A wife and three kids in a motorhome?
My three kids would want to divorce me within a month!
I would like to see the sights, but could not stand the confinement.

I have no experience with motor homes or trailers so can't offer much but I do occasionally stay in National and State campgrounds and some/many of them don't offer hook-ups. In places like New England in Summer and Fall you'll be competing with many others for campsites so reserve well ahead of time.
Seeing the Country like this should be fun and a good learning experience for all.

I showed this to a five year ,full timer couple.

They said that for a 15 month foray or less,
They would just stay in hotels/motels and b&B's.


Resale on campers is in the toilet.
Instead of hassling with the day to day
crap of R.V. living , just spend half the
time on planning on the phone or computer.


Tax, license, registration, insurance ,upkeep, maintenance,
.

The transition to r.v.living can be challenging.
for a couple.
Sometimes it seems like the tail is wagging the dog.


Again that's not me ,but from someone with experience.

quote:

Do you remember the name of the app? I've been kicking around the idea of documenting this trip for friends and family via youtube... not in an effort to make money or gain fame or anything, just to allow those interested to keep up with what we are doing and where we are...

I was mistaken. He used Google Maps for the pins/tracking of site, and set up a Facebook page for their trip tracking/pics/stories. You could click on points in map and see where each was. Links to both below:

Google Map

Nikki & Anthony's Great Western Adventure

Be careful about claiming to be
"full time", very few insurance company's will insure a "full timer" and with no permanent residence many things will be difficult.

Down load a list of vehicles that can be flat towed to make sure the ones you have or are wanting to flat tow, can be, MANY/most can not. Allow for about $3-5 thousand to equip a tow vehicle. I would avoid having to use a tow dolly or a trailer for the car. You may not have room at your campsite for the RV, car, and trailer.
Keep in mind that tow bar makers don't endorse any backing up.

You will learn quickly how to drive a Motorhome, a driving class will help a lot.Some manufactures and clubs/forums offer these classes. Many will teach you in a new motorhome so you can do this before you actually go to buy a coach. Make sure your wife can drive it too. I read many stories where something happens to the driving person and the RV is stuck because no body else can drive.
Once you learn to drive the length will be less of a problem. The difference between a 40' and a 45' is not that much.Most of that extra length will give you more storage space.
If you have a Motorhome with a lifting tag axle you can reduce the turning radius of a 45' to about what a 36'-38' coach would require. Some of the higher end coaches offer a steering tag axle to help the turning radius substantially. Newell offers a rear lifting tag that will work in both forward and reverse.

Probably out of your budget but, I have seen several Newell coaches that came with a murphy bed in the bedroom. I thought that would be a great idea. Lift the bed during the time you don't need the bed down, and use the room with a sofa for an additional room to spread out in.
Finding seating comfort for dining for 5 may be tough.
Newell also offers a center door option instead of the front door entry. This is a great idea as it keeps all the traffic in and out of the coach from having to walk through the LR area. I'm not sure what other manufacturers offer this.
With your size family you might consider 2 sofas in the LR area instead of a sofa and a couple of recliners. Two sofas that both fold out into beds would be nice. If your looking at bunks look for quality in the mattresses and the bed frames. How will they survive or hold up, kids crawling in and out for a year straight. A TV and separate heat /air controls for each bunk would be nice, if not required.
Top Motorhomes use only solid hardwood and no particle board.You will not find any staples holding anything together. They also use heavy duty hardware along with top appliances.

If your doing your research check out Andrew Steele Youtube channel. He takes viewers through many higher end Motorhomes and helps show you things about different models, good and bad.
AZ Expert is another good channel to see how things work and how to repair things. Most Youtube RV channels are mostly concerned with hawking products.

When looking at coaches remember, Its all about the BONES of the coach. Many of the top quality coaches are still on the road and look great even after 35+ years, and will sell easily for a good price. Since you have stated you intend to sell it when your adventure ends keep this in mind.
Prevost, Newell, Foretravel, Country Coach, Beaver, Monaco, are examples of top quality coaches that will stay together and get you the most money at re-sell, even 35+year old coaches.
See how many of the other brands are still even offered for sale when they get to 15 years or less.
Try to narrow your search to a few brands then concentrate on researching those makes, models, years. Most important, find the website for that brands forum and register and start asking questions.
I own a Foretravel and have found the Foreforum to be something I could not do without. The advice that's offered is priceless. When you have a coach problem you will probably get a fast response on your problem within hours or minutes from many people who have repaired the same problem you have. Good luck trying to get help from a manufacturer or sales dealer. You will also get a heads up on forum members that are selling there coach.Also, in the event of a mechanical breakdown you can locate a Forum member that might be near you to help you out. Start looking now because it may take you many months to find the coach for your needs.

I would not leave my driveway without having road service. I have found COACHNET to be a good choice. Also a good insurance broker that specializes in Motorhomes can help you get the right coverage, be aware of the "I'm a Full timer" penalty.

My wife and I did something similar soon after I stopped working. I marked most of the places. We didn't hit the Dakotas as it was October by then and it was snowing in those states. Then on the way back, we missed Florida as it was just hit by some big hurricane and we missed most of the southern states as we had to go back for a medical emergency of a close relative. We did do a second round trip mostly of the southern states we missed but we did go back to Maine again for the lobstah.

I based the route off this Optimal Road Trip Loop. It's supposed to be efficient and you can start anywhere.

For mail forwarding services and declaring residency in a zero income tax state, Livingston, TX is one of the most RV-friendly spots for establishing domicile / residency and it's home to the Escapees RV Club HQ and their Escapees Mail service. You get a real street address. They'll scan just the envelopes and you can tell them to open it and email a pdf to you or forward you the physical thing to where ever you are at the time.

Health Insurance is tricky. If you're going to change residency, then you'd have to wait and then sign up for ACA.

We traveled in our SUV. My wife vetoed an RV as she said she's going on vacation; she's not going to be housekeeping for me on wheels cooking dinner and stuff. We stayed in Best Westerns.

Besides the points of interests (and there were some quirky ones), we spent a week at Yellowstone and took both upper and lower loop tours. A good twist to the trip was everywhere we ended up, I looked for a Diners, Drive-ins and Dives location. DDD Map 1

DDD Map 2

DDD Map 3

I think you can get a National Park Pass; it's free to veterans and covers everyone in the vehicle.

You can also google "Points of Interest by State" and pick which ones you want as destinations. That's what I did.

quote:

Originally posted by hberttmank:
If you like to be armed everywhere, you should check the gun laws in the states you will be in. Some of them are not gun friendly and I would not want to travel in them.

This is on my radar... I'm not the type that feels the need to be armed anywhere, but the RV will be our home for roughly a year... I need to figure out what I want to bring and what I realistically can bring... I'm really not sure what I'd even want to have one me. LEOSA covers me, but not my family, of course.

This popped up the other day. Its exactly what I mean as far as a older ,well built coach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ_eSJX297o

We have been RVing for about 10 years now. Not full time though. 1 year with travel trailer. 5 years with a Class C, then 4 years with a Gas Class A right now.

Ask yourself first what kind of set-up do you want? Do you want to pull a travel trailer? If so, a 5th Wheel or a bumper pull? What type of tow vehicle will you be using? Most people prefer a diesel truck (F250, F350, RAM 2500 or 3500). Single wheel or dually?

Do you want a driveable motorhome? If so, a Class A or Class C? Do you want a Gas or Diesel? What kind of vehicle will you be using to drive around when you get to the campground? Most people pull a small car or an SUV. IF you decide to pull a vehicle, i highly suggest you FLAT TOW and not a DOLLY. (We used a tow dolly for 2 summers. Sold the dolly and traded the car for a Jeep Rubicon).

Will you be buying a NEW or USED motorhome or trailer? Some people hire an independent RV inspector PRIOR to purchasing any unit. They go through and inspect the RV thoroughly for any damages from factory (even on BRAND NEW units). Remember, RV dealers are notorious when it comes to fixing issues/problems AFTER you make the purchase.

WATER intrusion is a HUGE problem for any RV. When we purchased our motorhome, I immediately sealed all roof connections/seams using 4 inch ETERNEBOND tape. I also SEALED all window frames with FLEX RV sealant.

RVing is fun. But also challenging. Stuffs do break. Plan accordingly.

Let me know if you have any questions I can help you with.