Maps of travel routes and campgrounds.
We drove our coach 114 miles, about two hours of driving, from Kingman, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Here’s the map route, heading northwest:
An interactive map, with our stops marked:
I-40:
Interesting rocks:
Rough road:
Interesting rocks:
Lake Mead National Recreation Area:
6% downgrade:
Bridge:
Hoover Dam and Lake Mead:
Entering Nevada:
Lake Mead:
Artwork:
Las Vegas:
Our destination:
We stayed at Kingman KOA Journey in Kingman, Arizona. (Campground Reviews listing.)
We were going to stay somewhere else, but changed our plans due to our NIRVC stay, so this was a last-minute reservation.
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Site:
Utilities:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
Our review on Campground Reviews:
A good place to stop between Phoenix & Vegas
This was a last-minute reservation as we had to change our plans between Phoenix & Vegas. The KOA website is always straightforward and convenient. The staff were nice and helpful, including guiding us to our spot. We had a nice end patio spot with a view of the mountains. There’s a small bit of noise from the interstate, but not too bad. Roads inside the park were a little tight on some of the corners. We camped at Kingman KOA Journey in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Convenient day trip to Grand Canyon West and the Sky Walk.
Interactive map:
RV park map:
Our site:
Patio:
The electrical pedestal was a bit strange, with the outlets on the side:
And the two 50 amp switches were not connected:
Sign:
Entrance:
Office:
Closed swimming pool:
Mini golf:
Playground:
When we arrived we had to wait for this RV and Jeep to untoad, as they didn’t make the turn after the entrance:
Other sites:
Mobile homes for 55+ long-term residents:
Mountain views:
We drove our coach 165 miles, about three hours of driving, from Surprise, Arizona to Kingman, Arizona.
Here’s the map route, heading northwest:
An interactive map, with our stops marked:
This route was rather bad in terms of potholes on the road; these were relatively minor examples:
So much so that some of our internet stuff fell down:
We had planned to stay at Horspitality RV Resort, but changed it due to our NIRVC visit:
A nearby horse event:
Back to saguaros:
Interesting rocks:
A roadside stop, basically a wide dirt area, where we made lunch in our coach:
More interesting rocks:
A river:
A truck had a tire blowout on their trailer, with bits of the tire on the road:
An interesting old Silver Streak trailer:
The rough road seemed to have shook our front driver-side slide slightly out; there was a little light coming in underneath. That’s not great:
Snowy mountains:
We filled up at a Petro truck stop:
Paladin stretching at the truck stop:
We filled about 76 gallons of diesel (half our tank capacity; we usually fill when it gets about halfway). The pump price was $376.66:
But that’s not what we actually paid, thanks to the Open Roads fuel discount program; we saved $92.82 on that fuel up, so “only” paid $293.77:
Our destination:
When we arrived at the Las Cruces KOA, we got the Check Engine and Malfunction Indicator Lights on our dash, and the three error codes that indicated the dreaded DEF head failure issue — SPN 3364 FMI 9, SPN 1761 FMI 9, and SPN 3031 FMI 9:
We tried to reset the errors with the BlueFire adapter, which worked… but at the end of the next drive, the errors came back. So we knew we had to get the DEF head replaced. The DEF head is a component of the Diesel Exhaust Fluid system, that measures the level and temperature of the DEF tank. But coaches built around 2017, as ours was, had a part with a design flaw, causing it to fail for many coaches. It was pretty much a matter of time before ours failed, so I got a DEF head simulator as insurance, and we never let the DEF get below halfway, to help reduce the chance of the issue occurring. But our time came regardless.
We could have taken our coach to a Cummins service shop, but they operate on a first-come-first-served basis, so we’d likely have to wait a few days. Not convenient when we live full-time in our coach. But fortunately we were a few hours south of Phoenix, Arizona, where National Indoor RV Centers (NIRVC) has a facility. A place we were familiar with, having had our coach serviced there before.
So I contacted that NIRVC, and asked if they could get the replacement DEF head from Tiffin, and fit us in to replace it. They were able to do so. We were super-impressed with their service. They worked with Tiffin to get the part overnighted, and Tiffin covered the cost of the part and labor. When we arrived, the Service Manager (Andrew Pringle) greeted me and came out to help us get parked in a campsite.
We also got them to do a few other tweaks while we were there. One was I noticed this pump/compressor/thingy that’s part of the air leveling system had come off its brackets, and was vibrating significantly when used (we pretty much never use air leveling, but tried it when arriving at NIRVC; great time to find that!):
The brackets were broken, so the tech drilled out and replaced the brackets to get it re-mounted.
We also got them to look for a rattling noise elsewhere in the generator compartment, which they partially fixed with some foam padding. And we got them to add a cover over the ceiling vent in our rear bathroom; something we wanted to do at the recent NIRVC service in Dallas, but the part was out-of-stock there.
Not bad for a day’s work at short notice!
We had been scheduled to stay in Tombstone for seven days, but we left early to go to NIRVC, arriving in the afternoon, and staying overnight at NIRVC, so they could have the full next day to do their work. We chose to stay there that night too, before moving on.
Here are my usual campsite stats; not a typical campsite, but great that NIRVC offers the ability to stay overnight, even with an electrical hookup:
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Site:
Utilities:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
Interactive map; the campsites are in the northeast corner of the grounds:
Our site (with the generator compartment open):
Electrical hookup:
Looking past our site to the front of the NIRVC building:
We sat in the waiting room for a few hours:
Kitchen:
The waiting room has windows overlooking the massive indoor RV storage facility:
Looking across the storage area, you can see the roof of our coach by the leftmost door:
We were very happy with their service, glad that they could fit us in, and solve our DEF head issue plus the other improvements. We highly recommend NIRVC for RV service.
We drove our coach 219 miles, about four hours of driving, from Tombstone, Arizona to Surprise, Arizona, to visit NIRVC there.
Here’s the map route, heading northwest:
An interactive map, with our stops marked:
There wasn’t room to “toad up” (connect our truck to our coach) at our site, so we drove separately to an open area by the entrance of the RV park:
Toading up:
An animated GIF of the brake controller operating; an air hose connected to the air brakes of our coach pushes the brake pedal in our truck for proportional braking:
On our way, with distant mountains:
A multi-vehicle accident at an immigration inspection station, caused by a car-jacking a few hours earlier:
Four visible crunched vehicles (apparently there was a fifth):
Hey, fellow Tiffin motorhome:
Overpass art:
We parked at a truck stop for lunch:
Jenn’s French dip lunch:
My BLT lunch:
Passing through Tucson:
Picacho Peak:
Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch below Picacho Peak:
A rest area stop:
Phoenix Sky Harbor airport:
Tunnel:
Arriving at NIRVC:
Heading to a campsite:
South of Tombstone, near the border with Mexico, is a cute little historic town called Bisbee, Arizona. We went there for a drive and dinner.
An interactive map:
The historic Mule Pass Tunnel:
Entering Bisbee:
Bisbee buildings:
We had Mexican for dinner at Contessa’s Cantina:
Jenn’s dinner:
My dinner, stuffed potato:
Jenn’s dessert, sopapillas:
My dessert, Mexican deep fried ice cream:
More Bisbee buildings:
Back through the tunnel:
Sunset:
A cute artsy town; we quite liked it.
We stayed at Tombstone RV Park & Campground in Tombstone, Arizona. (Campground Reviews listing.)
An uncomfortably short site.
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Site:
Utilities:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Good spot to stop close to Tombstone
This was a really nice, well-run park and a great launching point for all the area has to offer. The hosts were all very friendly and helpful from check-in, to guiding us to our site, to helping us with package deliveries. Our site was clean and level. On the other hand, it was also pretty short for our 40′ motorhome and tow vehicle. Usually, if we have a pull-through site it’s okay if we unhook the tow after we park the coach. Here, we really should have unhooked beforehand as the truck was completely blocking the lane until we unhooked it and parked alongside the coach. Even so, the motorhome was poking out to the front and rear. We had to use our safety cones for the first time to help demarcate our corners. We camped at Tombstone RV Park and Campground in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Chiricahua National Monument and Fort Bowie National Historic Site are a good day trip away and shouldn’t be missed.
Interactive map:
Tombstone newspaper and RV park map:
Guided to our site:
Our site; it was rather short, so we put out mini cones to help prevent people hitting our coach:
The tombstone theme: “here lies [site] 45”:
The cellular services weren’t great, so we used Starlink:
The entrance at sunset:
Office:
Activity center:
Swimming pool:
Cart:
Other sites:
It was fine, though the site was too short for comfort, and the roads a bit tight in places.
We drove our coach 247 miles, about four hours of driving (and a couple of hours of stoppage), from Las Cruces, New Mexico to Tombstone, Arizona.
Here’s the map route, heading west:
An interactive map, with our stops marked:
We usually toad up (aka connecting the truck to the coach) by our site, but there wasn’t a great place to do that this time, so we went over by the office. So Jenn drove the coach, and I followed in the truck:
Toading up; hooking up the tow bar and cables, switching the truck transmission to neutral, disconnecting the battery (via a push button), and connecting the brake controller:
The brake controller:
On our way; there were lots of signs like these for several tchotchke shops:
Fireworks and tchotchkes:
Inspection station, with nobody staffing it:
One of several billboards for The Thing?
Our first stop, at a parking area (i.e. like a rest area, with no bathrooms):
Nice to see mountains:
Another tchotchkes shop, with a fun fence painted like storefronts:
Fuel stop:
A third of a tank (we actually paid less than this, thanks to the TSD fuel discount card):
Filling the Diesel Exhaust Fluid:
Then we parked at this truck stop for lunch:
Heading out:
Continental divide:
Lots of signs about dust storms; this one sensibly worded as “caution dust storms”:
Another sensible sign, “zero visibility possible”:
But “dust storms may exist”; yes, indeed, but kinda a clumsy way to say that:
Welcome to Arizona:
Another truck stop, just for a stretch and bathroom break (in our coach, of course):
An interesting and very sketchy-looking homemade trailer:
Benson, Arizona:
One lane roadworks:
Uncomfortably narrow for our coach:
St. David:
Our destination:
We stayed at Las Cruces KOA Journey in Las Cruces, New Mexico. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Our second visit in just a few months to this RV park.
Dates:
Weather:
Noise:
Sites:
We were only in that site for the first night, as that was the extra day for arriving early (as a separate reservation). Then we needed to move to a different (similar) site:
Internet (in usage priority order):
Amenities:
Our review on Campground Reviews:
The best views
This was our second time staying here and it was just as nice as the last time. We came in a day earlier than originally planned to avoid some wind storms in the area and were able to get a reservation that morning for a view site. Because it was technically a second reservation, they had to do some rearranging and we wound up moving from site 28 to 16 at the start of our original reservation. No biggie, other than the disconcerting feeling of bringing in the stabilizing jacks and feeling the wind buffet the rig violently from side to side. Some of the most white-knuckle driving ever just to go from one end of the campground to the other. The staff were so helpful and understanding in accommodating our early arrival and relocation as we weren’t the only ones with the idea to avoid the weather. You just have to get a view site at this place or you’re really missing out. I’m sure you could get a peep of it from further back or enjoy the view from one of the communal areas, but it’s just so awesome to view it out the front window of the motorhome. We’ll definitely be back when we come this way again. We camped at Las Cruces KOA Journey in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Bosque Brewing across from NMSU has good beer and food.
An interactive map of the park:
RV park map:
Our first site before parking:
Our first site with our coach and truck; this may look familiar to long-time readers, as it’s the same site we had last time we were here:
The view from inside our coach:
The utilities of our first site (I didn’t bother hooking up the sewer pipe, since we were only there one night):
After that first night, we needed to move to another site. Here’s our second site before parking:
Our second site with our coach and truck:
Notice the sky; it was very windy and dusty, so we only put out the driver-side slides (being leeward), and left the passenger-side ones in:
We received an emergency alert for the dust storm:
A screenshot of my weather app, showing the wind gusts:
The coach is a bit weird with one side in, but still quite usable:
Nicer weather:
The view from inside:
Our second site utilities:
Cleaning the windshield:
Nice view:
A tiny Casita trailer next to our 40-foot coach; kinda looks like we laid an egg:
Since the wind was ongoing, if not quite so strong, and we wanted to put the slides out, I added ropes to brace slide toppers:
One day, it even snowed!
A video of the snow:
A video from the dash cam, showing the snow clearing:
(Did you spot the cat?)
Snowy mountains:
You can see more of this RV park in my post for our previous stay, but here are a few pics, starting with the office:
Dog park:
Tent and camp kitchen areas:
Other RVs:
Sunrise view from our coach:
Sunset views:
This is a nice RV park; the sites aren’t the best, especially being buddy sites, but the view more than makes up for that. This was our second visit, and we’ll probably stay here again if we’re back this way in the future.
We drove our coach 504 miles, an epic eight hours of driving, from Abilene, Texas to Las Cruces, New Mexico.
We normally prefer two hour drives, and will go up to four hours when on an interstate (as they are easier and usually have regular rest areas). We had planned two four hour days, stopping in Pecos, but the weather forecast called for 60 MPH gusts along the route on the second leg. So we decided to push on through, doing it in one day.
Here’s the map route, heading west:
An interactive map, with our stops marked:
Leaving the Abilene KOA:
There were pretty much non-stop pump jacks along the route:
We stopped at several rest areas; this was the first:
An interesting water tower:
Wide load:
“It would behoof you to slow down”:
Road Ranger fuel stop:
We went in, and had Church’s Chicken for lunch (our least-preferred fast food chicken chain):
Back to our coach:
Sleepy Paladin:
A wind turbine blade:
More pump jacks:
As mentioned, we were originally going to stop at Pecos, Texas:
Paladin probably would have preferred that we stopped, but this was just halfway:
A nice rest area:
We were so happy to see mountains again, after spending months in flat Texas:
Lots of trucks:
Allegedly scenic viewpoint:
Entering Mountain Time Zone:
A busy rest area; we parked on the side of the road:
El Paso overpasses:
El Paso artwork:
An interesting RV paint job:
Goodbye Texas; entering New Mexico:
Mountains by Las Cruces:
Our destination, another KOA:
That was quite the drive!