Planning Trips – A few tips!

Tips - Planning and Preparation
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Coming up with how to plan our trips was one of the most time-consuming things we had to learn when we started camping. After spending several years traveling with our Casita, I've come up with a pretty good system using a set of free tools and websites.
 
The key goals in settling on my approach were:
  • Identify the route we want to take (we take mostly old highways and backroads when we can)
  • Estimate the actual time (not just the ideal time calculated by most GPS programs) I think each travel segment will take and develop a schedule
  • Discover places to stay, find reviews and see photos
  • Compile an estimate of the cost for the trip
  • Add notes attached to locations on the route map
  • Share the travel map and our schedule with others
I cover my approach in more detail in my free Beginner's Guide to Small Travel Trailers. It discusses the websites and tools that I've settled on, and how I use them. Please check it out to see if you can pick up a new idea or two to simplify your planning.
 
- Denny

Save yourself some money

When on the road, we often find ourselves looking for an affordable overnight place to stop. A lot of people have suggested Walmart parking lots, but we are pretty set on having at least water and electric hookups. Passport America has been a pretty good solution quite often. They offer a 50% discount on probably 2,000 places in North America. You can read more about them in the website planning section.

Denny Johnson

Denny Johnson

After having spent most of our adult life in Orlando, my wife Fay and I moved to Knoxville, TN in 2020. We are loving the change of seasons and being near the mountains. Plus, this part of the country is loaded with great places to camp. 
 
We camped years ago with a pop-up camper, but got serious about it when we purchased our Casita in 2014. There was a lot to learn as we started traveling with it, and a lot of conflicting opinions on line. That's when I decided that creating a website would be a good retirement project. I started tinyTowable.com to share things we've learned along the way that have worked well for us in hopes that the information would be of help to others.
 
However, since moving to Tennessee, I've gotten involved with new hobbies (you can check some out on my personal website at https://www.softrite.com) and we haven't camped very much. So, at the end of 2023, I made the tough decision to stop updating this website.
 
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2 thoughts on “Planning Trips – A few tips!”

  1. My wife and i are 6 months out from doing what you are doing…. looking forward to the learning curve

    Reply

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