The summer of 2017, we took our 40’ 5th wheel up the East Coast starting in central Florida mid-March, traveling all the way north to Maine.  We zig zagged up the coast, making it inland as far west as Tennessee and Kentucky.  Along the way we learned a lot more about traveling in a RV, and thought about things we could share with other travelers thinking about making a similar trip.

Here are 3 Tips for traveling the East Coast in an RV

1.  Plan, but be flexible?

*  Depending on how far ahead you make your reservations, you may need to have a couple options for places to stay.   Campgrounds are pretty full during the busy summer months. 
*  Think outside the box, many times we chose to stay outside of areas we wanted to visit, but drive in using our chase vehicle.  It was more cost effective to drive a bit than to pay the higher nightly rates.
 *  We used a variety of different options for camping:

   -State parks
   -County parks
   -Private campgrounds
   -Discount Club RV parks
   -Membership RV parks

*  If you have a bigger RV, read reviews, and ask other travelers about site sizes and accessibility.  We arrived at one campground, and luckily the site available was able to accommodate us.  Otherwise we would have had to leave!
*  There is a lot of history up and down the East Coast,  make a list of things you want to see, prioritize them within the time you have in the area as you may not end up with enough time to see everything.

*  Research the attractions on your list!   Some require tickets even though it’s free or at little additional cost and many times there are only a limited numbers of tickets available, IE:

   -Holocaust museum in Washington DC
   -Statue of Liberty pedestal 

*  Parking, usually there are fees for parking, and the parking lots don’t always accommodate larger vehicles easily.

   -We used websites & apps to reserve parking in larger cities like Washington DC and New York City.
   -Check out public transportation; trains, busses, subway, etc.  It may be a better option than driving into a large city and trying to find parking.

*  Everything just costs more!

2.  Take a good look at your budget and add 15% to 20%!

*  Camping costs more, most places’ rates are based on 2 adults and maybe 2 kids, so anything above that there are additional fees.
   -Discount & membership campgrounds are not as plentiful.  Depending on the time of year, its peak season and discounts may not apply for clubs like: Passport America, Good Sam’s, RPI, etc…
*  Fuels prices are all over the place, so plan accordingly using a gas price app or Google and filling up when you are near the better prices. And depending on where you are, you can go from dense population to wide spread forests and rural areas with no fuel in miles.
*  The general cost of goods & groceries are higher.
*  Most attractions have entrance fees, make sure you check around the web, Groupon, and check into attraction details before you go. 
*  We talked about parking, most attractions charge for parking.
*  There are tolls on many of the highways and bridges, and although sometimes you can avoid them, it adds time, and inconvenience. 

3.  Something we didn’t do well, route planning. 

*  Many highways, bridges and tunnels have tolls, get an EZ pass!

   -You can drive right through without stopping at the booths, no cash is needed.  You put a Debit/Credit card on file, and they bill you accordingly.
   -You get a better rate (varies how much by state, but that’s a whole other conversation).
   -Includes most of the upper east coast from Delaware north.

*  Most roads are under construction, just finished construction or need construction.
*  Many of the roads are very narrow.
*  Lots of low bridges and underpasses and some are not marked with height.
*  Due to the larger population, there is more traffic.
* 

There are lots of tunnels, so if there is one on your route, check the policies about propane.  Many of them require you to travel through with the propane off, (some even make you stop while they check).  Rumor has it there is a tunnel in Baltimore MD that does not allow propane tanks through, and I believe the tunnels connecting New York City and New Jersey do not allow them either.

Although we didn’t see as much as we would have liked, we had a great time exploring the East Coast.  There are definitely things we will do differently next time, and things we will do exactly the same.  The east coast is rich in American History, and can’t wait to explore it more.