QUOTE(gwbischoff @ Oct 19 2007, 09:44 AM) [snapback]8736[/snapback] QUOTE(Tom and Patty @ Oct 19 2007, 02:49 AM) [snapback]8730[/snapback] We travel back to St Louis from Fresno at least once a year. 1955 miles takes us two and one half days of driving. Our first day is usaully 800 to 900 miles, second is around 700 miles. I stop when I'm tired at a rest area. No one wants us to pull in beside them at 1:30 AM. We don't stop at campgrounds on any trip when we want to make time. 900 miles a day?!?! Are you flying one of the new Airbus A380's? How does that work out? 90 mph for 10 hours? Two drivers, 9 hours apiece averaging 50+mph? :blink: I have driven from DC to Spokane Washington in 4 days and have driven to Mesa AZ in 4 days. I have also driven 3 800 mile days in a row and it is tiring but doable. The most I have driven is 1100 miles in a day. I will get up at 4:30 am EST and start driving like a work day and stop at 8 at night and that will cover alot of miles. No different that me drivint to work sitting all day and then driving home. I stop and take breaks and average 50 mph in 16 hour you can cover alot of ground and in 12 hours you can cover 600 miles at an easy pace and if you push the average spped to 55 you can get up to 800 miles in a day with not many more hours. Now is this for everyone. NO. If I was retired I would cover 500 miles a day in and easy 10 hours and get across the country pretty easy with no pressure. I know my dad can drive 1000 miles in 2 days and he is 79. It is all what you are accustom too doing and how you drive. I can drive further in the MH than in my truck. It is easier to drive and easier to stop and take a break. 1200 miles is a short trip by many peoples standards and as you get accustom to it you will push further and further out. A round trip with sightseeing in it to WA from the east coast can hit close to 10,000 miles and alaska is another huge trip too.
QUOTE(gwbischoff @ Oct 26 2007, 10:40 AM) [snapback]8851[/snapback] Maybe it's just an LA thing. Getting out of LA is a nightmare. It took us an hour just to get passed Dodger Stadium one trip and that's 11 miles away. Do the math on that one. Coming back to LA is a nightmare, too. Our last trip back from Phoenix was great but I told my wife that I would rather drive the first 300 miles over again than the last 80. We left PHX at 7am and I had the cruise set at 65 the whole way until we hit the Palm Springs area. Suffice it to say, we didn't end up averaging 50mph. That's why I'm amazed by the 900 miles claims. I drove from my former home in NJ to Michigan City, IN (~700mi) solo in my car, that's my personal record. Traffic in and around major cities alone should be enough to knock anyone's average speed down. DC is tough too so I leave after work late and go to just outside the traffic gridlock and then get up at 4:30 am to start driving.
Pre RV days we always drove from 600 to 900 miles a day. The only exception was a cross-country transfer from Ventura County to Washington D.C. We convoyed both cars and only drove the minimum required 300 miles per day. We bought our RV last year specifically to facilitate taking our mutts with us on a cross-country trip planned long before we became dog slaves. When I planned the trip, we initially had 2 deadlines 1) to be in San Diego on Easter Sunday and 2) to be in Lake Tahoe April 24th. I planned on driving 500 miles per day. Fortunately, when I did the initial planning I plugged in extra days to tool around Northern Arizona and Southern California. Those extra days permitted us to make radical changes in our itinerary. A last minute equipment addition to our TT and an unscheduled, but long awaited removal and replacement by a landscaper of a full sized palm tree that had died resulted in a 6 hour late departure. We made it 200 miles that day and HAD to stop (our first Flying J experience). The next day we drove appx 450 miles before calling it a day at our first RV park. Day 3 we made close to 600 miles before stopping at a truck stop. Late in the afternoon on day 4 we pulled into an RV park outside of Big Bend…another long day on the road. That evening DW, who does most of the driving, implemented a new rule…8x4 (8 hours or 400 miles whatever comes first). Until the last leg of the trip, scheduled stops and driving time in-between equated to a day on the road and at least 2 days in layovers. An unexpected Dr.’s appointment resulted in a forced march from the Little Big Horn back to Jacksonville, FL. 4 long days later we were home. As a result we have adopted another guideline; no more than 2 straight days of driving followed by at least one brain dump day. Our 3 on the road rules are: 1: 8x4 2: 2x1 3: Bowing without question to one another’s stated desire to stop at some of those absolutely silly roadside tourist attractions; e. g. Molly’s Doll Museum and Jack Daniels Distillery.
QUOTE(Joe-n-Doe @ Oct 31 2007, 02:56 PM) [snapback]8958[/snapback] Our 3 on the road rules are: 1: 8x4 2: 2x1 3: Bowing without question to one another’s stated desire to stop at some of those absolutely silly roadside tourist attractions; e. g. Molly’s Doll Museum and Jack Daniels Distillery. I like that. Since this is my first time driving the RV that far, I will start with a "guideline" and see how I feel, and if I can modify it. Mine will be: 1. 8 X 3 (may modify to 8X4, see how my cat tolerates it.) 2. 2 X 1 (I think this is a good rule!!!) 3. stop at an occasional rest stop to let the cat stretch it's legs JJ
Hi, I have often traveled alone in my RV so my rules are 50 miles, stop and do a walk around the RV, next 50 stop for a coffee (which I often have in a thermos). 50 more and lunch. In the afternoon 50 and walk around, 50 for coffee, 50 stop at a rest area and check my email and check for local boondocking and/or inexpensive campgrounds. My "hard and fast" rule is "always fill up the fuel tank" before I camp for the night. That way if I wake up early I can quietly and quickly "get down the road". Rarely do I eat out on these trips as I prefer my own home cooking. So far the longest day was Cheyenne, WY to Regina, SK about 1192 kilometers (741 miles for those who are metrically challenged)
QUOTE(John S. @ Oct 29 2007, 11:38 PM) [snapback]8921[/snapback] DC is tough too so I leave after work late and go to just outside the traffic gridlock and then get up at 4:30 am to start driving. I agree DC is tough. Depending on which direction you're going to or coming from if you want to alleviate a lot of the DC area if you're coming from PA/MD area, you might want to try taking (if you're going south) I-81 to I-66 to Rt. 17 and then that connects back onto I-95 south around Fredricksburg...a lot less traffic and a lot more scenic to boot. And, although I believe it's more mileage, it takes less time because of the absence of a lot of traffic.
Pianotuna, I like your way. I just do not stop as often but when I do stop it is for 10 or 15 mins to stretch and walk around the unit. I also fill up the night befoe so I can get on the road in the am but sometimes I have been k now to fill up first thinkg since the pumps may be empty at 430am rather than try to fill up at 8 pm. I just finished driving from TX to VA in a bit over a day> Yes I got tired the first nigt but not un til 7 or 8 pm and I started at 4:40 in the morning after dumping the tanks and unhooking. 1300 plus miles later I was at the grandkids house babysitting till way too late but it was the afternoon of the second day. The way to make time is to stop 2 times less a day but that is only good for 2 days if you are going to drive 3 or more than you need to hae those stops or you will be too tired.
