Cross country, how miles a day?

[ericw]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I'll pull over around 2 am and sleep till 6 am and then off for breakfast and another day of driving, then the second day stop at a KOA, shower and clean up and get in bed by 8 pm. Then repeat the same the next 2 days. That way I get in close to 12-14 hours one day and 8-10 the next.

We are similar to Jim. We are still working and vacation time is limited so we will do a couple longer days to get where we are going. Usually we leave early in the morning, do a long day, stop when we get tired (1am?), sleep somewhere like a rest area/walmart..., and continue on the next day to a campground by supper for showers, a relaxed meal, and early bedtime. We can do 14-16 hours the first day and 10 the next day. We have multiple drivers and I can sleep while others drive. We could push even harder if necessary, but I think safety has to come first.

[bpjod]

We drive in a similar fashion to ericw and cpaharley2008 when we want to get to a destination rather than take our time with the journey. On our long days we'll put in about 900 miles. We spend the nights at a WalMart or similar. If restocking is necessary, the store tends to be quiet late in the evening. It really helps being able to swap drivers every few hours. Listening to audiobooks also helps the miles fly by. Get some great "reading" in this way too. I wouldn't want to put in more than about 3 days in a row driving like this though.

[Rossue]

I forget what state we were in recently; thinking Utah- where there were highway signs posted fairly often warning of driving tired. There is a syndrome that one can check out on the web where they say it is as bad as DUI.

[float5]

Originally Posted by Rossue

I forget what state we were in recently; thinking Utah- where there were highway signs posted fairly often warning of driving tired. There is a syndrome that one can check out on the web where they say it is as bad as DUI.

Yes, a large percentage of accidents are single vehicle and that would be the reason for many of them. So get your beauty sleep!

[rvomaha]

We usually plan no more than 500 miles per day, and I much prefer 200 miles. Once we did an 800-mile day, although I wouldn't recommend that. Before leaving home we use googlemaps.com to plan the locations of our camping stops and to predict the daily drive times before we go on a trip. Because we typically drive 60 mph, and need gas, rest breaks and meal stops, we add 10% to whatever drive time googlemaps estimates.

[C&G in FL]

Cannot provide a specific number of miles but I can provide a list. I drive/tow until:
1) I reach the intended destination; or
2) Evening Darkness is approaching; or
3) I notice fatigue setting in.

[Jim Bennett]

If need be, I can do a couple of 10 hour days of driving with little trouble. We do this when destination RVing a lot. Get where we want to go, and settle in and relax there. I learned years ago, that one night here, and one night there, is not enjoyable for us, as we always seem to be on the go. Thus when we drive, we drive lots. When we stop, we like to stop for a longer time.

Of course, once I retire this will all change, and I will gladly do much less driving in one day. Heck drive 2-3 hours and stop for a few days. Nice......

Unlike others, I MUCH prefer driving at night, or in the early hours. Darkness does not bother me at all, and I actually feel safer knowing other vehicles are more visible with the lights shining down the road. Plus, there is way less traffic outside of the 6AM-8PM drive times.

[cpaharley2008]

I find as I get older, night time driving is less relaxing, especially pulling a trailer. Most construction is done at night to alleviate back ups and pulling a trailer thru some of those "restricted lanes" at night time gets a little hairy. Plus there are the night time animals to deal with, deer and other nocturnal animals come out at night to feed. On familiar roads night time is okay, but I prefer daytime on new routes, so that sightseeing can relieve the boredom. With long days in the summer, one can easily get in 12-14 hours of daylight and setting up is definitely more enjoyable in the day time.
Just to show you that each one has their now preferences, some like night, others prefer days.

[Jim Bennett]

I find any driving relaxing, pulling a trailer makes no difference to me. Around here, most road construction happens during the day.

Another plus with night driving, is that big rigs are the majority of the traffic, and they tend to move along at a good pace.

One of the bigger reasons I like driving in the dark, is I find it easy less tiring on my eyes, sunlight tends to wear on them.

If driving new routes, I prefer daylight too, especially if there is good scenery around.

[bdornbush]

We aim for no more than 500 miles per day. We travel at 60 mph and that makes about a 10 hour day including stops. I heard a blogger promoting 330, that is no more than 330 miles per day or stopping by 3:30 pm whichever comes first.

[yardsale]

When pushing it to a destination, we average about 650 per day. One technique, very valuable to me, that hasn't been mentoned is that when I am driving (80% of the miles), I will go off and jog for the time it takes my wife to fill the tank of the RAV4. I end up doing this 3 -4 times per day. These short bursts of moderate exercise do wonders for my alertness and physical fatigue. If running is not for you, a walk would also help.

[cpaharley2008]

Yes, I agree. but with us it is two dogs. As soon as I slow down for an exit, they awake from sound asleep and want to know what is going on. While refueling, we take them both for a little exercise walk around, it helps both the dogs and us.

[cpaharley2008]

Next month I'll be pushing the extreme and try to make it to California in 4 days, 2800 miles. Stay there for 1.5 days and then head north, to Osoyoos, BC, 1100 miles for the rally. Hoping to arrive there one week after leaving the east coast. The return trip home should be a breeze compared to going out, hopefully.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by yardsale

When pushing it to a destination, we average about 650 per day. One technique, very valuable to me, that hasn't been mentoned is that when I am driving (80% of the miles), I will go off and jog for the time it takes my wife to fill the tank of the RAV4. I end up doing this 3 -4 times per day.

That'd be about once a day for me. Guess our gas tank is considerably larger.

[itoddday]

I will be heading to Key West in June. I plan to leave the Atlanta area and try to make it to just south of Orlando. If I can get the first 500 down, the second day will be a snap at around 400 miles. I like to drive during the day as the oncoming headlights hurt my eyes. I am looking forward to the trip and will probably buy the Sunpass to pay for all of the Florida tolls. The Florida Turnpike is really nice and worth the money to me. Anybody ever make the trip?
We will staying at Boyd's Campground about 5 miles out of Key West. I will drive down alone and my wife will meet me there as she has to work.

[ericw]

Originally Posted by itoddday

I will be heading to Key West in June. I plan to leave the Atlanta area and try to make it to just south of Orlando. If I can get the first 500 down, the second day will be a snap at around 400 miles. I like to drive during the day as the oncoming headlights hurt my eyes. I am looking forward to the trip and will probably buy the Sunpass to pay for all of the Florida tolls. The Florida Turnpike is really nice and worth the money to me. Anybody ever make the trip?
We will staying at Boyd's Campground about 5 miles out of Key West. I will drive down alone and my wife will meet me there as she has to work.

We went from Michigan to the Keys last spring. Roads were good the whole way. We had a great time in the Keys and the Everglades. We took a different route down than up because we stopped to see friends. We didn't have any issues with not having a Sunpass for the portion of toll road we used. They just sent us a bill in the mail a few weeks later. I don't know if it works that way everywhere in FL because we have spent relatively little time there.

[azjack]

Some years ago we made that trip to Key West on our motorcycles. It was a long way through Texas but the run down the keys was great and we enjoyed our stay in Key Largo in a old Spartan Trailer that was being rented out at an old fishing village. This last Sunday we watched the 1948 movie with Bogart and McCall called Key Largo. We may have to make that trip again, with the Escape this time. Maybe change our alloy wheels first, it took a long time to get the wheels free of corrosion on the Harleys.
Jack
With 8 wheels now instead of 4 to clean.

[itoddday]

Wow, I didn't think about the corrosion part! We will be staying right on the water! I will have to rinse everyday. I am sure I will get into some horrendous weather going down and back. I am figuring about 35 dollars in tolls each way with the third axle. I am afraid to drive through the tolls with out paying. I don't want to get a ticket. I heard the bridge is now newer and not as narrow as the old one.

[Dave&Jane]

Originally Posted by Rossue

I forget what state we were in recently; thinking Utah- where there were highway signs posted fairly often warning of driving tired. There is a syndrome that one can check out on the web where they say it is as bad as DUI.

Yes, Utah has a program to discourage "drowsy driving". Signs along the freeway, television ads, etc. There have been some high-profile accidents, too, like the college student who killed a local family when he fell asleep while driving home after a sleepless night studying for final exams.

The first two items on their risk factor list (below) describe me 40 years ago when I fell asleep while driving home after a night shift.

• Young people, especially males under age 26;
• Shift workers. Working the night shift increases your risk by nearly 6 times;
• Commercial drivers. At least 15% of all heavy truck crashes involve fatigue;
• Business travelers who spend many hours driving or may be jet lagged;
• People with undiagnosed or untreated disorders. People with untreated obstructive sleep apnea have been shown to have up to seven times increased risk of falling asleep at the wheel.

Also, its a good idea to avoid driving at night, regardless. Fatality rates are 3 times higher than daytime driving. Vision is limited, especially for older drivers, and many of the other drivers on the road at night are impaired (drunk or drowsy).

-Dave

[bisonbill]

Originally Posted by itoddday

I will be heading to Key West in June. I plan to leave the Atlanta area and try to make it to just south of Orlando. If I can get the first 500 down, the second day will be a snap at around 400 miles. I like to drive during the day as the oncoming headlights hurt my eyes. I am looking forward to the trip and will probably buy the Sunpass to pay for all of the Florida tolls. The Florida Turnpike is really nice and worth the money to me. Anybody ever make the trip?
We will staying at Boyd's Campground about 5 miles out of Key West. I will drive down alone and my wife will meet me there as she has to work.

We've driven from Fort Lauderdale to Key West many times. Always in a rental car, haven't brought the Escape yet. US1 in the keys can be a slow ride if you go on a Friday afternoon or Saturday. It's usually heavy tourist traffic And there is a flea market in Tavenier that jams it up on Saturday morning.

There are a couple of good restaurants on Stock Island near Boyd's. We checked out the campground last year. It's a step above the other KW campgrounds. There are also some nice looking campground further out of town that are right on the water.