Massassachusetts to Chilliwack, BC travel help.

[mizterwizard]

I have a Garmin GPS and Google maps on my phone. I wonder why anyone bothers with paper maps anymore.

I checked the Google mapping from Boston to Chilliwack. There are 4 reasonably direct routes. Three go through the US and one goes across southern Canada. The Canada route is 52 hours and is the longest. The shortest goes across I-90 but it passes through Chicago, which some people seem to think is anathema. Outward bound it might not be unworkable though.

I live 1/4 mile off the 50 hour route through Buffalo, Cleveland, Gary, Des Moines, Omaha, Cheyenne, Ogden, Boise and Seattle. This skirts the south end of the Chicago metro area but doesn't go into the worst of it. This is mostly I-90, I-80, I-84 and finally I-5. I'm 35 miles west of Boise. I have a place to park for the night with a 30 amp hookup and water but no sewer. There is an RV campground just across the freeway from me though that you could dump at if you needed to and they have propane too. The best place for propane though is at Bretz RV for $1.00/gal. They are between me and Boise, just off the freeway. Don't buy anything else there! With some warning I could probably have an exchange cylinder waiting, if needed. I have a shop, just in case.

Maybe you would like the route that passes through Buffalo, between Ontario and Erie, between Huron and Michigan, Michigan and Superior, then across on I-94 to Billings, across on I-90 to Seattle and then north to Chilliwack. Fewer big bad cities on this route and also 50 hours.

There is also a 49 hour route through Ottawa that skirts the northern edge of Huron, goes between Michigan and Superior to connect with I-90. One attraction of this route as an outbound trip is that you would cross the border both ways and get a handle on the procedure before you had the trailer hooked up. It is my understanding though that the crossing is a non-event unless you are up to something or are unprepared.

I think across one of the Canada routes on the way there and by me on the way back.

Of course there is absolutely no reason at all why you have to take the direct route. Especially on the way home.

Being your first cross county trip, you are probably a bit apprehensive. Therefore, I think you probably want to have things pretty well in hand before you leave. In time you will learn that folks are folks, where ever you go. Once you get a little more comfortable with the whole idea you will be ready to wing it more. I wouldn't dare leave home yet without some idea of where I'm going but I hope some day to be able to check the wind, turn to face away from it and go.

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by HappyCampers

After we picked up our 5.0TA in May, 2015, we stayed for two nights in Bay View State Park, just north of Seattle. While we camped plenty with truck campers, we used this opportunity to learn about the ins and outs of the new toy while we were still within striking distance of its birthplace, and the right help if needed........ .

We used Bayview SP, as well, and for the same reason: try everything; if there were problems, we're and hour away from ETI.
We had no problems.

From Bayview, we took a 5 minute walk each evening to the shore of Puget Sound to enjoy the sunset. Next day (our layover day), w/out the trailer, we went exploring over on Whidbey Island. We had gotten a WA State Discovery pass, so we were able to park and explore Discovery Pass & the remarkable bridge, check out the State park on the island (and watch Navy F-18's right overhead from the adjacent NAS), then south to Coupeville and beyond.
Choices after that: We took the ferry from Coupeville to Port Townsend, then on to the Olympic National Park and 2 weeks exploring the Olympic Peninsula. OR, You could go east from BayviewSP on WA-20 and explore the beautiful Northern Cascades Highway.
We have found that there's so much to see, just in the West, that we could be on the road for years on end and see maybe 10%.
Enjoy, have fun.

[Clack99]

We took highway 2 and it was very pleasant. Much more relaxing than the major highways much less truck traffic. I use rvtripadvisor and love it, great for your trip planing and campgrounds.

[margie]

really helpful info. the mass DMV, jeepers, talk about not being helpful. unfortunately, i do not have another trailer to use the plate from...darn it. with the advanced knowledge perhaps i can work something out. hopefully...

[padlin]

been 5 years, but I got my plates without problem in Springfield with the paperwork from ETI, after I had paid for the trailer.

[margie]

so how far ahead did you pay and what paperwork should i expect?

[padlin]

5 years ago is kind of fuzzy... I'll see if I can dig out the paperwork. I know there are others here from MA, maybe someone will pipe in with more current info.

[margie]

I can go to the DMV and ask as well; don't worry about digging out paperwork! it was just good to hear that there is a way to get a valid plate so we can take our time coming back

[Ron in BC]

The only time that I'd look at the number of hours quoted for a route was if I was a commercial operation. And then, it would only be one minor consideration with other factors like chronic congestion throw in. And to top it off, it would be totally unrealistic to expect that a cross-country trip would go precisely to schedule. There will one sort of delay or another.

In that kind of a cross country trip and back we pick a different route for each direction. We never make reservations and we've never been stuck for a place to stay.

And yes, in addition to 5 GPS's I still carry papermaps.

Ron

[Calicia]

Originally Posted by margie

really helpful info. the mass DMV, jeepers, talk about not being helpful. unfortunately, i do not have another trailer to use the plate from...darn it. with the advanced knowledge perhaps i can work something out. hopefully...

I picked my Escape up this past June and went with my MA registration and license plate in hand. The insurance company handled all the paper work and I went to the MA DMV where I was given my license plate. Very easy. Talk to your insurance agent. He or she should be knowledgeable about how to handle the situation.

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

...................

And yes, in addition to 5 GPS's I still carry papermaps.

Ron

What, no Loran?

[margie]

thank you!

[Calicia]

Margie, I sent you a PM.

[Tam2004]

We have Verizon - which works well as we also use the hot spot feature from it for our iPads or laptop. (We keep an eye on how much data we use.) Generally Verizon works as you cross the country. We use the APP = ALLSTAYS a lot. We usually don't reserve any place so I set it on the map feature and can see what is coming up. Then we can call to see if they have an opening as it also gives you their phone number. On the map you can see yourself moving along and can see the icons for places to stay. When you click on an icon - you get reviews, descriptions, chance to go to a WEB page. My advice -- take a long time going back. Allow yourself time to be delighted with a spot you find and stay a few days to enjoy what you found. We love the flexibility of a trailer. Also, for us, we try to stop sooner in day as we truly dislike finding ourselves getting tired and/or hungry and finding all the campsites full. So, we usually drive just a few hours a day and consider finding those incredible spots that deserve extra time. We also have what we call a "layover" which means it wasn't great so we skoot out earlier. Last piece: consider buying into the HOSTS plan where you can stay one night in unusual spots that are private farms or museums and the like. You do have to call ahead on those.

[JimHol58]

There is a free app you can put on your smartphone called "RV Parky" that lists RV parks with reviews, their amenities and ratings that I have found to be very helpful. Happy camping and safe travels! Jim

[Tam2004]

I meant to add Harvest Hosts as an interesting option - not Hosts. Though we haven't tried it yet -- we just use the ALLSTAYS app like I noted.

[mizterwizard]

This is a bit off topic but I think many people here might like to know about it. The mention of Verizon and other phone companies on this thread prompted me.

We recently redid all of our connectivity. We were paying a lot to watch TV and it didn't seem like much of a bargain since we only watch about 20 programs total including some seasonal yachting and cycling. We had no need for 480 channels of stuff we never watch.

I also wanted to upgrade from the 7Mb DSL we have, which is all CenturyLink offers here.

In our search we found a great plan for seniors. T-Mobile has a relatively new offering called One Unlimited Plus 55. It is $70/month but it really is unlimited talk, text and data. It is only for old folks but I'm one and so are many of you. There are some cravats but they are not too bad and there are some additional perks that are pretty nice. I was getting 38 Mb of data at times. You can read more about it here:

https://www.t-mobile.com/offers/t-mo...e-unlimited-55

It may be a violation of forum rules to make this post but I'm not associated with T-mobile at all and will get nothing out of it if someone decides that this plan is for them. I just thought it was such a good deal that I wanted to pass it on in case it works for someone else.

Alas, it is not for me. The T-Mobile towers nearest to me are one valley east and one valley west of me in the rolling hills where I live. I can get good talk and text but the data is kind of iffy. I need more solid data than I can get from them.

[cpaharley2008]

I had issues with T Mobile out west, bad reception. Switched to a senior plan to Consumer Cellular, 2 phones, text,ralk and 2G date, $10/each or $20/month with AARP discount and they have reception to and from Chilliwack/Osoyoos. I'm not affiliated with either with these companies.

[mizterwizard]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I had issues with T Mobile out west, bad reception. Switched to a senior plan to Consumer Cellular, 2 phones, text,ralk and 2G date, $10/each or $20/month with AARP discount and they have reception to and from Chilliwack/Osoyoos. I'm not affiliated with either with these companies.

That is what I actually have. Not nearly the data allowance or throughput of the T-Mobile plan but it is solid and I kept the DSL. We added a third phone for only $15/month more.

About 15 years ago they wanted to put a cell tower on my property. I didn't know who they were. Turns out it was AT&T. I turned them down because I wanted to subdivide. Still no subdivision and I could have had free cell service and $550/month rent. Oh, well. It's not the worst mistake I ever made but it is surely one of the most obvious ones.

[cpaharley2008]

Wow, close to $100k, but as I always say, you can not lose something you never had and you still have your health........