Jim (and 3 friends) drove an RV cross country last week — all the way from Elkhart, Indiana to Edmonton Alberta Canada.
This was Jim’s first time being an RV transport driver. They were taking a Gulfstream motorhome from the factory in Indiana to a sales lot in Canada.
So, 2 guys rode in the Gulfstream — a Class C RV with double slideouts — while 2 guys rode in Terry’s Renegade which is more like a truck with customized sleeping & living space than a “traditional” motorhome.
The trip coincided with an IHRA drag race in Edmonton, so the guys used Terry’s motorhome as the return vehicle to get home. (It’s the one he takes to all the races — looks sort of like a semi — and has his Alcohol Funny Car on board. They ship his Top Fuel Dragster separately in a semi tractor trailer.)
Here’s how it went…
The trip consisted of over 2,200 miles.
With 4 drivers rotating shifts, it took them about 40 hours to complete the first leg of the trip from Indiana to Edmonton. (The return trip only took them 36 hours because they stopped less.)
They primarily drove through the United States, then went due north in Canada.
The trip went something like this:
- Start in Elkhart, Indiana
- To Chicago, Illinois
- Take 94 through Minnesota
- Pass through Minot and Bismark, North Dakota
- Stop at Portal, North Dakota for Border Patrol (Jim says it’s a sleepy little town with not even a stoplight.)
- Then drive up into Canada
- Through Regina
- Into Saskatoon
- Half the guys slept at a truckstop there, the other half drove onto N. Battleford in Saskatchewan where there are lots of Indian casinos in malls (…rather than in gargantuan palaces, as we’re accustomed to seeing in the States)
- Then, it was onto Lloydminster
- And finally into Edmonton
Then everyone jumped into Terry’s motorhome and they all enjoyed the return trip back to Elkhart, Indiana.
Jim’s summary of his first gig as an RV transport driver: “Interesting. If I had it to do all over again, I’d recommend driving the bulk of the trip though the U.S. rather than Canada. There’s just not much to see along this particular route through Canada.”
Over the past several years, I've been involved with transporting RVs, renting RVs, and fulltime RVing (months at a time). I'm fortunate to have had a number of different RVs available to me to try out — which has enabled me to experience the nuances of RVing firsthand. When I'm not RVing, you can find me at the corner of Good News & Fun Times as publisher of The Fun Times Guide (32 fun & helpful websites).
