Quote:
Originally Posted by GDeen
45, no, its on the no no list for that length. There is a decent place in Monterey, believe it is associated with a Motel, then drive in.....course there is always the Elks club as well.
John
Printable View
Quote:
Originally Posted by GDeen
45, no, its on the no no list for that length. There is a decent place in Monterey, believe it is associated with a Motel, then drive in.....course there is always the Elks club as well.
John
There are a couple of parks in Monterey, and one park where we have stayed in Carmel that can take 45' coaches. You can get to Big Sur from the North, (technicaly you are not to be on Hwy 1 with an over 40' coach) but there are not any campgrounds, and very limited parking for a large coach. The better option would be to stay in Carmel, and take the toad.
Well, we drove the length of Hwy 1 from Pismo Beach to Carmel in our 45 towing a car, nobody bothered us, and realistically, there were only about 5 hairpin turns that required me to use the opposite lane.
Better only do it when traffic is light. I think we saw maybe 15 oncoming cars in a 2 hour period. It was a weekday in February or March I think.
Sometimes you just have to do stuff to prove you can!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Petervs
Your very lucky that the Highway Patrol was not one of those 15 cars, not only is that road sporting, it is also quite illegal for a 45.......
John
I am pretty sure the sign said the road was not recommended for large vehicles, or some such wording. It was a yellow cautionary sign, and I did not take it as an absolute hard law. Is California going to give tickets to out of stater visitors and wreck the tourism business there? I doubt it. I think the Highway patrol has bigger fish to fry.
Now, had i made an accident, it might well be different.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Petervs
Peter,
The short answer to your question, YES, ABSOLUTELY or SI, if you prefer!
Here's Your Sign..........Attachment 4939
You may find these two links helpful to your pocketbook next time you pass thru California.
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/tr...motorhomes.htm
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/tr...45-bus-map.htm
Someone on another thread was mentioning Olema in the Redwoods, looks like that one too is not available for 45's.
John
OK so begins my life of crime then.
I also drove all over California before they passed all those laws in 2001 and 45 foot motorhomes were completely against the law back then.
I would drive the route again even knowing what you have told me here.
And I stand by my comment that the Highway patrol will not start killing the tourism business, and that they have better things to do. Plus, I bet most of them can't tell at a glance it the coach is 40 or 45 feet. They would have to have pulled you over for something else first.
Peter,
Please do not take my remarks as a personal affront however, my advice is sage! First, the California Highway Patrol does not care how many times you will be stopping at Denny's, how much money you plan on spending at Disneyland or if you will ever have the opportunity to see the Redwoods; their mandate is to enforce the laws of the State, with particular emphasis on the vehicle code and motor vehicle safety. You mentioned that you only got into the opposite lane of traffic five times, that should have been your clue. Also remember that driving on these roads is considered a moving violation that can impact your insurance rates, drivers license renewal not to mention the fine itself, far greater than being stopped for overlength on I-10. Hope that it is a cruiser that stops you because California also has a large fleet of DOT Highway Patrolmen that motivate around in utility vans and trucks, equipped with all of the lights, sirens, and black and white paint....they can and will make your life miserable if prevoked.
I will close out on this one with a quote..
"Ignorantia juris non excusat or Ignorantia legis neminem excusat (Latin for "ignorance of the law does not excuse" or "ignorance of the law excuses no one") is a legal principle holding that a person who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for violating that law merely because he or she was unaware of its content."
I'm amazed at the number of non California resident POG members spouting off on what's good or bad conduct to use when visiting our state. On the above question, it's one of safety first. You are not allowed to cross the double yellow line morraly or by law. Antics like that will get you and others killed. There are many roads in California that cannot be brought up to freeway status. The mountainous terrain dictates what degree these roads can be advanced to. Come here and enjoy yourselves. View the beauty, obey the law and we'll pay the taxes. We will do the same for you when we are guests of your states. Thanks for your considerations.
Harry,
Well said. If I'm ever in the neighborhood, you can bet I'll be paying close attention to the local regs.
Once upon a time, in a career far, far away, I was the traffic engineer for our city, and was a member of our State Safety Council.
Traffic warning signs are there for a purpose...... 'cause without them somebody's butt is probably on the line. It usually pays to pay attention to them. :eek:
And, technically (and legally), there's a difference between a warning sign and a regulatory sign..... but that's another story for another time.
Personally, I find it's much easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble. :)
Just for what it's worth make sure plates on your tow car are the same as are on the bus. (Same State) They are still looking for the Montana LLC deal. They have people in RV parks looking for them and then turn ya in to the CHP:mad:
We just returned from the Napa Valley and Monterey/Carmel. We stayed at the Monterey County Fair. It is basically a parking lot but is a very clean, shaded, safe atmosphere. The gates were locked after 6 with a gate code. You are near an airport so did hear planes periodically from 6am-10pm. Easy access to Carmel, Pebble Beach and the attractions in Monterey. Stokes Restaurant in Monterey was outstanding!
In Napa we stayed at the Napa County Expo Center. It was a quiet, nice area with paved sites and grass patios. It looked like the best of the sites we saw in the Napa/Sonoma area. The Napa Wine Train was a fun excursion with great food. We traveled from Napa south to Monterey on parts of 101 as well as 15 miles on Highway 1. We did not have any problems on our trip.
We did keep the speed under 60 as it is posted 55 for towing. We followed the recommendations in the Rand McNally Motor Carriers Atlas.
To all you Californians--we loved your state! The drive was beautiful!
Carla and Neal
I probably spent half my early 20's traveling Hwy 1 back and forth to Big Sur from Santa Barbara. Great beautiful sceneary , one of a kind , cold cold rivers, and amazing sunrises and sunsets over the mountains and oceans. A different world.
The flip side of all of that is some terrible car accidents, road closures due to landslides and construction, and lots of CHP. \
One last side note, there is camping but not for large RV's and very few places to pull off and fewer areas to turn around.
From the Monterey side, you can travel probably to Big Sur with fairly good roads but from Big Sur to say San Simeon it is trouble.
Our youngest son just finished his fresh year at Cal Poly SLO so we have toured the area in a car. Spectacular scenery for sure. Can't wait to take the bus out there.
First time we drove 1 from Morro to Carmel, it was a complete whiteout fog bank on the ocean side of the road and clear blue skies on the east side. Unreal - never saw much of anything.
We lived in SLO for a few years, had two large projects, one in LA and the other in SF. decided to live half way between, really enjoyed SLO great spot, close to the water, the hills, walking the beach in Morro Bay, quiet and very easy to slip into SLO time. Thursday evenings is the street festival, lots of fun, ribs are the best. We will be staying here this trip, will be looking for a place to hang out for a week or two. Carmel the same, we really enjoy the atmosphere, walking the beach etc. Carmel had one of the best Japanese restaurants we have ever eaton at.
John, thanks for those links. Interesting reading. I've had a friend who has denied that you need a CA Class B license to drive a 45 foot motorhome. Your links spell it out very clearly. (that's for CA residents)
Ray
SLO is a great place! We really like that area a lot. Great town to walk everywhere, access to the coast, great weather... this past March we climbed up the famous peak on the west side of town and had a great view.Quote:
Originally Posted by 0533
As long as folks are talking about San Luis Obispo thought that I would mention that 12 miles South on the 101 is Pismo Beach which is probably the best place to stay while in the area. I would probably advise Pismo Coast Village which is quite nice although during the high season (now) they tend to be a bit proud of the place. Morro Bay, to the West of SLO, is charming but tends to be cold and foggy and the RV facilities are well populated with x school busses, macrame curtains, unkept beards and people smoking funny smelling cigarettes...not that any of that is all bad :D
Eateries...... First of all, this area is famous for clams...don't bother, they were fished out years ago and everything either comes in frozen from Washington State or in cans from Taiwan. Try McLintocks in AG (Arroyo Grande), full menu, there are other McLintoks are very good but they are on the tourista route and not only offer higher prices but poorer menus and service...you will not be disappointed. Then there is Jocko's Steak House in Nipomo, about 10 miles South of PB....if your into huge steaks with baked potatoes slathered up with all of the fixins, this is your place. PB is loaded with restaurants as well, Moe's Barbacue is one of my personal favorites and an easy walk from Pismo Coast. Breakfast, hands down either Margies (just off the 101) on the road to Morro Bay) or the Spirit of San Luis at, yes believe it, the SLO airport.
Must See....Sunset from the second floor bar at the Sea Venture Resort in PB. Don't be surprised in here, I have run into Ernest Borgnine, Jethro Bodine (Max Baer), Sally Field and several others...popular spot and a great Tapa Grill. Bubblegum wall in SLO, kind of disgusting but worth the look. The Morros, volcanic cones believe there are five in toto, the largest being in Morro Bay. Avila Beach, half way between PB and SLO with a cutsie little overpriced "public" campground...however the views are to die for! Avoid the temptation to eat at the restaurant on the pier, rather try Fat Cats just prior.
No, I don't work for the chamber of commerce and I apoligize if this was too verbose however I do speak from experience as I have lived the last 11 years in the area. My past life included growing grapes in Napa Valley and I can proffer advice on that one as well but that will be b request only.
John
John, please tell us about growing grapes in the Napa Valley;)
:) JIM
Hi John. I spent one summer at Cal Poly in SLO in '69. and I enjoyed the small town feeling. My daughter recently spent several years at Cal Poly as well and came away with a great appreciation for Country Music.
There is also the Madonna Inn in SLO which is kind of unique and famous as a stop off for lunch or dinner. Very different.
Have eaten at McClintocks and Moe's in PB. Big Sky in SLO is very good for a "California" lunch and Taco Temple in Morro Bay is my favorite so far in the area. Mexican / seafood fusion with huge portions. Building is some type of old fast food joint in a parking lot, but not to be missed.Quote:
Originally Posted by flyu2there
Will check out the park you are talking about in PB John - thanks for the reference.