How long are your drive intervals?

Having read on some posts about folks driving 8 hours to their next stop makes me wonder what is a "normal" or "recommended" drive interval. Maybe depends on your schedule, or if you're retired or many other factors, but what are your thoughts about how long a daily drive should be to 1) enjoy the trip, and 2) get where you're going? Dan

  Regardless of trip length never after 3PM, need time to find a spot and settle in.>>>Dan

utahclaimjumper said:

  Regardless of trip length never after 3PM, need time to find a spot and settle in.>>>Dan

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X2  I usually look at making a maximum of about 300 miles or 6 hours, whichever comes first.

We're rarely in a hurry to get anywhere, so we try to limit ourselves to about 4 hours of driving time each travel day. Sometimes we push a little more if needed to get to a park we particularly enjoy, or when necessity dictates it. When we head south from our upstate NY cottage after New Years for instance, the first open RV park is about 5 driving hours away. The next stop after that is only about 3 hours though.

we often take trips that last 14- 16 hrs (i know some of you will slam me) the reason being just to get to Spokane from Calgary is 9 hrs or 435 miles so we average about 50 mph with stops included Vancouver 12 hrs the closest City (over 100,000 people) is more than 200 miles away the next would be Spokane 300,000

HOWEVER we also stop every 2 hrs for a break grab drink or a bite to eat walk around stretch our legs etc and let the dogs out to pee. having said that if we are tired or feel fatigued we stop at a Walmart or something and call it quits. For us we actually like the drive and find it relaxing. We usually start out about 4.00am before traffic is busy that way we are clear of any major centers come rush hours.

  As you said, it is all dependant on the circumstances.  Coming south in December, we tried to put on as many mile as possible so as to get below any risk of snow.  Often we'd drive 550 to 600 miles or 9 to 11 hours and stop in Flying J's, Walmarts or rest stops, from there we'd slow down to 400 to 450 until we got to the campground in florida.  However, when we left Florida in the years after I retired, we averaged 150 to 200 miles, so that we could enjoy the countryside.  I found that even though the MH can handle speed in excess of 65 MPH, only on those days when we were trying to make time would I exceed 55 MPH, a speed that I could sightsee while driving, and usually on back roads to see all the little towns along the way.

Ed

A long time ago when I was in my twenties, I took an Aviation Physiology course at Langley AFB.  Something they used to offer for private pilots, maybe they still do.  The most exciting part of it was the altitude chamber ride with decompression and hypoxia demos.

But before we could have that fun, was a lecture, several hours as I recall.  Actually very good talk by the Air Force instructor.  In addition to the altitude concerns, it focused on the human body and how it reacts to things like sitting for along periods of time, nutrition, etc...

Anyway, one of the things that stuck with me all these years was the instructor saying that whenever he was on a road trip, he made it a habit to stop, every hour on the hour, whether he needed to or not.  If he didn't need to use a restroom, he would at least stop and make a lap around the car.  He said he would feel so much better at the end of the trip, even if it tacked on a few extra minutes. 

As a young guy, I thought this was ludicrous.  At my age then, I would almost brag about how far we could drive on a trip without stopping, in the interest of making good time.  As I've gotten older, I still think every hour is a bit much, but not too far from the mark.  I think 90 minutes between stops is a good max time to shoot for, although I still often go a bit further than that.

As for an RV "day, I think Punomatic's 300 miles or 6 hours are good numbers to ballpark.  In a car, I'll go more like 7hours or so drive time, maybe 450 miles or so (so maybe 8 hours or a bit more trip time)

I use to drive the 600 miles from my home to the hunting cabin with maybe one rest stop, then as I got older I now make it a habit to leave the campground around 9am and drive 1 hour to a rest stop and then a stop for lunch. After lunch we try to be in a campground by 3pm. On occasion we will stretch it a couple hours but not often.

Hfx_Cdn said:

  As you said, it is all dependant on the circumstances.  Coming south in December, we tried to put on as many mile as possible so as to get below any risk of snow.  Often we'd drive 550 to 600 miles or 9 to 11 hours and stop in Flying J's, Walmarts or rest stops, from there we'd slow down to 400 to 450 until we got to the campground in florida.  However, when we left Florida in the years after I retired, we averaged 150 to 200 miles, so that we could enjoy the countryside.  I found that even though the MH can handle speed in excess of 65 MPH, only on those days when we were trying to make time would I exceed 55 MPH, a speed that I could sightsee while driving, and usually on back roads to see all the little towns along the way.

Ed

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We also travel like Ed does. We leave NH 2 days before Thanksgiving with a winterized 5er. We do not use antifreeze just air. I put about 25 gallons of water in the fresh water tank the night before. We drive for about 13 hours which gets us to Harrisonburg VA. There I dewinterize the RV because we are far enough south so no danger of freezing temps. We then drive on day 2 about 13 hours because we are anxious to get to warmer weather. Then day 3, we only have 4 hours left.  FL, here we are. Today, the temps went up to 84 degrees. 

Typically for us we like to keep our travel under 450 miles with a preferred mileage around the 300 mile range and stop for breaks about every 1.5 to 2 hours.

I go to Oshkosh, WI every year.
We leave Oklahoma City, try to make it through St. Louis the first day. We get to Oshkosh the next day. It's a 950 mile trip, we do it in 2 days.

To be honest I look forward to the days when I can have short days and hop, skip and jump around and not having to be back home on a certain day.  Unfortunately while still working many times we have a certain amount of miles to cover in order to hit a destination.  Although we will try to shoot for 300-350 when planning and make reservations accordingly, there have been a few times when it has been 600+ miles in a day.

Back when we were racing it was routinely 500-600 mile days but not so much any more.

Mike.

We schedule our stops to be after  2-3 hours of driving a day, and generally spend a couple of nights at each stop. Occasionally we'll make an exception and do a 4 or sometimes 5 hour day depending on where we are in the country. I'm retired, I can leave home in time to make it out of freezing weather without hurrying. When we come back north in the spring, we just follow the weather. If it's raining too much or too cold, we just stay at our last stop a little longer. No hurry, no worry.

Ken

We usually drive between 6 and 8 hours depending on how far it is to the next overnight.  We stop every 2 to 3 hours to stretch our legs and have a potty break (lunch usually fits in this schedule).  Regardless of how far we have to drive we want to be set up at our overnight stop by 4 pm (cocktail hour) so that determines our starting time.  And, yes, I plan our trips with reservations at RV parks for the overnight.

I drove from Eugene Oregon (2 of us driving) to Hershey, PA in 3 days. Just adding this to make you all laugh, was crazy tired and tired and crazy and would never do again. In a car tho not a RV. And of course I was much younger.

Anyway, one of the things that stuck with me all these years was the instructor saying that whenever he was on a road trip, he made it a habit to stop, every hour on the hour, whether he needed to or not.  If he didn't need to use a restroom, he would at least stop and make a lap around the car.  He said he would feel so much better at the end of the trip, even if it tacked on a few extra minutes.

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Brad's Air Force instructor had it right.  My physical therapist told me we need to stop every hour for a short walk.  We started doing it for my back, but Jerry says he also feels better stopping more frequently.  The therapist says EVERYONE should stop and walk every hour when driving long distances.  Back when we were working and our time was more limited we drove longer days.  Now it's normally about 300-350 miles.  But it depends a lot on the type of roads (freeway vs. scenic routes) and the weather.

ArdraF

Interesting thread I no longer am driven by time. I am no longer driven by short vacation times. Last spring before we headed out on a trip I was asked where are you going? I said North and East. When will you be back? I replied before  Thanksgiving. Hearer is a example to go with the other stores about excessively long drives. I once drove from Fort Worth Texas to Washington DC non stop. Now I try to schedule my stops at 250-300 miles. Shortest travel day so far Santa Fe NM to Albuquerque NM a whopping 65 miles.
Bill 

When we're traveling for pleasure it's rare for us to cover more than 350 miles in a day. And we'll do much less if we can get away with it. But 300 miles/day is comfortable. Like Brad and ArdraF, frequent breaks are the rule.
Business trips are a different story.
My most frequent multi-day business trips are between Orlando and Austin, about 1200 miles each way. Westbound, I'll take 3 full days, driving a little over 400 miles each of the first two days, and about 300 miles on the third. I'll start out before 8AM, stopping for a stroll, stretch and maybe a light meal every 100 miles or so, and am in a campground in time for dinner. The morning after I arrive in Austin I'm rested and ready to get down to business.
Coming home, I confess that I usualy succumb to get-home-itis. I leave Austin late in the afternoon so as to cross Houston after the peak of rush hour. I still stop for breaks at similar intervals but drive more hours per day. Campground locations just don't seem to work out as well heading Eastbound as they do Westbound, so I may do 6-hour sleeping stops at Pilot/FlyingJ/Loves after dark. I don't like to drive later than an hour after sunset but am often back on the road an hour or more before sunrise. I'm back home after about 36 hours, and not as rested as after the Westbound leg, but I take it easy for the next 36 hours. Most of all, I pay attention to what my body is saying and don't push it. Schedule is always secondary to safety.
This, by the way, is only when I'm traveling solo. There's no way I'd subject the wife to that Eastbound grind.

Howdy,

This is a very interesting topic for me because I am literally having to force myself to slow down as I retire.

Gone are the 1,000 mile a day marathon road trips from my misspent youth!  I am forcing myself to travel no more than approximately 300 miles a day traveling at 50-60 MPH with careful trip planning and then I'm looking to stop and setup at least my basic camp for the night.  Fortunately I live in NV (and generally travel in the South West) where a lot of the country is available for boon-docking with no complications.

One of the reasons I moved to a 5th wheel toy hauler is so I can pull over and have access to all of the basic amenities provided by my trailer without unloading or tripping over a packed trailer; it work GREAT!

If I push myself to hard I am out of wack for a day or so as it just takes me longer to recover.  Much better to slow down and enjoy the trip.  It's really not getting to the top of the mountain that is the reward, I'm working on appreciating the journey, the here and now...  Who knows, I may never get to the top but I'll have a very good time and safe trip!

Happy Tails,
tom n tyler

When I was young I used to drive as much as 5 hrs. without stopping and as many as 800/day.  No more, I'm retired and in no rush. Now 200-250 day.  I have time.