Sorry for the long post, but soo much to say from prep to trip conclusion.
We just concluded a 7300-mile loop trip with our 2018 Jayco T-30 F (1 yr. old to us), pulled with our 2021 Ram 3500 HO Diesel SWR (replaced our old tried & true 2000 Ram 2500 Diesel). First & foremost, I have to offer my sincere thanks to the Jayco Forum community for all the advice & post I have read during the 9 months we prep-d for this trip. The mods we read about & made, along with advice given proved invaluable for this trip. We had an enjoyable trip seeing fantastic sights & meeting scores of people that we will never forget. And it was all done, luckily, with no major issues or breakdowns.
What did we learn? The roads need LOTS of work over most of the country. Also, it seems that the DOT’s in the mid-west & TN do not know how to attach a bridge to the road without a 6” drop on each side that test all fittings & connections in truck & trailer, regardless of speed attempted (US89 from Flagstaff to the UT line was no better either). We had one nail in a tire ˝ way through the trip, but with the TPMS, I could track the pressure loss (about a pound a day) which alerted me to something not right & I was able to find it during a fuel stop & get it repaired at the next exit with no issue. The Thetford Turbo 500 flex line also developed a leak, repaired it, but then more appeared. Much to my dismay, there are no replacement hoses in the country… No other failures on the trip, which is amazing to me with the beating the camper took on the roads. Also, this being our 1st trip with a big camper (we had a slide-in pop-up for 18”+” years before) when we started it took almost 1 ˝ hrs to do a full set-up or tear-down. By ˝ way through the trip the wife & I had “our jobs & timing” worked out & we were down to under 45 min start to finish.
Thank you again Jaco community for all your post, helpful ideas & support which made this trip so enjoyable & un-forgettable!!
Here is a summary of the trip if interested with a summary of the campgrounds we stopped at, at the end:
We left Phx Az on June 30th & traveled US 89 from northern AZ through southern UT until we hit I-15. The 1st night we stayed in Hatch UT where, at the campground we were at, were able to camp close enough to lower the party deck & fish in the river without leaving the camper. Beautiful spot & we will be returning to spend more time. Next night was north of Salt Lake UT. Nice campground & people, but pretty much metropolitan camping.
We made it to Butte MT on the 3rd day & spent 4 days exploring the area in & around the town along with near-by ghost towns & mountain roads. Truly spectacular & will return when we can. We then went to Columbia Falls to see Glacier NP & surrounding area. You need reservations to do the Road to the Sun, which we could never get via the WEB system you have to use. BUT we found that they open the road at 5 PM for people with no reservation. Since the sun did not set until near 10 PM, what did we have to lose. We got in line at 4:45 & were driving at 5 on the road to the top. It is a sight to see, though once starting up the mountain we had to fold in the mirrors as the road is that narrow to avoid hitting the mirrors of the opposing traffic.
After 4 days in the Columbia Falls area, we drove the “High Line” (US 2) all the way to Minot ND to see our stepson stationed at the air base there. We were able to stay on the base for 3 nights, with the only drawback being trying to sleep, as the small RV area is near the flight line ramp where they test the jet engines on the B-52’s, it seems always, from 3AM to 7AM. We also got to see the many “Dak Rats” that inhabit the base & area. Those from ND would know what these are.
We were then off to “The North Woods” of WI. To spend a week with family & exploring the area. We took a day trip north & saw many waterfalls & got to swim in Lake Superior. While fishing we also got to see an Eagle grab a fish not 10’ from us. The wife got a perfect picture of that one! On the way back to the in-laws we stumbled into the evening water ski show in Minnequa WI which was truly a “small town affair” (in a good way) & quite enjoyable to watch.
We then headed south to Clarksville & Murfreesboro TN to see family & the sights in the area. Rock Island near Center Hill Lake is a must see with the water falls & water gushing from the side of the cliffs between the two lakes.
After 5 days, we headed to the country outside of Lake of the Ozarks in MO. to spend 2 days with friends on their farm there. The back roads here is an area where pulling a high trailer will make you very nervous with all the trees covering the road…. After that was road trip back to Phx.
All in all, a great trip & learning experience. We’ll be ready for another one next year. That time we hope we can take the two dogs with us.
Campground summary:
1) Riverside Ranch in Hatch UT: Great place to camp, Zion & Brice close by. Fish in the river from your camper if you get the right spot.
2) Aspen Grove in Tremonton UT: New park, clean, friendly, etc. Just more “metropolitan” camping. But it was just for the night, so no issues. Easy in/out, hook-ups, etc.
3) 2 Bar Lazy H RV campground in Butte MT: Not the best & would avoid if possible. There is supposedly a newer one somewhere nearby, go there 1st. We were out exploring most of the time, so we got by.
4) Mountain View RV Park in Columbia Falls MT: Nice park, friendly people some dust if you are on the far west side of the RV park due to a gravel road the runs along it. Will still stay there again with no issue. Close to Glacier NP, & sights in area.
5) Cottonwood Inn & Suites in Glasgow MT: Yes, they have a RV park in the back & it is not bad. Good place to stop for the night for sure. Easy in/out, hook-ups & level sites.
6) D&W Lake RV Park in Champaign IL: Great place to stop for the night. 3rd generation owned & VERY friendly people. Level sights, easy hook-ups & 4 acre fish pond (stocked) to fish from.
7) Spring Creek Campground in Clarksville TN. Nice people, & sights near front office are much better, but only 30 Amp. The sites in the back area (30 & 50 amp) are set-up to have side by side sites opposing & so close together that awnings will hit each other. This is where we were put due to 50amp request.
8) Elk City / Clinton KOA in OK. Good spot for the night. Good food in their bar / restaurant & people were very friendly & helpful. Easy in/out. Just close to I-40 so will hear traffic, though not bad.
9) Albuquerque North / Bernalillo KOA Journey in Bernalillo N. ABQ) NM: Nice campground (good KOA), but a little tight maneuvering for a full size truck pulling a 35 ˝‘ bumper pull TH. But would stay again.
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