Long Distance Travel Preferences

[JStelly]

Our camping style is to make several short local trips with one or two long trips a year although we are still relatively new to the Escape lifestyle. Living on the Texas Gulf Coast means any trip to the Pacific Northwest, Glacier NP, Utah, the Black Hills or even the northeast can be 1000 to 2000 miles one way. My question is what are people's preferences for long trips? Average miles per day? How many nights at a stop "in transit"? What time of day do you stop? Etc...

I'd like to understand others preferences and travel styles as we plan our longer trips such as New Hampshire next fall.

Thanks, John

[Loren & Cathy]

So much of this depends on your time frame. The best trip is not to have a schedule and just loaf along. This is one main reason we don't like reservations. You have to be at a certain point at a certain time. And yet if you don't have them, you sometimes have to stop earlier than you want to get a camping site. Basically we like to "play it by ear". Loren

[JStelly]

Agree. Most of the time we have an end point and a certain day to be somewhere. We can back up the start date to give us more time. We usually like to travel no more than 300 miles in a day and arrive NLT 3pm as a general rule. We are going to NH in September and its 1800 miles therefore six nights if we drive straight through stopping one night each. I'm thinking we will want to stop for two maybe three days in one or two spots along the way.

[float5]

I certainly would have liked far more time to see those parts of Canada we went through in a few weeks, but we did manage to see many spectacular places. I just know there are many more spectacular spots in those provinces that we missed.

I like to try to see something along the way instead of just driving across country. If we are going to do that, might as well have taken another mode of transportation with no trailer. The problem is that there is always some kind of schedule. We don't do many miles in a day unless necessary and see what we can at just about any stop. We do not do only one-nighters a great distance. Try to stay somewhere at least two nights and see the sights.

We also often arrive mid-afternoon unless held up by construction or wrong routes or some such. That may give a little time to see or do something.

[Iowa Dave]

I have no musical talent. I know what I like, I recognize good talent, arrangement and general musicianship. I have experienced highly structured concerts and totally loose jam sessions. My thoughts are that camping is like music, sometimes you have to play it by ear, sometimes only perfectly executed reading and playing are necessary. When traversing the first 500 miles from our home we often will run that distance on the first day. We aren't usually bypassing anything we haven't seen in the past 50 years. Other days, we travel 150 miles and set up for three or four days. We like to stop by about three p.m. but will run later to make a destination. I don't like to make reservations unless it's for a rally or a holiday weekend or to get a specific campsite somewhere. My take, most of the time, you gotta play it by ear. The best memories start out as mistakes or suprises.
Dave

[Mike Lewis]

I don't like to drive more than 200-250 miles on a travel day. So I'll drive this distance, stay at a location for a week to ten days, then continue. I try to travel on a Sunday, Monday, or Wednesday, and if I arrive in early afternoon I can usually find a site without making reservations. Exceptions are the popular national parks such as Yellowstone, where reservations are necessary. Also, on my current trip I have discovered that south Florida state parks are full in the winter (surprise, surprise) so reservations are needed there as well.

[rbryan4]

There are too many variables to answer that accurately, as some have pointed out. We like to wing it, generally. That is of course, provided we have the time. For the upcoming trip to the Osoyoos Rally for example, we aren't going to be winging it at all. We've got about 4 days to travel over 2150 miles - so that means alot of driving each day. Not our preference, but I couldn't swing more time off.

[cpaharley2008]

and then there are weather issues, particularly in spring and summer where you need to get through Tornado Alley quickly, that was my issue last year getting across the US to California quickly and then north to Osoyoos. We had to dodge storms in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.

[flatpick]

we spent last year living on board and traveling/ working around the US. 20,000 miles /7 months. we figured an average of 50 MPH including fuel/ rest and food breaks. we split decent fast food with DIY meals. Our longest days were in the 500 mile range when we had to be somewhere. shortest was a couple hunny when we were on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Start times were 0800 - 1000 and looking for camping generally an hour or 2 before dark. we were generally moving for work so when we weren't we stayed in one location for numerous days.

steve

[C&G in FL]

Sometimes I drive 600 miles in a day, sometimes fewer. I rarely stay at a stop longer than overnight unless there is something I want to see or do there. I don't hang around for the sake of hanging around. And I generally do not drive after dark. Even on a marathon drive, when the sun starts to get low in the sky, I find a place to stop. If I have a destination in mind, I want to get there without dawdling and then think about staying for an extended period.

[Jim Bennett]

Most of my camping is short trips not too far from home.

I have had very few (way too few) trips of any length lately, as being self-employed with employees, does not allow me to be gone for more than 2 1/2 weeks. If we plan to holiday at a far away destination, I will drive a couple long days to get there. I can do a couple days in a row with 10-12 hours driving, which is usually about 1,000, to 1,200 km. I have done three days in a row like that, but that is it.

On longer holidays, I would rather spend a bunch of days in a couple locations, than one day at a time here and there. I love to explore, by car, bike, boat, or foot, and get to know an area well.

Once I finally retire, or even semi-retire, I very much look forward to doing way shorter drive days, with very few long drive days thrown in, and still do my exploring, just see more places closer together.

[P&L]

Originally Posted by Loren & Cathy

So much of this depends on your time frame. The best trip is not to have a schedule and just loaf along. This is one main reason we don't like reservations. You have to be at a certain point at a certain time. And yet if you don't have them, you sometimes have to stop earlier than you want to get a camping site. Basically we like to "play it by ear". Loren

Perhaps it is because we live in a very populated state, but often I find there are no available campsites months ahead of our travel schedule. Seems like everyone is retired and on the road. I am fearful of not having a place to stay. What do others do if they find themselves in this situation? I would love not to make reservations and stay as long or as little as I'd like.

Lorna

[float5]

You can carry some water and if you have two 6-volts and solar, you don't need a plug-in. You can stay just about anywhere. That is also good when coming across a campground that is not full but has no electric sites left.

[ethanallen2]

In our younger years, I used to cover 400 and sometimes 500+miles if heading for a distant destination. Times have past and I now plan on 300 with a + or - 50 miles depending on the destination. What I do plan on is being off the road and the trailer parked and set up for the night while I still have daylight for parking. Doing this in the dark in a strange destination adds to much risk. The only time I drive the RV rig at night would be some emergency situation or if we are heading for home; I am obviously familiar in the home area and can pull into the RV storage area and leave it until the next morning (we live in a Senior Park with a large RV Storage Area). I usually have reservation/s for a RV Park for the coming night. If we are heading out for a visit with family often on the other side of the country, I usually have reservations for the whole trip since holidays or snowbirds have to be considered. Once we get our 5.0 TA in August '16 with a solar charging system, we will have a little more freedom regarding night time destinations.

[Vermilye]

Most of my trips are long - I'm currently on day 127 of this year's, although it is a bit different from most. I've been staying in one place (Quartzsite, AZ) for much of the winter.

When traveling, I prefer to drive around 150 miles per day, arriving at the next location around 1:00 - 2:00PM. That gives me a better choice of sites (I rarely make reservations), time to set up & relax before dinner, and time to see the sights in the area. If there is lots to see, I'll stay a few days, if not, move on. I prefer non commercial campgrounds such as state & national parks, BLM & Forest Service, City & County parks. I have enough solar so I don't need to carry a generator, and am comfortable without hookups (I've been dry camping since November 17th).

I only take interstates when there is no choice, or, on the rare occasions, when I have to be somewhere in a hurry. My ideal driving speed is 57MPH, the sweet spot for the RAV4 when towing.

[JStelly]

These are all great comments and I appreciate the feedback. We are "planners" and like to have our route and stops pre arranged. I know this takes out some of the thrill that comes with that the spontaneity of discovery as one meanders across the country. We are trying to get more comfortable with this approach.

How do others find a place to overnight at the last minute? Head to a location and find spots via the map, Internet, etc? Do you call ahead or just show up? Do you generally find this a good experience?

[PGDriver]

Originally Posted by JStelly

These are all great comments and I appreciate the feedback. We are "planners" and like to have our route and stops pre arranged. I know this takes out some of the thrill that comes with that the spontaneity of discovery as one meanders across the country. We are trying to get more comfortable with this approach.

How do others find a place to overnight at the last minute? Head to a location and find spots via the map, Internet, etc? Do you call ahead or just show up? Do you generally find this a good experience?

We generally like to travel with no or few plans. When looking for the next campground we use a site like http://www.campscout.com

Cheers
Doug

[sallemann]

Allstays is a great app for finding places to stay. Costs $10, but it is a lot better than the free apps I've tried. I do call ahead generally if it's a busy camping time and they might be full.

[Greg A]

Pull in before 2pm and usually always have a spot, except for Snowbird destinations, Jan - Mar

[BCnomad]

Originally Posted by PGDriver

We generally like to travel with no or few plans. When looking for the next campground we use a site like CampScout - Camping, Campgrounds & RV Parks

Cheers
Doug

Thanks Doug, added to my list.

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