Roughing It! RV'ing Across America

Sep. 01, 2002 By Eddie Perez

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Summertime. The time to pack up the family and head out of the big city for a little "R 'n R" in the country, or maybe visit our nation's national monuments and parks. Picking a vacation spot is the hard part. You've got to find a place that offers something for everyone in the family. A place that will provide peace and quiet for the parents, fun for the kids and a place for the pets to roam. Getting to your vacation spot

RV travel is at an all-time high. First-time RV renters are hitting the road in record numbers - though you don't need to tell everyone it's your first time like this guy did.

Once you've decided on the ultimate vacation spot, you've got to figure out a way to get there. For our vacation, my wife and I chose to rent an RV and head north to Montana. I searched online and in the trusty local Yellow Pages for the best deal in town. After two weeks of research and calling every RV dealership in town, I found a great deal on a 26-foot "Sunseeker" at Sahara RV. Aug. 8th - The big day came and we quickly packed up the RV with provisions for a full, nine-day trip to Kalispell, Montana. After hooking up to the 20-foot trailer loaded with two utility quads, we battled the evening Las Vegas rush hour traffic as we headed across US 95 towards I-15. The heavy traffic seemed determined to keep us from our destination, as driver after driver did their best to take up even the tightest of spaces between the big Sunseeker and the car ahead of us. Finally we made it. We had gotten out of Las Vegas by 5:30 pm and were headed north on I-15 towards US 93 and Elko, Nevada. I opened up the big Ford Triton V-10 and five hours later we pulled into Elko, tired and in need of rest. Wanting to get as far away from Las Vegas as possible, we fueled up and continued our trek northward toward Wells and Jackpot. An hour out of Elko however, sleepiness took over and pulled into the closest rest area for a few hours of rest. This was where we first experienced the comforts of traveling via RV.

Shay Lake in Montana - driving to your next vacation destination gives you a chance to see the beauty of America.

Life on the Road After taking Molly, our 115-pound Rottweiller for a quick walk, I was stretched out across the queen-sized bed that comes in this house-on-wheels. Within minutes I was sound asleep. There was no need to find an open motel, no searching for "vacancy" signs, nothing. The nearest rest area will do just fine, thank you. After five solid hours in this surprisingly comfortable bed, I was up and behind the wheel once again. No checking out of a motel, no double-checking to make sure we didn't leave anything behind - just climb behind the wheel, fire it up and go. Safely out of Las Vegas, we were now able to relax and take our time getting to our final destination, Kalispell, Montana, only eleven hundred miles from home. Once in Wells, Nevada, we rendezvoused with other family members and continued the caravan northward past Jackpot and into Idaho.

The Swan River - barely 300 feet behind the cabin and a great place to catch Rainbow Trout.

Traveling by RV gave us the opportunity to go at our own pace and stop at as many sites as possible, without worrying about the need to get to the next town before nightfall in order to find a place the stay for the night. We stopped at Craters of the Moon National Park in Idaho before planning our next stop in Montana. We had the opportunity to see parts of America that few people get to visit. With stops in Twin Falls, Idaho, and Missoula, Montana, our second day of driving was turning into a full day of site-seeing. So, after more than twelve hours on the road, we pulled into an RV park north of Missoula for dinner and some sleep. For twenty bucks a night, we had a full RV hook-up: water, electricity and sewer. This meant hot showers for all and a home-cooked meal on the RV's stove. Morning came and off we went on the final leg of our journey. We were headed towards the truly scenic parts of Montana. Trees, green grass, wildlife - and very few people. Heading through the mountains, I figured we would slow to a crawl in the big RV, but the big Triton engine had plenty of power to climb even the steepest of grades without much trouble. On we traveled, past lakes and rivers, through mountains and forests until we reached our destination - the family cabin near Swan Lake. All the Comforts of Home

Travel via RV just once and you'll understand why so many Americans are renting these days - it's a home on wheels!

With more than forty family members present, the 900 square foot cabin was full and RV's and camping trailers dotted the property. There even a few tents pitched. With nighttime temperatures hovering around 40 degrees, we were thankful that we had chosen an RV over tent camping. Having an RV makes "roughing it" much more bearable than traditional tents and even most tow-behind trailers. We had heat on the cold nights, protection from the elements during the day (daytime temperatures reached the mid-90's), room for six, a table for sit-down meals, a refrigerator to keep the meat fresh and the "cold ones" cold. There's also a stove and oven, a freezer for all the fresh fish that we couldn't eat in one night, and a regular bathroom (the cabin has no electricity, unless a generator is used, and an outhouse 200 feet away - not something you want to walk to in the middle of the night, especially since there are regular sightings of black bears, mountain lions, moose and elk on the property).

At the cabin - RV's and campers were parked everywhere. Our 26' slide-out gave us plenty of room to stretch our legs.

For four days we rode ATV's though the scenic Montana mountains, riding to our next fishing hole. The Bombardier Rally and the Kawasaki Prairie took us everywhere we wanted to go. We'd spend each morning at the lake or the river, fishing for Rainbow Trout - and catching quite a few, too. Then we'd head back to the RV for some lunch and a short break before heading out once again. After four days of rest and relaxation, we headed to Kalispell for an overnight trip before headed south to Vegas. For the trip home, we chose a different route so that we could see more of the "great out doors". Again, we took our time and made it a two and a half day trip home, stopping and fishing along the way in places like Salmon, Idaho.

One of the many Rainbow Trout we caught. This little guy, about 13", was released - maybe we'll keep him next year.

If You're Planning a Trip With the dunes season rapidly approaching, you might want to consider renting an RV and heading out to Glamis or Dumont for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Glamis in November can get pretty cold at night, so why not "rough it" in an RV? Or maybe you're planning a trip to the Grand Canyon, or maybe Zion National Park in Utah. Wherever you're planning your next vacation, why not start out from Las Vegas? Not that you need an excuse to visit "Sin City", but think about this, Las Vegas in only 270 miles from Glamis - Dumont is even closer. The Grand Canyon is a mere 280 miles away and Zion is somewhere around 130 miles away. What has this got to do with anything? Only this - one-week RV rentals at Sahara RV include 1,000 free miles! Enough mileage to get to any of the above vacation spots and back, with enough spare miles to drive around at your destination. Sahara RV rents all types of trailers from the smallest tent trailer to 32'+ diesel pushers. And all of Sahara RV's rentals are newer models - nothing older than 3 years old. Our 26 footer was a brand new 2003 with only a few thousand miles on it. Some places I checked are renting models up to five years old - not something I cared to rent.

The Salmon River in Idaho - traveling by RV allowed us to see some of America's most beautiful wilderness.

*While on our Montana vacation, I accidentally tripped a circuit breaker on the RV and couldn't locate the breaker box (maybe I should have been paying more attention when doing the walk-thru). Not a problem, I called Mike in the Rental Department at Sahara RV and he walked me through it in minutes. That's the kind of customer service you can expect from them. We had a great time with our RV and are planning next year's vacation already. We're going to drive to our next vacation because it gives us a chance to see more of America - something everyone should do.