running a Super C south for the winter: fuel stops that fit, monthly site rates, and where we stopped this year
Started by snowbird_since_2016 on Nov 12, 2025 in Super C talk, 6 posts
snowbird_since_2016OPLong haulerMesa, AZ
drives2016 Dynamax DX3 37BH on a Freightliner M2 106, towing a 2014 CR-V
we pulled into our winter park in Mesa sunday afternoon, so here is this year's run while i still remember the numbers. it is our ninth year doing it and the DX3 is 37 feet plus the CR-V on the bar, so call it 55 feet of us going down the road.
fuel. we only buy at truck stops with RV lanes or an open outside diesel island now. the Pilot and Flying J RV islands are fine, Love's has been adding them, and a lot of the regular car side islands are a nightmare at our length. the 80 gallon tank on the DX3 lets me be picky. i fill at half.
where we sleep on the way: a mix of Walmarts that allow it (call the store, do not trust an app), a couple of Elks lodges and one night at a state park. we came down through Utah this year and the Arizona leg was Page to Flagstaff to Mesa. we got into Flagstaff on a day it was 22 degrees with ice on the off ramps, and in a 26,000 lb coach i do not mess with that. we stayed put a night.
monthly sites. our park in Mesa is $1,050 a month plus electric for the season, which is cheap by current numbers because we booked it years ago. the places taking new snowbirds this year were asking $1,200 to $1,500. for a few nights before the month starts we like Lost Dutchman State Park out by the Superstitions. bookings for Arizona state parks are at azstateparks.com and the good sites go fast from January to March.
bunk_over_cab_kidsDay tripperGreen Bay, WI
drives2018 Jayco Seneca 37TS on a Freightliner M2 106, three kids in the cab bunk
this is the dream. we only get Christmas week because of school, so we are looking at Green Bay to somewhere in Texas and back in nine days. you mentioned I-40, what about I-10 in December? i keep hearing about wind in west Texas and i have never driven the Seneca in a real crosswind.
retired_lineman_rvWeekenderMedford, OR
drives2020 Nexus Ghost 36DS on a Freightliner M2 106, towing a 2010 Ranger 4x4
our run is shorter, Medford down to Yuma for six weeks, and the only part of it i worry about is getting over the Siskiyous. Siskiyou summit on I-5 is a little over 4,300 feet and when Caltrans has chain controls up it is not a place for a 33,000 pound coach with a toad. this year we sat in Ashland an extra day and drank coffee. the pass was bare and wet the next morning.
my rule is i check the Caltrans road conditions the night before and again at 6 am, and if the answer is anything but "no restrictions" we wait. nobody on this board is in a hurry. we are retired.
snowbird_since_2016OPLong haulerMesa, AZ
drives2016 Dynamax DX3 37BH on a Freightliner M2 106, towing a 2014 CR-V
to the Green Bay family: I-10 is lower and drier, but the stretch from Van Horn to El Paso gets wind that will push a tall coach around. 40 and 45 mph gusts are not rare out there. if the forecast is ugly i drive early in the morning before it builds and park by two. I-40 is shorter for you but you are crossing Flagstaff at 7,000 feet and the Texas panhandle can get ice storms in late December.
for nine days with kids i would honestly look at the Gulf side instead. Corpus Christi or the coast near Rockport. less elevation and less wind.
magnitude_sv34Day tripperFort Myers, FL
drives2022 Thor Magnitude SV34 on a Ford F-550, 6.7 Power Stroke
from the other end of the snowbird map. we live in Fort Myers year round so i get to watch everybody arrive. monthly sites around here in season are $1,800 to $2,600 now, more on the water, and the decent parks fill by early summer. if you want February in southwest Florida, you are booking it in May.
the state parks down here go just as fast. Koreshan in Estero is lovely and you will not get a site on short notice between January and March.
cummins_67_curiousDay tripperLubbock, TX
drivesa 2019 Ram 3500 for now, shopping for a Super C on the M2
Lubbock is basically the halfway point for half of you, so a note: diesel on the west side truck stops here was running about thirty cents under what i saw in New Mexico last week. fill in Texas before you cross.
still no coach of our own. i keep reading these threads like a guy reading travel brochures.
Log in to reply. No account yet? Write the mods with what you drive and they will set you up.
