I have a confession to make: I avoided traveling in a motorhome for a long time, “it’s just going to be trouble”, “that’s a cricket thing”, “I don’t want to have work on holiday”. Hahaha, how wrong I was!
We traveled more than 2 thousand kilometers in two weeks Alaska by motorhome, the first trip of this kind we took, and it was a success! We hadn't even finished the trip and were already planning the itinerary for the next one.
Here I bring my impressions about traveling by motorhome in the United States, and a compilation of tips to help you overcome any barriers that are preventing you from enjoying a delicious and memorable trip.
Of course we had some troubles, and traveling by motorhome has some disadvantages (after all, you can't be perfect at everything), but overall It was a very positive experience.
Come see everything we did, what I recommend and what I don't recommend, on a motorhome trip through the United States.
All our posts about traveling in the United States of America:
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Which motorhome do we rent in the USA
For this trip, we rented the Cruise America motorhome with the help of a Brazilian agency – Motorhome Trips. The service was top notch and the price was lower than what we would have gotten if we had rented directly through the Cruise America website.
We are a family of 4: two adults and two girls, aged 11 and 13 at the time of the trip. We chose an RV (as it is called in the USA) for 5 people, model C25. This means it is 25 feet, or 7,62 meters, long.
From the outside, it looks like a small truck; In practice, it is a Ford model F 3.500 pickup truck, to which, instead of the body, the motorhome was attached. From what I understand, The interior of all Cruise America vehicles is identical: the internal layout, the type of finish, the technology used, in short, everything is standardized.
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What does the motorhome look like inside?
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The photos above show the interior of the motorhome CruiseAmerica C25 in day and night configuration: although it technically fits 5 people, I think it is perfect for 4 people.
The best bed is the one at the bottom. It is a little smaller than the bed above the driver, but it is a good size for two adults, the mattress is more comfortable and access to the bed is easier. The bed on top of the cabin has a very hard mattress, and it is also impossible to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without waking your partner – for us, this was not a problem, as we have an adult and a child in our family. family who never wake up at night.
The dining table and benches transform into a single bed for the fifth traveler. Our initial idea would be for one of the children to sleep in the top bed, and the other in this single bed. But on the first day we gave up on that idea.
As you can see, there is not much space inside the motorhome. There are several closets (not shown in the illustration) above the double bed and the dining table, in which we store clothes, groceries, cleaning items and other random junk. Even so, there was always something on the benches, or on the beds. At night, everything that was on the beds went to the table, in addition to the clothes and coats in use and a lot of other things that who knew where they came from. And during the day, with the table in use, everything went on the bed at the bottom.
Anyway, the dining table proved to be very important as a “stuff holder” during the night; the same function that beds performed during the day.
Adding to this the fact that it was quite complicated to assemble the bed, and it was somewhat short, its use as a sleeping space was summarily discarded without even having been tried.
Next to the motorhome door is another chair, which can theoretically be occupied by one person while the motorhome is in motion. But this was also only used as a junk deposit. Besides not being very comfortable (it's very strange to ride sideways in a car), this chair didn't seem like a very safe place to me.
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Where we spent the night – campsites and wild camping
Like good first-timers, we prioritize sleeping in camps on the our trip through Alaska, so-called RV Campings, or RV Parks.
The structure varies a lot between each camp: we went from basic camps, which were basically a parking lot with a pit toilet (unable to use), to super gourmet ones, with excellent bathrooms, laundry, lounge, restaurant, little shop and playground, as well as of all connections to the motorhome, the so-called “full hook-up”: water, electricity and sewage. Prices, of course, also vary a lot: from US$35 to US$90 per night, in Alaska's high summer season.
After two weeks traveling in a motorhome in Alaska, we already had the confidence to go wild-camping, that is, simply stopping the RV in a place where parking is allowed and staying there overnight, at no cost. We ended up not doing it, because even without booking in advance, we managed to find campsites in all the places where we wanted to spend the night.
For National Park campsites, such as Denali in our case, It is essential to book in advance through the official National Park Service website. The one we camped at on Denali didn't have any hook-ups, but it had excellent bathrooms, a laundry room and a small store, as well as a water point and waste disposal point (sewage – dump station).
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Motorhome operation: water, electricity, sewage
This was one part of the motorhome trip that made me anxious: what if the water runs out? What if we run out of gas? What if the sewer clogs? and how do you connect things? I asked the few people I knew who had already traveled in a motorhome and the answer was always the same “it’s peaceful”. But, man, what if the water runs out?
After two weeks traveling in a motorhome through the most uninhabited places in the USA, I can only tell you one thing: “it’s peaceful”. Believe me.
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Water in the motorhome
There are two possibilities for water in the motorhome: the water stored in the vehicle itself (capacity 151 liters) and, if you are in a campsite that has this amenity, the connection to the local water network, where you, as in any property, have unlimited access to this finite natural resource.
In most of the campsites where we stayed the night there was no access to the water supply, but there was a way to refill the motorhome's reservoir. In those that had access, just plug the hose that comes with the RV into the tap, just like we do with the hose to water the garden. Just like that.
For three days in a row we were without a source to refill water and everything went well (the two nights we spent in Denali National Park and the following night). On those days, we cooked, washed dishes, used the bathroom, we just didn't shower because at least the camp had a good shower. The water did not run out and the motorhome remained habitable.
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Bathroom in the motorhome
We always prioritize using the campground bathrooms, especially for more substantial needs.
But we still used the bathroom a lot and, despite the compact space, there were no problems. From time to time we used disinfectant on the toilet, and a damp cleaning cloth on other surfaces, but without stress. The motorhome remained clean and smelling great even after two weeks of intense use.
For bathing, the order was to use the camp bathroom, either for space or to simplify the process of filling-the-water-reservoir-turning-on-the-heater-draining-the-sewage. But, again, we took several showers there, washed our hair, everyone was clean and happy.
I noticed that bath towels take a long time to dry; I don't know if it's something related to the climate in Alaska at the time we visited, or if it's because it's really difficult to dry so many towels in such a small space.
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Sewage in the motorhome
In the motorhome, there are two reservoirs for used water, black-water and gray-water. The first is for toilet waste; the second for the rest (shower and sink in the bathroom and kitchen). Periodically, it is necessary to stop at a “dump station” to unload this sinister mixture.
Most of the campgrounds we stayed at had a communal dump station where RVs would stop on their way out and dump their water. At the few campgrounds where we had our own private dump station, we left the hoses connected the entire time. At some campgrounds there was nothing, neither exclusive nor communal. We went three days without dumping swamp essence and it went well.
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Electricity in the motorhome
There is only electricity in the motorhome if you connect it to the mains (there is a specific cable for this). This was the main reason for us to prioritize spending the night in campsites. As we work while traveling, we need sockets for computers, in addition to the camera.
Cell phones can be charged using the USB on the dashboard – but be careful because the motorhome we rented was quite old, and didn't even have these USB ports, we had to buy an adapter. The two inputs that the adapter provided were enough to charge the group's 5 cell phones along the way. two week trip to Alaska.
There is a piece of equipment called an inverter, which attaches to the car's cigarette lighter and generates electrical current for notebooks and such, but we didn't buy it. From what I saw on Amazon, it costs less than a night's camping, but by the time we realized that this inverter would have been very useful to us, it was too late. On my next trip, I will certainly take it.
Don't forget to disconnect everything from the motorhome before driving... it may seem like a joke, but there was one time when we left driving the RV looking beautiful and full with the mains connection on. Thank goodness we didn't cause any accidents or destroy anything...
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Bed and bath linen
The motorhome we rented did not come with bed and bath linen., which should be rented separately at the lovely price of US$75 per person. I thought it was quite absurd, it would be US$300 for the four of us!
I took two empty suitcases, and we went to Target: sheets, towels, blankets, duvet, pillows, bathroom rug, tea towels, placemats, all for less, much less, than the “personal kit” rental. The Brazilian travel agent who rented the RV to us had warned us that this kit was very messy and recommended that we buy everything there, even if it was just to use during the trip.
At the end of the trip, I managed to fit everything into my suitcases (another joy of travelling light, there's always room in your suitcase!) and we've given our daily layette a makeover!
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Motorhome safety
When planning the trip, and how much you are going to drive, keep in mind that the motorhome does not go very fast, and that you will probably go even slower than the maximum power of the machine allows.
The motorhome is quite noisy. In addition to the noise of the engine itself (which is much louder than that of a passenger car), there is the noise of the dishes hitting, things shaking in the back, in short, get ready.
All passengers must be seated and buckled while the motorhome is in motion. It's kind of obvious, but it's always good to remember, because especially those at the back always want to get up to do something. You can't keep moving while the RV is running, you know?
You can't leave anything loose while the car is moving. Whatever is on the table, or on the sink, at the first turn goes flying.
Pay attention to the rear view mirrors! In the first few days, we had the first, and only, incident of the trip: goodbye to the rear view mirror on the passenger side. We contacted the rental company, as we had taken out full insurance (no excess – I recommend it!), there would be no problem. As it is a specific mirror, which is not for sale in stores, we were advised to make a compromise and continue our journey. One more for the CV: gambiarra na gringa. Afterwards everything went well, we didn't have any further incidents and, when we returned the motorhome, they reimbursed us for the amount we spent on the gambi.
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Some more practical tips for traveling by motorhome in the USA
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- Take one slipper to use in the campsites (bathroom) and another (or a non-slip sock) to use inside the motorhome. I found the floor of the RV to be very cold, and there is no way to use the same slippers you use on camping trips (which end up getting filthy) inside the RV.
- Take the USB adapter to the car dashboard and, if you think it will be necessary, reverse it.
- Be sure to compare cleaning items (and use them): damp cloths for the sink and bathroom and disinfectant, as well as a sponge and detergent.
- The motorhome we rented had a broom, but if yours doesn't, you'll need to buy one. Every other day, it's a good idea to sweep the house and car, it takes less than 20 seconds.
- At the Cruise America unit we went to (Anchorage, AK) there was a “donation desk”: a table where people who were returning the motorhome donated items that had not been used, so that whoever was picking up the motorhome could use them. . We took several items – detergent, napkin, paper towel, liquid soap, vinegar, salt, pepper; and when we returned we donated many things: pillows, cleaning products, toilet paper, I even returned the salt and pepper. I thought it was a great idea.
- The motorhome's fuel tank had a capacity of 50 gallons, we paid between US$3,60 and US$4,20 per gallon, and according to our calculations the approximate consumption was 4,5km per liter.
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All our posts about traveling in the United States of America:
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