Indigo,

If you go to www.nps.gov. you can check each park and campground regulations, maps, and everything you need to know in advance are there.

One other thing to check with your RV rental company - it the RV "winterized"? Most rentals are NOT.

If not, you will need to be at a campground that offers full electrical hookups to stay warm at night and to keep your water lines from freezing.

This should only be an issue at Bryce.

- So Bryce will be really cold. In North campground is it mandatory to switch off the generator between 8 pm to 8 am? In which case it will be freezing! If that is the case we should probably think of some other campground. -

In addition to the generator there should be propane which will be your alternate energy source. This is what your refrig will run off of when you do not have electricity. The heater should run from the propane also. I would call your rv rental company to verify this.

We have stayed at the Ruby's Inn campground just outside the entrance to Bryce. They have very nice showers. We were able to pick our site. Although many spots are kind of parking lotish, we found several very nice sites.

Regarding the parking at the trailheads. We have never had any problem finding parking for our rv. Many people just park for a few minutes at each pullout, hop out, look at the view and then continue on their way. If there is no parking, just wait a couple minutes and surely something will open up, especially in April.

This was two different companies in Anchorage. Great Alaskan Holidays and the other was around 8 years ago--I don't remember the name. I just know we did not have to bring any bedding, towels or kitchen equipment.

It was like staying in a cabin with a kitchen where everything was provided. I can't imagine they would expect people to fly into a destination with all that or to have to buy all that. I think some companies charge extra for those items but they are available. It did not cost extra with GAH or the other company we used.

Yes Michele, Propane is something we are planning on taking.I was worried about the park shuttle not being there at Bryce at that time of the year - but from what you are saying, I presume we can very well manage with our RV itself to take us to various view points. Can we park it near the Bryce lodge long enough to do a 2 hr mule ride and may be a short trek? We are still deciding between Ruby's and North campgrounds, but now after all your inputs I'm now leaning towards Ruby's. Will decide by the end the day.

I have an idea...skip the RV. We have rented an RV twice. Never again. Maybe it's different if you own one. We don't. Renting is ridiculously expensive, the gas is out of this world, you will probably be required to do an oil change and a cleaning. It's too big on the outside, too small on the inside. Both times we hit something and did minor damage, lost our security deposit. Get all the insurance you can. We had it but still lost the deposit. All in, it's much cheaper and more comfortable to drive a rental car and stay in decent accommodations. Don't know if you get get reservations in the parks at this date, but we stayed in the cabins in Bryce and GC. Bryce has wood burning fireplaces. Very nice but rustic.

One more thing. It's difficult to drive to the sights with an RV. You probably would still need a car. Once we hitch hiked so we could park the RV and not have to move it again. The location you are going to is so pretty. If you want to try renting an RV, do it another time when the RV is the experience.

Indigo 5,
You should not need to bring the propane for the heater in the rv. It is a tank that is in the rv itself. You will fill it at the gas station when you get gasoline. The small propane tanks you will buy will not work for the heater.

The propane tank in the rv will run the refrigerator when you are not plugged in to electricity, and also the heater. Since many people never use electricity when camping, the propane tank is standard equipment in the rv.

Ok, we've more or less finalized the whole trip. sdtravels, we've now been fantasizing about our RV trip so much that it's too late to change plans. I suspect that if I even suggest cancelling the RV, there's going to be murder! So RV it will be - for good or for worse. 2 nights at nightwatchman campground at Zion, one night at Ruby's at Bryce (mule ride and all)and one night at Mather campground on the south rim of Grand Canyon. On the way back to Las Vegas, see Hoover dam. The RV will accommodate 7, and will come with propane tanks (which we intend refilling as needed). We were told by the RV rental agency that winterizing will not be needed at that time of the year. Now we're keeping our fingers crossed so that conditions will be favourable for us to hike the narrows at Zion at least a little. We also plan on doing the south Kaibab trail as much as possible. Does that sound like a plan (though fast paced)?

Read up on the restrictions if you're driving an RV to Hoover Dam.

http://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/crossingguide.pdf

The cheapest gas you will find is on US 93 in Kingman just after you get off I-40.
If you go to Hoover Dam after inspection, go over the dam into Arizona to the second (or third) parking lot and park for free.
It is worth the walk to save $7.00.
If you really want a thrill ride you can park in the parking lot of the Hacienda casino and walk up the hill to take a helicopter ride over the dam and Lake Meade.

I told my husband your story. Neither of us can wait to hear your trip report. We hope you have a good time. I bet it will be worth a story or two!

Indigo,

You should also buy some heavy duty rubber gloves for the person who will be handling the "dumping". Plan on throwing those away at the end of the trip. Not really a souvenier to bring back!

Did you say where you are picking it up? Las Vegas? Not sure if those people realize how cold it can be at 8,000 ft in April. Have them put in writing that you told them where you are going and that they stated winterizing is not necessary.

Hae fun! It's going to be an adventure for you!

Ah yes, the dumping. We used disposable rubber gloves and threw them out after each contact with the hose. Check that you have all the pieces to complete the hookup before you leave. We had a broken part and didn't realize it until we did the first hook-up. Thankfully, the park owner could sell us a universal hookup part. It wasn't optimal but we were able to weigh it down to keep it in the drain.

Geez..I hope you are now happily over on the RV.net forums getting advise from RV friendly people.

I think you will have an amazing time all together in your RV. Since you have electric the first 2 nights I seriously doubt you will have to refill your propane tanks, being gone 4 nights. Also, depending on how much you use the campground restrooms you may not even have to dump.

Have fun!

You guys will have a great time. You are traveling to some of the most beautiful areas of the US. There is nothing like camping under the stars with nothing to distract you. Your kids will remember this trip forever. Great age for hiking. We have been to Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon several times with our kids as they were growing up. I still marvel at the beauty every time I see the parks. If you can, get up early and do the sunrise at Sunrise Point in Bryce. Nothing like it as the sun comes up. The colors are amazing. Have a great time.

Thanks all of you. I've made a note of all your advise and am planning to incorporate them into a check list, to tick off before we leave. We are all really looking forward to this trip.

Hey Indigo5, how did this RV trip go? We are planning an almost identical trip in Sep. this year and would love to hear any info you might have!
Cheers!

Indigo5 hasn't been on here since 2011. I suggest a new post, jaso162.