Campervaning in the USA.

In the US they are "RV's" (Recreational Vehicles), to the rest of the world "Campervans".

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Part 1       The Planning of Our USA Tour

"Your life will be no better than the plans you make and the action you take. You are the architect and builder of your own life, fortune, destiny. - Alfred A. Montapert." - [born 1910?]

We aim to give the prospective foreign RV tourist planning a US tour some guidance that they won't find easily elsewhere. - Along with some stringent criticism of US global policy.

Preamble

There is more to this Internet site than just "Campervanning in the USA", there is a view of the world, and the USA in particular, which some of you might find uncomfortable, very much so if you are a "my country right or wrong" type of American. Some such readers become so upset at these, in my opinion much needed criticisms, that they completely overlook the many words of praise I offer for the truly excelent places we visited, such as some of the National Parks, and for the common people of America in general, as distinct from the Nation's global policies.

This is a warts and all view of America, I don't praise places and things I didn't like. This is not a glossy tourist promotion brochure, where everything is touted as a wonderous attraction. And when it comes to letting the good old USA have an earfull about global policy, I don't hold back.

There were many things that we really enjoyed about America, particularly the great National Parks and the wonderful landscape scenery, and we say so throughout this tour report. We recommend many areas which we consider truly worthy of attention to the international tourist, and to include in your RV tour of the western USA. From E-mail feedback we note that some Americans get the impression that because there were some things we didn't like, and some areas that were not to us so attractive, that we didn't enjoy our tour. That is not the case! We generally enjoyed America, but we say what we think (our opinion) about what's good and what's NOT, both geographically and politically.

There is tourism, and there's political comment on this site. Keep each in perspective. Here is what one reviewer of the site had to say in feedback.

"I wanted to drop you a quick note regarding your Internet site. I thoroughly enjoyed your diaries of travel in the western United States, excepting, of course, the tirades of venomous drivel. Your detailed information is truly of great benefit to those interested in boondocking. I am employed in the publishing business and feel that you have more than ample material for a soft cover book. Your commentary is a bit rough around the edges and leaves quite a bit to be desired grammatically; all of the political rhetoric would have to go, as would any text having to do with your disdain for anything that does not fit your rigid, misaligned sense of right and wrong. The fact that you are a pompous, narcissistic, self-serving, egotistical, condescending, sociopath would not discourage many publishers from taking on the formidable project of cleaning up your text and converting same into a successful paperback.

Sincerely,

John Gill

The Saturday Evening Post

Indianapolis, Indiana USA"

So if you don't like what you read, don't bother with insults, it has all been said so well before, that I feel extremely honored. When the US media get so upset, one just has to be doing something right!. On the other hand many Americans themselves agree with much of my pompous, narcissistic, self-serving, egotistical, condescending, sociopathic tirades of venomous drivel, and see the urgent need for changes in the way America goes about its role in the world. The really juicy bits of political drivel that will most upset you are generally highlighted in BLUE, so you can find them easily.

I have installed a direct chain of hyperlinks so you can go from one piece of pompous, narcissistic, self-serving, egotistical, condescending, sociopathic tirade of venomous drivel to the next, and drive yourself into a state of terminal apoplexy, without having to read all the tiresome intervening RV and tourist information, if that's what you want. Follow the "bomb trail", click on the explosion.

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." - Benjamin Franklin

I was educated at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and graduated in 1964 in Communications Engineering. I was born and have lived most of my life in Australia and worked for Telstra the Australian national telecom company for fifteen years and was promoted to Senior Engineer. Since 1981 I have worked overseas in Papua New Guinea, as Regional manager in Port Moresby for two years, Brunei as Network Planning Engineer for 6 years, in Thailand as Senior Consultant Engineer for Detecon the consulting arm of the Deutsche Bundesposte Telecoms for 2 years, and in Saudi Arabia as an advisor to the Ministry of Telecommunications for six months.

If asked my religion, having a deviant sense of humor, I reply that I am an Orthodox Iconoclast. Few wish to appear ignorant, and assume that is some sort of new sect! I am also a non conformist, and a free thinker. An amateur student of history, a lover of classical music, an admirer of Mozart and Beethoven, Freud and Darwin, and an eccentric by some conventional standards. Had I lived in mediaeval times I would probably have been burned at the stake by the Inquisition as an unrepentant heretic. In fact I subscribe to no religion, as I require no external reference standard, but I extract elements of wisdom from a mix of the teachings of Buddha, Christ, Mohammed and particularly Confucius. I choose my own code of behavior of honesty and the pursuit of truth.

I do not accept the so called "news" much of which is in reality propaganda of the daily media that the brainwashed masses believe to be fact, without confirmation. I ask,"Why is it so"? I have learned that the more significant a world event is, the less likely it is that you will be told the whole truth about it by governments or the mainstream mass media.

I have learned that history is truly bunk, because what most of us have been taught as fact, is in relation to the most significant world events, particularly wars, is often no more than pure propaganda.

I have learnt that those who do not learn from (real) history are destined to relive it. Unfortunately few know much "real" history, as distinct from the propaganda fed to the masses, by the ruling elite.

The Internet is the greatest medium for free and open communication since the invention of the printing press, and from it you to can enlighten yourself. You can also find out if I'm right in my views!

If you think some of the views I express in the various observations of the USA scatted throughout this site are nonsense, do not believe what I say, research it for yourself. If you simply believe me, you will believe anyone, and you will be deceived by others, often the governments and media you unwisely trust. Do not trust, investigate. If you research and confirm for yourself, you will come to know truth, to be able to sort the wheat from the chaff, and to comprehend the real state of the world. Truth and enlightenment awaits you.

 

Most of the research in preparation for this tour has been done over the Internet and we have prepared some summary documents that we have printed printed out to take with us. You may find them helpful.

Camper Check List ------------ Telephone Screening Checklist ---------------Camper Packing List

Like our earlier report on our tour of Europe in 2000, this is written from the point of view of a foreign (Australian) tourist, and concentrates of those aspects of touring the USA that may be most easily confusing or unexpected to a foreigner. There won't be so many photos in the first few sections, before Salt Lake City, where I bought a digital camera, as the photos of the earlier section of the tour are on 35mm film and I will progressivly add them to the site as I do scans. In any case there are plenty of other Internet sites with excellent photos of the US already.

Americans reading this my find some of our concerns about touring the USA rather odd. I don't apologise, they are the concerns of an experienced traveller, most of which have been raised in our minds by your fellow Americans, either in their Internet sites, relevant newsgroups, or in direct E-mail correspondence where I have been indebted to a number of Americans for their friendly, frank and helpful responses. We hope some of our concerns are baseless, but you don't know, if you don't go!

To understand a little more personal background which may put our views in perspective I suggest you peruse the first few paragraphs of part 1 our Europe 2000 trip report.

We have read several trip reports from foreigners who have done a similar thing and found them helpful. Foreigners see a different perspective, to locals, and such reports are worth reading. One of the best.
A Year in a Motorhome in the USA    A comprehensive report by an English couple who toured the USA in 1996-97.

What sums up my impression of America after a lot of study and planning; a land of great contrasts, the best and the worst the world has to offer. You will find some comments very critical of America the nation state, particularly in relation to the policies of it's government, in stark contrast to my views of individual Americans, who are generally very friendly welcoming people.

I'm no fan of US government policy in its relations with the rest of the world, particularly the long standing tendency to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, usually with the hidden agenda of promoting US business interests, masquerading as supporting so called "democracy", while in reality propping up often repressive, brutal, domestically unpopular, and totally undemocratic puppet regimes. This it has done in South America for over a century, in Asia and the middle east since WW2.

Even our own government in Australia is seen by some thinking Australians as excessively subservient to US foreign policy, and business interests in our country.

In Australia, as in the US itself, most people don't know enough accurate history, and see only the propaganda that passes for news in the media, to be aware of the real situation. Average Americans have been generally insular and taken little interest in their countries foreign policy, allowing domination by a ruling elite with objectives and motives, far removed from those of the American people themselves, to control the nations direction for the last 150 years. "Average" Americans are perhaps more ignorant of their nations real position in the word, and how and why they are perceived as a nation, than any people in history, largely because they are so manipulated and deceived by their own "permanent government", or ruling elite, and its servile mainstream media.

Globally views of America are polarized. Admired by many as a champion of freedom and a model to be copied, despised by many as a meddlesome oppressor, a neo colonial power (in the economic sense) supporting puppet regimens, that suit Americas business interests, leaving them free to exploit the labor and resources on America's terms, which are often in conflict with local views and aspirations.

The average American citizen genuinely asks, because they really don't know, 'Why do they hate us?". In reply they are told by their leaders, Bush! "They hate our freedom!" Nonsense; instead of the truth.

Ask a Greek who knows his history post WW2, or almost any South American or Caribbean citizen that has had a grip on their real history since 1850, or a Vietnamese, or an almost any Arab.

A few thinking Americans are asking. "Why is it so"?

If any good is to come from the unmitigated evil perpetrated against innocents recently, on 11/9/2001, it will be that now a few more ordinary Americans are taking a real interest in their countries direction and policy in the world. May they prosper. The nation of "we the people", will I hope, eventually awake, reassert itself, regain its own lost democracy, in the true ideals of the Founding Fathers, and truly become what it at present falsely claims to be. The true defender of freedom.

Understand what is really going on politically in America. What some Americans fear really happened on 911. The compelling evidence in this book points to the US government having had prior knowledge of 911, but allowing it to happen unchecked to justify global aggression in pursuit of economic goals. This shocking revelation "The War on freedom", (click on picture) is available at Amazon.com

It has been 24 years since I last visited the US, after leaving my two year contract job as Regional Engineer Manager of the Papua New Guinea Telecoms in Port Moresby PNG, we toured the Philippines, Hongkong and Japan, then the US west coast. My wife has an old aunt in Vancouver Washington who was only 68 then, we toured with her, and her now late husband for several weeks, through Oregon and Canada, and then hired a car for two weeks to visit Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, Bryce canyon, Grand canyon, Las Vegas and Disney Land.

It was a land of contrasts then, I feel it's even more so now. I remember the generally friendly and helpful people; in fact most Americans I've met have been that way. If the nation, that bestrides the world stage, were a true reflection of its people, what a much better world it would be! I love Americans, but I fear America.

It was the great landscape beauty of America that impressed us then, and which will again be a major focus of out tour. The National Parks, supplemented by an extensive system of State Parks and National Forests offer a huge selection of areas for the tourist to explore.

Entrance fees are charged almost everywhere and for the tourist who wants to see lots of national Parks the National Parks Pass from the National Parks Service is the thing to get. A twelve month pass entitles the holder and family to enter all National Parks and National Monuments for a single fee of US$50..

Problems faced by Foreign RV Tourists

There are several problem areas that foreigners face in doing this type of tour of the USA, which Americans don't have to contend with, and hence are with few exceptions in my experience ill equipped to give accurate advice, unless you can get authoritative and expert opinion.

On the following points I have had a number of conflicting pieces of advice, and the conclusions I have reached are pieced together from what seemed to be the best or consensus.

Immigration and Visas.

The main problem being how long you will be permitted to stay in the US without having to apply for an extension. If you are a resident of Australia the UK and most western European countries you don't need a Visa at all for up to 90 days in the USA. But for this type of trip (buying your own camper or RV) you are likely to be taking a lot longer so you MUST have a visa. Getting one is not the problem, unless you have a personality problem like Jack the Ripper, or are a dead ringer (Oz slang for look alike) for Osama bin Laden, apart from the fees! The problem concerns how long you will be allowed to stay in the USA, which will be endorsed on a form I-94 by the immigration officer at the port of entry when you first arrive in the USA. Most reports from foreigners on the Internet suggest that it is difficult to get initial endorsement for more than 6 months, although I believe that a very few have been granted more.

What is clear is that the granting of the visa gives NO indication as to how long you will be granted initially, before which you must either leave the US, or apply for an extension, which involves a hefty fee of around US$125, coupled with the problem of providing the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) with an address to send the documentation to, when you are living on the road.

A ONE YEAR VISA refers only to the period of time for which the visa is valid for you to first enter the US, it does NOT indicate that you will be allowed to stay for a year. Nor only that but even if you have a visa, the immigration officer at the port of entry STILL has the final discretion as to whether or nor you should be admitted to the US.

The US authorities in Australia have a 1 900 number that costs so much a minute to call, to which their website directs all visa inquiries. Well I simply refuse to call ANY 1 900 number, so I made extensive inquiries to the US Embassy in Canberra, the US Consulate in Sydney, by letter and FAX, both of which did not rate even the courtesy of a reply. With a phone call to the US Embassy in Canberra I finally convinced someone to talk to me. He was actually quite helpful. Although explaining that he shouldn't really be discussing visa's with me, as all such matters had to be handled by a pay for time 1-900 number. I was able to ease his conscience by assuring him that I wasn't actually asking about a visa, I knew how to get that, but was making an inquiry regarding the procedures of the INS and the powers of its immigration officers.

Several E-mails to the US State Department, which also received form letter replies of sorts, also led me to believe (but I still ain't certain, yes its that confusing) that the admitting immigration officer has the discretion to endorse your form I-94 with a period of permitted temporary stay exceeding six months, but apparently they don't often do so. Some officers may not even know they have the power.

So it remains to be seen, if we smile and ask nicely, and show our return tickets for September 25th, as well as details of our capacity to pay our way in the US, we may be let in for the required 7-8 months. (Note 22/3/2002 It didn't work we got only 6 months too)

(Note 16/6/2002 The simple and inexpensive way to get an extension on your I94. Deport yourself, cross the border into Canada, and come back ten minutes later. Cost $6.00 each, our I94's are now valid until 15/12/2002) Click Here


Vehicle hassles for foreigners:-
It seems, from the reports of various foreign tourists I have read on the Internet, that the US is not really geared up for foreign tourists doing RV tours, and these things seem more complex, and reports conflict on what to expect. Also the procedures vary from state to state and again visitors report widely differing accounts on the ease or difficulty in organising things.

 

Registering your vehicle.

You need to have an address, where you are domiciled. Now how you can be domiciled anywhere but in your RV beats me, but they want an address. So give them one. People have used the previous owners address, a friends address, the address of the dealer where you bought the RV, or that of a mail forwarding service.

The state of Oregon has the lowest charges and a system for registration for full time RV owners who live on the road. So if you have a choice it's a good place to start.

FACTS FOUND 20/03/2002 - Provided you have a mailing address in Oregon, friends address, dealers address, even a mail forwarding company, (from which mail such as your registration papers and plates can be reliably forwarded) and are a bona fide foreign tourist, and NOT in fact a US resident of another state pretending to be domiciled in Oregon, you will probably have no major hassle. It seems that if you frankly disclose your status as a foreign tourist, that the strict tests of domicile and residency that apply to Americans are applied very loosely.

However if you call the Oregon DMV in Portland (503 299 9999) don't expect to get agreement on this from the service consultant that answers your call. It needs the exercise of some discretion in interpreting the regulations, and for that you need a supervisor.

The person to ask for is (March 2002) Mrs. Gibson, who kindly gave me every assistance after I explained to her frankly that I was an Australian tourist, that I had a friends address in Gaston OR to use etc.

If your 'address" is in a major city area such as Portland, your vehicle will also have to pass emissions tests, but not if your registration address is in a less densely populated area. Be aware of this complication and check with the DMV.

After all as a tourist you are not really domiciled in any other state, and Oregon may as well pocket your registration taxes as any of the other states. In my case $30, title fee, $174 registration fee (depends on the size of your vehicle) and $4 plates fee. They will even post them to you. Americans who are residents of other states also try to register in Oregon, as a tax dodge, and it is illegal, and fines apply if caught, but as a bona fide foreign tourist there is no cheating involved, merely choosing wisely. However if you have no connection with Oregon at all it may be simpler to register where you buy your vehicle.

RV Insurance.
Can be difficult to obtain, and is reportedly more expensive if you don't have a US State issued drivers license. Many companies won't insure drivers unless you have a US license, but some do.

Check with a local Insurance Broker in the state where you buy or register your RV, some advice on the Internet suggests that a broker may be able to get you better rates.

FACT FOUND - 20/03/2002 The best quote (by far) on insurance I obtained was from Progressive Insurance, 1 800 288 6776 of $527 based on Oregon State registration, a firm quote to insure our 1987 Fleetwood Bounder 28 footer for its purchase price of $12,100.00. If you want less than 12 months you will need to cancel the policy and receive a pro rata rebate, less a handling fee. [Note;- When I canceled the policy at the end of our tour, they refunded in full the balance of the premium fully with no hassle at all. Full marks Progressive.]

You can call 1 800 289 77704, select option 9 then dial extension 57085 to speak to a particularly helpful representative, Mike. Office hours 10.15am-7pm Mountain time. This company, unlike many US insurers, appears to not be afraid of foreigners as necessarily bad risks, will take account of your good driving record and previous RV experience, and can do all the policy set up over the phone, and fax you a temporary certificate of insurance, which you should have when driving your vehicle, until the paper work catches up with you. Highly Commended.

In fact getting insurance has proved no more difficult than back home, although a lot more expensive.

Several other companies have set up to handle RV insurance for foreign tourists. Miller Insurance Agency, (who offer only 12 month policies and will rebate pro rata less a seemingly reasonable fee if you cancel after say 6 months) and Thum Insurance agency. The latter offer 3, 6, 9 and 12 month policies, the only agency to do so that I know of . Either one is worth contacting for a quote. Maybe your circumstances will give them the edge, but in my case Progressive Insurance was the clear leader on price.

Quotes can vary widely one I obtained was around US$1350 for twelve months to cover my vehicle to a value of $10,000 plus all the other types of ancillary insurance that seems to be necessary in the US. There are various statutory insurance requirements differing from to state, depending on where you register your vehicle. Exactly what are the statutory requirements, what is prudently necessary to provide reasonable level of cover in the litigation crazy US, and what the insurance companies just want to sell you to bump up the cost, I haven't yet fully figured out.

A typical policy as offered covers the following:-

$ 10,000 Bodily Injury/ Property Damage Liability
$ 100,000 to 500,000 Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Liability
$ 100,000 to 500,000 Uninsured Motorist Property Damage
$ 10,000 Medical Payments
$ 500 Collision Deductible
$ 500 Comprehensive Deductible
$ 500 Emergency Expense
$ 750 Vacation Liability
$10,000 Personal Effects (replacement cost)
$ 5,000 Towing Included To The Nearest Repair Facility (* See below on Roadside Service)

Mexico Coverage** Collision and Comprehensive coverage only in Mexico Canadian Insurance ID card Included   Please note this coverage will vary from state to state!

The proviso in red above, which was attached to the indication of costs I was sent, probably reflects the varying statutory minimum insurance requirements of the various states. So the above may not be the level of cover you actually get when you insure. Complex isn't it!

In another cost indication, also based on a $10,000 nominal value for the RV, the premium depended on which state you register in (Oregon was cheaper than Arizona) and whether you were married or single. Married was cheaper, well for the insurance anyway! The indicated cost was between $563 to $695 for six months.

One of the insurance agencies required an International Driving License, saying their underwriters demanded it, despite the facts below on the next section.

Now that's expensive insurance, as back home my policy for my Toyota Landcruiser, which is worth more than US$10,000 is only around A$420, or US$240. However in the UK we faced very similar high insurance charges for a 7 month policy for our Ford Transit van used on our Europe 2000 trip. So ripping off tourists for insurance seems to be a global sport. Having a good insurance rating back home in Australia does not seem to help in reducing the cost. Even having documentary proof with you of a rating one for life (best possible accident risk rating) was of no interest in the UK and inquiries to the several US agents I have contacted gave a similar result.

 

Drivers licenses.

The USA has signed an international convention which recognises foreign drivers licenses from most countries for visitors. However there are reports that some rental companies insurers or even state authorities and police want to see an International Driving Permit, which is strictly speaking merely a translation of your license into various languages, and has no validity without your original home country license. Now they do speak English in the USA, so no one needs a translation if your license is in English, BUT some folks just ain't gotten the god dam message yet.

So I have invested the A$15.00 to get one from my local auto club, just in case I meet one of these unenlightened souls. In fact after getting one of the insurance quotes and corresponding with the very helpful agent, my wife also forked out the A$15 for her ILD too.

So its true, an IDL isn't legally necessary, but you still need it, because in the USA a lot of folks don't know that!

I think I am already getting the same message that other foreign tourists have reported about, the inconsistent, and confusing ways of the USA, on a wide range of issues, and I haven't even left home yet!

Roadside Service.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) advertises on its website that it and affiliated Auto Clubs honor reciprocal roadside service agreements with other clubs in foreign countries. So if you are a member of an Auto Club check to see if your club has a reciprocal agreement the AAA.

This service includes towing to the depot of the towing contractor who answers your call, or free towing for five miles anywhere. I note that they refer to a special class of AAA membership for RV's, which does not exist in Australia, so I will expect them to honor my ordinary RACQ membership. You probably don't need to pay out for any special form of roadside breakdown service. I've no first hand experience with the results in practice, but such things are reported to work well from some other travellers I met in Europe during our 2000 tour in relation to reciprocal agreements between the AAA and the German and Swiss auto clubs. Hopefully in the USA, the AAA looks after tourists as well as the Europeans seem to.

Facts Found. March 2002. It works. The AAA sent a locksmith to fix my ignition lock which had mysteriously completely jammed, so I couldn't start the vehicle one morning, while boondocked at Camping World in Phoenix, and covered the first US$50 of the $80 bill, leaving me only $30 to pay for the call out, over an hours work, and making two new ignition keys. Had I had "Plus" level of cover with my home club (Royal Auto Club of Queensland) they would have covered the first $100 of locksmiths charges and it would have cost me nothing. Roadside service is limited to simple things to get you going if there really isn't much wrong, jump starting, wheel changing if you have an inflated spare or otherwise, if this won't fix things, towing service is 5 miles free in any direction, or any distance needed to the depot of the call out contractor, who hopes of course to get your repair business.

The system seems OK and don't waste your money on any other sort of cover, often offered as an extra cost option with your vehicle compulsory and comprehensive insurance. Decline the option and save the money.


What sort of RV to buy.

By following the auctions on Ebay (for 12 months) which has a section devoted to RV sales, you can get a good idea of realistic values.

RV's are on average MUCH bigger in the US than the average campervan in the UK or Europe, and smaller vehicles are harder to find. You can buy quite low mileage older vehicles on Ebay for under $10,000, sometimes under $5,000 for an early '80's or late '70's vehicle with often not much over 50,000 miles.

I prefer a smaller vehicle because it will be easier to drive, easier to park in towns, and I won't be making it a permanent home as quite a few Americans do. We also always tend to travel the smaller back roads and into mountains where a large RV would be more of a hassle than it's worth to us.

I also feel after watching the market that you need to be aware that despite the big market, RV's can be VERY hard to sell, unless you are offering a real bargain. So unless you want to loose LOTS of money when it comes time to sell, :-

From reading a lot of background I also have concluded that some of the older larger RV's are badly engineered, with engines and transmissions over stressed and liable to require major work at around 60,000 miles. Some few models are reportedly unsafe and unstable with excessive overhangs and too short a wheelbase leading to stability problems. From reports on the Internet (various websites and relevant news groups, monitored frequently over a year) even owners of new and very expensive RV's often report numerous quality control and mechanical problems, often repeatedly, and can have considerable problems in having them competently rectified.

Apart from that there several reports by other foreign tourists highlight the extremely variable quality and competence of service and mechanical repairs in the US.

Americans themselves also report very critically on the widespread manipulative and deceptive sales practices by RV and second hand car dealers in the US. Obviously not all are crooks, but reports are so common, that my intention is to buy privately, or at auction such as Ebay if possible, and only make use of dealers to gauge the physical market, as distinct from the values reflected in cyberspace on Ebay.

So in the land of the free, feel free to be skeptical and look very carefully at any deal you are offered; and in the home of the brave, be brave enough to politely demand a reasonable level of service, if you do come across the poor standards and incompetent service that so many Americans themselves complain of. Of course you could be lucky and never have problems, for every nightmare I've seen reported on, there are stories of helpful and considerate folks that go out of their way to assist a foreign tourist.

Vehicle Class Definitions

 A moden very large Class A, with a "Toad", in this case a small 4WD.

 

Our own vehicle, a 1987 Fleetwood Bounder, 28 foot Class A. Had done only 21,000 miles. Cost US$12,100 at auction on Ebay on the Internet.

We plan to sell it the same way. Selling to a dealer you will be offered a ridiculously low price, and the Internet provides the best way in the USA to reach a wide market and achieve a quick sale and a fair market value.

[Note:- At the end of our tour Bounder sold on Ebay for $11,100 with 29,500 miles on the clock.]

 

 

Main drawback is limited space and need to fold up beds and tables, often does not have a shower. Advantages, small and easy to park, uses less fuel, better on dirt roads than a bigger RV.

 

 

 

 

 

The camper body can be fairly easily removed from the truck, by inbuilt jacks, either manual or electric, and left at a campsite.

A drawback in my view is that you don't have internal access to the driving compartment from inside your RV. This has some security implications, as you can't drive off without getting out of your vehicle to reach the drivers seat. The camper and the truck on which it is mounted are often sold separately and unless you can buy and sell as a combined unit this would be an added complication for the international tourist.

 

For the tourist there is the disadvantage of having to buy and sell two distinct units, the Fiver itself, and the tow vehicle.

 


I have decided to look for an RV which is under 23 feet, maximum. Preferably a class B with a shower and toilet, although showers are harder to find in a class B, they do exist. There are also some class C units around 21 feet on a Toyota lite truck chassis, as well as many older units built up on Ford and Chevy lite truck chassis.(Note:- Ended up with a 28 foot class A, with only 21,000 miles on the clock. The best laid plans of mice and men ..............)

Often units dating back to the late 70's have low miles (under 50,000) and look to be in at least superficially good condition, and sell for around $5000.

I considered a pick up camper, but decided against it because of the lack of direct access to the cab. We intend to "boondock" a lot and we want to have the ability to move off quickly in the event of any security situation arising such as any suspicious persons or vehicles approaching us when parked at night.

(Note added 22/04/2002. Having had some experience boondocking, and had no hint of problems, I would now give a lot more consideration to a 4WD pickup camper. There are quite a lot of places where it would be a great rig to have, and I don't now think the security concerns are such a worry as I did before starting out. They come with all the same facilities as a class A or C vehicle, shower and toilet , hot water system, generator, etc.)

We have read a fair amount about security and we don't intend to stay in any large city at night, leave the RV parked unattended in any large city, or park overnight at any roadside rest stops close to large population centers or on major highways, unless it is in a Wal-Mart car park, a truck stop such as Flying J or Petro. Where we boondock, it will be in more remote places where the chance of being accosted by opportunistic criminals is much reduced.

Seasonal and Climatic Factors.

It wasn't until I was more closely investigating the geography of the US using an Encarta computer atlas, for the planning of this trip, that the extreme variations in climate and altitude became fully apparent.

So the selection of your route and timing of its commencement need to bear these factors heavily in mind.

We had planned to start in March in Phoenix Arizona (AZ), however because my wife wanted to see a dear old aunt who is 94 and probably not long for this world, and she lives in Vancouver Washington, we are flying in to Vancouver British Columbia Canada, and then getting a Greyhound bus to Vancouver WA, which is about 300 miles south. The reason for this is that from Australia the only Airline that offers reasonably priced 1 year validity tickets to the USA is Japan Airlines. (in early 2002) .

Despite all the apparently cheaper fares on offer most are only 90 day or less validity. We paid A$1620 (plus airport taxes) to Flight Center, whom we have found are usually able to offer the best deal on fares out of Australia. (Note:- We paid too much, the airline reduced the fare to A$1300 a few weeks later.)

Our return flight will depart from Los Angeles, as we don't want to return to Vancouver and anticipate either leaving our van in winter storage in Phoenix AZ or selling it there in September.

To anyone planning a tour such as this, Phoenix AZ would be a good place to start because of the pleasant desert winter climate and it also appears to have one of the largest RV markets.

It is also a good place to store your RV, if you want to extend your tour over several seasons, with fewer climatic problems, such as damp and freezing in winter.

Avoid buying a vehicle from the northern mid west states, as the extensive use of salt on the frozen winter roads in these areas can create serious rust problems in older vehicles.

Apart from the seasonal factors altitude will be the next most influential geographic/climatic factor. To understand the climate variations see the maps at [link]

For How Long to Plan the Tour?

After our tour of Europe in 2000, in which we lived in a small Ford Transit van camper for five months, we considered that long enough, and were glad to be going home. We had also planned to leave the van in the UK over winter, and return in 2001 if we wished. Although we hadn't seen any of Scandinavia, or Holland, we decided to sell it. I think we were both feeling we had enough of touring.

Now American RV's are much bigger, and dollar for dollar you get much more RV for your money than in the UK. In fact the main problem seems to be to find one that is small enough to be easy to park and be maneuverable, hence my desire for one under 23 feet.

A bigger vehicle will be more comfortable, although it was not lack of comfort that influenced us to not keep the transit and go back to Europe, but rather the feeling of having done all the main places we wanted to and just being a bit homesick.

The USA is also bigger than Europe, and having read reports where others have spent a year touring and still only scratched the surface, it soon became apparent that to tour in the unhurried manner to which we are accustomed we could not even attempt to see it all in one trip, even if it was of twelve months duration.

Also our experience in Europe taught us that about six months was enough in one bight.

There is also the problem that we still are not sure if we will be allowed to stay more than 6 months. Well the bloody US consulate won't answer my very polite and to the point correspondence, will they! One tour report by Brits refers to a US Immigration rule about not being permitted to spend more than 6 months in any twelve in the US on a tourist visa.
So we plan on six months, maybe seven if we can without immigration hassles, and about two thirds through we will decide if we want to store the vehicle and come back in 2003.

I have a few misgivings about America, what we will enjoy, and what we will hate. The landscape of the west and the mountains is of great natural beauty, and we like to visit such areas, and so most of our time will be spent in the western states of Arizona, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. Perhaps if time permits also along the southern seaboard to Georgia.

To do this area justice will take fully six months, without even attempting to visit the east coast.

What bothers us about America?

(With our later responses to some of our own concerns entered in blue during or after the tour.)

Landscape beauty aside, not many of the western cities have much appeal to us, and most of our time will be spent along byways and back roads, in smaller towns, and probably we will avoid many of the larger population centers altogether.

One exception will be Salt Lake City, where we hope to visit the Mormon Tabernacle, perhaps even hear the choir. No religious interest, but we greatly admire the music of the Mormon Choir.

Unlike Europe, the US western cities don't seem to have the historic and cultural attractions, which appeal to us, at least not at this planning stage. So our Planning is mainly centered on taking in the enormous range of landscape beauty, and National Parks, with a heavy emphasis on Utah, the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains.

Several foreign tour reports speak of much of western small town America as being rather a time warp, depressed and run down, in some places roadsides littered with rubbish, and of grotty Indian reservations crawling with beggars and of tourists being often pestered by homeless vagrants wanting money. In a beautiful land, a human ugliness is abroad they say, we hope it isn't so. (Well unfortunately in some parts of the country it is like that. Except I never saw a beggar on an Indian reservation, only white males outside the occasional supermarket car park with a sign asking for money. We were never pestered.)

We simply won't have time to explore the eastern part of the USA this trip, so the undoubted greater historic and cultural attractions of that region will have to wait.

I have seen a newspaper report indicating that apart from the ubiquitous fast food, hamburger and fried chicken joints, that outside of major cities, it is almost impossible to find a proper restaurant. Can it really be that bad? We'll let you know our impressions! (That's fairly close the the situation in most cases.)

We have heard of the candy bar and cola diets reportedly the standard fare of many Americans, hopefully only those of the lowest ignorant classes; surely? Can it really be like that in the good old USA, God forbid! (Yes it's bad, and some thinking Americans are very concerned too.)

Will we be always able to buy wholesome food, fresh fruit and vegetables, free from genetic modifications, and free of excessive chemicals and additives? (Yes you can always buy fruit and veg, quality is usually good, chemicals and additives and excessive salt and sugar are a problem in most processed food. Genetic modifications are not labeled.)

We wonder, because it's mainly US companies that are pushing these things, genetically modified food and excessive consumption of sweet caffeine laden soft drinks and junk food, on to the market back home in Australia. It is this sort of commercial imperialism, seeking to influence other countries, often to the detriment of the health of the local population, for corporate profit, that really irks me about large companies; and American ones are top of the list. (The number of "Australian" business that are owned or franchised by American companies becomes more apparent when you see the same business names in operation her in the USA. It is far worse than I imagined. A dangerous economic imperialism aided and abetted by our own puppet governments in Australia that have been subservient to overseas financial and business interests, firstly to the British and then the Americans ever since Australia was a colony. We in Australia may be nominally politically independent, (though in reality a lackey of the US) but economically we have never been allowed to be independent, and our weak submissive puppet politicians are to blame for a hundred years.)

And what's the water like? (Generally very good.) I have seen a lot on the RV news groups about water filters on your RV, and the difficulty of obtaining good drinking water. Do you really NEED to buy bottled water to drink? (No we never needed bottled water.) If so, is it like that most places? (None that we went to.) Is there really a safety issue with the water, or have people been conned into buying bottled water by marketing tricksters? (There is no water problem, and yes they have all been conned.)

Crime is also a concern, more so than it was in visiting Europe and the UK, that's our impression any way. Hence another reason we avoid big cities when ever possible. (We have had no problems, but we have avoided the largest cities.)

It is true to say that I have more doubts and apprehensions about this trip than I had in planning the Europe Trip. On the other hand we have been told that as Australians we will be welcomed and greeted with open arms by most Americans, and that accords with out past experience.

We want to like you America, really we do, we already like Americans, and if the Nation could be like its people, we would have no problem. (The people are generaly friendly, likeable and very courteous and like Australia and Australians. They all seem to either have been to Australia, or want to go there in the future. The best known Australian is, "The Crocodile Man", Steve Irwin!)

The paradox we see is the same one that is clearly apparent to many thinking Americans, the Nation State and the People are no longer ONE. There are TWO Americas. The traditional Good old US of A, the land of WE THE PEOPLE, in the vision of the Founding Fathers, is a thing worlds apart from the other America, the corporate dominated Nation State. (Nothing I have seen has changed my opinion, in fact some Americans agree. The people individually are great, but a lot are blind to their countries faults and many of the government's international policies are still as abhorrent, devious and meddlesome as they always were.)

What a wonderful heritage you Americans have, treasure it, nourish it, cling to it, but most of all guard it, mainly against those within your own country that would deny your rights and freedoms, for they are far more of a threat than any external phantom enemy, intended mainly to distract you from reality. The true greatness of America rests on the traditional values of the Founding Fathers, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Like in all modern pseudo democracies your leaders, with few exceptions, since before WW1 have generally been puppets and scoundrels. Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." - John Philpot Curran [1750-1817]

In any event I aim to tour the US without consuming a single can of Cola, of either dammed variety, and resist vigorously the consumption of hamburgers, fries and greasy antibiotic riddled chicken, well to the point of starvation being a clear and present danger anyway! In which case I will surrender at the nearest independent hamburger place, or if really desperate at the nearest Wendy's which I recall from my last visit in 1978 were several classes above and beyond the other hamburger joints in apparent quality of product. Some reports indicate they are still regarded as a cut above the other purveyors of instant obesity.

I hear tell all is not lost that in parts of the south, down New Orleans way culinary excellence is alive and well. Please God, make it so!

Hopefully it won't be half the culinary wasteland I fear, there must still be plenty of good cooks in the USA. Maybe its just those cursed big corporations that have been allowed to run rampant, serving up highly profitable culinary crap to a marketing conditioned and uncritical body of consumers that are to blame for the specter of a dietary wasteland.

In any case, as always, we will mainly do our own cooking in our campervan (RV) and only eat out occasionally. Not only is that cheaper (Glory be unto Scrooge McDuck, Blessed be his name) but a whole lot better for you too!


So a curse on all big fast food corporations, may your crud-burgers shrivel and burn on the griddle, and your French fries coagulate in a glutinous mass of toxic sump oil. May all your customers be kept waiting interminably, until the obese are rendered anorexic in your temples of malnourishment and the arches shall be remembered only as dinosaur bones.

 

Now I think a lot of Americans agree to an extent, because there was once an Internet page linked from Out West Newspaper but that now appears to have been taken over by Road Food, which lists readers recommendations on the best hamburgers in the West. Now what I find interesting is that all of the nominations were, at least on the old site, exclusively for independent hamburger places, and not a single nomination is there for any of the big corporate hamburger chains.

So I take that as corroborative evidence that a lot of you Yanks agree, to some extent with my admittedly rather extreme views, and prefer some real cooking to mass produced synthetic food. After all there is no reason why a hamburger can't be a great meal, it depends on the quality of the ingredients, and from quality ingredients I exclude synthetic processed meat substitutes, artificial flavors colours and preservatives, "plastic" bread buns, and chips cooked in synthetic oil substitutes.

A few money saving tips.

Airfares.

Other things to save money while you are away.

Things that are cheaper to take with you.

Special purchases in the US

Buying routine items in the USA

The concepts expressed in this document are protected by the basic human right to freedom of speech, as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, reaffirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court as applying to the Internet content on June 26, 1997.

"Without economy none can be rich, and with it few can be poor." - Johnson [1709-1784]

 

The Erratum of Man's History. - Conventional belief is often mistaken.

1689 - Cotton Mather publishes his Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions, showing that "there is both a God and a Devil and Witchcraft," and setting the stage for the Salem Massachusetts witch-hunts and witch trials of 1692.

Part 2 Starting Off.
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