There are so many different places to visit in the United States it’s sometimes hard to know how to start picking a destination. Thankfully, we’ve compiled a list of places we recommend RVers to visit! RV Repair Club contributor Sue Bray has visited all of these parks and has given us a highlight reel of some of her favorite spots.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park is home to 415 square miles of some of the highest terrain in the world. The beautiful mountains are flanked by sparkling lakes, forested valleys, and lush wildlife. There are tons of hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails available here, and you’re likely to see elk wandering around all aspects of the park. You can also go boating on Lake Estes and enjoy the beautiful view of the ponderosa pine forests. However, it is not advisable to visit Rocky Mountain National Park in a large RV. Campgrounds are limited to rigs no longer than 30-40 feet (depending on which site you choose).
Arches National Park
Arches National Park is… surprise! Full of Arches! With roughly 2500 natural arches scattered around the park, it is truly a geological masterpiece. There are 18 miles of paved trail to explore around the park, and you can probably cover all of it in one day. There is only one campground in the park, Devil’s Garden, but there are no hook ups available there. Luckily, there are a number of RV parks in the surrounding area of Moab.
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is one of those “bucket list” campgrounds. It’s HUGE, spanning three states and 3,472 square miles. It is, of course, home to the famous geyser Old Faithful, but there is a lot of other stuff to do in the park. Full of wide open prairies, mountain streams, waterfalls, and enormous lakes, there is a vast amount of trails to explore. Not to mention, the wildlife (bison, elk, wolves, and grizzly bears) wanders through the park for some great sightseeing. The park offers 12 campgrounds, and your best option is Fishing Bridge RV Park. It is made for RVers and has full hookups.
Devil’s Tower
Located in the Black Hills, Devil’s Tower is the United States’ first national monument, established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. The tower is an incredible site, and is one of the best rock climbing destinations in the country, with 200+ climbing routes up its walls. Staying in the park is limited to RVs up to 35 feet and there are no hookups. However, Devil’s Tower is definitely worth the stop for its history and grandeur.
The Black Hills & Badlands
There is a plethora of activities to do around the Black Hills and Badlands. As previously mentioned, there is Devil’s Tower. But there is also Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway, Spearfish Canyon, and Deadwood. The surrounding area here has tons of private campgrounds, but larger rigs should check out Blue Bell campground for better accommodations. The Black Hills and Badlands area is a great destination for RVers looking to find a wide variety of things to do. You won’t get bored there and the scenery is beautiful.
Durango Silverton Railroad
The Durango area is great for river rafting, hiking, skiing, and other winter sports. However, the biggest attraction here is the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway. The railway is a National Historic Landmark, and offers summer train rides for tourists (there are limited routes available in the winter). You can learn some great information about the mining days of the West here, and the charming train rides pass through gorgeous Coloradoan canyons. If you choose to visit, you’ll have to stay in one of the surrounding RV Parks. But book early! As it is true of most parks, the summer months are super busy, so make sure to make your reservations right away.
Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde National Park is a great park to check out if you’re looking for some history. It is home to 5,000 known archeological sites of the Pueblo people, who lived there in 600 AD. Visiting here is unlike visiting any other National Park. Instead of hiking, most people drive along 23 miles of road to visit the various ancient dwellings. You can get a closer look by taking guided tours, but be warned, they are quite strenuous! RV camping is available nearby at Morefield Campground, and there are hiking trails that lead from Morefield to Mesa Verde.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park is full of beautiful rock formations. Lacy combinations of spires and pinnacles create this scenic canyon overlook. There are a number of hiking trails, with varying difficultly, that allow you to walk through the many corridors of rock into the bottom of the canyon. You can camp either right in Bryce Canyon, or find one of the surrounding parks. Wherever you stay, once you visit you are sure to be mesmerized by the striking colors and patterns of the rocks.
Zion National Park
Now here’s a popular RV destination! Zion National Park is famous for its beauty, and for good reason. Because of this, the park is often crowded. But Zion does a great job of handling this, and they have many amenities in place to make your stay run smoothly. For one, vehicles are no longer allowed on the side roads. The park offers a shuttle service that brings you to all the attractions and trail heads. This kind of experience isn’t for everyone, but the sights you’ll see will be worth it. They offer river trips, ranger-led hikes, canyoneering, and all the usual hiking and biking.
Missoula, Montana
Missoula is described as the “hub of five valleys” due to the convergence of many mountain ranges there. The Clark Fork River that runs through it is great for swimming and water sports, especially on hot summer days! You can find many campgrounds in the outskirts of the city, and enjoy the many attractions Missoula has to offer. The city is filled with interesting breweries, coffee shops, and public parks/trails. However, the hidden gem of Missoula is the carousel. Located next to Caras Park, the carousel is entirely hand carved and is home to the largest band organ in the United States. It is a must see if you are visiting Missoula!
We hope you’ve gotten some inspiration for your next getaway. If you’ve ever been to one of these parks, let us know your experience in the comments. Or if you are planning to visit one now, tell us all about it when you get back!
Looking for suggestions on how to keep bugs from wintering over in the water heater, furnace, or refrigerator access on the out side. They get in through the vent openings.
Hi Roger. Thank you for visiting the RV Repair Club site and the opportunity to assist with your bug issue. This is a common problem especially in the water heater and furnace as spiders and “mud daubers” like the heat and smell of propane and can block the openings. There is an aftermarket screen that can cover the furnace vents which has a small spring and hook attached to the cross grate. This is a permanent mounted item, however the water heater and refrigerator are a little more complex. If you are storing the unit, you can tape some plastic over the vents or get a sheet larger than the cover and just place it over the opening and shut the cover. Otherwise get some screen or mesh and cover the vents. Make sure it’s not a fine mesh that will restrict air flow.
Looking for other Momentum 376th owners
Best product for keeping rv skin clean and protected
Travelers should know that there is a KOA campground with all amenities located just outside the gate to Devil’s Tower. The campground inside the Monument grounds is the one that has no hookups. We’ve stayed in both, both are great!
Second that! They show Close Encounters of the Third Kind every night with Devil’s Tower in the background…
Does anyone have any experience with this system? I am getting lever system installed end of November.
Hi, Stan. Thank you for visiting the RV Repair Club site. Your question does not refer to an actual make or model of the system you are looking for information on? Please provide the make, model, year, and type of rig it’s going on and we should be able to help.
THE ladder mountings rusted off is just hanging
Hi, Fred. Thank you for visiting the RV Repair Club site and the opportunity to assist with your ladder issue. To provide more specific information we need the make, model, and year of your rig as some ladders are mounted to steel plates embedded into the back cap and others are supported by the top plates and weight on the bumper.
Wish you had some winter destinations as well. My family and I loved Pictured Rock National Lakeshore. We stay at twelvemile beach (no hook ups) on a lake front spot. It was amazing!
27 foot Keystone Zeppelin. They replace the AC with a different brand and now the heater won’t work. I have the remote for the heater, but it won’t work, The remote is for the old AC and heater. I wonder if I can go out side and start the heater?
Hi, Paul. Thank you for visiting the RV Repair Club site and the opportunity to assist with your heat and AC issue. Without the make and model of the new AC and the make and model of the old heater, we can not provide specific information on the problem? When you refer to “the remote for the heater” are you talking about the thermostat or is it an actual remote? Typically you will find either Suburban, Duotherm, or HydraFlame furnaces in rigs and most are controlled by a t/stat on the wall. Some have individual t/stats for the heater as the AC unit has controls on the face of the AC. Otherwise they are both controlled by the t/stat and it seems whoever installed the brand X AC unit somehow messed up the wiring to the heater? You need to take it back and have them restore it to operating condition.
My First Rv…
How are they
Hi, Sergio. Thank you for visiting the RV Repair Club site and the welcome to the wonderful world of RVing! “How are they” is a very generic question as you will find as many answers to this as there are RV owners I would believe! In my opinion they are wonderful, they allow you to stay right next to the activity you want, eat in a familiar kitchen, sleep in your own bed, and use your own toilet and other amenities. They allow you bring your dogs and cats, kids, and a ton of personal items with you and you can stay as long as you like. Now for the other side of the coin, you will need to maintain them and that is what this site is all about. We will show you how to inspect, maintain, troubleshoot, and upgrade as well as some wonderful places to visit. As long as you know what to look for and spend a little time being proactive in maintenance, you should have a wonderful time. Keep us posted in your adventures!
nice that you put campsites etc, but it always seems like the majority of what you talk about is West of the Mississippi, very west coast, what about those that live on the east coast
wife and I are just planning on obtaining a class A unit with wheelchair lift: we plan on spending 6 mo RVing; Newmar is the only mfg who makes a wheelchair unit, so there is not much choices. all we need is the lift installed in a class A but here in south texas no one will touch or is capable of the job; I am told that such an add on is pricy jet they have no experience doing one and my guess is that they will have someone else do the job. since wife is a parapligic and needs 24/7 care
The unit leaks when domestic water is pressurize if you turn off the pump the leak diminishishe a lot
does it sound like a coil’s leak to you if so where can you get it repaired apparently aqua hot says to replace the unit wicht make no sense to me
Hi, Jean. Thank you for visiting the RV Repair Club site and the opportunity to assist with your Aqua Hot issue. This question has come up several times in the first year of this site and after researching it, seems to be a fairly common topic in forums as well. The Aqua Hot system has a “boiler” and series of tubes going through the flooring and other parts of the rig and if a leak develops in the main assembly it seems to be a complete replacement of the unit. It does seem odd that you have a leak when connected to city water as the Aqua Hot system is a closed system, not pressurized by either the water pump or city pressure? I would first install a pressure regulator on the city fill which limits it to 40 psi, similar to your onboard pump. Then find out exactly where the leak is and identify if it’s your fresh water system, or Aqua Hot system?
It would have been convenient to have the general location of the parks, such as the state(s) they are in, in the description instead of having to follow the link to the park.
Looking for other Mercedes sprinter motor home chassis owners and their service issues
I just bought this unit and made two short trips so far. Not sure that I will be much help, but I will be happy to try.
In response to Jon’s comment on Sprinter service issues. We have had to replace the struts at 25k miles along with the tires that were chewed up. Costly repair but replaced with heavy duty struts. Monroe
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I also tow a Honda CRV….What is the best product to purchase for keeping track of all of your tire pressure while traveling?
Hi, Dianne. Even though most cars have a Tire Pressure Monitor System, it does not provide the pressure to the inside of your RV. I recommend Tire Minder which you can install on your RV and add several more monitors for your towed vehicle. This provides on display inside for both the RV and the towed showing pressure and temperature.
Have a propane system. Is it possible to convert to a aquahot ?
Hi Gary. I spoke with Aqua Hot directly and it depends on the type of unit you have. If it’s a gasoline powered chassis or a trailer with a propane heater and water heater, it can not be upgraded as the “trunk” line of those propane systems are too small to supply the Aqua Hot with anything else on such as the stove top, oven, or refrigerator and it will starve the unit and malfunction. If you have a diesel powered rig, then you can install an aftermarket diesel powered Aqua Hot in the rig which would draw from the diesel fuel tank.
I want to tow my 2008 Suburban behind my MH. The total length is about 23 feet. I have a Cat C-13 525 hp engine so I have the power but am interested in people’s experience pulling that big of a rig cross country.
Very first rv. Looking forward to seeing some of you on the road.
Thanks
Just looking for 10 Best National Parks And Destinations For RV Camping
We stayed at the Goose Island Campground ,a Bureau of Land Management property, in Moab, UT, when we visited Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Nice campground with a nice view of the Colorado River.
How could you leave out Yosemite?
Sometimes management missed this point. They are close minded and afraid of confrontation. Thus, making the employees rebel against them. If they are just willing to address all employees’ concerns and start fostering employees’ ambivalence then they will both enjoy the harmonious relationship in work.
LIVE IT & WANT TO LEARN ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT IT
are there any handicaped lift avil. does not have to be wheel chair lift. my wife uses a walker and wheel chair.
Tankless water heater cycles off when showering when trying to modulate the temp. Heater requires a certain flow rate in order to come on and stay on, but the coach doesn’t provide that flow unless on full hot–very hot! Is there a flow constrictor in the system/whole house filter that is reducing the flow, even at 50psi of pressure from the city water supply?
Hello Douglas,
A lot of times a clogged filter or blocked screen at the city water connection can restrict the water flow but this is a common problem with tankless water heaters at the shower faucet. Most shower faucets or low flow to provide a better shower experience and it is the nozzle restricting the water flow. If you replace the nozzle with a larger head, it will usually fix this problem. I have heard many people over the years having this problem, many people even replaced with a tank heater. I recommend replacing the shower head with a larger one and see if this helps. Getting more water flow through is the only way to make it better and the ones provided with the RV usually don’t provide and lot of flow. You can always try turning on the sink while you take a shower and that should help as well.
Hope this helps,
Dan
RV Repair Club Video Membership
We’ve been to most of these parks. I agree they are all amazing. I’m very surprised there’s no mention of Glacier National Park. Went last Summer and it was the most beautiful and enjoyable National Park I’ve been to yet!
Looking for travel Clubs for Full time RVing
We have theatre seating in our unit and one of the chairs no longer reclines. It is operated by a cable which apparently has come undone. I lifted the other seat and it has a screw through the frame of the chair in the back, which I can unscrew with the recliner up…how do I get to the screw on the side with the inoperable recliner? Does the back of the chairs come off?
Jim,
Usually the backs can come off. There are usually two vertical brackets on the back that hold the top back to the lower portion. There is a clip in the bottom of the bracket that can release them and it can lift off. There are many different manufactures of the recliners and they are usually set up this way but it could be different.
Sincerely,
Dan
RV Repair Club Technical Expert
We just bought a late year model of a 2012 Georgetown 273DS Class A gas motor home that is listed on all paperwork as a 2012 Georgetown 260 DSXL. The RV has an LCI automatic leveling jack system. The system works both automatically and manually; but you have to press the On switch perfectly in the center in order to turn the system on. If you don’t touch it just right, it will not work. Is this normal? We didn’t receive any manuals but I was able to find a Forest River manual on line. That manual says nothing about the “touchiness” of the On switch of the LCI system. We are wondering if we need a new switch assembly or if “touchiness” is just part of the LCI system? Any ideas? Our dealer is telling us that it works the way it is supposed to work and we don’t want to be out somewhere and have the switch fail.
Heidi,
The switch shouldn’t be that hard to operate. If it is that touchy, there is something internal wrong with it and it could get worse. They should turn on very easily without having to touch it just right. Most of the time they get like that from a lot of use but can also get worse so I would recommend trying to get a new one to be safe.
Sincerely,
Dan
RV Repair Club Technical Expert
I’m having problems with my A/C (don’t remember the brand) dumping condensation into the Coach rather than down the gutters when I’m parked. After taking it to the shop TWICE they can’t find the problem. I’ve checked the filters inside and had the drip trays on top checked and they can barely duplicate the problem. Only happens parked and plugged in. The temp and humidity all different in different environments. Any suggestions? The fir occurrence was on my 2nd trip. I keep it parked indoors
Hi Linda!
That’s a great question!
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Sincerely,
Shelley
RV Repair Club Video Membership”
How do you manually open and close the slideout? It comes with a crank but where do you engage it?
Hello Robert,
Here’s what the experts had to say about your question:
It depends on what type of slideout system you have but the most common uses an attachment on the motor directly to operate the slide manually. There could just be a nut on the motor or there could be an extension that goes through the frame and the nut is on the outside to use a wrench to operate. Sometimes you have to climb under the RV to gain access to this and sometimes you have to remove the underbelly to get to it as well. The best way to find out is to gain access to the slide motor and see what is attached to the head of it. To find the slide motor you will need to look at the drive arm that pushes the slide out. On the opposite end of this arm is the motor. If the slide is on the drivers side of the RV, the motor will be on the passenger side.
Sincerely,
Dan
RV Repair Club Technical Expert
Most campgrounds do not have air for tires. If a tire is low can you add that amount to the tire after it heats up?
Hello Kenneth,
This is for members to our online community. We do have a $2.59 USD annual entrance offer if you are interested? This would include access to expert advice (like this), plus discounts, hours of Premium videos, etc. Below is the link to join if you are interested:
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Sincerely,
Sarah
RV Repair Club Video Membership