NC to San Diego California

[wickedpretzel]

Traveling in August of 2023 from western NC to San Dieg California in our Flagstaff Micro Lite 25'
we will be driving 7 to 8 hours per day. interstate 40 looks like my best bet.
we will hopefully be camping every nite on our way out at a camp ground, or Walmart.
looking for someone that has done this route, and suggestions on how to find a campsite
for the night, and or an app that might help.
thanks

 

[Scotttkd2]

RV Life Trip Wizard is popular and what I use for trip planning. They will have many parks along your route in their database, and you can always google for aditional parks if you need. At that time of year you should be fine weather wise, but you will have the usual assortment of construction and pot holes/expansion joints to deal with.

 

[Rich W.]

I travel this way often while crossing the country and my preference is to start looking for a campground an hour or so before I plan to stop. Looking 50-75 miles ahead, you’ll always find something acceptable, even of its a little rough around the edges. I also like to stop before dark so I can get a good look at the area and campground, and set up while I still have some daylight.


I have half a dozen campground apps, but the only sources I end up using are google maps and the CGs stored in my Garmin 890. I also have a Harvest Host membership but dont use it very often on that sort of trip because the locations are usually to far off the highway.

That said, if you subscribe to HH, it pays for itself in one or two stops and the golf course add on is nice because you are arriving late in the afternoon or evening, so normal activity is coming to a close, they have nice big parking lots, and they are in decent areas that are secure and quiet at night.

 

[LMHS]

In 2021 (Sept heading east) we ran I-40 from Amarillo TX to Clyde NC where we got off to head South. Other than construction (did NOT take any of the "detours") and many idiots hanging off the rear bumper of the truck camper, it was okay. We would get into a group of trucks and hang with them most of the day. We stayed in one campground (Lake Dardenelle State Park, Arkansas) where I had made online reservations that same morning and we got into the park really late. It was a beautiful park and I would like to go back one day and stay for longer than overnight. Otherwise we stayed in the parking lots of Sam's Clubs, Cracker Barrels and one WalMart (actually in front of Dollar Tree). I had forgotten how "snug" the interstate was going thru GSMNP. We ran down to I-20 to take it back. We had a very limited time frame, left a day late and somehow we made up a days travel on the way east. We still haven't figured out how. And we haven't forgotten those lousy roundabouts in Conway AK! We got off the interstate and missed the turn off for Sam's Club and ended up going out a few miles before we could find a side road to take us back. I'm not too inclined to deal with Conway AK ever again.

The interstate runs fast, we were pushed by traffic to do no less than 70 and often 80. But that was what we expected. We hit traffic that was no worse than going thru Albuquerque NM. We always expect at least one near miss when we go to ABQ. Don't spend the night in any parking lot in ABQ. A campground is much safer. ABQ had taught us to not go thru a big city at night and to have the passenger pay close attention to the traffic on their side. I still say the people in ABQ are the worst drivers.