How to Plan an RV Road Trip

A family RV trip has been on my bucket list since before I had a family and California seemed like the ultimate RV road trip destination. Beautiful driving routes, national parks, and a strong RV culture makes Western USA the perfect destination for our first RV trip. As with any style of travel, there are pros and cons to travelling by RV. I’ll share my tips for how to plan an RV road trip that is smooth and affordable.

RV Road Trip Budget

We saved money by researching the cheapest places to rent an RV and the cheapest places to fly to, because we didn’t have the time or money to drive from Ontario to California. Las Vegas was the winner in both categories. While I might not recommend doing this during the summer due to extreme heat driving through the desert, we went during the Christmas holidays and we really enjoyed the desert scenery, which is new to us. 

1. Minimize RV rental costs. 
2. Minimize flight costs. Use Google Flights explore feature to search multiple airports at once.
3. Expect to pay more in bigger cities and save money in between. Budget accordingly.

We bought groceries and made almost all of our meals in the RV. We researched cheap (but good) places to eat in big cities like Las Vegas. We filled up on gas in small towns and suburbs. We researched safe places to boondock (camp for free) along our route.

Tips for Minimizing Flight Costs

I tracked flights on Google Flights for a week or two before booking, but I didn’t wait too long because prices tend to go up. There are graphs showing price trends and history on Google Flights. We booked a budget airline which meant luggage, seating assignments, and food on the plane would cost extra. We saved money on flights by only taking a personal item each. That meant everything we brought for 4 people was carried in 4 backpacks. We packed enough clothing for four days and washed laundry during our trip. We assumed we’d have to buy certain things when we arrived, but we were planning on buying groceries anyway so it wouldn’t be too inconvenient.

We checked in online as early as possible and denied all opportunities to pay for an assigned seat. At the end of the check-in process, a seat was assigned to each of us and we made one change. We packed snacks and a lunch for the airport/plane, keeping in mind restrictions, and brought empty reusable water bottles that we filled once we were through security.

 

Planning Our Itinerary

Travelling by RV meant we’d have to decide whether to use it winterized (no use of toilet, shower, sink) or not. We planned to eat, sleep, and live out of the RV for the whole trip so we decided to use it unwinterized. That meant we needed to make sure we stayed in above freezing temperatures, which removed some options from our itinerary that I would have liked to visit but will save for a future trip. Those included Grand Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and Sequoia National Park. I also researched the weather for December and January and read that the California coast north of Los Angeles could be extremely rainy and foggy, and possibly dangerous to travel in an RV, especially for first-timers.

With Las Vegas as an easy and affordable destination to fly in and out, I used Google Maps to make a custom map of places we wanted to see and then connected the dots and filled in some of the bigger gaps with stops along the way. I downloaded offline Google maps of the whole area we would cover onto my phone.

RV Campgrounds and Boondocking

Next, with a basic idea of a route, I mapped out the number of days we would spend in each location and figured out where we would want to stay overnight. Then I used Google Maps to find nearby campgrounds and looked at reviews online. 

I also learned about free camping (or boondocking) on BLM land and dispersed campsites. Find information about that here: https://www.blm.gov/programs/recreation/camping. Can you camp for free? The short answer is yes – near National Parks there are many places you can find to camp for free, and no – in or near cities there are very few free camping options. From what I understand, California has tightened up laws about RVs staying overnight because it was becoming a problem. For example, Walmart parking lots have often been an option for free overnight parking but it is not allowed everywhere I looked in California but we stayed overnight in Pahrump, Nevada, close to Las Vegas. There are apps that have updated information on available sites, fresh water, and dump sites. I used RV Parky for some of my research.

I share some of the free boondocking spots we found as well as the paid RV sites we stayed at in my itinerary. Download it for free at the end of this post.

Food and Entertainment

From this point, I watched YouTube videos about good places to eat in Las Vegas (before we picked up the RV and went grocery shopping) and looked up a few stores along our route that would likely have big parking lots and would be easy to get to. 

I looked up the websites of the national parks and looked at their recommendations for the “must-see” areas. I googled “free family activities in San Diego” and looked up parking options nearby. Los Angeles was tricky because I almost felt obligated to see the touristy parts that LA is known for. After realizing none of us were really interested in seeing the Hollywood sign, Rodeo Drive, or the Walk of Fame, we stuck to the activities we wanted to do – whale watching in Newport Beach, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, and Universal Studios (especially the Wizarding World of Harry Potter). The Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, and Malibu were also on the original list but rainy, cool weather conditions meant one of our campsites was cancelled due to flooding and we changed our plans. That brings me to this important message:

Over-Plan to be Flexible

RVs have limitations. Knowing where some big parking lots were near attractions was extremely helpful. Marking a few Targets and grocery stores on our route came in handy. Having a list of backup overnight options (i.e. boondocking sites near Death Valley) and having a general understanding of the rules as well as an app that could help us find an alternate campsite when ours was cancelled gave me a lot of peace of mind. This amount of planning also helped us save money.

How to Organize Your Travel Itinerary and Documents

Each time I found good information or wanted to save an address, I copied and pasted it into a chart with our daily itinerary. I print everything out and put them in page protectors in a folder. While it’s a super nerdy thing to do, having a printed copy of campground addresses, hours, and confirmation numbers alongside other information about activities or restaurants that are nearby has prevented more than one hangry meltdown. On some trips I’ll make a list of possible activities but with the RV and a more rigid route schedule, I planned out the activities we’d do more carefully. I also jot down reminders for later in the trip, such as checking in online for the flight home and confirming transportation home.

What to include:

• Itinerary
• Addresses and phone numbers of accommodations
• Embassy information for emergencies
• Confirmation numbers for booked activities
• Tickets and reservations
• Printed Google maps for important routes or areas
• Back-up options for last minute change in plans
• Copies of important travel documents
• Rental insurance documents
• Extra space for brochures and maps collected along the way

Next, I’ll be sharing what we did in Las Vegas, Joshua Tree National Park, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Death Valley National Park. Subscribe by email to follow along!

Want a copy of our Southern California itinerary? Download it here for free: Southern California Itinerary