Miles or hours to drive in a day

[hamerjk]

Ok We are planing a trips to Mount Rushmore this late spring. I always been a person who likes to drive till dark in the car. I know I will not be able to do this in our new motorhome with our pups coming with us. It is about 1200 miles we will be traveling one way. I was thinking about 450 miles a day. Not sure if that is a lot or should I do less miles? I am kinda figuring it will take about 2 1/2 days to get to our spot to camp. I am thinking I will be driving about 60 - 65 mph depends on how it handles or should at how I feel driving. Just curious on what is a good distance to cover in a day. All help is appreciated and thank you. Jack

[jbrnigan]

We're retired so this might not fit for you......we drivie 6 (+/-) hrs a day or 300 (+/-) miles whichever comes first. We avoid freeways whenever practical. We enjoy the journey as much as the destination, both ways.

[SloPoke]

For us... there are a number of variables that come into this decision.

Night: Driving at night means that we are going to encounter deer, elk and other significant hazards that are hard to see. Our trip last year across I80 East - we encountered more than 200 deer (not an exaggeration) that were on the shoulder of the Interstate.
We avoid dusk/dark as a last resort to get where we will stay for the night.

Dogs: We have three, they like to pee. Nearly every stop we make is longer to take them to potty. Truck stops are disgusting places for dogs, we try to make a secondary stop after fueling to the closest city park to let the dogs potty. This adds at least 20min to every stop.

TOAD: If you are pulling a Toad, you will undoubtedly want to check the straps/chains along the way, Even if it is on a dolly or trailer. We make one dedicated trailer check in the first 20 miles.

Driver: How comfortable are you in that drivers seat for long distances? Our Seneca is amazing, but my butt still wants a rest every now and then. We try to space the other stops we make out so that the driver gets a stretch break, but sometimes the butt dictates an earlier stop... all these stops impact the number of miles, and darkness dictates the hard stop.

Handling / Speed: Our Seneca is real comfortable at 70-75 on a smooth interstate, We try to avoid the Interstates and take the scenic backcountry by-ways where possible. Most of those have 65 limits and we don't exceed them. If we have a strong headwind, that does not affect us much.

So how do we average ??? We usually will make 350-miles or 6 driving hours a typical travel day's plan (give or take a little) and settle into our spot for the night before it is totally dark.

[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.

[Camper_bob]

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

The 50 mph rule has held for us since we started our RV journey with the TT. I thought I could outsmart it with the MH, but that's not turned out to be the case. I even thought since we lost our pup in March last year, things would be "faster"; nope. When we're planning a long trip, I figure 50 mph for the total long-term average, and it's always been right at that for actual. We try to set a "hard" limit of 600 miles in a day (12 hrs). I can do that for 2 days before I have to take a break. And lest I forget my family who is cooped up in the rig with me (but that's one of the primary reasons we have a MH now instead of a TT, and it helps).

For multi-day journeys, I will do 2 days of driving, and one day at an "interim" destination. This is usually somewhere along the way where I figure we can spend a day exploring a new area. On OUR trip to Rushmore, our interim destinations were North Platte, NE (Scout's Rest Ranch, Golden Spike at Union Pacific, a few other things) on our way up, and Hutchinson, KS (Cosmosphere, Strataca Salt Mine, etc) on our way back home. I try to make this within an easy day's drive to our final destination if I can. Just depends on what's around.

There's ALWAYS something to do pretty much wherever you go. For that trip, I found the stuff to do in North Platte, DW found the stuff in Hutchinson. We were VERY pleasantly surprised and had a FANTASTIC time in those cities. They were PERFECT "bookend" destinations for that trip.

I also found a couple stops to break up the monotony of the driving days. We stopped at "Carhenge" in Nebraska one day (where we made sandwiches in the camper and walked the grounds marveling at the old cars arranged exactly like Stone Henge), and we stopped to see the "World's Largest Ball of Twine" in Kansas. Both of those were interesting stops, and served well to break up the trip a bit.

For the trip home, I'll usually leave the last day as the longest travel day and try to get home quick. The quicker I get home, the more time I have to recover before I have to go back to work. On that Rushmore trip, I logged over 14 hours of seat time on the last leg home, and was TOTALLY blown after. But it gave me an entire day to recover before getting back to the office.

That's just how we do it, you have to find your own rhythm that makes you and the family comfortable and happy. That's what it's all about after all.

[JFlightRisk]

We drive until we decide to find a campground, leaving enough time to get hooked up and cook something for dinner before dark. The stops for the dog, and us, tend to take up 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how quickly the pooch does his thing. I agree with the 50 mph average speed. It's always spot on when I check the GPS. Most of the time, we end up traveling about 300 miles a day. Your results may vary, depending on how early in the day you start out.

[EA37TS]

Over the past 10 years we have always set an average of 300 - 350 miles per day and being parked before dark. Early on we had a couple instances of an RV GPS taking us down a couple of flaky streets after dark and it wasn't enjoyable.

Also, my knees require that I get out and stretch for a few minutes about every hour or two at the longest.

I find that if my speed is 60 - 62 MPH my average driving distance for planning purposes is 50 - 52 MPH.

[hamerjk]

Originally Posted by jbrnigan

We're retired so this might not fit for you......we drivie 6 (+/-) hrs a day or 300 (+/-) miles whichever comes first. We avoid freeways whenever practical. We enjoy the journey as much as the destination, both ways.

So are we retired so I am just trying to sit back a little and enjoy the ride. Thank you for your information

[hamerjk]

Originally Posted by SloPoke

For us... there are a number of variables that come into this decision.

Night: Driving at night means that we are going to encounter deer, elk and other significant hazards that are hard to see. Our trip last year across I80 East - we encountered more than 200 deer (not an exaggeration) that were on the shoulder of the Interstate.
We avoid dusk/dark as a last resort to get where we will stay for the night.

Dogs: We have three, they like to pee. Nearly every stop we make is longer to take them to potty. Truck stops are disgusting places for dogs, we try to make a secondary stop after fueling to the closest city park to let the dogs potty. This adds at least 20min to every stop.

TOAD: If you are pulling a Toad, you will undoubtedly want to check the straps/chains along the way, Even if it is on a dolly or trailer. We make one dedicated trailer check in the first 20 miles.

Driver: How comfortable are you in that drivers seat for long distances? Our Seneca is amazing, but my butt still wants a rest every now and then. We try to space the other stops we make out so that the driver gets a stretch break, but sometimes the butt dictates an earlier stop... all these stops impact the number of miles, and darkness dictates the hard stop.

Handling / Speed: Our Seneca is real comfortable at 70-75 on a smooth interstate, We try to avoid the Interstates and take the scenic backcountry by-ways where possible. Most of those have 65 limits and we don't exceed them. If we have a strong headwind, that does not affect us much.

So how do we average ??? We usually will make 350-miles or 6 driving hours a typical travel day's plan (give or take a little) and settle into our spot for the night before it is totally dark.

I was also not planning to drive in the dark. I want to find a place to camp and relax a little and get up early and get back on the road again. Thanks for the information.

[hamerjk]

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.

Thanks for the input it all is helpful and I know it will be different for everyone but makes it somewhat helpful for me to understand what others do and for their reason why. Love the input and I really didn't expect to many responses to this topic.

[hamerjk]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

+1

The 50 mph rule has held for us since we started our RV journey with the TT. I thought I could outsmart it with the MH, but that's not turned out to be the case. I even thought since we lost our pup in March last year, things would be "faster"; nope. When we're planning a long trip, I figure 50 mph for the total long-term average, and it's always been right at that for actual. We try to set a "hard" limit of 600 miles in a day (12 hrs). I can do that for 2 days before I have to take a break. And lest I forget my family who is cooped up in the rig with me (but that's one of the primary reasons we have a MH now instead of a TT, and it helps).

For multi-day journeys, I will do 2 days of driving, and one day at an "interim" destination. This is usually somewhere along the way where I figure we can spend a day exploring a new area. On OUR trip to Rushmore, our interim destinations were North Platte, NE (Scout's Rest Ranch, Golden Spike at Union Pacific, a few other things) on our way up, and Hutchinson, KS (Cosmosphere, Strataca Salt Mine, etc) on our way back home. I try to make this within an easy day's drive to our final destination if I can. Just depends on what's around.

There's ALWAYS something to do pretty much wherever you go. For that trip, I found the stuff to do in North Platte, DW found the stuff in Hutchinson. We were VERY pleasantly surprised and had a FANTASTIC time in those cities. They were PERFECT "bookend" destinations for that trip.

I also found a couple stops to break up the monotony of the driving days. We stopped at "Carhenge" in Nebraska one day (where we made sandwiches in the camper and walked the grounds marveling at the old cars arranged exactly like Stone Henge), and we stopped to see the "World's Largest Ball of Twine" in Kansas. Both of those were interesting stops, and served well to break up the trip a bit.

For the trip home, I'll usually leave the last day as the longest travel day and try to get home quick. The quicker I get home, the more time I have to recover before I have to go back to work. On that Rushmore trip, I logged over 14 hours of seat time on the last leg home, and was TOTALLY blown after. But it gave me an entire day to recover before getting back to the office.

That's just how we do it, you have to find your own rhythm that makes you and the family comfortable and happy. That's what it's all about after all.

Thank you for your input and help. I do appreciate all the Great suggestions and response I am getting. Maybe we will meet on the road someday....

[Docsouce]

We're retired too. So our travel method is much different than folks with limited free time available. We live on the east coast so to escape the heavy traffic madness we put on 300 to 350 miles on the interstates for 2 days . After that we are on the back roads. My daily run is between 175 to 225 miles. Usually start early , break every 2 hours for the pups or if we find something interesting to do or see. I like to plan my next campground the night before then reach our campground between 1and 2pm. Get set up, kick back, cook up dinner early, plan our next days campground,then break out a good book, On the last leg home we repeat that 300/350 mile day outbound routine.

[hamerjk]

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

We drive until we decide to find a campground, leaving enough time to get hooked up and cook something for dinner before dark. The stops for the dog, and us, tend to take up 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how quickly the pooch does his thing. I agree with the 50 mph average speed. It's always spot on when I check the GPS. Most of the time, we end up traveling about 300 miles a day. Your results may vary, depending on how early in the day you start out.

Thank you for your Great input and help. This is a lot better information than I hoped for.

[hamerjk]

Originally Posted by EA37TS

Over the past 10 years we have always set an average of 300 - 350 miles per day and being parked before dark. Early on we had a couple instances of an RV GPS taking us down a couple of flaky streets after dark and it wasn't enjoyable.

Also, my knees require that I get out and stretch for a few minutes about every hour or two at the longest.

I find that if my speed is 60 - 62 MPH my average driving distance for planning purposes is 50 - 52 MPH.

Thank you for your input everyone do things differently. I hope I find the right combination for us to make it a safe and memorable journey.

[JFlightRisk]

You're very welcome. I'm pretty sure you'll get some more responses from folks.

[Siamese]

We're happy with 300 to 350 miles per day towing our 26BH travel trailer.

We live in Muskegon, Michigan and for a part of the year, we store our trailer 700 miles away in Cullman, Alabama. Going down to Cullman without the trailer, we'll do the entire 700 miles in one day. Bringing the trailer home, we'll break the trip up into two days of 350 miles each, staying overnight at a Walmart or a Pilot gas station.

Sure, we could do more, but what for? Experience says take it easy, and be safe.

[hamerjk]

Originally Posted by Docsouce

We're retired too. So our travel method is much different than folks with limited free time available. We live on the east coast so to escape the heavy traffic madness we put on 300 to 350 miles on the interstates for 2 days . After that we are on the back roads. My daily run is between 175 to 225 miles. Usually start early , break every 2 hours for the pups or if we find something interesting to do or see. I like to plan my next campground the night before then reach our campground between 1and 2pm. Get set up, kick back, cook up dinner early, plan our next days campground,then break out a good book, On the last leg home we repeat that 300/350 mile day outbound routine.

Thank you for the help and information. I am taking a little longer route to avoid Chicago. I do not want to be caught up in that traffic first time driving my mh through a big city till I have some more experience. I think it is like an extra 200 miles which is ok to avoid some nerve-racking experience.

[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.

[DocBrown]

When I was younger I did a few all night drives and lots of 15 hour days. The last one I did was from Milwaukee to Gatlinburg four years ago towing the trailer. I was already well into my 50s by then. That's the last long towing trip we will do until I retire. I'm too old for that non-sense now. When I retire then I can drive for much shorter distances.

My dad was an OTR truck driver when I was a kid. The first time we took our trailer on a long trip he told me, much like the 50 mph rule, to plan 100 miles of travel for every 2 hours of trip time. This includes stops. He was right on the money.

[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!