once
the route and destinations are listed, we try to allocate around 150 - 200 mile
driving legs, to select where we would plan to stay for the night. We would add extra days at cities to provide
a buffer, as we often find recommendations from locals will point us in the
direction of “Must See” places. We print out our Itinerary from that research,
but it is not set in stone, we are prepared to diverge where necessary. As we travel, we will modify a copy of the
itinerary to represent the actual trip for our records. Those itineraries are available to view on
the posts at : http://www.bluroo1.blogspot.com.au
We print off a page for each destination, number them in their
sequence and take them with us to the US.
Trip Records
Our
Alaska trip 2009, 10200 miles, we
spent $2958 for fuel and $636 Camp costs, an average of $73
per day.
Averaged
220
miles per day
2010 National Parks, 7,500 miles, Fuel $2397, Camp costs
$1043
an average of $78 per day. Average
of 170 miles per day.
2011
across the South from Los Angeles to Miami, 7200miles and have stayed
at RV Parks for all
but seven of those nights, 2 freebies, 1 NP & 4 SP, Fuel $2615,
RV Parks $1945
An average of $75 per
day.
Average
of 120 miles per day.
RV Parks & Park
Directories
Cost
of parks vary, of course, $25 -35 for a small town, we paid $60 in Las Vegas
KOA, but only a walk to the strip, $45 in San Diego KOA, have seen $70 in San
Francisco and New Orleans, that’s probably the top of the range. For Florida Keys, State Parks $43, RV Parks
and $60 to $120.at Key West
It is
important to know what type of site you want, We usually ask for : “Water and Electric 30 amp, Back in site”
“Drive
through Full Hookup” is what you will get unless you ask and that is the
dearest. Sometimes there are no options. That will include sewer, cable TV
(could be 90 channels)
“Back in,
water and electric” is all that is needed if you are moving around, if it is
offered it is the cheapest option. In most cases we only use the water in our
tanks and do not use that unless we need to top the storage tank, a taste test
is also a good move. Apart from that, it
is not wise to dump the sewer too frequently, the system works better if it is
left to near full, that allows the chemicals to have time work their magic.
To hook up
to the “town water” directly to your RV is an option, but not one that we have
used, there are sometimes warnings about the pressure, which can cause damage,
unless a pressure attachment is fitted. Unless we were going to have a lengthy
stay it is not worth the risk.
We did call
at two RV Parks where there were no toilet/shower facilities, they only take
RVs that are completely self contained.
Park
laundries Most RV parks have Laundry
facilities, they all take quarters 25Cent pieces in varying quantities. You can
usually buy quarters from the office. We usually start off with a “Log of
Quarters” (40 for $10) you are going to
need them along the way.
Good Sam
Apart from
the insurance, registration and mail assistance, Good Sam membership gives a 10%
discount on many RV supplies as well as a discount on Good Sam listed RV parks.
Their
website is: www.goodsamclub.com
KOA (Kampgrounds of America)
A chain of
RV parks, well worth signing up to. They are a national franchise group, generally
the parks are well run and well set up.
I believe they are linked with “Big 4” in Australia., maybe they will
give reciprocal rights, I do not know.
Sometimes they are expensive eg. Nashville
$56. while the park up the road was $35. You will find them at www.koa.com
Camp Club USA , Costs $50 per year to join, but that
gives you a copy of Woodalls, another top directory, plus 50% disc on 1200 RV
parks in USA & Canada,
check out both websites. An update here is that :
Passport America has taken over the operations of Camp Club USA
, still the 50% discount applies however there are now over 1800 campgrounds across USA, Canada
and Mexico
available to you. Membership is still around $50pa but well worth it. You can join
online before you get there at www.passportamerica.com They also have a mail forwarding service. A
catalogue of their parks comes with the membership
Disneyworld, Orlando, Florida
There is an
RV Park in the Disneyworld complex called Fort
Wilderness Resort and we noted that one of the boats from the main gate called
there, so it certainly would be a good option and is $61 to $76 per night with
no transport worries between the three Disneyworld Parks. Complimentary
transport is available to all Disney parks and to Downtown Orlando.
Park Directories
Printed
directories are a must, to have at least one.
Woodalls Full directory of all RV Parks
Good
Sam Trailer
Life Directory Full directory of all RV
Parks
Passport
America Their directory is restricted to the 1800
or so affiliated clubs
Online
directories are also available at:
National Parks &
State Parks
National Parks and National
Monuments
Both are
controlled by the National Parks Service.
The
difference between them is that the NPs have been gazetted so by Congress,
which can take a long time to achieve. It was realized that a much faster way
to preserve a natural or historic “treasure” was for it to be declared a
national monument, which the President could do with the stroke of a pen.
From the
public’s point of view they are treated the same.
Probably
the best investment a motor homing tourist can buy, is a National Parks Annual
Pass. The cost is $80 and it’s value can be seen when you consider some of the
NPs charge up to $25 entry, plus $20 per night camping. The annual pass gives
free entry and usually a 50% reduction on the camping charge. Another point with the pass is that it allows
for two signatories on the card, which could be two drivers that will use the
RV at different times through the year.
At the park entrance both the card and the drivers Photo ID are
sometimes requested and checked.
The card
can be purchased from the entry booth of the first National Park that you visit
and applies for 12 months from that date.
A great
website we were told of is : www.reserveamerica.com
which will
display all of the RV friendly national and state parks within a given distance
or direction of your intended travel, reservations can be booked ahead, or just
use it to find what parks are in the area.
National
Parks, a lot are run on the honour system, pick a site, fill in a coupon put your money in an envelope
and drop it in the box, prices range from $8 to $20, State Parks are usually
dearer but often better facilities, California state parks are the dearest, as
is their petrol.
Note,
the National Parks Pass does not give a discount for State Parks.
Choose the Dates for
Travel
15th May the magic date
Many
tourist facilities are closed until 15th May
Skagway Alaska.
First cruise ships for the season start to arrive and the town comes to
life after the winter closure, Most of the store holders close their stores and
depart for the winter.
Access to
Denali NP can be limited before 15th May as their shuttle busses
start about then.
The
Klondike Loop is not a loop until after the “Top of the World” highway opens
after the winter shutdown each year, There is an international border on the
road and the road opens when the US Customs opens the office each year, which
is about 15th May. The top of the world highway forms the link
between the Alaska Hwy
and the Klondike Hwy
to make the loop
Access
through Yellowstone
National Park is
restricted to the Northern and Western entrances until late May, which leaves
the North East, Eastern and Southern entrances closed until then.
Shuttle
busses at Bryce Canyon NP do not start until about 1st June (but you
can drive the same route)
Access
through Yosemite NP to the Western entrance is closed until about then. (Access
to Yosemite Valley is still ok from the West.)
Access to
the Mariposa Grove just outside Yosemite opens
around 1st June
Logan Pass on the “Going to the Sun” road
through Glacier NP does not open until after 17th June
The walking
track down to the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde NP opens about 15th
May (you can still view them from the lookout points)
The Rim Rd at Crater
Lake NP does not open til after 1st June (But you can still get to
see the lake)
The “Trail Ridge Rd” through the Rocky Mountains NP does not open
until early June
Events of Interest
Quartzsite : A
winter haven for RVers Quartzsite, in Western Arizona, just 20 miles east of
the Colorado River on I-10, Quartzsite has
been a rockhound's paradise since the 1960s. These days, it is also a mecca to
well over a million visitors each year, most of whom converge on this small
town in a wave of RVs during the months of January and February, these RVers
are referred to as “Snow Birds”. At
this time of the year, 2,000 vendors of rocks, gems, minerals, fossils and
everything else imaginable create one of the world's largest open air flea
markets in Quartzsite. Eight major gem and mineral shows as well as vendors of
raw and handcrafted merchandise peddle their wares to the snowbirds, collectors
and enthusiasts, making Quartzsite the place to be the first two months of each
year.
Calgary Stampede
Early July 2012, 6th to 15th is the 100th
anniversary
Autumn in New
England
Famous for
the Autumn foliage is best between Sept 22 to Oct 22
White Christmas
Certainly
the place to experience a White Christmas, although not necessarily a pleasant
one if in an RV.
Florida
The winter
destination for many US
holiday makers, the season there starts 1st November
Halloween
October 31st Not a public holiday, but a lot of
hype goes on with pumpkins, scary stuff and the like. The kids get right into
it. Often the funds raised at Halloween
go to UNICEF
Tornados
The Tornado
season is basically Spring, (March – June) although they can occur at any time.
Tornado
Alley, where they are most prevalent is
a tract from the Gulf of Mexico up through Texas,
Kansas, Oklahoma
& Nebraska
Hurricanes
The
Hurricane season is from 1st June – 30th Nov
(Katrina was 23rd August)
Whilst the
entire East and Gulf Coasts are vulnerable, Most affected regions are New Orleans and Southern Florida
Travel dates to consider.
Summer begins 22nd June
Autumn
begins 22nd
Sept
Winter
Begins 22nd
Dec
Spring
Begins 22nd
Mar
Autumn in New England Between
Sept 22 to Nov 1
Tourist
Season starts Memorial Day
(Last Monday in May)
Calgary Stampede Early July
Wild Bill
Show (Cody) starts 1st June
Florida season starts 1st November
Do not even
consider touring Alaska
without a copy of “Milepost”, available at all newsagents.
For the
lower 48 states a similar book is “Next Exit” at about $20
Choose your Travel Route
Starting and finishing
point
Obviously
needs to be your storage facility.
We
have had our RV stored 10 mins walk from Disneyland in Anaheim California and
it has been a great starting point for the 6 trips that the unit has had since
we bought it. Our first trip was certainly the trip of a lifetime it was 10,200mile
(16000km)
Mind
you our 2nd trip around the 30 National Parks was also a ripper, it
was about 7000 miles. If we had to choose only 1 then Alaska would get the gong.
If
we
were going to Alaska again, we would aim to
get to Glacier NP in Montana, then through Banff, up the Icefields
Parkway to Jasper on to Dawson
Creek where the Alaska Highway starts with a big “Zero” mile post
in the middle of town and follow that through to Delta Junction, down to
Valdez, then around to Anchorage. Back through Fairbanks
along the Alaska Highway to Tok, turn left along the “Top of the World
Highway”
through Chicken on to Dawson
City. The down the
Klondike Highway to Whitehorse the access to Dawson City that way is
depending on the weather the US customs between Chicken and Dawson City
does
not open until around 15th May, just need to check before you go for
that year. The drive down to Skagway
was well worth it and should not be missed.
We
were unable to do the “Klondike Loop” as we were a week too early and the road
was not yet open at the top, it was our only disappointment of the trip.
Our
3rd trip came about by us wanting to shift the starting off point to
the East Coast, so we could maximise our next holiday trips from there. Once we
had plotted the trip and done an itinerary, we both became quite excited about
it. It took us across the Southern States, did a loop up the music trail from
New Orleans and it’s Jazz to Clarksdale, the home of the Delta Blues, then to Elvis’s
stomping ground, Memphis, Jackson and then to the home of Country Music,
Nashville. We concluded our trip with a fair coverage of Florida,
before storing the RV in Fort
Lauderdale.
All
of these trips can be checked out in detail at http://www.bluroo1.blogspot.com.au
Which
includes route maps, travel times and travel costs
Our
next scheduled trip in 2012 will cover the North Eastern quarter of USA
and around the great lakes.
Reno
If
travelling through Reno make a point of visiting
the “National Motor
Museum” you won’t be
disappointed.
Can also
recommend Reno RV Park 735 Mill St Reno $30
Close to
town & Museum, Bus outside front to town
Free Camping
Free Camping
Free camping is not a problem, however in some areas, it becomes
difficult to pick a spot.
Wal-Mart seems to be the favoured place for free camping and
sometimes they can look pretty crowded. In general Wal-Marts policy is to allow
camping in their carpark, however some towns have regulations against it and
consequently those Wal-Mart stores cannot oblige. It is required that you see the “Customer
Service” desk inside the store and ask permission to camp for the night.
We had our RV booked in for service at a Camping World store the
next day and asked if we could stay outside overnight, No problems go for it.
They didn’t tell us that they had music blaring out over speakers throughout
the yard all night, we had wondered why we were on our own.
Free Camping “Boondocking”
as it is known in the USA Check out
the following links, one gives Wal-Mart’s policy and a download of the 4000
Wal-Mart locations
Travel in a
recreational vehicle (RV) can get costly, what with the price of fuel, vehicle
maintenance, tolls, parking and supplies. There are ways, however, to make the
trip more economical, particularly when faced with an unplanned stop. With just
a little research, a smart and thrifty RV traveller can find ways to save. The
easiest way is to prepare a list of free RV parking locations. Free RV
campgrounds, or boondocking sites, exist in every state across the U.S.
Read more: How to Get Free RV Parking | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2104898_get-free-rv-parking.html#ixzz1mFm072ja
Travel Costs
Cost of travelling in an RV will vary according to your preferred
way of living. Excluding the costs
incurred with the purchase or rental of the RV The basic cost of any travelling is made up
of Fuel, Accommodation and Food.
Fuel, Certainly the major
outlay for the RVer, however it has to be taken in context with the trip that
you are doing. Of our three trips covering 25,000 miles we spent $7970 on fuel.
Accommodation, Whilst the RV provides the basic
accommodation, it is relevant to include the costs of RV Parks. For those three
trips we also spent $3625 on camping fees including National, State and
Commercial Parks For those who want to
free camp all the time this will reduce the cost or if always in a commercial
park this will increase the outlay
Food, Most RVs have a large
capacity fridge and freezer, fresh food is just as available in the US and
Canada as it is in Australia, only cheaper (probably 20% cheaper). However, we
do not factor in the cost of food as a trip cost, as we would be eating the
same type of food at home in Australia,
so there is no extra cost incurred.
There is of course the opportunity to experience a different range of
products available.
Our Trip Records
Our
Alaska trip 2009, 10200 miles, we
spent $2958 for fuel and $636 Camp costs, an average of $73
per day.
Averaged
220
miles per day
2010 National Parks, 7,500 miles, Fuel $2397, Camp costs
$1043
an average of $78 per day. Average
of 170 miles per day.
2011
across the South from Los Angeles to Miami, 7200miles and have stayed
at RV Parks for all
but seven of those nights, 2 freebies, 1 NP & 4 SP, Fuel $2615,
RV Parks $1945
An average of $75 per
day.
Average
of 120 miles per day.
Ferries
For
our inside passage trip, we booked the ferry through BC Ferries online before we left Australia, We ferried from Port
Angeles to Victoria, drove to Port Hardy at the top of VI where we had our
passage booked to Prince Rupert, Depending on the time of year and the
weather as to how far up the inside passage the ferry will take you, all that info
is on their internet schedule. http://www.bcferries.com/
Alaska Marine Highway
Ferry System also has a lot of information and destinations
On the other side of Canada
Marine Atlantic runs ferry services
to Newfoundland
Throughout
the USA
we have come across several ferries that simply link roads across rivers or
entrances to waterways, in the main these are a free service run by the relevant
state transport authority.
Driving in the USA
General Driving Differences
Coming from
the Australian system, we found several issues that stand out and are worth
noting. Of course there is the issue of driving on the wrong side of the road,
but everyone else over there copes with it, plus the fact that they put the
steering wheel on the wrong side of the vehicle certainly helps.
Right turn through the red light at intersections is a great move,
it certainly allows traffic to clear.
The position of traffic lights. In Australia, the traffic lights are
on both sides of the intersection, so at a red light you would stop at the
first light. In the US,
the lights are usually only on the far side of the intersection, which means
you need to stop well before the light.
Left turn at intersections is a hard one to
get used to, you have to think “Left Over” and get to the other side of the
traffic before turning.
Right turn
“Turn Right, Hang Tight” is a
good reminder
Petrol Station
Etiquette
- Petrol, called gasoline in USA, it’s not always the cheapest petrol advertised and some stations advertise their fuel prices as “cash” price;
- Petrol stations there are all individual in relation to payment methods;
- General method is to pay by card at the pump prior to lifting up the petrol nozzle, however a large number of servos required you to key in your Zip Code (for the card) to use this method and if your Zip Code isn’t in a particular area it won’t let you pay this way and you have to pay inside prior to lifting the fuel nozzle. We were told that if you use 00000 (5 zeros) as the zip code it works sometimes. it didn’t for us so haven’t tried again.
- Some of the servos will only let you pre-pay a set amount, ie $50, $100 etc, but the problem here is, we wanted to fill up all the time, so this method didn’t suit us;
- Failing all else, they would require you to leave (yes leave) your credit card with the attendant. As a safety precaution one of us would remain inside with the credit card and wait for the other to finish filling the RV, then pay for the fuel. We had to use this method a majority of the time.
- Another approach is where you go in and prepay $100 on your credit card, come out and fill the tank, if the tank fills at $85 then you go back and get a credit on your card for the $15. Often the computer system will not allow the attendant to start the pump without a payment being made.
- In some areas we travelled, the norm was to use your credit card at the pump, in & out quickly, lift the nozzle, select the grade of fuel, fill tank, hang up nozzle and a receipt is printed out.
- In some areas in Canada we found a $100 limit on auto credit card sales. If you know you require more to fill, go to the cashier first, we have been blocked trying to do another transaction after the first is completed.
- Oregon is one of two states where the driver cannot use the bowser, an attendant must do that.
- There were a few occasions where the attendant let us fill and pay after, as we do in Australia, however these locations were rare and usually in a remote area.
GPS Navigation System
A must, in
particular when travelling through the major cities, with their freeway
systems.
Tom Tom & Garmin seem to be the
most popular. However if you want to check out a ripper system, very affordable
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/7-GPS-Australia-sat-nav-navigation-system-Bluetooth-/220840256560?pt=AU_Electronics_GPS&hash=item336b1ae430
Mine came
(delivered to Australia) without maps for USA & Canada, but they are
downloadable from the internet at no cost, a colleague had his delivered to the
USA and it had maps for USA, Canada and Australia as well as every country on
it, even Iceland. I suppose when ordering, it could be requested that those
maps be included. Have only tried mine in Australia so far but the voice
instructions given are very good.
While the
GPS will get you to the required destination, if you have it set on “Fastest
Route” it will go out of it’s way to get you onto a freeway, however if it is
set on “Shortest Route” you could find yourself weaving in and around narrow
suburban streets, It might be good to see the area but frustrating being in an
RV. We try to keep it on “Fastest Route”
however will check the route planned and ask for an alternative route if it
looks a problem.
Freeway Driving
Driving the
freeways can be daunting as often you are in an unknown area and dependant on
the instruction from the GPS. In the RV,
we found it best to travel in the second lane from the right, if in the extreme
right lane, it is possible to get shunted off the freeway by the lane becoming
an “exit only” lane. The Tom Tom GPS
voice command would be telling us to keep left, however we found that we had to
interpret this as “do not take the next exit”.
Of course
you can still get into trouble, I recall being in the 2nd lane, all
of a sudden another freeway merged on the right and we found ourselves in the
sixth lane, of course the GPS then told us to take the next exit. Two choices,
panic or keep going, best to just ignore the GPS and move over as the traffic
allows, take the next safely available exit and then allow the GPS to get you
back on track.
We use an international licence and
needed to send a certified copy for the insurance, It is important that all
probable drivers for the year be listed and a copy of their International
Driver’s licence be sent to the insurer when arranging insurance. However if
and when asked for my licence on the road, I would offer my Australian Licence
and have had no problems.
The
roads can be good, to absolutely disgusting, There is a problem called “Perma
Frost” where the ground is permanently frozen and the bitumen road can rise and
fall and be very scary to drive on at time. Whilst it is very pronounced in
some sections of Alaska,
we felt that other areas used it as an excuse for the deteriorated roads. Some of the older freeways are concrete slabs
and the continuous “kerchunk, kerchunk, kerchunk as you cross the slab joins can drive you
mad. On the good side where they have used bitumen they can be pretty good. One
thing we noticed on some secondary roads, was the absence of a verge on the
side of the roads in some states, trees, boulders etc can be right at the edge
of the bitumen, tends to push you to the centre of the road and needs to be
watched.
Toll Systems
Toll Roads & Bridges
On the West
coast we only encountered tolls on the Golden Gate Bridge,
however it is only charged on South bound traffic, no charge on North bound.
The East
coast is a different matter,
New York has EZPass toll system which
appears similar to the Victorian E Tag system. Cost for the EZPass is $25 and
the $25 is posted as a credit to your
account.
There are 7
addresses in New York
where you can walk in and get a pass. Have your “Good Sam” address and your RV
details available when applying.
Florida has the SunPass for the toll roads there, although unless you are in a
desperate hurry, there are acceptable alternate routes. https://www.sunpass.com/index
Illinois, Chicago has the
I-Pass which can be used on
the Chicago Skyway, the Indiana
Toll Road and in 14 states where the E-ZPass is
accepted
I-Pass can be obtained online at :
or get the
locations for pick up from that same web site
E-ZPass can be obtained from : http://www.nh.gov/dot/org/operations/turnpikes/ezpass/index.htm
The
following states accept both the E-ZPass or the I-Pass
New
York, Maine, Maryland, Virginia, West
Virginia, Delaware, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, Illinois,
& New Jersey
Texas has the TxTag system :
California has
FasTrak : http://www.bayareafastrak.org/
However in
all our travels in California
we were never forced to use it, there is always an alternative, except of
course for the bridges where you can pay cash anyway.
North Carolina has Quick Pass
: https://www.myncquickpass.com/en/home/index.shtml
Michigan does not have any toll roads
Towing a Car
Towing a small car in US is not a problem
a lot do it, we have seen full size Hummers on tow, but not many who are doing
a lot of miles,
We tow one in Aus, but found we could
work around it in the US
by making sure we buy our supplies before setting up camp.
Tow Vehicle
A Tow vehicle can be an automatic, however a special pump
arrangement is needed to ensure that the Auto gearbox is being lubricated, the
following web site has details of what is needed.
A
good option to this is a small
4WD auto, which can be towed using the two gear shifts. The 2000 Chevy
Trakker is a good choice here. To flat tow it
:
Auto lever in Park, 4WD gear
shift in Neutral and Ignition turned on
(to negate the steering lock)
Visa & Passports
Visa
Waiver Program
Visa Waiver Program:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html There are 35 countries where the visa waiver
program will provide entry to the USA, the application form can be downloaded
from : http://immigration.terra.com/visa_waiver.html It appears that it must be accompanied by
an e-passport, (the newer ones with the micro chip) The program, once issued is valid for two
years and costs around $14.
Be aware that the Visa/Waver program does not extend
beyond 90 days and all hell can break loose if you go over.
A recent check with an US Immigration officer on the Canadian Border, Asked if the 90 days would be reset upon re-entering USA after a period in Canada, The response was " For Canada and Mexico, no, however, if you visit other countries such as England or Costa Rica, then return to the U.S., your re-entry will be considered to be a new admission, rather than a re-entry from a contiguous country in the course of your initial visit, and the admission inspection may be more strenuous. The CBP Officer inspecting you will want evidence that you intend to go back home to your country of citizenship to live as opposed to returning again and again to the U.S. after visits to other countries. Remember, a B1 or B2 visa allows you to come to the U.S. to visit. If the CBP Officer suspects that you are actually trying to be a de facto resident, you will be denied entry."
A recent check with an US Immigration officer on the Canadian Border, Asked if the 90 days would be reset upon re-entering USA after a period in Canada, The response was " For Canada and Mexico, no, however, if you visit other countries such as England or Costa Rica, then return to the U.S., your re-entry will be considered to be a new admission, rather than a re-entry from a contiguous country in the course of your initial visit, and the admission inspection may be more strenuous. The CBP Officer inspecting you will want evidence that you intend to go back home to your country of citizenship to live as opposed to returning again and again to the U.S. after visits to other countries. Remember, a B1 or B2 visa allows you to come to the U.S. to visit. If the CBP Officer suspects that you are actually trying to be a de facto resident, you will be denied entry."
Extended Visa for USA
There is the availability of an extended visa called
the B1/B2 Visa.
The B1/B2 Visa is available for 12 months or 5 years, so it would
be wise to apply for the 5 years. The
B-1 is for business visa and the B-2 is
for for a tourist visa. And the initial
application can be started on the internet, by downloading the forms at : https://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/b2-tourist-visa.html
The USA Consulate addresses in Australia are:
Melbourne : http://melbourne.usconsulate.gov/ Sydney
: http://sydney.usconsulate.gov/
Canberra :
http://canberra.usembassy.gov/visas.html Perth :
http://perth.usconsulate.gov/
On the website for the USA Consulate in Australia to apply for a B1/B2
Visa. The on line website asks a lot of
questions and tells you what to take to the Consulate when you go in person to
make the application. An appointment is made on line and a date and time
allocated to you.
You arrive at the Consulate at the appointed time, there are
probably a heap of others there who have the same appointment time, however
they process the applications pretty quickly.
The documents that you will take with you provide proof to them
that: you can support yourself, will not be looking to work in the USA and that
you have sufficient need to return to Australia, eg Bank accounts, proof of
home ownership, assets, family, etc, etc.
Be aware that whilst it might be a 5 year visa, it still only
allows you to be in the USA
for a maximum of 6 months at a time. So you can come and go for 6 month blocks
throughout the five years. If you are
wishing to stay for longer than 6 months it would be well to arrange your trip
that you will be in Canada or Mexico for a period, before the 6 months is up.
It would also be a good idea to check with the consulate, as to how long you
need to be out of the US,
before re-entering
Passports
Apart
from the obvious need to have a passport to enter the country, they do need to
be kept handy, as they can be called on at all times, as we have travelled
through Texas, close to the Mexican Border we
have had to produce our passports at checkpoints within the USA
2 or 3 times a day.
There
are no problems going between states, usually just a state line as in Australia,
no check points or staff, and probably just a different price for petrol.
Canada
is a different story, there is a Customs office on each border crossing, no
great hassles, need to show passport and have it stamped as you enter the
country. And again when re-entering the US through the customs check point.
Mexico
seems to be another story, unless you are planning to stay and tour in Mexico,
you would be wise to leave the RV in USA and walk over, In Tijuana there is at
least a 2-3 hour wait to get the vehicle back into the US.
Travel Insurance
Travel Insurance
Most of the
high end Credit Cards have complimentary travel insurance. ANZ has an 80year age limit on theirs.
Westpac
Visa Gold has no age limit, nearly all are covered by Zurich Insurance, and a
written response from Zurich
was given confirming the no age limit. However pre existing medical conditions
are not covered unless it is requested and approved. The only criteria is that the full return
fare is paid on the credit card and it should be noted that for coverage to be
included on any side trips, such as a City Tour with a tour company, then the
payment for that tour must also have been paid for on the card.
This same
medical exclusion and condition applied to all other travel insurance policies
that I checked, as well as having an age supplement on their premium which
after 72years almost doubles the premium.
In Australia,
for those not game to risk the complimentary insurance offers, then try :
World Care
Insurance, Travel Insurance
Direct, My Cover Insurance
Be aware
that the cost of hospitalisation and medical treatment in the US is astronomical.
On a recent
trip, a fall during skiing caused a $1500 bill, which was for an x-ray and one
doctor’s visit. Fortunately travel
insurance covered the bill.
Another,
with a tummy upset, drew a $450 doctor’s fee for one visit
Money & Cards
Travelling expenses and purchases
We find the
Travel Card works well for us, we
use the ANZ Travel card loaded with
US$ before we leave Australia, There are no extra fees charged for conversion
on each purchase, we have accepted the exchange rate that we are happy with
when we loaded the card. We will also use the travel card to draw cash from an
ATM usually $300 each time to have some cash available, we often make those
withdrawals from inside a WalMart.
An
alterative Travel Card is the Ozforex which is put out by the Macquarie Bank,
it appears cheaper than the others, by not have a reload fee, (the ANZ card has
a 1.1% reload fee.)
You can
load up to AU$25,000 on to the card over several currencies. You can also apply online : http://www.ozforex.com.au/our-services/travel-card
Another
suggestion that apparently works well, is to keep an eye on the exchange rate,
when it is up, buy Walmart Gift Cards, that way you save 5% on the money and a
further 3 cents on fuel.
Normal
Credit Cards Mastercard and Visa do not present a problem, however American
Express and Diners often attract an additional charge. The issue you have to
deal with there is all the conversion cost entries on your statement.
One other problem
we have found with credit cards, including the Travel Card, in USA is when trying
to use them in an automatic vending machine, for petrol etc, the machine
requests a zip code for the particular card before it will process the sale, as
an Australian zip will not suffice, the sale is aborted and you need to go into
the store and deal with the cashier. The same problem arose when trying to make
a purchase over the phone, to a store where I had already made two purchases using
the same card, but as I was not there in person with the card the phone system
required a 5 digit zip code. Buying a
SunPass for the Florida
toll system on line and I was confronted with the same zip code issue. In that
case I put on 00000 and it went through. Interestingly an add for the Sunpass
was promoting it’s ease of use for visitors.
Bank Account
We tried the bank for an account, it was
hassle because you are not local and require a national ID card. However
another couple were successful, This was their experience:-
would advise anybody
to get the US address set up first before attempting anything else-- Here`s the
problem.Good Sam would not provide an address until we were in the U.S.However,
American Home Base who actually operate the Good Sam service were happy to
oblige with the address through them direct and we completed the paperwork for
the PO box after we arrived. This meant that we were able to open a bank
account with Bank Of America
as soon as we arrived. The bank was happy with our Aust. Tax file No instead of
the ubiquitious social security No. We generally operate on our Aust NAB
bank card however as the fees are minimal and have had no problems at all
with it or our Aust drivers licenses.
Bank of America is one of the largest in
the USA,
some banks are small, some confined to a state or an area. It has since
be checked out with Bank of America, who confirmed that a Driving Licence and
Passport would be sufficient to open an account (although it might be safer to
have a document with your Tax File Number as back up). A debit card would be
immediately available on opening the account. This would save a lot of hassles
at the petrol pump
Paying for
the Purchase of an RV
When paying for the purchase of an RV, the safest way
is to have your home bank pre- warned and prepared to transfer the funds to the
nominated seller of the RV. Whether it be to an individual or a RV dealer it
shouldn’t matter, so long as you have the funds available and the bank has
agreed to the request.
In considering how others have transferred the funds
for their RV, I was given the following responses:
- We paid for the RV using our credit card. We put enough money on it to cover the purchase and they just did a normal Visa transaction. This meant there was a fee for international use etc but it was the easiest way for us.
2. My method was simple, however, I was in Australia to look after the initial bank arrangements, not the U.S.
I paid the deposit with a telegraphic transfer through my bank. Then as the amount to be paid was over $25,000 my bank opened an account in U.S. dollars. When the time came to pay the balance I was in America, however, because I had already signed all the necessary paperwork before I left Australia, my wife simply handed that paperwork to the bank for the final transfer. I had the account details of the seller obviously.
Quite easy really, but you'll need a sympathetic bank and a bit of push from yourself, as they do this for importing businesses but not generally for single private transactions.
Another possibility is to use PayPal. (This
system is used for most purchases on Ebay and is very reliable) Both the
buyer and the seller need to have a PayPal account. You would need
to have on your PayPal account, both a credit card and a bank account
details. The system works this way:
You want to buy for $25,000 It would
require two transactions as there is a $12500 limit per transaction, both can
be done on the same day. You would have to go on to the internet open you
account with PayPal and direct the funds to come from your bank account
option, the transfer is very quick, (Note, if, when the bank goes to pay
the bill if there are insufficient funds it reverts to your credit card, that’s
PayPals backup) If you only have a bank account registered with PayPal
then it will take 3 -5 days to clear the funds, If you only have a credit card
with them the card would need to have a facility for a $25000 withdrawal.
The fees associated with PayPal are 2.9% so you could expect the
seller to add $625 to the price of the RV as he is the one who cops that fee.
Ozforex also arranges international money transfers
for amounts over $2000, and their fee structure looks quite favourable. http://www.ozforex.com.au/
If you are be able to
arrange a bank transfer from your home bank to a US bank, your bank will hit you with fees and so will
the US bank. Whatever way you chose the process will probably take a few
days and there are fees, no matter which option you take.
Cash is the other option
but that’s a lot to be carrying and you would need to declare it when
travelling.
Another point to be aware of, I am told is that
it is almost impossible to cash a cheque in USA unless you have a bank account
and it is almost impossible to open one of them without a social security card.
The only other option could be a store that advertises “Checks
Cashed” and they would take a large chunk for themselves.
Phones & Internet
Mobile phones The best coverage seems
to be with Verison, however that is a CDMA system and those phones do not have
a sim card, we spoke to a Verison salesman in one of the shopping malls and
there seemed to be a way of getting a good deal, particularly if you are going
to use it with frequent trips, certainly worth a check there seemed to be a way
of buying a phone and arranging that you can retain the same number each time
you return. However I did not take note of the procedures required and would
suggest if that is your preferred way, then front up to a Verison store and ask
the question.
When we were not getting reception in the North
Dakota/Montana area, we noted others were chatting away on their phones, I
could not contain myself and would ask who their carrier was, invariably it was
Verison. Ours was with AT&T which
seems to be the next best. I made a
point of checking out with the users, to find that Verison was their
carrier.
I found my AT&T mobile when out of range, would
show “Emergency Only” reception, now I do not know what that would do, or who
you could call on it and whether a flat tyre would be classed as “Emergency” in
their eyes. Most Mobile phones are tuned to have 112, 911 & 999
pre-programmed as emergency numbers and they will scour all phone carriers to
find a connection. The phone companies operating in Alaska are 1. Alaska Communications,
2. AT&T, 3 GCI Wireless & 4. Verison (who uses Alaska Communications
network). I am told that Verison works well in Alaska,
For a sim card phone AT&T are the only company to
go with, We use our own phone, with a sim card bought from an AT&T store, we
have a 10c per min plan with no contract. You can buy $100 credit and it will
last 12 months, or lesser amounts for lesser periods.
Another couples recent experiences are worthy of note
:-
The telephone story is
unbelievable! We eventually settled on a prepaid one with Verizon for $1.98 per
day, when used, and also a prepaid Verizon
Wi Fi at $50 per month for
1 gig. Not cheap but we like to stay in touch with the family and the coverage
has been very good.
Broadband, we found it too expensive to get a
plan for ourselves, but it was easily worked around as most RV parks have Wi Fi
available, most are free, others a small fee.
If you are predominantly free camping you might look at the
Verizon
example above. There are a lot of mobile broadband systems advertised in
the USA, but they seem to be more expensive than in Australia.
Wi-Fi Hotspots are often found at, McDonalds, Starbucks, Safeways &
Applebees
. If you can park close enough in the car park, you can often get
reception in
the RV, otherwise take the computer inside. Another favourite try is at
an off
ramp where there are a group of hotels, often in the carpark you will
pick up
an available signal. The
following link will show hot spots in any area requested http://hotspotr.com/wifi
Skype is of course the cheapest way to
communicate with home; we keep a laptop in the RV. Wi-Fi phones can also be used in a hot spot
using Skype, without going through the computer.
Shopping &
Loyalty Cards
Loyalty Cards
Shopping in
USA is much the same as in Australia,
only I would say that a tad more friendly.
Loyalty
Cards are offered by most food retail chains and they certainly do save money
on the checkout bill. The difficulty in
travelling around is that some chains are restricted to a state or an area,
rather than national. We have several
cards but find that we are more likely to come across a Safeways store, plus they have an automated petrol discount system
which is applied to your card with every purchase. The checkout girl often will
ask and allow you to sign up there and then.
Best to be prepared and have your “Good Sam” Florida address available to use, if you
have arranged one.
On our last
trip across the South we did not find any Woolworths stores East of Arizona, We resorted to
Wal-Mart and find their produce very good.
Another
suggestion that apparently works well, is to buy Walmart Gift Cards, that way you save 5% on the money and a
further 3 cents on fuel.
Publix stores seem to be popular in south
eastern areas where we have been, and they are a good option to the Safeways
supermarkets.
Wal-Mart stores are huge and have a full
range of everything from groceries, meat & deli, alcohol, clothing,
household supplies, electronics to auto accessories etc. They have a policy of allowing free camping
for RVs at a lot of their stores, knowing that it will attract some business,
and that is fair enough, we do support them because of it.
Walmart
issue a large format roadmap book which also serves as a Store Directory,
listing the addresses of all their thousands of stores, handy to have and not
expensive.
Home Depot
and Lowes are two huge hardware
chains that vie for that area of business,
Home Depot is probably the larger, with it’s stores being half as big
again as our Bunnings Warehouses
Best Buy is a large electronics chain and
has all the gear.
Cracker Barrel is a family style restaurant with
outlets all over the country, a good meal, well priced. A bonus is their free location map which can
serve as a map to plot your trips.
