HI,

Planning a trip to yellowstone mid september. We wanted to fly into rapid city SD, rent an RV and see the sites along the way to yellowstone, grand tetons, .

My questions are, and I am open to any advice.
First time renting an RV.

Is it easy enough to find campsites with hookups without reservations? We wanted to see where we wanted to stay longer , so not be so strict with one night here one night there etc.

It would be our only vehicle. I found a 19 footer, but looks like its unavailable now, only a 25 footer left.
for small ones. Are there less people in the park, will we be able to move around easy enough? My husband is not worried!!

Also, can we swing by a site, reserve it and then go touring for the day and come back late afternoon and set up Is it a pain to set up and break down each day since its our only transportation?

Would it be wise to rent a car part of the trip and RV part of the trip. Thanks in advance for your advice and experiences.

Jen

Would it be

I have never rented an RV, but I saw some sage advice on Trip Advisor to someone who was contemplating their first long RV trip and wanted some advice. It was recommended to them that they first rent an RV for a shorter trip to see how they liked it. (Was it problematic to drive? Was it a hassle to get places since they didn't have a car too? Was it comfortable for sleeping and eating?) The OP took the advice and rented an RV for a 3-day weekend. They came back to the forum to say that all went well and they were now looking forward to renting an RV for the longer trip. But, they admitted it could have all gone badly and they were glad they had done the shorter "dry run" first.

Also we are planning on 10-12 days.

What size RV are you thinking of renting? If it is the size of a VW van or a standard pickup truck, then it will be easier to use as your only vehicle, find places to park, manage on curvy, narrow, mountain roads. If it is one that is the size of a bus, not so much.

Have you compared costs? Looked at the mileage limits many companies put on RVs without heafty costs?

Check the camping areas in/near the places you want to visit for costs, availability, hookups etc.

You really need to compare costs such as mileage allowance, how much per mile if you exceed the allowance, rental charges if any for linens, dishes, etc. How many miles per gallon does the RV get, etc. Also I went to the NPS website for Yellowstone and it looks like the only RV campsite with full hookups is someplace called Fishing Bridge RV Park.

I see all the costs involved, I guess my main concern is it is our only vehicle. So we set up for the night get up and go in the morning, tour for the day, come back to same sight or different. Is it a pain to unhook electric and sewer?

i see you can make reservations to many sites right outside the park. I think we could coordinate staying a few days here and there all around the surrounding towns and plan our hikes and tours accordingly.
I originally saw a 19 foot rv available but now seems not to be. 19 feet seems small enough to come and go, but how about if only a 25 foot is available?

Also thought about renting a car in rapid city. see sights along the way to yellowstone. return car in jackson or bozeman and rent rv for another week. This would avoid driving all the way back to rapid city, ( time and money) we can fly back out of jackson, no problem. Thanks for all your suggestions

Two people can hookup and disconnect a MotorHome is less than 10 minutes.

a 25 footer is going to limit some of the places you can drive and park, but most parks have separate parking for longer vehicles ( busses and the like )

Check our KOA for an idea where you can find private parks. Some State Parks allow overnite stays, but may not have full hookup sites. Almost all rest areas along the interstates will have dump stations where you can empty the tanks. We found often that staying in a full hookup site every other nite worked well for us

http://koa.com/

Anyone have any thoughts on a 19 foot vs a 25 foot RV in case the smaller becomes available? Ease of use vs extra room inside.

Is Bozeman out of the way to pick up the RV? Anything to see out that way or should I try for billings or Jackson. For the rental

How many people will be in it?

We had a 24 foot motorhome for 13 years and it was our only vehicle so when we wanted to go somewhere it really wasn't an issue. We kept things put away in the RV so we didn't have a lot of things that had to be put away inside. We didn't always do full hook ups but even when we did, it doesn't take that long to disconnect a hose, the sewer hose and electrical cord and store them in their compartments. We did Yellowstone several times in it.

We now have a larger 30 foot motorhome with slides even that isn't to bad for moving but the first trip we took was to Yellowstone with out a tow vehicle and we came home and bought a tow vehicle!

A lot of the National Parks are making restrictions for RV's and Yellowstone was one of the ones that started restricting parking in some of the smaller parking areas several years ago. You will be able to park at the Old Faithful Area but some of the smaller geyser basins you won't.

Driving an RV is slower than driving a car and it's more tiring for the driver.

We have always camped inside Yellowstone but there is only one campground inside the park at Fishing Bridge that has hook ups and you will need to make reservations but I'll bet they are already booked up. It's also a very crowded campground....you literally are camped right on top of each other. No picnic tables.

We like Madison Campground but it doesn't have hook ups and since our RV is now 30 feet and we have the tow vehicle we have to have reservations. I don't know if you will need them for a smaller RV or not. What's really cool is some of the parks now have online when the campgrounds fill up so you can check it out before you come. http://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/campgrounds.htm. You will see that the smaller campgrounds that don't take reservations fill up very early in the day.

We have never stayed outside the park at a private campground, but the best location to look would be West Yellowstone. I would call and find out if you need reservations or see if you can just drop in.


Utahtea

We rented an RV for a weekend just as suggested above - and found that it was not for us. It is a life and travel style thing.

Listen to Utahtea - she has posted here for years about RVing experiences. However, there is a huge difference between owning an RV and renting one - if you own one you outfit it just the way you want, get lots of experience in doing things efficiently and the way you like them. When we priced out all costs involved in renting an RV versus car/hotel travel, we found we would not save $ with an RV. Some questions to ask yourself.

1. What are you going seeking with an RV that you would not get with a car? Seems you seek flexibility and mobility - and I think that argues for a car.

2. Family togetherness - for some, an RV is a bit too much togetherness.

3. Saving money. As I said above, price it out. If one rents a mid-priced hotel that has breakfast included, packs a lunch in a cooler, and eats a decent but not extravagant dinner, a car is probably the same or less expensive.

4. An experience that you want to try - RV wins on this count.

5. Camping. As Utahtea mentioned, many campsites in your route are quite congested.

The RV ads all seem fabulous to me - cruising down the highway, stopping wherever you want in some beautiful secluded spot, enjoying nature, sitting by a campfire. Make sure that you factor in micro-bathrooms, hooking and unhooking, stowing and unstowing stuff, tripping over suitcases and laundry, and driving the thing everywhere - even if you forgot to get milk.

Hi Thanks for all the advice.
There are just my husband and I. He is accustomed to driving trucks and trailers and we promise to be courteous and not stop in front of people etc.

Not concerned with cost, just a different experience.
We will be going Sept 18- 29th so hopefully less people in the park?

My concern was reseving a space outside the park but not showing up till like 5pm after touring all day, they wont sell our spot?

Its our only vehicle and I would be organized about shopping and storing things. Small Bathroom is not a problem.

Maybe we would rent the car in SD and also use it for the Beartooth highway or not sure of name, then get the RV?

I do see there is a rent a car placwe someone posted that delivers to you as well in case we decided we needed one for yellowstone. How about Tetons park, easier for RV?
Or Same?

As far as Fishing Bridge, I would prefer to stay outside the park away from the crowds of people.

How about Bozeman, maybe look in Billings or Jackson for our RV.

Also thinking about a couple of days at a ranch at the end of the trip.
I know this sounds like a lot of things going on and its last minute so i want to get it all organized so we can enjoy our vacation

thanks again

The fact that one of you knows how to drive big things, that cost is not a consideration, and I am getting the sense that you would be organized and pleasant to each other in a small space makes me lean towards suggesting you try it.

I would look in West Yellowstone and possibly Gardiner for RV places - West Yellowstone has everything and is a couple of miles from entrance. I have no idea if Gardiner has an RV park, but it is a cute town at northern point of Park and less congested than some other adjacent towns.

As gail said, since you have an experienced truck driver and cost is not a consideration then it seems like this might be a great experience for you and your husband. DH and I have been enjoying camping and later the RV lifestyle for 39 years now. We could easily afford to stay in nice 5 star lodging, but we choose a motorhome because it's what we love.

If you reserve a campsite at a private place or with the national park service they will hold it for you. When you make the reservations ask about their late check in policy so you can learn how to get your campsite number if you don't already have one. A private campground might want you to let them know you are going to be late.

I recommend West Yellowstone as the best location to stay and visit Yellowstone. If you want to split up where you stay, then Gardiner would be a good location but we've never stayed there. Cody is to far away.

We did the Bear Tooth Highway in our 24 ft motorhome. What was so neat about that experience was we pulled over on one of the turnouts and cooked and ate our brunch with a view to kill for! I'm not sure where you would have to go to rent an RV after doing the Bear Tooth Highway. One of the things we love about our motorhome is the fact that we only have to pack it up when we leave home and unpack it when we get back home. No carrying luggage around so you might want to consider just the motor home.

The Grand Tetons are very easy to drive to and around. There is really no mountain driving here. We usually camp in the park at Colter Bay in a non hook up site because we like the location. We have heard good things about the Headwaters Campground and RV sites at Flagg Ranch and might try it next time. http://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/camping.htm

Let me know if you have any other camping questions.

Utahtea

Jen,

I would recommend the 19 ft. I drove one on my experiment trip solo and it was quite easy. However, be aware that this model only has the cab over bed. Meaning you have to climb up to get in and you have maybe 2 feet space above your head. If this is a problem, you will want the larger model where you can get a bed you don't have to climb for.

My rental did not have a ladder and you had to kind of vault in using the back of one of the dinette table seatbacks. Personally I would never buy one with this floor plan.

September and October are some of the most beautiful times of year out this way. It is also way more crowded than most people think as well. Yes, people with kids are gone BUT people without children, seniors, tourists from other countries etc all head out. Just an FYI.

Hey Thanks all, we are getting closer to booking the trip of a lifetime. I think I have decided on a 22 foot really nice new rv rental out of jackson. It has a nice queen bed, pillowtop mattress all the bells and whistles. Not that money isnt an option but we want to be on an adventure and be comfortable. I like the idea of unpacking and having everything we need with us. Ive done some whirlwind trips in the US and other countries it would make your head spin, so this is about relaxing and seeing some beautiful scenery. Honestly if we stayed at a $200 a night hotel, after taxes etc. went out to eat and rented a car, the costs are about equal. We will fly in and out of jackson. Maybe drive all the way out to see mount rushmore. My husband really wants to do Rushmore, Custer etc out that way. It would be a few (4?) days round trip and many miles. Maybe going out and coming back have different things to see?

West yellowstone I will look into and I did see that Gardner looked like a nice place to visit.

Please report back on your experience. We're thinking of doing this. Have a great trip!

http://mapq.st/1hGzokH

So this is our proposed travel map. We will have an RV the entire time as well as a car for yellowstone. Looks like a lot of driving but we will get most of it out of the way the first 5 days. We will start in jacskon and go east to mt rushmore and end up in gardiner and have a car for 5 days then head to the tetons, we have from sept 17 to sept 30th. I also had Cody on there but took it off so as to have more time in yellowstone. Not too much more I can take off as my husband wants to see devils tower, rushmore, custer and I dont think wind cave an=nd jewel cave will take much time they seem to be on the way . althopugh I guess we could skip one. Id love thoughts and ideas.

I just looked for rental cars in gardiner, didnt see any, just west yellowstone?