Anybody have experience with RV roadtrips/tailgating at GT?

gtrower

gtrower

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I know its early, but I'm already ancy about planning roadtrips for the games this fall. I was considering renting an RV with some friends to roadtrip for the VT game (from Washington DC). But I have zero experience with this and it would be great to discuss with somebody who's done it before. I've done some research through GT and rental sites, but it still raises a lot of questions such as...

Is it worth it in terms of price/entertainment over flying (about 650 miles from DC to ATL)

How many people can you legally stuff in there / how many people can you in reality stuff in there

Parking/tailgating for the game (location/price/timing)

Driving/gas mileage/filling up/emptying tanks

And a bunch other random questions. So if any of you are willing to share your experiences with me I'd greatly appreciate it. Either on here or PM me is fine.

Thanks
 
I went on an RV trip to Notre Dame in 07, we went with "Cruise America" and there were 6 of us I believe. It wasn't a large unit, so we were tight but could have had 1 or 2 more max. I believe it ended up costing around $200-250 per person for rental/gas and the keg we kept in the shower.

Notre Dame was really easy to park an RV at, except you couldn't stay overnight. We knew some people in the area, so we just parked there.

Obviously got garbage gas mileage, but we knew that going in. We cleaned the inside of the RV before taking it back, but got dinged for like $40 cleaning charge for the exterior. I don't remember having to empty any tanks. I think we got charged for propane use or maybe it was generator time.

It was freakin awesome. Don't get too drunk in the RV though, tight spaces and black out drunks don't go together well. And when you are tailgating, try and keep the doors closed to keep bugs out. And don't let random people take a dump in it either.

Pretty good review:

http://www0.epinions.com/content_168830602884

Note, that is from 2005. They have mixed reviews on the site, we had a good experience. Hell, I punched a hole in the wall, moved a "Warning - Do not sleep in bed while in motion" sticker over the hole and we never got charged.
 
I'm actually looking at Cruise America too b/c they have a pick-up/drop-off 10 minutes from my place. I'll probably go with the biggest one they have which says it sleeps 7, but I'll be trying to fit more like 9/10. Did you all sleep in the RV or at your friend's place? I figure it'll be easier to fit people on the way down and then park outside a friend's house in ATL and split people between the house and RV for sleeping. My first run at a cost estimate was $1,700 for base cost, mileage, gas, generator, and parking. That would put it somehere between $170-$250 a person depending on how many we take, so your number make sense.

I hadn't thought about the keg, not a bad idea. Figure i'll throw a TV in there with a ps3 or x-box and eat the generator cost.

Did you bring your own grill for tailgating or use the kitchen in the RV?
 
Some of us slept in the RV, some slept in the house. We brought a lap top and movies. You are going to use the generator a lot, don't fool yourself. Just figure it in to the expenses from the get go. We didn't use the kitchen, I think we tailgated with some people who had a grill. I believe they have storage spots beneath the RV, so you could easily throw a grill in there.
 
Does anyone do rv tailgating at tech? Father in law offered us their old one, not sure if I'm going to take them up on it and haven't looked at logistics with tech yet, but if you've got any advice on it id love to hear it.

Would be a short drive for me, so that wouldn't be an issue, more parking pass cost, hows the tailgating around the tit, etc
 
GTrower,

I grew up in Northern VA (1990-2000) and have always had family in GA. At least once a year my Mom, Dad, and I would drive the ~650 miles to go to Georgia to visit. After 10 years I moved to GA, finished high school, went to college (GT), graduated, and moved back to Northern VA. Living in both places, I've had a lot of experience being on the road back and forth. My advice to you is don't make the drive. It's 9-12 hours each way and the money you spend on gas, food, wear on your car (assuming you drive your own) isn't worth it. I once took a bus trip to Atlanta from Northern VA and when I arrived I felt tired and kind of ratty. Flying is totally worth it. If you buy tickets in advance, it may be the same, slightly cheaper, or not much more. But money shouldn't always be the most important factor.

In 2009 I flew down to Atlanta 4 times to watch GT football games. I live in the Reston Town Center, so I'm right next to Dulles Airport (your best bet is likely Reagan) and the whole process was super easy. Fly.
 
RamblinPeck said:
Does anyone do rv tailgating at tech? Father in law offered us their old one, not sure if I'm going to take them up on it and haven't looked at logistics with tech yet, but if you've got any advice on it id love to hear it.

Would be a short drive for me, so that wouldn't be an issue, more parking pass cost, hows the tailgating around the tit, etc
Click to expand...
There are a lot of RV tailgaters for Tech while at BDS or even at some away games. Some on Techwood Drive, some over in West Campus area and I think some behind Student Center. The pass for RVs is much more expensive though.
 
WreckTheRest said:
GTrower,

I grew up in Northern VA (1990-2000) and have always had family in GA. At least once a year my Mom, Dad, and I would drive the ~650 miles to go to Georgia to visit. After 10 years I moved to GA, finished high school, went to college (GT), graduated, and moved back to Northern VA. Living in both places, I've had a lot of experience being on the road back and forth. My advice to you is don't make the drive. It's 9-12 hours each way and the money you spend on gas, food, wear on your car (assuming you drive your own) isn't worth it. I once took a bus trip to Atlanta from Northern VA and when I arrived I felt tired and kind of ratty. Flying is totally worth it. If you buy tickets in advance, it may be the same, slightly cheaper, or not much more. But money shouldn't always be the most important factor.

In 2009 I flew down to Atlanta 4 times to watch GT football games. I live in the Reston Town Center, so I'm right next to Dulles Airport (your best bet is likely Reagan) and the whole process was super easy. Fly.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the response. I moved up here in '09 and flew back for a few games in '09 and '10. I agree the drive is a pain in the ass, but I was hoping an RV might make the road trip more of a party than transportation. I'm planning on flying in for the Clemson/UGA/Maryland games. Also wouldn't be putting wear on my car since I'd be renting the RV.

Reston, eh? Do you head over to Mister Days for any games with the almuni group?
 
cyptomcat said:
There are a lot of RV tailgaters for Tech while at BDS or even at some away games. Some on Techwood Drive, some over in West Campus area and I think some behind Student Center. The pass for RVs is much more expensive though.
Click to expand...

A number of RV's park on Tech Pkwy as well. You don't need a reserved pass, just pay on gameday.
 
RamblinPeck said:
Does anyone do rv tailgating at tech? Father in law offered us their old one, not sure if I'm going to take them up on it and haven't looked at logistics with tech yet, but if you've got any advice on it id love to hear it.

Would be a short drive for me, so that wouldn't be an issue, more parking pass cost, hows the tailgating around the tit, etc
Click to expand...

No more tailgating around the tit with the new construction for us. Not sure where we will end up this year. I do not have an RV but tailgate amongst many of them. I hope we end up over by the student center - if that crowd and our crowd join forces it will be a tailgating juggernaut!

The parking pass cost I think was around $600 last year, but for cars it is $150 so that seems pretty reasonable especially if you get there Friday night and leave on Sunday morning.

If making a weekend out of football and consuming alcohol is your thing, I highly recommend the extended tailgate scene :bigthumbup:
 
I'm always envious of the RV's with satellite TV for the tailgate. If the game is late afternoon or evening, they can watch other games while they hang out. Do rentals offer that as an option?
 
jacket67 said:
I'm always envious of the RV's with satellite TV for the tailgate. If the game is late afternoon or evening, they can watch other games while they hang out. Do rentals offer that as an option?
Click to expand...

Just an aside, you don't need an RV to do that. We tailgate with a normal SUV and have two TVs going at once -- our postgame tailgates after a noon game are some of our best.

You just need to get a mobile satellite dish (couple hundred I think) and you're good to go...assuming you have a satellite subscription of course.
 
andrew said:
Just an aside, you don't need an RV to do that. We tailgate with a normal SUV and have two TVs going at once -- our postgame tailgates after a noon game are some of our best.

You just need to get a mobile satellite dish (couple hundred I think) and you're good to go...assuming you have a satellite subscription of course.
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A guy with an SUV was doing this next to us a few years ago and ended up needing a battery jump from me. I guess you need a generator, too.
 
jacket67 said:
A guy with an SUV was doing this next to us a few years ago and ended up needing a battery jump from me. I guess you need a generator, too.
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Where do you tailgate? That might have been us! We are behind the Love building. We needed a jump not because of the TV or anything, but because we left the car door open and the light was on. 12 hours of tailgating + car light on == dead battery.
 
We had a satellite tv when we tailgated at Wake Forest last year. Took turns with car batteries, since we had about five cars. The only problem was that we couldn't get the Atlanta local channels, but other than that, it was worth the trouble getting it set up.
 
You can do pretty well running off an inverter on a Deep Cycle Marine Battery. Just make sure to trickle charge it up before the tailgate.

I want to say my buddy's gotten a solid 10 hours off of the battery before running an LCD TV+SAT system
 
andrew said:
Where do you tailgate? That might have been us! We are behind the Love building. We needed a jump not because of the TV or anything, but because we left the car door open and the light was on. 12 hours of tailgating + car light on == dead battery.
Click to expand...

We're in Central Campus Lots at the end of State Street. I like the idea of using a marine battery and saving the car battery for getting home.
 
jacket67 said:
We're in Central Campus Lots at the end of State Street. I like the idea of using a marine battery and saving the car battery for getting home.
Click to expand...

Yeah that is a good idea. We have a gas generator, we don't run it off of the car battery...that seems like asking for disaster. But apparently leaving the inside light of the car on for 12 hours is enough to completely drain it.
 
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