Is about 500 miles doable in a day?

[Tulecreeper]

So you drove a vehicle, weighing over 26,000 lbs, for the State and weren't required to maintain a log?

Yes, fairly regularly. Towing a trailer, gooseneck, flatbed, or otherwise, hauling heavy equipment - backhoes, bulldozers, excavators, etc. Driving a dumptruck filled with rock, rip-rap, gravel, dirt, etc. I still had to pull into the scales but as often as not before I would actually get weighed I would hear over the loud speaker, "Fish and Wildlife, you can bypass", which would allow me to take the lane around the actual scales so as not to slow up traffic. Even when I did actually go over the scales I was never called out for overweight because I kept track of what I was hauling.

 

[A Traveler]

I’ve done 650 miles in just under 12 hours, from Boston to northeastern Ohio. It was not a difficult day - all interstate in good weather. That’s approximately a 55 mph average.

I don't do that on a regular basis, but if I have to, I will. A more typical day for me is 350 to 400 miles. At 77 years old, I think I’m doing OK.

Truthfully, I’d rather drive the coach than my car. It’s more comfortable, I have a better view of the road, and it’s nice and quiet.

 

[Tulecreeper]

The farthest I've gone by myself was from Gilbert, AZ to Pecos, TX - a distance of 600+ miles - in about 12 hours. It about killed me.

The next farthest was from Stockton, CA to Havre, MT, but I split the driving with a friend so I can only claim half of it. He and I left Stockton at about noon on a Thursday, drove to a rest stop just north of Humphrey, ID - a distance of about 850 miles - in 15 hours arriving at 3AM, then slept for about 3 hours and continued on another 400 miles to Havre, MT and arrived at about 5 PM on Friday. That also about killed us, and we split the driving. But, there was a college girl's volleyball team that arrived at the same time that we did, so you know...

 

[Hvactech]

I've heard a lot of fulltimers say use the 4-4-2 rule when traveling. With an rv. 400 miles or 4PM then 2 cocktails

 

[Isaac-1]

I think the point here is not what is possible, but what is possible while still being functional when you get to the destination. About 10 years ago I helped an old friend drive a U-haul truck from Louisiana to Missoula, Montana in 3 days just about to the hour. A distance of 2,100 miles, he departed Baton Rouge at 9 am on a Monday, in the rental truck, with his wife and teenage son following in their car, picked me up at my house in western Louisiana 150 miles later, we then drove to Wichita Falls, Tx to stop for night 1 getting there after midnight (575 miles day 1 total) we me doing most of the driving after he picked me up as he had been awake most of the preceding 2 days packing. Day 2 was tag team driving just stopping for fuel and one sit down meal at a truck stop, Wichita Falls, TX, to Douglas, Wyoming, 868 miles where we ended up sleeping sitting upright in the moving truck for 5 or 6 hours as all the motels were full (it was Sturgis week, and all motels within 300 miles were booked solid). Day 3 was a relatively easy 367 miles to Columbus, Montana where we stopped at around 3 pm and spent the night at a cheap motel, as there were no motel rooms available for Wednesday night in Missoula due to a big concert there that night (Paul McCartney, biggest concert in Missoula's history according to google), We got up around sunrise and made the final 300 mile push into Missoula, arriving in time for their 9:30 am appointment at the real estate office to get keys to their new apartment (his wife was scheduled to start a new job there at the University of Montana on Friday). Upon getting there, getting the truck unIoaded, I slept for a good chunk of the next day before flying home on Saturday morning. Overall not what I call a pleasant trip, but certainly doable,

 

[1stimerver]

Its all up to you.. If you have experience taking long drives, I would say go for it.

If not be advised that it would be a long time behind the wheel and much more stressful than in a personal auto.

I've done the run from Atlanta to central NJ a number of times and 15 hours was doable but absolutely no fun...

I would suggest you add a day and make the drive safer and less taxing.

Safe travels and all the best.

 

[John From Detroit]

I calculate driving time based on 50 MPH average. this allows time for pit stops and lunch so 500 miles is 10 hours.. Not sure which side of the river but in either Canada or US you are allowed 11 if solo With a co-driver (one sleeps while the other drives) other than meal and pit stops you can do a full 24 hours a day on the road. That's commercial drivers.. Those rules do not (Generally) apply to RVers.

 

[Rene T]

My DW and I gust drove from NH to FL. We did it in two days. 1400 miles. It was suppose to be broken down to 11 hrs each day but ended up being exactly 12 hrs mainly because of traffic jams. We’re glad we are here. We were hoping to miss the big storm on the entire east coast which we did. No rain at all. We backed into our driveway in FL and 15 minutes later it started pouring.
We aren’t getting any younger so it’s getting a little harder. Don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to do it.

 

[DutchmenSport]

The first post on this thread was July 23, 2019 (more than 4 years ago), and there are 5 pages of posts. Yet, this topic is still as relevant today as it was 4 years ago. There are lots of good comments and I read (almost) all of them.

I have come to to some general conclusions, based on ALL of the comments.

1). How long and how far you travel on a daily basis is strictly your own decision. Everyone does it different.

2). As people get older, (as a broad observation), their length and distance of driving per day gets shorter.

3). The length and the duration of the day is also "driven" (pun intended) by the intensity of the need. In other words, when there are hard, fast, and fixed deadlines, EVERYONE, regardless of age or what they are driving, will push themselves longer and farther than their own true "comfort level."

4). When traveling in an automobile, people will push themselves farther, faster, and on more aggressive time lines. Commercial drivers will push themselves up to the max allowed legally. RV drivers will (generally) drive slower, shorter distances per day, and not push to the limits of their endurance.

5). As a (general) observation, the average hourly speed for RV driving seems to be 50 mph when factoring in site seeing, fuel stops, and rest stops.

6). As a general observation, when folks push the driving schedule to it's max and push themselves to the max, upon reaching their destination, they are usually so tired they CAN'T truly enjoy that destination. Depending on how old they are, they need everything from a day to several days of rest before they feel "human" again.

In the end, it's everyone's comfort level that "drives" them.

 

[si camper]

I've heard a lot of fulltimers say use the 4-4-2 rule when traveling. With an rv. 400 miles or 4PM then 2 cocktails

I've heard of a similar saying, called the 330 rule. Regardless if its 330 miles or 330 in the afternoon, it's time to be getting off the road.

 

[Mountain high]

Traveling in the Eastern US we don't have to make as many fuel stops while towing. There's usually a fuel station within 40 to 50 miles when we get low on gas.

The fuel stops within the Mountain States, especially off of the Interstate highways, are far between with mountain grades. On I-70 between Green River, Utah and Salina, Utah it's the longest in the US Interstate highway system at 106 miles with no services, nothing.

So we have to top off the tank on our 2016 Ram 2500 much more often which makes the trips take that much longer. Even with the speed limits of 80 MPH, I keep it at 68. 100 miles to nearly 200 mile stretches of highway without any services are common out here.

Delta, Utah to Ely, Nevada; Ely, Nevada to Tonopah, Nevada; Winnemucca, Nevada to Lakeview, Oregon, and lots of places within Northwestern Colorado through Utah and Wyoming where we reside I've been concerned about having enough fuel. So we carry extra.

 

[gwinger]

We have a trip to Jacksonville Florida from Pittsburgh planned for May. One stop in between in Statesville VA. Both legs are about 450 miles. 90% of the trip is on interstates. I originally planned two stops, but campgrounds on the way were either few and far between, or way off our route. We do plan on leaving at 7am each day. Figuring 8-9 hours each.

 

[Ex-Calif]

It's all personal preference and stamina. I routinely do 500 miles a day. I plan for and usually get 60mph. I only stop for gas and the occasional potty break. With over 500 mile range on the truck it is normally a refuel when I get there.

I start at 6am and with 9 hours on the road am normally arriving at 3-4pm.

It's the stops that add a lot of time.

I have also done Dayton to Los Angeles a few times on an urgent basis. I've done it in about 36 hours elapsed (~2200 miles) only taking a nap at a rest stop.

It does take its toll and anyone saying it doesn't is making things up.

 

[Ex-Calif]

My second wife and I had an open relationship. Unfortunately she was the only one who knew about it :-(

 

[UTTransplant]

When my daughter went into labor early, Kevin and I drove 1700 miles in 2.5 days. It was brutal, but we did it. We were towing a 30’ trailer with a Ram diesel 3/4 ton pickup, and it was well set up. When we had smaller trailers and went on vacations, we routinely traveled 600-650 miles in one day to reach a destination spot, and that was with 2-4 kids. I have no reason to push it these days, and I have no need to brag about my endurance, so we drive 300-350 mile a day when we are traveling to a destination. We might push it to 400-450 if we are just trying to get out of Iowa on roads we have traveled 40-50 times, all interstates, but that is rare. And some days we travel 100 miles! Who cares?

 

[Skookum]

We've got a whopper coming up. Seattle, WA to Indio, CA in 2 days. Leave Seattle Day 1 AM at o'dark hundred. Push to Red Bluff KOA outside of Redding, CA - About 640 miles. Day 2, Red Bluff to Indio, just under 500 miles. And we're towing an EV on a trailer.

Those are not our longest days, though. But we do have two drivers.

 

[Tulecreeper]

We've got a whopper coming up. Seattle, WA to Indio, CA in 2 days. Leave Seattle Day 1 AM at o'dark hundred. Push to Red Bluff KOA outside of Redding, CA - About 640 miles. Day 2, Red Bluff to Indio, just under 500 miles. And we're towing an EV on a trailer.

Those are not our longest days, though. But we do have two drivers.

I made it from Oroville, CA to Vancouver BC in about 16 hours back in 1990 - ~825 miles/50 MPH. Left at 1600, arrived at my grandparents place at 0800. Slept all day in the corner.

I should have tossed this in the mix in my Post #83.

 

[uchu]

My second wife and I had an open relationship. Unfortunately she was the only one who knew about it :-(

I think you meant to post this in a different thread...

 

[DutchmenSport]

I think you meant to post this in a different thread...

I've noticed that, sometimes, Ex-Calif posts off the wall stuff. I think he does that to keep us all scratching our heads to see if we are really paying attention!

 

[Lou Schneider]

So we have to top off the tank on our 2016 Ram 2500 much more often which makes the trips take that much longer. Even with the speed limits of 80 MPH, I keep it at 68.

The sweet spot for my 7.3L Ford Powerstroke (peak torque) is just below 65 MPH. If I drive 65, with a couple of quick stops for fuel and a potty break and stopping for lunch my average speed for the day (distance divided by elapsed time) is right around 50 MPH. And I get 10-12 MPG towing my 29 ft Sunnybrook trailer.