Detroit to Austin

[Tater]

Greetings, I am planning a trip to Austin TX in Feb. Having never traveled this far, I’m kinda nervous. Towing a fifth wheel.
My plan is to drive to Indianapolis, spend a night in a hotel, travel to Springfield MO, another hotel night, then to Dallas and spend a couple nights camping there.

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Brownie]

Tater,
I make that trip every November, and the return trip every spring. You have some long drive-days ahead of you! I prefer to stay in state park campgrounds. Over the years, I've found some beautiful campgrounds at prices that are significantly lower than hotels/motels. Once you get south of Indianapolis, you'll find most state parks open this time of year - although the water will be shut off (until you get into Oklahoma). Every year I find more and more state parks are requiring reservations, so plan accordingly. There's a really nice state park about 15 miles east of Norman OK called Lake Thunderbird, where I stay for a couple of days every year.

Campgrounds are hard to find around Dallas. I've found only 3. Stay away from Sandy Creek! It's a mobile home park that allows RV camping. The sites are very small, and the residents let their dogs poop anywhere and everywhere. And they don't pick it up!!! I always spend a few days at Hidden Cove Marina & Campground in Frisco (on the north shore of Lake Lewisville). It's a little pricey but has large sites with full hook-ups, and the staff is very friendly! Just stay off the freeways/tollways between 6:30-9:00 am, and 4:00 to 6:30 pm!

I spend the winter near San Antonio, which (at 65mph) is about 7-8 hours from the north side of Dallas. Houston will be about 10-12 hours. I haven't been down to Houston, so can't offer any camping suggestions there. Just remember to enjoy the journey as well as the destination!

[Kim Gass]

We usually hotel it the first night because at temps below freezing and no water it is more comfortable

But when we reach Blacksburg VA we are usually ( not always) guaranteed we can dewinterize and camp.. O ne year we arrived there and it was nine degrees and 40 mph wind and snow.. We hotelled it

Make sure your rig fits in hotel parking lots.. We look at Google Maps and confirm with a call to that hotels front desk. We tend to avoid the cheapest motels ( though those often have truck parking) as we don't want to expose our rig to hooliganism.

You ought to be able to camp in Springfield even if you don't want to unhook.

We are getting set to leave ourselves for the South but the weather has finally started to dump snow.. One forecast is for three feet in less than a week.