Traveling a long distance question

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Peggyy

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 5, 2016
Posts
894
Location
Winter springs fl
So we left today on a long trip.  We are planning to go from orlando to glacier and yellowstone.  After eight hours riding, fixing dinner, making bed, unpacking, i am exhausted.  We have about ten more travel days as long as today.  Right now i do not want to hear that rv crank up.  How do you all handle driving the long distances?  Im just tired already and it is only day one!
 
Peggyy said:
So we left today on a long trip.  We are planning to go from orlando to glacier and yellowstone.  After eight hours riding, fixing dinner, making bed, unpacking, i am exhausted.  We have about ten more travel days as long as today.  Right now i do not want to hear that rv crank up.  How do you all handle driving the long distances?  Im just tired already and it is only day one!
Well the good news,you are on your way! I often find the first day fairley rough. Getting the last stuf loaded and stored and geting on the road.
Now, are you on that tight of a time constraint? If not slow down. Take a break every hour or so, get out and walk around. Take a longer lunch break.
I don't like to drive much over 6 hours/300 miles. We left FW in Tuesday and we are in ABQ today.
Bill
 
We share the driving which helps on long, higher mileage days. Most days, though, we limit our drive to around 200 to 250 miles, which roughly translates into 4 to 5 hours of driving time.

We plan our trip based on the number of days we plan to be on the road and figure out how any miles we can reasonably travel in those number of days, based on a 200+ miles per day average. We take into account that many of those days we will not be traveling to the next campsite but would be using our toad to explore the area around our stop. We generally stay in a campsite for two nights at least, unless there is little in the area of interest, or if our time and destinations schedules require just an overnight to get to get on to better adventures.

We also plan extra days for the unexpected, little known, or locally recommended places that are not part of the plan. Our key to not being road frazzled on the trip is to be flexible.

I see you have a Class A well sized for traveling. You should think about what really needs to be packed and unpacked at each stop and limit the amount of stuff to that really needed at that stop. Dump tanks only when necessary, especially when campsites don't have individual sewer hookups. Avoiding the wait for the one dump station at a campsite, if possible, can save an hour or more that could be used to get down the road. And if you are in a campsite for a short stay, consider whether it is necessary t hook up the sewer connection at all. You will save time in setting up and especially in breaking camp if you avoid the whole stinky slinky ritual at every stop.

I hope this helps. You will love Glacier and Yellowstone. You sure picked a long itinerary from Orlando, and it will be tough to avoid long driving days. Rest up when you can, get gasoline before you hit camp at night if possible, and change plans if the driving get to be too much. This is supposed to be fun, you know!

Good luck, and maybe I'll see you down the road.
 
I agree, 8 hr drive days are no fun. 300-350 miles is a good number. Secondly, a good strong cocktail or 2 will take the edge off. Enjoy your adventure. It will be wonderful!!
 
Something premade and just needs to be cooked from. from frozen. Last night we had Walmart brand ham and tater tots in a cheese sauce. Put it in oven 45 minutes before getting ro our over night stop. Served on paper plates. No dishes to clean. Forks can wait till morning.
 
For more than half a century I worked at least 8 hours a day, many time 7 days a week.  You need to rethink this, 8 hours ain't nothing.
 
lynnmor said:
For more than half a century I worked at least 8 hours a day, many time 7 days a week.  You need to rethink this, 8 hours ain't nothing.

I am more tired eight hours in a car than i was working for some reason!  I think i like to move around.  ?
 
1. Shorter days, say 300 miles or 6 hours, whichever comes first. Stop early enough in the day so you have time to relax.

2. Take a break along the way, e.g. a lunch or scenery stop.  It's not a race.

3. Take every 3rd day off - no driving. There are always things to see & do along the way, so see & do them. The journey should be as much joy as the destination.

Maybe you are making this harder than it needs to be?  In a class A motorhome, there shouldn't be much "unpacking" - your clothes are in the closet and the food in the fridge & pantry. And the bed is already made, isn't it?  After a few days you will figure out a routine that works for you.
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
1. Shorter days, say 300 miles or 6 hours, whichever comes first. Stop early enough in the day so you have time to relax.

2. Take a break along the way, e.g. a lunch or scenery stop.  It's not a race.

3. Take every 3rd day off - no driving. There are always things to see & do along the way, so see & do them. The journey should be as much joy as the destination.

Maybe you are making this harder than it needs to be?  In a class A motorhome, there shouldn't be much "unpacking" - your clothes are in the closet and the food in the fridge & pantry. And the bed is already made, isn't it?  After a few days you will figure out a routine that works for you.
I would add don't hook up anything except the electric if you need it. I've seen many campers hook up their water and sewer for just one night, unless your full you don't need to hook up everything.
 
This seems to be an age old problem with RV?ers that is broken down between two rival camps; those that drive just a few hundred miles maybe 5-6 hours a day. You usually stay in a CG for the evening. The other camp, of which I am a member, will drive 500+ miles often staying on the road for 10-12 hours a day. We normally will not stay in a CG for one night opting for a rest stop, truck stop or Walmart. Whatever works for you is what you need to do. On particularly long trips I will stay at hotels occasionally along the route. We try to find the chains that offer free cocktails and heavy snacks in the evening.
 
Peggyy,

I have an old copy of Street Atlas set up for MH travel and it is saying that you are looking at 43 road hours.  (Now minus 8?)  As I write this, you should be between Atlanta and Saint Louis.  If you planned this with nothing but a 2400 mile drive, that was something that should be changed when you can.
So, from older people that travel this way all the time, there are three things that make this more manageable.

Co-Drive (if you can, Mary actually prefers to drive in the daylight).  The off driver should:
1 - Navigate - this can take a lot of the stress off the driver.  Have the plan of what turns and changes will be coming up.
2 - Manage the music in the cab - this also lowers the driver stress.
3 - Fetch drinks and snacks for the driver.

Other advice based on years of coach travel.
* Have a solid but not large breakfast.  A farmer breakfast will require a longer mid-day break. 
* Have the day's meals pre-laid.  Pulling into a rest area for a lunch break if it you want.  You don't need a rest area, but if you are on the blue roads, there should be some available.
* Stopping to cook and clear away dinner will be a reward for a good day. 
* Avoiding campgrounds except when needed will make travel faster.  (Finding and parking in a campground can add a lot of time and stress to the day.)
* When you get figured out how you travel, plan campgrounds in the route.  This allows dumping, long showers and such. 
* Look for convenient attractions along the route.  This will make the 43 hours go much faster.  There are an amazing number of great stops that you can make.

Does this old man have any idea what he is saying? 
- We travel in an A gasser a little smaller than yours and with 2 dogs.
- We are both retired (ain't no spring chickens here)
- Our tank range is about 400 miles and water is good for about three days.
- We have done, but avoid long day transits.  (We did a 1011 mile day a few years back, we had to.) 

We feel that travel by motorhome is the best way to get anywhere.  It will take a little rearranging to make it pleasant, but it can be done.

Matt

 
 
Peggyy said:
I am more tired eight hours in a car than i was working for some reason!  I think i like to move around.  ?
Are you retired? If so you need to get out of thinking of travel as a vacation. It is more of a lifestyle. You don't have to be back till you want to be back. There is no deadline on when you get back No if I don't get back in time they would fire me. I fired them.  ;D
So where are you today, and how did it go?
Bill
 
My suggestions are, minimize the setup for overnight stops, when I am travelling longer distances my overnight setup routine is to pull into the RV site, use the jacks to level the coach, plug in the electricity and collapse.  Set up / take down time should be under 5 minutes each.  There is no point in pulling out BBQ grill, camp chairs, etc. for a 12 hour stop, though occasionally it is nice to pull out the grill and do burgers, etc.  Food is either something that had been cooking all day in the crock pot (which rides in the kitchen sink), or is something quick and easy to fix, frozen pizza in the microwave/convection oven, chicken strips done in the air fryer, etc.  I also try to take short rest breaks every 100-125 miles give or take, my coach has about a 500 mile range on a full tank of gas, I try to stop and refuel when I hit about the half tank mark, for every 200-250 miles.    If I see a scenic rest area, etc I will pull off, stretch, fix lunch, etc.  again easy to fix items are key here, either something that can cook while I walk around and stretch, or sandwiches, etc.  As to miles per day I try to limit it to 300-350 per day, much more than that I don't find sustainable day after day, though I have been known to push that to 500 in order to clear a large city on a Sunday evening, vs on a Monday morning, etc.

p.s. these rest breaks mid day while travelling can be practical also, for example on day 2 or 3 of a longer trip, may see a mid day grocery store stop to lay in supplies.  This lets me get off the road for a bit, lets me stretch, and then be semi-refreshed  for another few hours on the road, this stop may also double as a lunch stop as many grocery stores these days have a hot meal deli section.
 
Peggy - we have talked for the past few weeks and I think I have a good idea of what kind of traveler you are. I was going to give you some advice but Gary said the exact same thing. Shorter days, fewer miles, stops along the way, and the mindset that this is a lifestyle instead of a vacation. The trip Judy and I are on right now is the first I can actually say feels like something that isn't a vacation because we are taking our time, doing what we want and what feels good, and not letting anything or anybody dictate where we are or how far we have to go. We have changed our itinerary twice since beginning the trip, both times to accommodate things that WE wanted to do.

Most importantly though, make sure you take time off every three days or so. I learned the hard way on our first cross country trip that trying to drive six days in a row not only isn't fun, it turned me into a zombie for the next two days. So what did I gain by driving that long?
 
When we go on long trips I'll do two 450-550 mile days then take a rest day. The exception is if we are only 200-300 miles from our destination, if so I'll usually kill it so I have  a longer rest. Wife talked me into a 17 hour drive once and I'll never do that again. Wore  me slick and she had back problems for a week so she max's at a 10 hour day. Tickles me.
 
I am rushing to Minot ND from FW Texas. I have 21 days set aside to do it. I left on Tuesday. We are in ABQ and have a move day tomorrow. Moving to Santa Fe for a couple of days. This should be about a 70 mile day. ;D
Bill

 
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