How far do you drive?

[Socal Tom]

This came up in another thread, and it made me curious. I grew up going to the desert in Southern California, which meant about 1 weekend a month we went to the desert. So Friday after we got home, we jumped in the RV and drove 200 miles ( about 4 hours with a gas/food stop). We usually arrived between 9 and 10pm.
When I'm pulling the TD, driving 4 hours after work seems reasonable. I did one drive that was closer to 6 hours, and we arrived around 11pm. It was a long day. I try not to drive that far after dark when I can. However, when I drove cross country, it was 600 miles per day. I drove in daylight, got to camp between 5 and 6, and it seemed fine. I wasn't sight seeing, I was going somewhere . If I'm driving after work, then I try and stop after a couple of hundred miles, but if I'm traveling all day, then as long as I get there before dark, I still feel safe. What are your rules of thumb for traveling?
Tom

[Shadow Catcher]

One of the advantages of being retired is you get to depart during the day. I am however finding as I age driving long distances while towing takes it out of me. I have done a ten hour trip up to Lake Superior Provincial Park, however that is not a particularly challenging drive. So I guess one of the factors is how complex/difficult the drive is. Winding roads, city, stop and go, all make for more stress.

[jstrubberg]

We very rarely "camp" in the sense of going somewhere and staying for a week. We stay in our trailer/RV on our way to and from a destination. Our stays are a single night here, drive, a single night there, etc. For us, 6-8 hours of driving in a day is plenty and we break that up into two sessions whenever we can. We hay drive 3 hours, stop to see a small town or attraction, then drive another 3-5 hours before stopping for the night.

[bc toys]

We try to keep it around 3hr or closer there are times when we have to drive longer if its any further the 6hrs I'll make it a 2day on the road and at least 4 day stay and 2 day drive home

[Socal Tom]

One of the advantages of being retired is you get to depart during the day. I am however finding as I age driving long distances while towing takes it out of me. I have done a ten hour trip up to Lake Superior Provincial Park, however that is not a particularly challenging drive. So I guess one of the factors is how complex/difficult the drive is. Winding roads, city, stop and go, all make for more stress.

Yeah, I'm not a spring chicken myself. My 600 mile days meant 10 hours of driving, and a 10 or 15 minute break about every hour or so. The GPS kept track of it for me. Almost all my driving was freeway, but there were definitely some more stressful areas. I despise going through the Dallas/Ft Worth area. I managed to hit it at rush hour, and I was never in the correct lane....

I did a google search, and it looks like most sites recommend keeping it to a max of 500 miles for a solo driver. That's probably a pretty good number. Of course one of the nice things about the TD, is if you feel tired you can always find a place to pull over and take a nap, or call it a day.
Tom

[GerryS]

I don't worry about miles, I think clock. Wake up, shower, breakfast and hit the road....stop for lunch when your hungry, and the agreement I have with my wife is we stop around 5 and. Enjoy the evening.

Out best trips have been when we didn't push, and we didn't really have a plan. Around 3 shed start calling about 100-120 miles down the road and see where we might be able to stop for the night.

Some were little more than grass filled parking lots, others were gems like raccoon mountain in Chattanooga.

We're visiting red river gorge this summer, and will take 2 days to come home....probably via some random route....

[deleted]

I like to drive 10 hours a day leaving at first light. Had been doing this in three to four day stretches in the past from West Coast to Midwest. Since I don't have my pup anymore (he passed away last year) I will be able to stop along the way and sight see this year which could give me a break or two each day which will be nice.

[Java Jack]

It all depends on how much time we have off to work with.

Weekend trips a couple of hours tops as I want to allow for the most amount of time possible for camping.

Long weekends - up to 4 hours

Week long Vacations - we are up for about 2 days driving at most.

[Ron Dickey]

250 is my limit, at 500 I am a sleeeeeeeeep at the wh eel.

better to have a good refreshing drive.
Then wake up with blinking lights all a round and a $10,000 sleep over at the local KOA hospital and the cost of tow and getting your car and trailer out of Jail too. For just a little more cash.

Towing or not I prefer to be safe then sorry.
Ron

[deleted]

Even though I drive longer hours than most here I do agree 100% Ron. I've only ever once felt not up to continuing as planned due to a migraine so I pulled over and slept it off in the middle of the day at a rest stop until it was gone. And once I stopped short of my planned destination due to weather in Montana. Just recently I met a young woman on an airplane who fell asleep at the wheel driving home one night after working 12 hour shifts for 6 days straight for weeks. The accident was pretty horrific by her description. Her car left the road and overturned in a canal but not submerged to the point that she drowned. She had to get herself out and walk for help. She has basically lost the use of her entire left arm and hand as a result of the accident. To top it off she's a single mom so she was already dealing with a lot.

Safety first for sure.

[Socal Tom]

Safety first!, I agree. Although I'm also a 10 hour driver for day trips. I always take plenty of breaks, and if needed I quit early. You have to listen to your body. I also try to get a good night's sleep the night before.
Tom

[capnTelescope]

I just made the 1450 miles from home to Ludlow, Kahleefoornya, in 35 hours. It takes motivation. Mine was getting together with my old CA camping buddies. It takes syncing your bladder and gas gauge. Also, admitting it when you're tired and pulling off for a nap. It also helps to be traveling alone. After I met up with the guys, I had a *really* good night's rest, and no driving for 14 hours. Then about an hour's drive that next day, to cover about 30 miles. It really felt good to just poke along across the desert, never getting over 50mph.

Two days of this was plenty. It wasn't fun by any means, but you can cover a lot of ground in a hurry by drive-camp-drive(Drive-crash-drive?) with your tear. 4-6 hours of driving per day then really camping is a lot more fun.

Stay safe out there.

[lrrowe]

For those who stop in hot weather for a quick nap, how do you handle the heat? I do not think you can run your AC if you have it, leaving the doors open mightnot be wise and I guess that only leaves open windows and vents.

[deleted]

The day I stopped for my migraine I parked in a Northern California rest stop parking lot in full sun. By setting my Fantastic Fan to vent outward and running it on medium speed it was enough to do the trick. Door was closed as were the windows. Didn't get too hot but wasn't there for more than an hour or so.

[capnTelescope]

how do you handle the heat?

While I haven't encountered real "hot" weather yet, I park away from the crowd, get in, lock the doors, open the windows, lower the shades (you do have curtains/shades don't you?) open the vent and turn on the fan. Temps approaching 90 were no problem, but hotter might need to sleep on top of the covers.