We left St. Louis on May 30, 2018, our 20th wedding anniversary, and drove a 35-foot Tiffin Allegro to Idaho Falls over 63 days. We tracked every dollar in Quicken. $14,740 total. $43.10/night average across 21 campgrounds. $234/day all-in for four people. This guide is the complete documentation of that trip, including what we'd do differently.
This is not just a guide
✓ A real documented route
✓ Live trip builder tool
✓ Full campground database
✓ Dining reference
✓ Booking timeline for every stop
✓ Budget calculator
What you'll have after working through this guide
By tonight, you could have your entire western RV route, campground plan, booking calendar, and cost estimate ready to book.
Your full route mapped
Every stop sequenced with drive distances, elevation profiles, and timing.
Every campground selected
Primary and alternate for each stop, with 2026 rates and hookup details.
Your trip cost projected
Budget calculator scales to your trip length and family size from $112,457 of real data.
Booking timeline in your calendar
Export reminders for every stop. Know exactly when to book before sites sell out.
The feature most people don't know they need
Know exactly when to book every stop.
Spearfish City Campground opens June 1 the prior year and sells out in days. Rapid City RV Park books out 4-6 months in advance during summer. Estes Park at Mary's Lake fills the day its reservation window opens. Miss the window and you're scrambling for alternates or paying double at a lesser site. The guide documents the exact booking lead time for every stop, and the Trip Builder exports them all as calendar reminders.
Get the guide and never miss a booking window →
Most families spend 15-20 hours researching a western RV trip. Campground searches, rate comparisons, route planning, booking timelines, dining lookups. This guide has all of it already done. $39.
Who this is for
Families planning their first major western RV trip
Travelers who want exact campground and booking logistics
Remote workers traveling in large rigs
People building a 2–8 week customized western route
RVers who care about real budgets, not sponsored content
Anyone tired of piecing together 40 browser tabs and YouTube videos
What makes this different
Unlike most RV content, these guides include:
Actual campground booking timelines
Real Quicken-tracked budgets
Route pacing lessons
Mistakes and failures documented
Drive-day realism for large rigs
What's worth skipping — documented
Remote work logistics
2026 campground status updates included
Exact trip sequencing
3,200+ Quicken-tracked expenses as source data
The part competitors don't provide: exact booking windows with calendar export. Know when every campground opens reservations, how fast it sells out, and get a reminder in your calendar — automatically generated from your itinerary.
Devils Tower National Monument · June 22, 2018 · $20/night. No reservations. One of the best single nights on the route.
Stop 9 · Devils Tower WY
Route at a Glance
63 days · 21 campground stops · 8 states · May 30 – August 1, 2018
| Days |
Location |
Stops |
Highlights |
| Days 1–5 | Blue Springs & St. Joseph, MO | 1–2 | Kansas City, Pony Express Museum |
| Days 6–7 | Altoona, IA | 3 | Adventureland |
| Days 8–11 | Eagan, MN | 4 | Mall of America, Twin Cities |
| Days 12–23 | Sioux Falls → Wall → Rapid City → Spearfish, SD | 5–8 | Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Needles Highway, Spearfish Canyon |
| Days 22–26 | Devils Tower → Lusk → Cheyenne, WY | 9–11 | NPS campground at base, Oregon Trail Ruts |
| Days 27–32 | Estes Park & Arvada, CO | 12–13 | Rocky Mountain National Park, Red Rocks |
| Days 33–38 | Colorado Springs, CO | 14 | Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Gold Mine |
| Days 39–47 | Buena Vista, Leadville & Grand Junction, CO | 15–17 | Whitewater rafting, Black Canyon, Colorado Nat'l Monument |
| Days 46–50 | Moab, UT | 18 | Arches, Canyonlands, Dead Horse Point |
| Days 51–59 | Provo & Fruit Heights, UT | 19–20 | Bonneville Salt Flats, Temple Square, Days of '47 Rodeo |
| Days 60–63 | Idaho Falls, ID | 21 | Craters of the Moon, EBR-1 Nuclear Reactor |
Whitewater rafting, Buena Vista CO · July 8, 2018 · The Arkansas River. Both kids in.
Stop 15 · Buena Vista CO
Trip Configurations
Not doing all 63 days? Here's how to cut it down without losing the best of it.
10–14 Days
Black Hills + one Colorado leg
Stops 5–8 plus one of: Estes Park (Stop 12) or Colorado Springs (Stop 14). Badlands sunset, Mount Rushmore, Needles Highway, and Spearfish are the irreplaceable core. Add Devils Tower (Stop 9) if time allows. It's a half-day detour.
Skip: Iowa/Minnesota, Wyoming transit stops, all of Utah and Idaho.
2–3 Weeks
Full South Dakota + Colorado through Moab
Stops 1–18. Missouri launch, Black Hills full sequence, Wyoming, Estes Park, Colorado Springs, Buena Vista, Grand Junction, and Moab. The single best concentration of stops on the entire 63-day route.
Skip: Utah Salt Lake corridor (Stops 19–20) and Idaho (Stop 21).
Full 63 Days
Complete route as documented
All 21 stops, all 8 states. The Utah corridor (Cherry Hill, Salt Lake City, Bonneville Salt Flats, Days of '47 Rodeo, Temple Square) and Idaho Falls / Craters of the Moon add meaningful experiences and shouldn't be cut unless time forces it.
New to RVing? The Black Hills (Stops 5–8) is the single best first-time western destination on this route. No drive day longer than 55 miles. Badlands, Rushmore, Needles Highway, Spearfish Canyon, and Devils Tower all within a 90-minute radius. An 8-night Black Hills trip works as a rental. You don't need to own a rig. The campground cards in Sections 3 and 4 have everything you need to book it. Start with Guide 1: The Midwest Loop (free, no card required) if you haven't driven a motorhome before.
Six Components. One Price.
PDF guide plus five online tools · all included at $39
What you get
Everything in this system works together. You're not piecing this together yourself.
Guide 2 — 63-day route, fully detailed
Campground dataset — 21 stops + alternates
Route builder with booking timeline
Dining + stop database — 25 restaurants
Budget calculator — $112,457 of real data
Interactive route map: all 21 stops, campgrounds, attractions, and highlights. Filter by type. 2026 status on every campground.
Included with the guide
1
The Guide
63 days documented section by section. What happened, what it cost, what broke, and what we'd change. Written in the same voice as the free Midwest Loop guide.
2
All 21 stops mapped with filters for campgrounds, attractions, and highlights. Also included: free unlimited access to
FollowTheMap to build a custom interactive map of your own version of this route. Promo code emailed after purchase.
3
Trip Builder
Pick any of the 21 stops as your starting point, set your direction, duration, and pace. Generates your full itinerary with real SRTM elevation profiles, booking windows, and calendar export.
See a 21-day sample →
4
Campground Database
All 21 stops with 2026 rates, hookup details, signal strength, check-in times, phone numbers, and 17 alternate campgrounds.
5
Dining Reference
25 restaurants across 8 states with what we spent and current 2026 status. Sortable by state and cuisine.
6
Budget Calculator
Enter your trip length, family size, and pace. Projects your total cost using $112,457 of real 14-month expense data as the baseline.
Try the calculator →
What We'd Do Differently
Eight lessons from 63 days · four are in the guide, here are four of them
1Add a night in Spearfish
We had three nights and could have used four. The campground, the town, Spearfish Canyon, and access to Deadwood made it the most enjoyable base in South Dakota. It's the stop most people underbook.
2Check Brake Buddy sensitivity before Colorado
The settings that worked through the Midwest and South Dakota were wrong for constant mountain grade changes. We paid for this with a brake pad replacement on the toad. Adjust before the first mountain leg.
3One more night in Moab
Five nights felt adequate at the time and slightly short in hindsight. There's enough in Moab to justify six. Arches, Canyonlands, Dead Horse Point, and Newspaper Rock each deserve time. If the schedule allows, add a night.
4Don't rely on campground WiFi in Utah
Every campground we used in Moab had poor WiFi reviews and lived up to them. If you're working remotely, budget for a cellular data plan. AT&T and Verizon had good coverage across this route. T-Mobile had more gaps.
Four more lessons in the guide, including booking Spearfish City Campground, the America the Beautiful Pass at Devils Tower, and the Bonneville Salt Flats day cost.
Dead Horse Point State Park, Moab UT · July 18, 2018 · Five nights in Moab. Could have used six.
Stop 18 · Moab UT
After you buy — where to start
1
Open the guide
Start with the introduction and route overview. The Before This Section boxes at the top of each section tell you exactly what to do before you arrive.
2
Run the Trip Builder
Set your starting stop, direction, and pace. It generates your itinerary with elevation profiles and booking windows for every campground.
3
Export your booking reminders
Add every campground booking window to your calendar. The Trip Builder tells you exactly when to book each stop before it sells out.
Guide 2 · The Drive West · Available Now
63 days. Every dollar.
Ready to plan your version.
$39
Subscribers receive a discount code by email
Start Building This Trip · $39 →
Instant download · PDF delivered immediately after purchase · Yours to keep · Secure checkout via Payhip · PAYHIP*KUBITREK on your statement
Campgrounds
21 stops · 17 alternates
Total Spent
~$14,740 documented
FAQ
Common questions before buying
The trip was in 2018. Is the data still useful?
The route, campgrounds, stops, and lessons are all current. Campground status and rates have been verified and updated to 2026 where they changed. The 2018 rates we paid are shown alongside current 2026 rates throughout. A few campgrounds have closed or changed and those are noted.
You drove a 35-foot motorhome. Does this work for smaller rigs?
Yes. Every campground, drive leg, and route note is documented from a 35-foot Class A towing a Honda CRV. Smaller rigs have more options, not fewer. The guide notes where size matters (a few canyon roads, specific campsites) so you can plan accordingly.
We're traveling without kids. Is this still relevant?
Fully. The campground data, drive legs, costs, and stop recommendations apply regardless of family size. The $234/day figure is for four people. The Budget Calculator adjusts for your actual group size.
What exactly do I get after purchase?
Immediately after purchase you receive a download link for the PDF guide. Within the PDF you'll find direct links to all five online tools: trip builder, campground database, dining reference, interactive map, and budget calculator. A separate email follows with your FollowTheMap promo code.
How do I get the subscriber discount?
What's your refund policy?
Digital downloads are all sales final. Standard for PDF products. If you have a problem with your download or access to the online tools, email us and we'll fix it.
All KubiTrek Guides
14 months · 40 states + Canada · documented in 7 guides
| # |
Title |
Dates |
Route |
Status |
| G1 |
The Midwest Loop |
Jun–Jul 2017 · 36 days |
IN · KY · OH · MI · WI · IA · MO |
FREE |
| G2 |
The Drive West (you are here) |
May–Aug 2018 · 63 days |
MO · IA · MN · SD · WY · CO · UT · ID |
$39 / $29 subscribers |
| G3 |
Mountain West + Pacific Northwest |
Aug–Oct 2018 · 64 days |
WY · MT · WA · BC · OR |
Coming soon |
| G4 |
Pacific Coast + Southwest |
Oct–Dec 2018 · 85 days |
CA · NV · AZ · NM · TX |
Coming soon |
| G5 |
South + Gulf Coast |
Dec 2018–Mar 2019 · 72 days |
TX · LA · AL · FL · GA · SC |
Coming soon |
| G6 |
Mid-Atlantic |
Mar–May 2019 · 68 days |
SC · NC · VA · MD · PA · NJ · NY |
Coming soon |
| G7 |
New England + Canada + Homeward |
May–Aug 2019 · 70 days |
CT · RI · MA · NH · ME · QC · NY · OH |
Coming soon |
G1 is free. G2–G7: $39 public / $29 subscribers. Download Guide 1 free at kubitrek.com. Entering your email makes you a subscriber and locks in the $29 price on all future guides.
