Miles or hours to drive in a day

[hamerjk]

Originally Posted by JimD

Wow! You guys drive a lot of miles in a single day. When planning I always thought 300 miles looked good on paper. When actually driving things change.

Traffic, long boring roads, weather, alien spacecraft (just kidding). It all wears on you. I have yet to drive my rig on an extended trip. So far all of mine have been within 200-250 miles within Southern California.

But, my question to all is....How many have spouses, or significant others, that will share the driving duties with you. For me my wife is passenger only. Her role is to sit there and criticize my driving.

Well mine said she wants to drive b-----ut I have a feeling like when we travel to Florida I will be driving all the time. Thanks for your input and help.

[hamerjk]

Originally Posted by Bookemdanno

I wish that I had the flexibility of those of you that are retired! I envy y'all! I typically leave early in the morning (between 4-6 am) and drive until about 3/4 pm. That usually means driving for about 10/11/12 hours. I'm usually the 1st to go to bed on those nights...usually no later than 9 p.m. For me it's about the destination....eventually I'll catch up to you retirees and it'll change to the journey! We currently travel with 2 teenage daughters and a dog. Sounds like a great trip and you should do a write up when complete!

Thank you and on the note of retirement it is my 2nd year at it is FANTASTIC...... I did and may still travel longer times on the road. I got up at 6:00 am to take off myself but the other half did not want to leave that early. Now I have a hard time to get her out at 8:00am. I am not a writer by all means, but still am looking forward to see some of the Great country and landmarks we have while I can.

[RAurand]

Originally Posted by JimD

But, my question to all is....How many have spouses, or significant others, that will share the driving duties with you. For me my wife is passenger only. Her role is to sit there and criticize my driving.

My wife is willing to drive if necessary.....BUT..... She prefers I drive when pulling the wagon. Wife don't criticize....SHE SLEEPS!

[Kim Gass]

We have done 700 miles. It was the final day and home waited. It was in a snowstorm no less. Winchester VA to our place in Maine
Not recommended even when we had two drivers. It was a 16 hour day.

The 50 mph planning rule works well. Depending on where we want to get to the days vary from 250 to 450 miles. I am not a fan of after dark driving as we are older ( he won't admit to this but he is ok with getting off before sunset to hook up)

[Jopopsy]

We once drove straight through - Orlando to central NJ.

In the motorhome.

I will never, EVER, do that again. Unless its like the zombie apocalypse or something.

[CAG]

There are a number of conditions that determine driving distance and/or time.
1. Weather: Wind, rain or snow can cut down on how far you want to try.
2. Traffic conditions: Weekends and holidays are generally the pits.
3. Day or Night: Location, location, location. In the middle of thick forests, mountain roads and hills mean deer, elk, and other road hazards including side road traffic and farm traffic.
4. Time of year: It gets dark early during spring, winter and fall. Plan to be off the road before dark if possible.

Take some time and plan out your route and when you get tired, or have trouble concentrating on what is happening around you stop.

[eeek]

I generally plan 400 or 4pm. I either hit 400 or I am finding a place to overnight at 4pm.

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by JimD

Wow! You guys drive a lot of miles in a single day.

I wondered about that too, with the long miles people drive. It seems like they spend days sitting behind the steering wheel, instead of having fun.

Traffic, long boring roads, weather, alien spacecraft (just kidding). It all wears on you. I have yet to drive my rig on an extended trip. So far all of mine have been within 200-250 miles within Southern California.

I agree.

I plan our trips so we play leapfrog through an area, stopping to check out local tourist attractions along the way, instead of seeing them pass by at 60 mph. We run maybe 2 hrs. at most, before the next stop to sightsee.

We'll hit 2 or 3 places in a day, then roll into the campground in the afternoon, and set up. Next morning, on to visit more places, and NOT spend long hours behind the wheel.

[RPR]

We usually do 300 miles. We stopped getting in a hurry when we retired. When planning trips we have always found things along the way that look interesting to stop and see during the day or a leisurely lunch at some scenic pull over.

[GHen]

We just did 3000 miles in February pulling the 5th wheel.
7 hours was our longest day (425 miles) then we would do 4-5 hours then back to a 7 again. No night driving for us, even on the most boring routes, there is still a lot of stuff to see to make the trip enjoyable especially see the deer and antelope in the fields, and not on our bumper.

[Xboaters]

Originally Posted by JimD

Wow! You guys drive a lot of miles in a single day. When planning I always thought 300 miles looked good on paper. When actually driving things change.

Traffic, long boring roads, weather, alien spacecraft (just kidding). It all wears on you. I have yet to drive my rig on an extended trip. So far all of mine have been within 200-250 miles within Southern California.

But, my question to all is....How many have spouses, or significant others, that will share the driving duties with you. For me my wife is passenger only. Her role is to sit there and criticize my driving.

Bwaaaahaaahaahaaa!

[JFlightRisk]

My DW is the co-pilot. She watches for large critters, and crazy drivers. She will sometimes criticize my driving, or the occasional variance of direction. I would tell her it's a shortcut...that worked once...

[FYIB]

After reading all these I guess I'm crazy, or I guess I'm probably a lot younger then the average RV'er, or a little of both. There is a bunch or really good advice that has been given here, but the best is do what is comfortable for you. And that will change over time. I remember the first few trips I was very uneasy driving a 40+ motorhome, but honestly it was more the the width then the length that bothered me at first. Now I feel about as comfortable as driving my pickup truck.

My family typically drives somewhere between 300-600 miles a day. 300 when we are stopping to see stuff and the 600 when we are trying to get somewhere. I have been averaging about 17K miles a year, so nothing crazy but do go and explore. We do a bunch of trips in Florida, Louisiana, Alabama shores in the spring, lots of trips to the southwest in the fall, and spend the summers in Colorado and Wyoming as I'm from Denver.

I will agree somewhat to the 50 miles average on the coasts and mountains but not in the central US. When I drive in the middle of the US I average 75 not 50. I've done the drive from Denver to Kansas City or Denver to Dallas and really never was below 75 during the trip. And done these trips several times. In fact, why I say I guess I'm crazy is this week I'm headed to Fort Wilderness and in two days (50 hours) we will drive 1850 miles and this is the third or forth time we have done it. Our first track will be right at the 600 mile mark from Denver to Kansas City. I will average 75 the whole trip outside of some unexplained events (I-70 closes, Coronavirus kills me). That will take me 8 hours not 12. I will add 30 mins to fill up in mid Kansas and another 30 mins to eat, but the 4-5 times I've done the trip it's been at the 9 hours. And I've done the route between Dallas and Denver 4-5 times with same results (speed not time).

I guess the point to my story is there are so many variables and do what feels comfortable to you. I have a Seneca so I'm on a air ride suspension and I made my wife drive and feel comfortable driving. She doesn't drive in the mountains or in the cities, but everywhere else she is good to go. So 8 hours of driving we typically do 2 on and 2 off. Spending half the 8 hours reclined on the couch watching the iPad, sat TV, or playing with my 5 year old makes the trip go really fast. But that being said if I was in a truck pulling a rig there is no way I could do these long of trips.

This forum provides just an amazing amount of knowledge that I'm forever thankful for.

[Camper_bob]

My wife will drive if she needs to. But not anything like my marathon days. I can maybe get 2-3 hours out of her. However long it takes to run the tank down to 1/2 I guess. I like to keep the tank no less than 1/2 if I can swing it, but when I get down to 1/3 I'm itching for a fuel stop. Not because I need it, but because I always want some reserve for the generator if I need to run it. Back when we towed the trailer, I'd haul 10 gallons of spare fuel in Gerry cans in the truck, which saved my bacon at least once... A little harder to haul extra fuel in the MH...

No, DW spends most of her time as "support staff" for me and DS; that and sleeping. She's in charge of refilling drinks, making sandwiches, switching out movies, playing games, laying down for naps, hitting the store for whatnots, fixing snacks, etc. I'm in charge of getting us where we need to go. It's not that she's incapable, but more like I'm more comfortable in the pilot's seat. It's where my strength is, and where I'm most valuable to the team.

On those REALLY long days, I'll make her take a shift and try to get some rack time. Usually doesn't work very well because I have a tough time sleeping while someone else is driving...

Another good point; if you're running the generator in transit (which we often do in Texas where it's HOT), your avg mileage will suffer a little. If you have a vehicle in tow, that's a little worse fuel mileage. If it were just me and the rig trying to log miles, I could probably do 700 miles in a day fairly easily. I'd only stop for fuel and food (and likely combine that stop). Plus I would be running "light" without a toad or full tanks or much gear. Running light like that, I can average a much higher speed. But I never travel that way, I'm always "hauling heavy" with the fam, gear, full water tank, and Jeep in tow. My DRIVING average speed is something like 65-70. That still equates to 50 over the course of an entire day.

Can't wait until we retire and I've got time to pull an easy 300 miles a day and see the sights to be seen in transit. In the meantime, we're trying to get somewhere, so we're boogieing on down the road at as fast a clip as I can manage safely.

[GHen]

We had a couple of motor homes and totally agree. With team driving, ability to walk around, take naps etc. it was a lot easier to drive 10+ hours. We also had a lot more confidence driving in the snow, or at least risking a trip over a pass with the potential of snow.
With a 5r, we change routes if there is a hint of snow and I do all the driving. 4-7 hours is my max as the only driver. That many hours could be as much as 450 miles on the open road or 45 miles in LA traffic, lol.

[michael.g]

1200 miles is a lot in one day. I've done it before, but not with a motor home. The most I have driven the motor home is 900 miles in 1 day (Southeastern GA to Central PA). A handful of times a year we have driven almost 800 miles in one day to visit family.

I wouldn't plan on driving that many miles for a first time road trip in the motor home, especially if you are unfamiliar with the route you will be taking. Take your time and get to know how it handles. Our Greyhawk handled great and I could drive with one hand, sometimes just a couple fingers, but I have heard lots of horror stories about handling in a motor home.

We are not retired. Unless we are going somewhere that has lots to see and do along the way, we usually just drive straight through. Almost every trip we take, it is about the destination. Looking forward to retirement so we can start enjoying the journey. I love to drive, but it is nice to stop and smell the roses.

Enjoy your trip and drive safe.

-Michael

[Trapper2020]

Originally Posted by RAurand

When I drove big trucks, I always figured a speed of 50 - 55 MPH. No matter how far I was driving or the speed limits on the interstates, the time came out very close. Today, now that I am older, driving 10 - 12 hours is enough for 1 day and/ or 500 - 600 miles.

But everyone is different. You need to set the pace for what you are comfortable with.

+1
Been retired for a few years but always liked to drive and spend my time in the locations we were headed for. No longer like driving at night so we do not. I’m a morning person so we are usually on the road by 8am and I will and do drive till dark. I do not set a miles per day or hours. We set the cruise at 62 mph and let the faster traffic easily pass us. Do not like forcing trucks to take miles to get past us at higher speed. That’s just me not the norm. Also we did a lot to improve the steering and ride of our class c so it is not stressful in high wind or traffic situations. Roadmaster steering stabilizer, sumo springs, and helwig anti sway bar in front end. Drive what works for you. Get there safe. Take care.


Enjoy the journey

[Mulket]

450 miles should be very doable pending on road conditions and weather

[cekkk]

Back in the fifties and sixties my father was a traveling salesman salesman selling black and white and later color television sets wholesale to dealers. he advised me then that I could not expect to do better than average 50 miles per hour. And now 70 years later with 400 horsepower engines and high speed tires and interstate highways everywhere we can average 50 miles an hour if we push it

[Jack2014]

We're retired 10 years and have been making annual trips to Florida (1200+mi.) almost every year. We tow a large TT and stick to 55 mph on interstates. We only do 250-300 mi./day and stop every 150 or so for gas and for the dog to get out. This winds up being 5-6 hours total and gives us plenty of daylight to set up & break camp, though we don't disconnect for overnight stays. Safe travels!