RVshare Resources To Plan Your Perfect Road Trip

By Laura Falin
December 11th, 2024
How To Guides and Hacks
A class C RV parked in a scenic area on an RV road trip

If you’re planning an RV road trip, you may be feeling a bit overwhelmed. It’s a daunting task to plan a trip from scratch.

Fortunately, RVshare has lots of articles and resources to help you out! If you’re looking for suggestions on where to go, ideas for where to stay, or advice on planning for your trip, RVshare has articles covering your questions.

Let’s get started planning your next trip!

Travel Resources for Trip Planning

Building an Itinerary

Whether you know exactly where you want to go, or you like winging it on a road trip, it’s helpful to have at least a general RV road trip itinerary before you head out. Here are some things to consider as you plan your itinerary for your trip.

  • Distance: Your destination is going to be affected by the amount of time you have for a trip. If you’re looking for a weekend away, your travel radius will be much smaller than a summer vacation or a year-long trip.
    • You’ll also want to consider how much ground you can cover in an RV in one day. Many RVers advise limiting your mileage to about 200-250 miles a day, or roughly 5 hours on the road. Driving a large rig can be more mentally taxing than driving a compact car, and you can’t go as fast. You’ll also want to get to your destination before dark to make setup easier.
    • You may want some rest days on your trip as well. After a long day of driving, spend a day sightseeing, hiking, or otherwise taking a break from driving.
  • RV-friendly routes: You’ll also want to make sure the roads you’re taking can accommodate your RV. Some winding roads, or roads with low bridges or other obstacles may not be suitable for your rig. As you plan your itinerary, you may want to consult an app like RV LIFE to help you map your route.
  • Consider when you’re traveling: If you’re planning a summer road trip, you’ll want to make reservations much earlier in many places than if you travel during the off-season. You’ll also want to be prepared for crowds and lines for popular attractions. Prices for some things may also be higher during peak seasons than during less-crowded seasons.
  • Consider your budget: Your budget will also help determine. Plan for gas costs, your RV rental, campground fees, and charges to get into any attractions you want to see. You can keep costs down by choosing inexpensive or free campgrounds with fewer amenities, making your own food instead of dining out, and planning free activities like hiking at your destination.

Finding Inspiration

If you’re not sure where you want to go on your RV road trip, you can start by thinking of what you’d like to do on your travels. We have guides for all types of locations, and once you’ve decided on a type of destination, you can consult them for more ideas.

  • Local Guides: Do you want to check out a city – either one you love or one you’ve never been to before? We have local guides for cities across the country, from San Francisco to Brooklyn and Houston to Detroit. You can check out city landmarks, nearby parks, restaurants, and other city activities.
  • Beaches: RVshare has rounded up beaches in just about every state, including the landlocked ones! Whether you want to relax on the sugar sand beaches of Florida, take a chilly plunge on the shores of Lake Tahoe in Nevada, or relax on the Jersey Shore, there’s a beach on our list for you! Many of these beaches also offer camping by the shore, making this a wonderful option for a relaxing vacation.
  • Amusement Parks: If thrills are your thing, we’ve also rounded up amusement parks across the country that you can visit! There are the big parks in California and Florida, of course. But there are also excellent parks in Colorado, Alabama, and all across the US.
  • Waterfalls: If you love hiking, you might want to center your trip around chasing waterfalls. We’ve rounded up falls from all over, to inspire your trip planning. California has the towering Yosemite Falls, Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio has more than 100 waterfalls, and many other states have falls worth seeing.
  • Events: You might also find travel inspiration based on events you’re interested in. If you’ve been considering RVing at Burning Man or indulging your seafood cravings at the Maine Lobster Festival, you could plan an RV trip around that event.
  • National Sites: This country is full of historic, fascinating national sites. From Independence Hall in Pennsylvania to the Aleutian World War II National Historic Area in Alaska and many other sites, you’ll find interesting spots to explore on a road trip.

Travel Resources for Outdoor Enthusiasts

Grand Canyon National Park

RVshare also has lots of resources for outdoor lovers, which encompasses lots of campers and RVers! If you want to head to a bucket list national park for the first time, or you want to investigate a hidden hiking trail in a national forest, there are options for everyone.

Generally speaking, you will find more crowds at national parks than you will at national forests or on Bureau of Land Management land. You’ll also find fewer people in most locations during the shoulder seasons of spring and fall, rather than in summer or – in warmer climates – in winter.

Here are some national parks you may want to check out, either because they’re popular or because they’re not crowded at all.

You can also look at RV camping in a national forest. There are national forests across the country, from Oregon to New Hampshire. National forests are great options for RVers on a budget, because many forest campgrounds are low cost, and some are free.

You can also consider camping on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. A lot of BLM land allows boondocking – camping off the grid. Many areas on BLM land allow dispersed camping and you can stay up to 14 days in one spot before having to move on. You’ll need to have a self-contained RV or camper since there are no hookups or services when you’re dispersed camping.

Planning Where to Stay During Your Trip

Once you’ve settled on a destination for your RV road trip, you’ll need to figure out where you’re going to camp. Some places, like national parks, have campgrounds on-site. Those campgrounds can fill up quickly, depending on the park’s popularity and the time of year you choose to visit. If you can’t find a campground at a national park or other popular spot you like, check nearby towns where there might be more options. Many national parks have towns that have popped up just outside the park to cater to visitors. You can also check nearby state parks or the national forests and BLM land mentioned above.

RVshare has a list of top campgrounds and RV parks in every state and the District of Columbia. These campgrounds range from primitive campgrounds with few – or no – amenities to upscale RV resorts. There are plenty of options for glamping across America if you want more amenities and beautiful grounds.

State parks are also an excellent option for RV campers! You’ll find scenic campgrounds in many parks. Amenities in state-run parks can vary from rustic to full hookups and services. Generally speaking, the cost of the park varies depending on these factors as well.

Travel Logistics and Renting an RV

Once you have a campground, you’ll also want to figure out your RV sewer situation. If your campground doesn’t have hookups, locate your nearest dump station in case you need to empty your tanks.

If this is your first time renting an RV with RVshare, there are lots of online resources to help you get started as well! Start by learning how to actually rent an RV with RVshare. We have lots of advice on RVing for beginners as well, from packing tips to what to do if your RV breaks down and much more. If you still have unanswered questions, there is a help center, and a phone number so you can talk to a real person about any concerns.

You can also browse our rentals, right on the RVshare main page. Filter your choices by your travel date, the size and class of RV you want, whether the rig allows pets, whether the owner will set the RV up on-site, and more.

It can be intimidating to plan an RV road trip if you’ve never tackled it before. But RVshare’s many resources can help get you going. And their helpful staff is here to guide you if you have trouble along the way.

Tags: Renting an RV renting your RV
Laura Falin
Laura is a freelance writer in Colorado. She has written for publications and websites including BabyCenter, Colorado Parent Magazine, and Denver Parent. Her background is in broadcast journalism, and she was an assignment editor and worked in TV news in Los Angeles for ten years before moving to Colorado. She loves hiking, paddle boarding, camping, and snowboarding, and she has run exactly one marathon. Her favorite part of writing for RVshare is giving people tips and resources to explore the outdoors in whatever way they are able. She now lives in Littleton, Colorado with her husband and four children. They love exploring the state and the rest of the U.S., and they are pros at 20-hour road trips.

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