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Were thinking of visiting my girlfriends daughters family in Colorado Springs for a couple of days, then renting a small Class C or Class B and visiting the three National Parks in the southern part of the state (just the two of us) for five nights in early September.

 

Any advice on what to rent and any other suggestions?

 

Well be driving to CS, so we can pack up anything thatll fit in a Subaru Outback, such as a small charcoal grill, food and drink, etc.

aka âmisterdregsâ

 

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FWIW, I took my first RV trip to Colorado last summer. The southern part of the state was much more arid and desert like, kind of hard scrabble.

 

We found going north from Colorado Springs to Estes Park/Boulder area to be super scenic and more happening.

 

If you camp in Colorado Springs itself, we found a little place just south of town in the hills that was very nice. And of course you should drive up Pike's Peak.

Moe

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Ive spent a lot of time in Summit County (my ex-in-laws have a house in Breckenridge) and looking to explore some other parts of the state.

 

Ive yet to visit a national park that wasnt worthwhile, so I thought this sounded like a good trip.

 

My only recent trip to Rocky Mountain National Park was with my boy maybe ten years ago. It was raining all day. Kind of a white knuckle drive on that high ridge drive and IIRC the weather cleared up shortly thereafter.

 

Any tips on the RV experience?

aka âmisterdregsâ

 

Nord Electro 5D 73

Yamaha P105

Kurzweil PC3LE7

Motion Sound KP200S

Schimmel 6-10LE

QSC CP-12

Westone AM Pro 30 IEMs

Rolls PM55P

 

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Have you ever camped in a tent or tent-trailer?

 

Heck, the RV notion took a bit of convincing!

 

And my last time sleeping on the ground (on a pad) when my son was in Boy Scouts had me wishing Id brought along some Ambien.

aka âmisterdregsâ

 

Nord Electro 5D 73

Yamaha P105

Kurzweil PC3LE7

Motion Sound KP200S

Schimmel 6-10LE

QSC CP-12

Westone AM Pro 30 IEMs

Rolls PM55P

 

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Lol, just gauging experience! :P;)

 

Since I have no experience with actual RVs other than as green rooms, and I've done most of my camping in Canada, I'll just leave some general tips:

 

-Learn about the local flora and fauna and treat it with respect.

-Properly store and dispose of food and trash, particularly before leaving your campsite or going to bed.

-Don't forget the sunscreen/bugspray.

-Definitely don't forget the fixings for smores/dogs/whatever else you want to cook over the fire. The grill is great but you definitely need some stuff over the fire.

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Make sure the place you rent it from gives you lessons in how to fill and empty all the tanks (black, gray, and clear - just watch RV with Robin Williams for a lesson in why) and make sure you know how much clearance (headroom) you have - including any AC units sticking above the roof line. Write it on a pad, post it on the dash and check every bridge BEFORE going under to make sure you can clear it. National Parks tend to have tunnels. Check at the ranger station on the way in to be sure you can clear them.

 

My understanding is that Garmin makes an RV model GPS (770?) that you put in the dimensions of your RV and it won't guide you down any roads with questionable clearances.

 

Plus all the things that Majuscule said ... Good luck!

 

Wife and I are making big retirement plans that will involve a big ass diesel pusher pulling our Jeep!

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Were thinking of visiting my girlfriends daughters family in Colorado Springs for a couple of days, then renting a small Class C or Class B and visiting the three National Parks in the southern part of the state (just the two of us) for five nights in early September.

 

If you are talking about trying to navigate an unfamiliar RV through several national parks during Labor Day weekend (which are total zoos in all recreation areas) you might want to consider something a little more modest - like driving a car to one national park and staying in a room.

 

That's what I'd do, but I don't handle stress well. If you and your girlfriend are the adventurous type (and you've had experience driving large rigs) - go for it.

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Thanks for all advice.

 

Were thinking of visiting my girlfriends daughters family in Colorado Springs for a couple of days, then renting a small Class C or Class B and visiting the three National Parks in the southern part of the state (just the two of us) for five nights in early September.

 

If you are talking about trying to navigate an unfamiliar RV through several national parks during Labor Day weekend (which are total zoos in all recreation areas) you might want to consider something a little more modest - like driving a car to one national park and staying in a room.

 

That's what I'd do, but I don't handle stress well. If you and your girlfriend are the adventurous type (and you've had experience driving large rigs) - go for it.

 

Its after Labor Day and kids will be back in school. The RVs Im looking at are not much longer than a Chevy Suburban. And these parks are not as crowded as Yellowstone or Yosemite.

aka âmisterdregsâ

 

Nord Electro 5D 73

Yamaha P105

Kurzweil PC3LE7

Motion Sound KP200S

Schimmel 6-10LE

QSC CP-12

Westone AM Pro 30 IEMs

Rolls PM55P

 

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I would add - Test out the all of the water/tank/fill/drain functions before getting too far from the place you rent it from!

 

We've had an RV for about 10 years and stay in Yosemite at least once every year (there are a LOT of rental rv's there). I've talked to neighboring campers with rentals and a number of times something wasn't working ( toilet wont flush / tank wont drain / handle to drain tank wont open / cant fill fresh water tank ).

 

In other words "things that would have been handy to know BEFORE leaving the rental place!! ;)

 

One more tip - After draining the black tank, make sure you put a small amount of fresh water back in (you don't want that tank completely empty while using it!)

 

The National Parks are an amazing treasure and we're looking forward to visiting almost all of them when we retire!!

 

Good Luck!

 

 

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I would add - Test out the all of the water/tank/fill/drain functions before getting too far from the place you rent it from!

 

We've had an RV for about 10 years and stay in Yosemite at least once every year (there are a LOT of rental rv's there). I've talked to neighboring campers with rentals and a number of times something wasn't working ( toilet wont flush / tank wont drain / handle to drain tank wont open / cant fill fresh water tank ).

 

In other words "things that would have been handy to know BEFORE leaving the rental place!! ;)

 

One more tip - After draining the black tank, make sure you put a small amount of fresh water back in (you don't want that tank completely empty while using it!)

 

The National Parks are an amazing treasure and we're looking forward to visiting almost all of them when we retire!!

 

Good Luck!

 

 

This place sounds pretty well-run. They take an hour or so to go over everything and do a test drive.

aka âmisterdregsâ

 

Nord Electro 5D 73

Yamaha P105

Kurzweil PC3LE7

Motion Sound KP200S

Schimmel 6-10LE

QSC CP-12

Westone AM Pro 30 IEMs

Rolls PM55P

 

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I have spent some time checking out Colorado, but it was on a motorcycle. Great scenic roads! You should check out scenic highways like the Million Dollar or the Silver Thread. Most likely the leaves will be changing at the higher elevations.

 

The national parks have yearly passes available and lifetime passes if your 62. It may be worth checking into them. Dont wait too long if you purchase one as they take awhile to get and you have to have it in hand to use it.

 

I would check out the camping site availability ASAP. After Labor Day you may have no problem, but there could be events scheduled. Ive had a hard time getting spots in Oregon the last couple years. Colorado seems to have few federal campgrounds in places where you expect to find them. Therefore, you may be required to seek out commercial RV parks that may require reservation.

 

BTW: Moab is not very far away from Black Canyon. Arches and Canyon Lands are truly awesome.

 

 

We play for free. We get paid to set up and tear down.
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Its after Labor Day and kids will be back in school. The RVs Im looking at are not much longer than a Chevy Suburban. And these parks are not as crowded as Yellowstone or Yosemite.

 

That sounds better, but if it were me (and I've driven small trucks all my life but never an RV) I'd still prep for this by renting an RV locally and taking it out for an overnighter to a destination I know beforehand - just to get the hang of it.

 

I live in the Columbia River Gorge, and parts of Historic Route 30 and the 101 on the coast can be stop and go with RVs well past Labor Day. So be prepared for anything.

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We rented a 26' RV for two weeks. Drove it from Loveland, CO to the Ocean City, MD area for a family reunion. Other than getting into the 'camping' space in southern Delaware - a maze of misdirection at a place that was cash-only, the whole experience was a lot of fun. We picked camp sites along the way, and saw a lot of things we'd have missed otherwise. There was some excitment when, on the first night heading back, we decided to have dinner in downtown Pittsburgh; and I attempted to drive the rig on some rather snug sidestreets. At one point I almost backed into a police car, but we managed to escape unscathed.

 

I think you'd have a lot of fun RVing, misterdregs. Just follow the advice given here so far (especially about the water tanks, and sanitation protocols), and don't attempt narrow sidestreets in neighborhoods :blush:

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Obviously emptying the waste and cleaning the RV is an unpleasant and/or difficult task as they charge $300 (!) to save one the trouble. Worth it?

 

We have five nights. Going to Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde and Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Any suggestions on how to split up our time and nights? Any other places to see or stay at that would be worthwhile?

 

aka âmisterdregsâ

 

Nord Electro 5D 73

Yamaha P105

Kurzweil PC3LE7

Motion Sound KP200S

Schimmel 6-10LE

QSC CP-12

Westone AM Pro 30 IEMs

Rolls PM55P

 

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Emptying the tanks really isnt that big a deal. Its very much overblown but a box of disposable nitrile gloves is nice to have. Cleaning it is more work, frankly.

 

I had a Class B (1999 Pleasure Way on a Dodge chassis) for about six years and sold that 6-7 years ago and went slightly larger to a 22 Class C built on a 1994 E350 chassis. Bought them originally for Burning Man because i work the event and Im out in that heat and dust for 2-2.5 weeks every August and found it was cheaper to own a banged up RV than rent one every year. And frankly Im a big fan of indoor plumbing. I also take it out to the desert east of San Diego for a few weekends every year, and two years ago I took a long road trip up to Glacier National Park and then to Idaho to be in the path of totality for the solar eclipse.

 

Class Cs are generally cheaper to rent and a better bang for the buck. Biggest thing to worry about is vertical clearance (skip the drive thru) and butt swing. The rear extends a good 10-14 behind the rear axle, so when you turn right, the butt swings to the left. Lots of,people bang theirs up this way, myself included. So you have to be very careful when maneuvering in tight quarters.

 

On the open road theyre easy to drive. Just need to be prepared for crosswinds because youre basically driving a barn down the road.

 

The fresh water never lasts as long as youd like so take Navy showers.

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Had a 25'Winabago years ago, used it for a consulting business, but made a few just personal trips also. Hauled an Opel GT (looks like a baby Corvette) behind it. Be VERY careful about going into tourist areas of a town, clearances and tightness will get you. Dumping the various tanks not a real problem. One particular note on the Water tank: I was doing TV broadcast consulting, where the buildings were usually built, bot equipment had to be installed or added, so I would park right on the property, grab 110vac with a 100' 6 gauge cable I had made, and connect to their water supply. Used the internal bathroom minimally, they almost always have showers in at least some bathrooms (for performers removing makeup), so I used their facilities as much as possible.

Well, I filled up water before leaving home. I was going to be at the site a couple of months. Should NOT have hooked up to the Jacksonville, FL water - had such a bad taste I couldn't even really cook with it since it got mixed with my own water supply.

For what I was doing, a truck with 6th wheel in the bed and travel trailer would have been better, since I needed a smaller vehicle anyhow.

Oh, one other thing - the refrigerator/freezer (this may have changed). It would not cool properly when parked even overnight without the RV being leveled. It did not have the easy (but expensive) leveling stuff built in, so I had to go back and forth on the four corners with a jack and wood blocks to get it level - was very much an annoyance.

And yes - you will have to keep both hands on wheel and be alert all the time for side gusts of wind - these things don't like to go straight down the road.

 

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