Taking Loonnnngggg Trips, Driving a really really long way Options

[DXSMac]

I've been RV'ing for three years, and the farest I have ever gone is a place where I took two days to get there, stayed awhile, then drove back. Basically, one state over, under, whatever, from my state.

I'm planning a REALLY REALLY long trip two states down (1200 miles) for Thanksgiving. I like to limit myself to 300 miles a day because I travel with a small pet, and I stop often for it's needs (let it out of crate, stretch legs, drink, etc.). So, this will take me four days to get there, stay about three days, and four days to get back.

What I want to know is..... how do people handle this? Is it like this:

Day 1: drive, find a place, stay
Day 2: get up, unhook, drive, find place, stay
Day 3: get up, unhook, drive, find place, stay
Day 4: Get up, unhook, drive, finally arrive

Or do you build in some..... "gotta take a rest by staying two days" time?

I'm anticipating that after the second day, I may need to make a "two day" stop just to rest, and then move on, both going and coming. I'm not sure I can handle driving the RV four days in a row.

I'm 51 and in generally good health. Just not sure how to handle a trip this long.

Opinions?

JJ

[Cheryl]

We usually only stop for fuel fill ups and the occasional bathroom break. My husband is fine with driving all day (he does all of the driving), stopping for some sleep (we leave the 5th wheel attached to the truck, plug into electric, and put out the slides) and getting up to drive some more to get to our destination. We aren't retired and only get a limited time for vacation. There are others on here that have no time restraints and do things differently. Only you can decide what your endurance levels are. Ask yourself how you felt after 2 days of driving. Were you ready to "drop" or did you feel "fine".

[Texasrvers]

I agree with Cheryl that only you can decide on your endurance level so you might try driving for 2 days and then see how you feel. If you're tired stay another night before heading out again. Personally we do not like to drive for more than 2 days without a break, but we have done it knowing that it will give us more time at our destination. But then what's the good of getting to your destination quickly if you are too tired to enjoy it? We also only like to drive about 300 mi per day. That is not very far for some folks, but it suits us fine. In the morning we can sleep in a little, have a nice breakfast, and then pack up. If we're just staying overnight I really try to get a pull through so we won't have to unhook the tow car. (We have a motorhome.) We generally get to our next stop by 4-5pm, have some time to relax, eat dinner, relax some more, and go to bed. We have seen people arrive late at night (after 10pm) and be off at 5-6 am. I'm sure they have a reason for traveling that way, but that would not be fun for us. We are retired and can usually be pretty flexible so if we get to a stop that is interesting we might stay a little longer than planned just to see the sights. Remember RVing is supposed to be fun, so whatever your schedule is, be sure you're enjoying it.

[DXSMac]

Good replies, I think for this first LOOONNNNNG trip, I wil l build in some "might want to take two days" time just to be safe.

One of these days I want to drive to PA to see the Flight 93 Memorial, and that will be cross country!

JJ

[rodeo2]

Good replies, I think for this first LOOONNNNNG trip, I wil l build in some "might want to take two days" time just to be safe.

One of these days I want to drive to PA to see the Flight 93 Memorial, and that will be cross country!

JJ

geez guys, whats wrong with 600 mi. one day, 600 the next. are we getting too old for that ?

[janmcn]

Your trip will depend on the roads and traffic. We like to drive about 250 miles a day, so our day is usually: on the road by 9, stops every hour or two (two usually), lunch is a stop (eat in the rig), and off the road by 3ish. However, sometimes, if the road is good, weather good, no traffic, etc. we'll haul a__ and make 400 or so with no problems. Weather, traffic, road conditions (esp. in Nov!) will make a diff. We usually build in a day or so of slack 'just in case' if we are on a deadline to get someplace.
We routinely do "long trips"...top to bottom of US or E-W USA. We're fulltimers.
Happy Tday...
Jan

[Texasrvers]

"geez guys, whats wrong with 600 mi. one day, 600 the next. are we getting too old for that ?"

YES!

[Lindsay Richards]

We recently drove from northern Maine to South Florida in 4 days due to a health problem with our daughter and I must admit, it nearly killed us. You said you were 51. We have 12 years on you and that make a big, big difference. We never made reservations in advance and just took everything as it came. We varied our stopping time as to how we felt. We “Wal-Marted” every other night. What we do that makes a big difference is leave early and stop for breakfast after an hour or so. That really breaks it up. We stopped for lunch in the motor home and always went for a good walk. Avoid big cities. The concentration required to drive a motor home is more than a car and you must stay alert. This makes long trips much harder. Good Luck.

[BBear]

I'm the type of person where I'm anxious to get someplace and so I'll try and get there as fast as I can...but then when it's time to head home, that's when I find myself not as thrilled and anxious and usually takes me twice as long to get home, because I find myself stopping more and driving less...so I at least keep a few days open to accommodate my taking a loooooong time to get home from a loooooooong trip!

[Jerry S.]

When I first read the initial post I was intrigued. First - by the the idea of a trip being 1200 miles through only 2 states. After checking a map, my guess is that you are going from Washington to southern California. This would mean 90% of your trip will be on I-5. For days 2 and 3, you can cruise along at 55-60 mph and only be spending 5-6 hours actually driving. If you leave by 9 AM every day and make 3-4 half hour rest stops, you will be stopping for the night at about 5 PM and have 300 miles behind you. This gives you an evening to relax and get a good night's sleep for the next 300. At almost 60, I can't imagine this being a physical strain on a healthy 51 year old.
Second - the mere fact that you asked this question makes me think we are talking more about emotional stress than physical strain. Are you taking this trip alone? All you have mentioned is "I" and pet. If so, and you lack the confidence to do 1200 miles in 4 days, take that extra day in the middle of the trip.

On the other hand, if you had said you were going 1200 miles in 3 days, I would have said take four.

Good luck and enjoy your Thanksgiving.

[RLM]

1200 miles in four days - times two. You won’t like the end result of four consecutive days of driving each way if you have to do it all yourself. At Thanksgiving time, the daylight is also going to be shorter.

I’m a 300 miler too, but on a long trip with specific destination, I always do 450-500 miles the first day. I also plan an extra do nothing day. Both give me a cushion in case of unanticipated delays. More than once, I’ve had to use the extra day to get to the destination.

Or you could just spend the fuel cost on a plane ticket and go in comfort.

RE: 600 miles. Let's see now. Average 60 mph, stop for fuel, bathroom, food, and finally set up in the dark. Perhaps two 13 hour days? Old yes, but wiser than that.

[gwbischoff]

1200 miles in four days - times two. You won’t like the end result of four consecutive days of driving each way if you have to do it all yourself. At Thanksgiving time, the daylight is also going to be shorter.

I’m a 300 miler too, but on a long trip with specific destination, I always do 450-500 miles the first day. I also plan an extra do nothing day. Both give me a cushion in case of unanticipated delays. More than once, I’ve had to use the extra day to get to the destination.

Or you could just spend the fuel cost on a plane ticket and go in comfort.

RE: 600 miles. Let's see now. Average 60 mph, stop for fuel, bathroom, food, and finally set up in the dark. Perhaps two 13 hour days? Old yes, but wiser than that.

Yeah, 600 miles???! Holy schnike!

That's *if* you can *average* 60mph? Have you ever tried to get out of LA on a Friday and average 60mph?

It took us an hour to get past Dodger Stadium the last trip and that's 11 miles away! Do the math on that one.

We just did a 2100 mile circle from LA to Moab, UT to Phoenix and back. Three hundred to 450 miles per day is plenty. I've never been a 'wing it' kinda' guy, when it comes to reservations. So I basically set a goal as to how far we were going to go on that day, used the reviews from this webpage, and made a reservation.

If you've gotta' be somewhere where you've got to do 600 miles a day, take a plane.

[DXSMac]

[/quote]
geez guys, whats wrong with 600 mi. one day, 600 the next. are we getting too old for that ?
[/quote]


You may be able to haul a__ for 600 miles in one day, but I cannot! At the age of 51, 400 is my limit and that is only if I don't have a pet along.

JJ

[DXSMac]

When I first read the initial post I was intrigued. First - by the the idea of a trip being 1200 miles through only 2 states. After checking a map, my guess is that you are going from Washington to southern California.

Yeppers. The states on the east are small, 1200 miles can get you through 8 states. We have BIG states in the West.

JJ

[DXSMac]

Are you taking this trip alone? All you have mentioned is "I" and pet. If so, and you lack the confidence to do 1200 miles in 4 days, take that extra day in the middle of the trip.

Yep. I'm a "solo." When I worked for a living (retired now), I made four cross country moves by myself during my career. (East to West, West to East) But all I had to do was drive a car, and stop at a hotel. That's easy! (plus, no pet at the time)

RV, well, a little more responsibility. Bigger vehicle. More to watch out for. And, I'm older. I have decided I am going to build in that extra day. I don't have a relief driver.

I was never nervous when I made the four cross country moves. But in an RV, I'M NERVOUS ABOUT IT! But I'm gonna do it!

JJ