Spring 2023 travel is complete and in the books! In this post I’ll talk about our route, our plan, our fuel stops and costs, and our overnight stops and costs. We took off without a plan this time, read on to see if we liked this approach…..
Overall Spring 2023 Plans
Usually we head to a beach for spring break, sit amongst the sandy beach and listen to the waves come ashore.
This year, since we bought the Can Am Maverick X3 over the winter, we opted for sand of another type: Glamis – Imperial Sand Dunes in California. Since we have family in AZ, who are the ones that prompted us to buy the Can Am, we thought it only fitting to try coordinating a trip with them for its official first outing. This was literally the only plan we had and the only dates that were locked in.
Plans were set so the prep began.
I had a work conference leading up to our departure date, so the coach came home and Karen spent the week, in my absence, loading and prepping it. What a trooper….I’m very fortunate to come home to a fully stocked RV, ready to hit the road.
Overall Details
This would be our first trip with the new setup, only the coach is the same.
- 2020 Newmar Dutch Star 4369 (Spartan chassis, 450HP Cummins)
- 2023 22′ ATC Stacker (27′ total length)
- 2023 Subaru Outback
- 2023 Can Am Maverick X3 Max
- Ride1Up eBikes
The Can Am went up top and the Subaru on the bottom. eBikes and other randomness went in the trailer loft area. Total trailer weight was approximately 12,000 pounds.
The Route
As mentioned, we had no real plan other than Glamis, so we just pointed the coach west and hit the skinny pedal. We had no overnight destinations in mind, but this is unfortunately normal for us when we just have to get somewhere. However I always do use RV Life Trip Wizard to plan, and track, our travels.
The first day we just wanted to get some mileage under our belts and get used to the trailer (which pulled like an absolute dream!!!), so we found a rest stop along the I-40 turnpike somewhere in Oklahoma. Plenty of space for coach and trailer, grassy area for the dogs and a McDonald’s for a morning cup of coffee.
The second day we scouted ahead and picked a familiar place to stop for the night in Gallup, New Mexico. USA RV Park is a great stop, easy in and out and super friendly staff.
From there is was moochdocking at my aunt and uncle’s house, Glamis sand dunes, California, Cottonwood AZ area, Grand Junction, Colorado then home. We generally add more details about the locations on our Facebook page.
Overall we were out for 44 nights.
- 3 Nights in rest stops\parking lots
- 5 Nights moochdocking (50-amp hookup even!)
- 4 Nights boondocking (permit required)
- 32 Nights in RV parks
We spent a total of $1919.71 in camping fees for this trip (excluding the moochdocking host gifts), which breaks down to $43.63 per night.
I’m still getting caught up with RV Park reviews, but you can see ours on RV Life Campround Reviews.
Note the Good Sam discounts of over $75. It’s a $30/annual membership, but I got the little-known lifetime membership for $300. Good Sam is, in my opinion, well worth the money for the discounts, you can make the annual fee back in a single stay.
Fuel Costs
Everyone always asks about fuel costs in these big busses, probably because it’s relatable to everyone who drives a vehicle. “You must get terrible gas mileage!” “Is it gallons per mile?” and on and on. The answer is always “I didn’t buy it for the fuel economy.” So, here’s the total breakdown……
I filled up the fuel and DEF before we left, then filled up both when we got home, so I don’t count the pre-trip fill. We purchased 867 gallons of diesel fuel for $3275.65, and 22 gallons of DEF for $92. All total, this trip cost us $0.72 per mile for fuel/DEF. Note, we did run the generator quite a bit in Glamis to keep the coach cool with the dogs inside, and it was too windy/sandy to keep the windows open. This entire trip was mountains and wind. Lots and lots of wind.
Fuel costs do not include the gas for the Subaru or Can Am.
We are users of the TSD Fuel Program known as Open Roads, which works great for us! We only had one stop where there was no Open Roads station anywhere near us, but thankfully fuel was not ridiculously priced. We saved just over $250 using Open Roads compared to pump prices. I use GasBuddy to compare to Open Roads pricing before fueling to ensure I’m getting the best price AND it’s a convenient stop for a 71′ rig.
The TSD/Open Roads referral program is to provide the name of the referring person when you signup. If you found this information useful, please consider providing Tom Quinn as the referring name. Thank you!
Summary and After Thoughts
We really thought we’d like the idea of not having an itinerary and just going where the mood struck us, but we actually hated it. Since we work full-time during the week, we needed to be settled in somewhere by Sunday evening to avoid taking time off during the week. Last minute reservations for a 71′ setup wasn’t impossible, but it wasn’t easy either. Most RV Park websites do not offer this information (max site size or trailer parking info), and many do not have online reservation systems, or accurate ones. So I found myself calling and calling and calling.
We also got to the point we felt we had to go somewhere to go somewhere, even if it’s not somewhere we wanted to go. We intended to be out 3 more weeks, but decided to just head back to the home base early.
The new ATC Stacker trailer was awesome! I love it. It tows great, easy to backup – something I could never do flat towing the Jeep, and provided plenty of room for the car, Can Am, bikes and accessories. We didn’t over pack it, which was a big concern that we’d take more because we could. 😉
We’ll take some smaller trips over the summer as work related trip dates become solidified and non-RV trips with friends occur, but Fall 2023 planning has started and reservations made! Destination: Montana! Stay tuned!!
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