Where To Go

Tailgating RV Style

As true fans can tell you, the best place to be at football games is not necessarily the 50-yard line. To help you join the fan festivity, try these practical pointers for creating the perfect tailgating party experience for family and friends:

Bring your home to the game. Tailgating in an RV means bringing your kitchen along, everything from range and refrigerator to automatic ice maker. Anything you can prepare at home, you can make in an RV, serve up fresh and take home safely.

Plan your party menu, and pack the essentials. There’s plenty of room for all your creature comforts, plus drink and food items you plan to prepare.

Avoid traffic by arriving early and staying late. If you’re staying for more than a day, no need to worry about scarce hotel reservations or crowded restaurants because RVs are fully equipped with bedrooms, kitchens and baths.

Prepare and freeze snacks ahead of time. Then pop them in the RV’s microwave when you arrive at the game.

Adapt side dishes to suit the weather. When it’s warm out, bring watermelon, gazpacho, deviled eggs and shrimp cocktail. In the fall and winter, switch to soups, hot chocolate, and cider.

Entertain in style. Today’s RVs offer slideout rooms that nearly double the interior space for more room to entertain guests. On-board generators give you “the power to party” in stadium parking lots, day or night. Bring toys and games to entertain the children, who will enjoy the RV’s safety and comforts while the adults socialize.

Avoid bathroom waits. With a fully equipped bathroom on board the RV, you’ll make lots of friends and spend less time standing in lines.

Take cover inside the RV if it rains or snows. Whatever the weather on game day, you’ll have a dry place to tailgate inside the RV. Adjust the RV’s climate control-central heating and air conditioning-and you’ll be comfortable during winter freezes or Indian summer.

After the game, tailgate some more. Or sit back and relax in comfort. While fans fight to exit the crowded parking lot, pop a snack in the RV’s microwave and continue the tailgating fun.

Don’t miss any big plays. Watch the highlights and post-game shows on your RV’s TV/VCR. Some RVs feature built-in entertainment centers and satellite dishes, great for catching later games and scores.

Leave your parking area clean. Store leftovers safely in the RV’s fridge. And make plans for the next game.

Trip Budgeting

Studies have shown RVing is the most affordable way to vacation. This should come as no surprise since RVs provide transportation, lodging and meals in one package. You control most costs and seldom find hidden surprises. We’ve outlined some general items to consider when planning your budget for your RV trips.

Fuel

The amount you spend on gasoline is one of the major costs for your RV vacation. Mileage differs from one type of RV to another. Many RV companies don’t publish their MPG, if you can’t find numbers online use these general numbers as a guide:

40’ class A: 6-8 MPG
30’ class A: 9-11 MPG
25’ class C: 11-13 MPG
Class B: 12-15 MPG
Towable: Depends on Tow Vehicle

A good calculation for estimating fuel cost is Miles x Fuel Cost ÷ MPG = cost in fuel

Camping

Rates vary by campground. Their location, proximity to attractions, and amenities can influence the rates you pay. Here is a rough estimate of what you might be looking at for daily rates:

$15-$20 County parks, private parks in a nature setting
$30-$45 State parks, national parks, or private parks near major cities
$50-$100 Luxury resorts on the beach or near major attractions

Food

A great way to save on food costs is to cook-in most nights and reserve only a couple meals out each week. Cooking is a great way to save money and eat healthier. A good rule of thumb for food budgeting is $25 per person per week.

Misc

Every budget needs wiggle room. To account for those miscellaneous expenses take your budget and add another 30%.

Choosing a Campground

Trying to find the perfect campground for your trip might seem like an impossible task. Luckily, there is a variety of campgrounds to match almost anyone’s lifestyle. Here are some tips to help with your search:

Consider Your Needs

Choosing a campground not suited to your family’s needs and interests can put a damper on the whole trip. Think about your RVing lifestyle when selecting a park and ask yourself the following questions:

Are you looking for on-site activities?

How large is your RV?

What amenities do you require?

What is your destination location?

What is your nightly/weekly camping budget?

Locating and Researching Campgrounds

Whether you plan to stay one night or longer, there are campgrounds throughout Indiana, the U.S. and Canada to meet your needs. All are unique and no two parks are the same.

There are numerous ways to locate and research campgrounds. A good place to begin is the Indiana RV Lifestyle Campground Search. There you can search by name, city, zip code and amenities.

If you are looking to travel outside Indiana, a good place to start your search would be Go Camping America’s Find a Park search.

Contact the Campground

It is always good to contact the campground and ask specific questions about their policies and their park so that there are no surprises. Questions to ask include:

Rental rates? Any discounts available?

What is included in the above rate?

What are the park’s amenities?

What kind of RV can they handle?

What kind of sites do they have?

What is your reservation policy?

Is a credit card required to hold a site? If so, is it processed immediately?

What is your cancellation policy?

What are your office hours?

Check-in procedure for late arrivals?

RV Packing

Packing your RV before a trip is a work of art. Whether you are newbie or a veteran RVer, we hope the following packing tips will be a great tool.

Distribution of Weight

When loading an RV, place the heaviest weight in the center between the front and rear axles. Putting heavy objects in the lower compartments and the middle keeps a good center of gravity.

Once packed, but before taking off on your trip, it is wise take your unit to a public scale and weigh it to make sure you are not over loaded and that your tires are properly inflated for the weight.

Living Area

What you need/want on board to enjoy your trip really depends on your lifestyle and destination. We have compiled a checklist of the most common general household supplies that people pack, it can be found here. We hope that if can also help foster some ideas for your own needs on the road.

While we cannot tell you exactly what to pack, we can offer these tips:

Secure everything! If the RV moves, the contents are bound to do the same. Resealable bags, little boxes, non-skid mats, Velcro and other little tricks and pieces will help keep everything where it should be and together.

Use what you have, bring only what you need. A roll of quarters for laundry takes up a lot less room than a few more outfits

If possible, secure outdoor items like lawn chairs, umbrellas and such outside of your RV. Many times they can be tightly strapped to the rear of your unit.

To keep things handy and organized, pack similar items in the same cupboards, drawers or sections of the RV.

Tools and Emergency Equipment

You never know what’s going to come up when you’re on the road.

For RV fixes, we have compiled a list of the most commonly recommended components for an RV tool box, you can get it here.

For human fixes, we have also put together a a list of for an RV First Aid kit that you can find here.

Driving and Towing Tips

Here are some important driving and towing tips for increased safety and enjoyment in your RV travels.

Motorized RVs

Mirrors: Before leaving on a trip, sit in the driver’s seat and adjust all mirrors for optimal road views.

Height: Know your vehicle’s exact height and always be on the lookout for low-hanging items like low-hanging branches.

Length: Account for your vehicle size when turning, passing, merging and parking

Breaking: Remember that you are big and heavy. Allow more time and distance to brake.

Weight: Load your RV thoughtfully. Haphazardly adding weight can potentially impact your RV’s center of gravity. Always secure heavy objects down.

Towables

Mirrors: Make sure you have adequate mirrors to give you the visibility you need for safe towing. If your mirrors aren’t adequate, change them to extended side-view mirrors.

Towing Capacity: Never exceed your vehicle’s towing capacity. To find out what your car/truck’s towing capacity is, consult your vehicle owner’s manual.

The Hitch: Buying the right hitch is crucial if your vehicle is not already equipped with a manufacturer’s towing package. Your hitch must not only match your vehicle’s towing capacity but must be the appropriate hitch for the load you are carrying.

Brakes in Sync: Make sure that the brakes and lights on your car or truck are in sync with the brakes and lights on your trailer. Your unit’s brakes and brake lights should go on when your car/truck’s brakes and brake lights go on. If your car/truck signals left, so should your trailer.

Weight: Incorrect weight distribution can cause your trailer to flip. Load heavier cargo first, making sure you secure your items with ropes or cords. Fill in extra spaces evenly, front to back, and side to side.

Speed: Drive slower and give yourself ample distance for stopping when towing a trailer.

Passengers: You should never have passengers traveling in a towed trailer.

Indiana Facts

Welcome to Indiana. As you travel the Hoosier State, here are some thing to know about the state.

Beverage Laws

The legal drinking age for consuming an alcoholic beverage is 21.
As of March 4, 2018, Sunday carryout sales of alcoholic is allowed between noon and 8 pm by grocers, convenience stores and liquor stores.

Traffic Laws

Texting while driving is banned for all drivers.
State law requires drivers approaching a stationary emergency vehicle displaying flashing lights, including towing and recovery vehicles, traveling in the same direction, to vacate the lane closest if safe and possible to do so, or reduce speed at least 10 mph below the speed limit.
Seat belts are required for the driver and all passengers age 16 and older.
Children ages 8 until 16 are required to be in either a seat belt or a child restraint.
Children under age 8 must be properly restrained in a child restraint system.
Passenger vehicles, buses carrying passengers, motortrucks carrying employees, school buses, and vehicles carrying flammable material must stop between 15 and 50 feet from the nearest railroad tracks before proceeding, unless directed to do otherwise by a traffic signal or traffic officer.
Vehicles must stop upon meeting, from either direction, a school bus that is stopped for loading or unloading children and displays or has recently displayed a stop signal arm.
Please follow the posted speed limit.

Sales Tax

Indiana retail tax is currently 7%
Groceries are not taxed in Indiana
Many local Indiana governmental entities Indiana have a local innkeeper’s tax and several have special food and beverage taxes.

Weather

Wonder what the weather is going to be like at your destination? Find out here at the Weather Channel.

Travel Information

You can find out more Indiana tourism information on the Indiana Office of Tourism Development website.

You can find out any road construct or road closures along your route through Indiana at the Indiana Department of Transportation website.

Travel Northern Indiana

From Lake Michigan’s bustling shoreline to the quiet Amish countryside and all along the Indiana/Michigan state line, both the landscape and the mood are ever-changing. Steel mills and railroad factories sprang up along Lake Michigan’s dune-studded shoreline 75 years ago. Soon, vacationers were thronging to the silvery sand beaches of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Inland, the landscape rolls past fruit-growing hills and easygoing towns. Hundreds of glacier-carved kettle lakes dot the rolling countryside. You can indulge in the simpler country life in pastoral Amish areas.

Ornate painted wood trim on commercial buildings hints of Chesterton’s heyday as a railroad-shipping center. Today, the community is a major stop on the South Shore Line, a commuter railroad serving northwest Indiana and Chicago. A host of antiques, specialty shops and galleries overlook a downtown park crowned by a beautiful gazebo.

As it has for more than a century, an imposing lighthouse guards Michigan City’s harbor. The beacon guided lumber-loaded freighters during the town’s early days as one of the busiest Great Lakes ports.

Noting the natural opening in this area’s dense forests, 18th-century French fur traders gave LaPorte (“the door”) its name. From the lakeshore, gentle hills roll southward, cradling downtown and shaded. neighborhoods. Orchards and farms still cover some hillsides. The 150-year-old towered sandstone courthouse anchors the historic downtown. Businesses and specialty shops join cafés behind century-old storefronts.

Sleek high rises sparkle above the St. Joseph River. Its man-made fork, the East Race Waterway, thrills kayakers and rafters. Downtown, sights and sounds of pigskin action pour from the College Football Hall of Fame. A mile north, the University of Notre Dame’s Golden Dome presides over the 1,250-acre park-like campus.

Tree-lined streets and quiet parks cluster downtown around the St. Joseph and Elkhart rivers.

Tucked among Steuben County’s 101 lakes, Fremont is a shopper’s paradise. Visitors can bag bargains at the outlet mall or shop for collector dolls, folk art paintings and home furnishings.

Reminders of Indiana’s frontier past and the glory days of the natural-gas-and-glass boom flourish amid eastern Indiana. Centuries ago, the three-rivers region of Maumee, St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers provided a gateway to frontier settlement and trade.

Travel Central Indiana

Big city sights and small town delights headquarter yourself in Indy, the bustling Crossroads of America.

You’ll be swept up by the excitement of a big city when you visit vibrant downtown Indianapolis. Yet, you’ll have that comfortable Hoosier small-town feeling wherever you go.

To breathe new life into Indiana’s capital more than two decades ago, city leaders set their sights on the core of Indianapolis, its main business district. Today, many top attractions center within four square blocks that surround Monument Circle. You’ll notice revitalized areas with roots in the past, as well as a metropolis that boasts new professional sports complexes, a world-class zoo, impressive museums and the swanky new Circle Centre mall. On the western edge of downtown, expansive White River State Park skirts the White River and historic Central Canal. You’ll also find noteworthy parks, museums and quaint Broad Ripple Village in northern Indianapolis. A half-dozen interstates fan out from downtown and earn Indianapolis the nickname “Crossroads of America.”

From May through October, you can join guided walks that salute the city’s architecture. Ride the elevator to the top of the Soldiers’ & Sailors’ Monument, one of the city’s best known landmarks, for a panoramic view, then tour the new Colonel Eli Lilly Civil War Museum on the lower level.

A few blocks southwest of Circle Centre mall you will find Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. The NBA Indiana Pacers and the WNBA Indiana Fever shoot hoops at the new, but nostalgic-looking, Bankers Life Fieldhouse two blocks east.

Fountains, benches and lush gardens line a 10 1/2-block remnant of the old Central Canal, creating a quiet haven three blocks west of Monument Circle. You can cruise the canal in paddle boats or follow the canal walkway west to White River State Park.

The adobe-style Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, IMAX Theater, the new NCAA Hall of Champions museum, Indianapolis Zoo and White River Gardens all grace the grassy park along the White River.

Travel Southern Indiana

Postcard-pretty hills and hollows and the Ohio River flowing silvery green frame the Southern Indiana region. In Starlight, knobby hills lush with orchards and fields of strawberries and blueberries rise above flat farmland. You can venture underground and explore caverns honeycombing limestone ridges near historic Corydon. Hardwood hills roll almost uninterrupted for 40 miles south to the Ohio River. Hang on tight while gliding over the highlands’ dips and swells.

Visit Bloomington, where the tree-lined slopes of Hoosier National Forest caress sprawling Lake Monroe. Along its southeast shores, fingers of cool, blue water reach into the rugged woods of Charles C. Deam Wilderness Area. Homespun pleasures prevail in quaint Nashville—an artists’ colony and shopper’s paradise—and in many larger communities such as Bloomington and Columbus. The cities tuck snugly into misty folds of softly rolling countryside. Cruising the forested Ohio River Valley, you’ll discover that time seems to stand still in Madison and Vevay.

Hop aboard a horse-drawn canal boat for a nostalgic ride in colorful Metamora (50 miles southeast of Indianapolis). You’ll sample a portion of the 76-mile-long Whitewater Canal, built as a trade route nearly 170 years ago. During the 1840s, Metamora was a main stop along the waterway. More than 100 stores, specialty shops and restaurants fill vintage homes along the canal and nearby streets.

Travel Games

Travel games are the perfect way to help pass the time on those long RV road trips. You can adapt the games to accommodate your passengers. Have Fun!

Rock, Paper, Scissors

To play, each player makes a fist and says out loud, “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” swinging down their fist on each beat. After the third beat, each player makes one of three hand gestures: a closed fist representing “rock,” an open hand representing “paper” or a V representing “scissors.” The winning player makes the gestures of the object that will defeat the opponent’s object. In other words, since a rock can destroy a pair of scissors, rock beats scissors. Scissors cut paper, so scissors beat paper. Since paper can cover a rock, paper beats rock. If opponents use the same gesture, the game is tied.

I Spy

One person in the car will choose an everyone can see. They then give the other people in the car a clue by saying: “I spy with my little eye, something….” they then will state the object’s color, give the first letter of the name of the object or offer another clue. The person who guesses the object correctly is the next person to spy a new item.

The Banana Game

The first person who spots a passing yellow vehicle gets points. Each person is awarded a point for being the first person to see the vehicle.

Slug-a-Bug

Every time someone spots a VW Bug, have them tap the person next to them and announce to the car that they’ve spotted the vehicle.

Twenty Questions

The only clue players start out with is whether you are thinking of something “animal, vegetable or mineral” or a “person, place or thing.” The players must ask questions that you can only answer “yes” or “no” to determine who or what you are thinking about. The goal is to guess the answer in 20 questions or less.

What Did I Bring on My Trip?

Start this game by saying “I’m going on a trip and I’m bringing…” The first player names an item that starts with the letter “A”. The next player will say the same thing but with the letter “B”, and so on.