I couldn’t wait to one day drive cross country since I was a kid. When I was younger, I wanted to be a truck driver and drive across the country. Part of my dream came true. I drove cross country with my awesome wife twice but the 2nd time (little over a year and half ago) we took our RV. This was by far one of the coolest adventures I’ve ever been on. If you’re planning to RV cross country, hopefully this post helps you out. There is also a cost breakdown at the bottom.
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Planning Process
We were moving from California to Michigan for my new job. We had about a week to get there so we had to plan out where to stay and where we would stop.
Driving across country pulling a 38ft travel trailer isn’t the easiest thing to do. We pulled our rig with a 1500 Ram truck(plan to get a bigger truck but we will discuss that in a later post). When we have the trailer hooked to the truck, we get 8 mpg which means we needed to stop every 200 miles on a 2,500 mile trip. Be sure to plan out your gas stops in advance. We use a combo of our Rand McNally RV GPS, google maps, and other travel apps to find gas stops. We also knew we wanted full hookup RV sites but you can decide the type of sites you prefer. After planning out all the RV parks and gas, it was time to go.
Stop 1: BLAKE RANCH RV & HORSE MOTEL – California to Arizona (580 Miles Driven)
The first stop was Blake Ranch RV & Horse Motel in Kingsman, Arizona.
NO GAS STATION FOR 80 MILES!
The one thing to remember to factor is the 80-mile stretch in California to Arizona where there are no gas stations until you cross over the Arizona state line.
We were running VERY low on fuel and I was nervous since there were cars on the side of the road that had signs “ran out of gas”. But we made it into Arizona and just a heads up that gas when you first end the stretch is $4.30 a gallon but right at the next exit, it’s a about a dollar cheaper per gallon.
The RV Park is in the middle of a dessert area but a nice, well maintained park. It is great for overnight stay. There was a truck stop right next to the RV Park and they had a restaurant call Iron Skillet which turns out to be a good place to stop and grab food, even though it’s the truck stop. You can walk across the street and we did while celebrating our first successful day driving across country!
2. ROUTE 66 RV RESORT – Arizona to New Mexico ( 433 miles driven)
Stop #2 was Route 66 RV Resort and Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
This leg of the trip was another adventure all by itself. There are two ways to drive across the country – the southern route or the northern route. We decided to take the southern route because it was still snowing on the northern route through Utah and Nebraska. Well it actually snowed pretty hard driving through New Mexico. Besides snow, we broke the kitchen light fixture too and learned to check to make sure everything is tight before a trip. But besides that, this part of the countryside is beautiful and the mountains look like a painted picture.
The RV Resort is right off the highway which is helpful. It is behind the casino and pretty much is a large area of the parking lot that they made into a nicely landscaped RV resort. While we were at the resort, we jumped on the shuttle that picks you up from your RV spot and rode to the Casino. We relaxed a bit and had a good dinner at the buffet and explored the casino. We kept the rig connected to the truck so we could hit the road again the next day.
3. WANDERLUST CROSSINGS RV PARK – New Mexico to Oklahoma (495 miles driven)
Stop #3 was Wanderlust Crossing RV Park Weatherford, Oklahoma. This park just opened a few months before we arrived. They have long pull thru’s and the landscaping was well done. At this location we kept the rig connected to the truck also. There are plenty amenities you can see on their website, including a banquet hall (a cool concept) and now it looks like a Splash park is coming Summer 2020.
Sidenote: On the way to Oklahoma, you have to drive through Amarillo Texas. Cadillac Ranch is in Amarillo so we decided to make a quick pit stop to see the painted Cadillacs (definitely stop there). Amarillo is a cool place and yes everything is bigger in Texas. They also have the Big Texan steak challenge which is a 72oz gigantic steak. We didn’t get one though!
4. CASINO QUEEN RV PARK – Oklahoma to St. Louis (570 miles)
After OKC, we headed to St. Louis and stayed at Casino Queen RV Park. This park is as close as you can overnight with an RV to downtown St Louis. We planned to stay here for two days. The RV park is basically the back end of a huge parking lot behind a casino. It is across the river from downtown St. Louis. You can see the arch from the RV park which is great for a cool sunrise and sunset view.
DAY 1: The first day in St. Louis, we went to see the arch and hung out at Gateway Arch Park. We walked around downtown, saw the St. Louis Cardinals Stadium, and hung out at Ballpark Village which is a bunch of restaurants and bars in one large venue. Highly recommend checking that area out.
Day 2: We got to visit the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and grab food at their outdoor eatery which was one of my favorite places to visit. Then we just hung out at the Casino by the RV park.
5. INDIANAPOLIS KOA – St. Louis to Indiana (255 miles)
We only had to travel a short drive from St Louis to the Indianapolis KOA Holiday. This is a great park for group travel. The pull-thru spots in the front are set up where if you’re with a group, you park your rigs to share the common areain the middle of both rigs. We didn’t stay at this park long but we did want to drive through downtown Indianapolis and also go try the world famous shrimp cocktails from St Elmo’s (well 1st time for Britta) . If you’ve never been to St. Elmo’s, get the shrimp cocktail but watch out because it is spicy. You can also stop by other downtown attractions and the Indianapolis Speedway.
6. CAMP LORD WILLING RV PARK – Indiana to Michigan (240 miles)
Finally after a crazy week we made it to Michigan. We couldn’t believe we actually did it. I personally felt like I learned a lot while on the road for a full week.
Camp Lord Willing became our permanent home and we rented a monthly spot that included water and sewer but we paid separate for electric. There are not many year-round parks in Michigan so we got lucky to get into this one.
The Real Question
I know you’re probably thinking, how much did this trip cost us? That is hard to answer but we kept rough estimates of the cost that hopefully can help if you plan a similar trip. We were on the road a total of 7 days. We traveled approximately 2,500 miles and spent about $750 in fuel . As mentioned, we stopped for fuel about every 200 miles as well as drove into downtown Indy when we stopped there.
There is the option to dry camp or no hook-up sites to save money but we opted for full hookups at each stop. We spent roughly $375 in RV park reservations at the 6 stops. To save on eating out, we bought food to cook and snacks and sandwiches for car rides. We spent about $60-80 at the grocery store and another $20 in various snacks along the drive.
For eating out dinner we spent $20 at Stop 1 at the Iron Skillet, $40 at the Route 66 Casino buffet, $30 lunch in downtown St. Louis, $30 dinner in St. Louis, and $60 dinner in Indy at St. Elmo’s.
In total, we spent approximately $1,400.
People ask would we do it again and my response is absolutely! The memories we created that week will last a lifetime. Plus, it’s a great story to tell when we are traveling in the rig. So whatever your dreams are or if you want to drive across country even without an RV, go ahead and do it. It will be an awesome experience and one dope adventure.
Leaving from Michigan? If you don’t own an RV or don’t plan to use your own, you can look at RV Rentals Michigan for some RV options.
Got questions? Comment below and we will get back to you. Good luck don your cross country trip!
Create. Dope. Adventures.
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