Resources

Way back when this trip was years in the future, I started purchasing RV books.  Books such as RV for Dummies, Road Trip USA, a National Parks Guide and anything else that caught my eye as I hung out in the travel section of Barnes and Noble.

I joined a couple of Yahoo groups.  Families on the Road is a great group to join if you are interested in RVing for extended periods.  While many of the families who post are full time RVers, I learned a TON just by lurking.  I’ve been a member of this group for well over a year and it’s been my initial go to when questions arise.  The archives are a wealth of knowledge.

Initially I wanted a Class C motorhome, but the more we researched, the more I gravitated to the Class A.  Keith lobbied for a bit for a 5^th wheel (I think he just wanted a bigger truck), but I quickly disabused him of the notion of 8 weeks with the kids in the cab of a truck.

Having Keith work out of state was actually a blessing in disguise.  It forced us to purchase a RV for Keith to live in, thus giving us time to figure out how to work and maintain the RV before leaving for our trip.  Keith was able to fix some minor issues and work out the kinks.  

I purchased a RV Road Atlas.  Invaluable.  This atlas shows where campgrounds and RV service centers are located.  I also bought a Next Exit book.  This book tells you what services are located off of every exit of every interstate.  Another great resource.  I have two RV campground directories.  One is Frommers and the other is from Good Sam.  Ah, Good Sam.  Good Sam offers roadside RV assistance, but they also offer a membership for RVers that gives you access to their website which includes forums and handy checklists.  I wrote to AAA and asked for maps—boy did I get maps! 

I then purchased an annual National Parks permit and bought some National Parks Passport books.  Apparently, each National Park has a stamp that you can get and collect.  It’ll be fun.  I hope. 

Once I had all of my books, I started a notebook with tabs for various lists—stuff to bring, people to see, campgrounds, to do lists, etc.  I printed up a blank calendar to fill out with our planned itinerary.  I printed out helpful emails from people and reservation confirmations.  I have a list of all the bills that need to be paid while we’re gone.  All of this goes into a magazine holder so that there is one central place for everything.

So far, that’s everything I’ve used.  Oh, and Google.  Where would we be without Google????