Readers share their most memorable RV trips

A few weeks ago, we asked you to submit the story of your most memorable RV trip. Some were good, some were bad, some were funny, some were sad…

Last week, we kicked off this series with Dave Solberg’s most memorable RV trip: the time his family drove straight into presidential history. If you missed it, read it here.

Here are a few of our favorite (or should we say, most memorable) entries. Thank you for sharing!

A trip of a lifetime

To Europe we go!

“This trip was a bucket list. A 45-day RV tour through the Balkans. We toured with a group of 10 RVers in 20′ Class C RVs, European-style. I’ve always wanted to visit Romania and Bulgaria. In some of these older countries, they don’t see many RVs, and the campgrounds can be pretty primitive. But traveling through small villages and meeting the local people and the scenery made it very special. It was a trip of a lifetime.” —Debbi Elza

For you, Princess Diana

“Glacier National Park and the Canadian Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, many years ago. Besides all the animals we saw (deer, bear, moose, and more), we were able to sign the Book of Condolences for Princess Diana at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton!” —Herman Vogt

Real-life TV

“When we retired, our first trip was to take my wife to every place she had seen on TV. After 3 months of planning, we were on our way. From Pennsylvania to Seattle to LA, we did 23 states, and we saw all the places we had ever seen on TV. A trip of a lifetime!” —Robert Jones

Beautiful, wonderful Alaska…

“Our most memorable RV trip was an Alaska caravan with the military veteran RV group SMART. We gathered in Montana and returned to the U.S. in Washington state, spending a full 30 days in Alaska and 30 days in Canada, coming and going. The Canadian ice fields, Lake Louise, the Alaska Highway, the wilds of British Columbia and the Yukon, the Top of the World Highway, Denali National Park, the Kenai Peninsula, Homer, Skagway, Juneau & Valdez, AK, the Cassiar Highway. Such incredible scenery during June and July, with wildlife, glaciers, panning for gold, and local cultural experiences all around. It was truly the trip of a lifetime!” —Paul Rider

“Our most memorable trip was a 12,806-mile, 88-day round trip to Alaska in 2009 from our home outside Buffalo, NY. We started in late June, spent July 4th in Rapid City, SD, after touring Mount Rushmore. Then into Canada for a week in Prince George. Then we hit the Alcan highway with 52 days on the road. Some highlights were the Sign Forest, Yukon gold fields, Whitehorse, Top of the World Highway, Fairbanks, Denali, Anchorage, and so much more. If you have the time for a memorable long trip, do Alaska. Stay well, stay safe.” —Dick Kashdin

One maiden, and final voyage

“In early 2015, we found out my husband had ALS. We were 52 at the time and had just started to dream about retirement. I knew I had to give him something to look forward to before he was no longer able to travel. I bought a Jayco Greyhawk in May of that year and took him on a 7,000-mile, 6-week, cross-country trip. It was slightly terrifying from purchase to realizing I had to drive the thing, but it was the best thing I ever did. He died in September 2016, and the memories I have of him from that trip are such a wonderful blessing. It will always be my best trip.” —Cynthia Snyder

Bicentennial summer

“My parents owned their own business, and in 1976, they planned a 3-month road trip to 37 states in our 1973 Champion motorhome. I was 15 and my sister was 13. Being the Bicentennial year, there were celebrations everywhere we went, and I learned to drive a motorhome before learning to drive a car. It was a magical summer.” —Darla Van Alphen

Accidents you can’t forget

Sliding down the highway… on our side!

“In 2023, we had a wonderful three months camping in the NM/AZ area. We were visiting friends along the way home when, 40 miles south of Fayetteville, AR, on RT 40, we were T-boned by a young woman driver who, having passed a car and doing 80 mph, moved too far onto the median strip, yanked her wheel, came across two lanes, and hit us in the hitch area. We were doing 65 mph. I remember saying to my wife, “I think somebody hit us…” but before I could get it all out, we were flipped over on the driver’s side, sliding down the road. We were very lucky nobody hit us or her directly, and all I got were scratches. Our pups were pretty shaken up, as were we.” —Steven Sturdevant

Tractor-trailer disaster

“We were heading south out of Henderson, KY, in our Class A motorhome. Travelling on the Pennyrile Parkway in a torrential rain storm, we were being passed by a tractor-trailer. Suddenly, a car traveling in the northbound lane hydroplaned across the median directly into the path of the tractor-trailer. The impact split the car in half, and each half spun around back into the median. The tractor-trailer came to a stop in the lane. I was able to pull over and call 911. My wife and I then walked back to see how the truck driver was. We feared the worst for the occupants in the car. Amazingly, while we were talking, the driver of the car walked over with seemingly no major injuries. The police came, and we gave our account, praising the truck driver for not running us off the road. There were so many ways that it could have ended in disaster. We were all very lucky. To this day, I think of this incident every time I see cars going too fast for conditions when it’s raining.” —C.E. Wise

Wildlife and culture

Local culture and native tongue

“After full-time for about seven years, we’ve (my wife and I) had many memorable experiences during our travels. Not all were positive (we still talk about the fire, pestilence, and flood in Perry, GA, and the ‘mud and blood’ kayak outing in Cottonwood, AZ).

“One of the most memorable trips was early on in our travels on our way to an RV rally in Gillette, WY. We boondocked at the Montana Fish and Wildlife site on the Bighorn River south of Hardin. During our brief stay, we saw wild horses drinking at the river while a thunderstorm and lightning were happening in the distance, followed by a beautiful rainbow.

“The next afternoon, we were visited by a couple from the Crow Reservation. Michael was there to show his girlfriend where he and his friend used to fish. He then proceeded to sit down and share some of the local culture with us, and even spoke some words in his native tongue. We’ll never forget that moment and the wonderful memory of camping on the shore of the Bighorn River.” —Mike Mountain

Bugs! So many bugs!

“Our daughter and SIL were moving from California to Arkansas, so he could get his Master’s Degree. We said, ‘Oh, we’ll take the Grands and mosey on over, taking our time to sightsee.’ That in itself was fun. It’s when we were parked at a lake near Conway, AR, that our troubles began. Every single night, our TT was covered with millions of flying bugs. They got in our hair, mouth, ears, and, of course, into the trailer. The younger Grands were screaming like it was a horror movie. We lasted two nights by this bucolic lake and then had to find a less bug-infested place. It still gives me shivers as to the sheer number of those bugs.” —Barbara Wilde

Bears!

“We were in Gardiner, Montana, at the north entrance to Yellowstone NP. I cooked a pizza on my gas grill outside for dinner. It left a strong smell, and that night, about 11 p.m., we were woken up when a grizzly bear started jumping on our grill thinking there was food inside. It caused quite a commotion. We had bear spray in the car, but not in the RV, so all we could do was wait it out. Once he realized there was no food to be had, he moved on. But the whole thing was very scary.” —Bob S.

“The scariest trip I’ve had is camping at Coulter Bay Campground in Grand Teton National Park. It was in the spring, and there were a lot of bears around, both Grizzly and Black Bears. I was in my 5th wheel rear bedroom camper, and just after dark, I felt the trailer shake pretty hard like the wind was blowing, so I looked out and it was completely calm. I also heard a scratching sound, kind of like fingernails on a chalkboard, that screech kind of noise. The next morning, I looked out my large rear bedroom window on the back of the trailer and saw two bear paw prints twice as large as my hand and scrape marks from the bear’s claws in the dirt on the outside of the window. I measured, and the paw print was 9 feet above the ground. That was a big bear and had to be a Grizzly to have left the claw marks. Thank goodness this trailer window was automotive glass and not a regular window that probably would have broken with the amount of force the bear used to make the whole camper shake.” —Vernon Phinney

Goodbye, RV!

How about a travel trailer instead?

“My wife and I were camping at South Llano State Park in a pop-up when the rangers came by to tell us a bad storm was on the way. We rode out that storm in our pickup. After the skies cleared, we went back to the pop-up to go to bed. About 3 a.m., we woke to the slight sound of thunder. Within minutes, that storm was on us, seemingly twice as bad as the previous storm. The canvas sides flapped, and water seeped behind my pillow. Despite the stabilizers, the trailer shook from the wind. After about 10 minutes, the storm passed on. Because of a leak, apparently around the A/C, we took the trailer in to have it repaired. Just before we left the dealership after dropping off the pop-up, we decided to look at travel trailers. Without intending to, we left with a new travel trailer.” —George Thaxton

So long, Itasca

“It had to be 2018, the year our 1976 Itasca motorhome went to pieces bit by bit. We had on-site repair persons in Biloxi, again in Vicksburg, and once more in Bloomington, IL. That one was the death knell, as the transmission was completely shot. (It failed as we were getting off the expressway. Coasting to a safe stop, unable to shift gears, was an adventure in itself.) The estimate to replace it was $1,800. We sold the thing to the mechanic for $200, used the money to rent a pickup truck, emptied the motorhome, and drove back to Wisconsin. The young guy was able to fix it for himself for a few hundred bucks and enjoyed it with his family for years to come. We stayed in touch.” —Rebecca N.

GPS woes

Not that park!

“One particular trip stands out… I’m the navigator, and I really do a pretty good job most of the time—except this time! We had reservations at the Garden of the Gods RV Park in CO. As we were approaching, the traffic was intense and the signs were very confusing. You really couldn’t tell which ones were for the RV park or for the actual park, and all the cars and people made it worse, so I ended up guiding us to the park! Little did I know we were headed right into their narrow roads of huge boulders! Next thing I knew, we had cars, people, and a husband all panicking on how our 36′ motorhome was going to make it through! I got out and started to measure and direct traffic. Phew, we made it… by inches!” —Marie Beschen

Too many distractions

“We were out on our maiden voyage in our brand spanking new Class C. Excited to use it and excited for the dog competition we were going to. Our first adventure, or mistake, was using Google for our GPS. Maneuvering over a one-lane bridge on our first time out was not fun. If the RV had been one inch longer, we wouldn’t have made it. Next were the skinny road and very close vegetation overhead and on the side. Whew, survived that without damage. Then, we arrived to the site. The event was on a fireman’s festival grounds where there were two events going on, so we had to be cautious of parked cars, people, and dogs. Then… it happened. We heard this loud metallic ripping sound. Yep… while watching people and dogs on my left, the awning on the right clipped the low-hanging gutter of a concession stand. My awning was totaled; ripped right off the RV. We were devastated. But, I kept saying: no one was hurt, damage was minimal, and all we had to do was replace the awning. And, our dogs had qualifying runs all weekend!” —Cathy Consla

Finding peace

“I had just returned from a year-long tour of duty in the Middle East. My family had been planning a multi-state RV trip for months. This three-week journey would take us to several states in the Southeast. Though we did have some excellent stops in Georgia and Alabama, what really stood out involved a surprising stop outside of Owensboro, KY. To avoid violating any rules, I will not use the name of the farm, but I can tell you that it was a Harvest Hosts farm just on the outskirts of Owensboro.

“We were boondocking, and it was our last full day at the farm. The family was still asleep as I made my first cup of steaming hot coffee on a weekday morning sometime around 7:00. What transpired next was something that I’ll never forget. I exited the 5th wheel with the rising sun off to my left and stood in the dew-soaked field. Perched on a gently rolling hill overlooking the Harvest Host’s farm, I took in an idyllic scene that was surreal to behold.

“With temperatures hovering in the low 50s on that late September day, I was wearing shorts and a windbreaker as I kept my hands warm on the coffee mug. In the distance were more gently rolling hills where farmers were harvesting their crops. The farms that I could see from my spot on the hill were more like gentleman farms than they were large, commercial operations. The giveaway was that both farmers were using antique tractors and harvesting equipment to do the job. They were so far away that I could barely hear the gentle rumble of their engines.

“It was in that moment, as I sipped my coffee and watched rural, country life play out in front of me like some sort of Norman Rockwell painting, when I realized that I had finally relaxed and shed the lingering anxiety that had stalked me since my return from the desert. I believe that I would not have achieved such a therapeutic and relaxing moment anywhere else were it not for that wonderful RV trip with my family.” —Trey Scudder

Before you go, make sure you read Dave Solberg’s entry from last week. 

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