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Old 02-22-2018, 02:11 PM   #1
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Name: Keith
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Trip planning: Daily distance

We have only taken a few shorter trips but planning a long trip for summer 2019. Based on our trips so far we have set a mileage limit of about 280 miles a day. We try to drive close to 60mph and that is less than 5 hours of drive time. Add in a good lunch stop and gas stop (walking the dogs at both) and we figure that puts us at about 6 or 7 hours of total travel time.

Do most people travel more or less each day when on a long trip?

What influences your choice to travel more or less per day?

Do you drive faster or slower than 60mph with your travel trailer? The truck can certainly handle faster and the 19 ft scamp is very stable back there, but I worry about the safety of going much faster.

Thanks,

Keith
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Old 02-22-2018, 03:22 PM   #2
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Keith I have a 1993 13' "Lil" Bigfoot. I few years ago with 3 other 13 footers we went up into Alberta into British Columbia Northwest Territories, Alaska Loop. Return up into Northwest Terr. And Arctic Circle. Back thru B.C. into Alberta down into the U.S. !0,000 thousand miles. Look to approximate number of miles one can travel per day at 60 to 65 miles per Hr. Number of days available, number of miles per gallon of gas one will use. whether there is a camp site available in the most maximum distance or shorter if necessary . Whether food is available and ice if needed (refer or coolers ) Then fun sites. are they available at camp site or are they just pull thru. How far down the dirt road. hooked up or Egg in camp site how good are your tires, brakes, etc.How do you deal with the cracked or broken items. How much time do you allow for problems. How much time to unhook, drive for gas drive back to Egg. continue back in the direction one looped from how much time to add the view that appears. In Canada Alaska, one could add 1hr. or more to get to a town, a cross road might not have what you needed. Service can be farther than one needs. Up hills, thru cities slow canyons. When you are in a city when the workday ends. When does the ferry run. can one drive around a delay. add time add time. In the U.S. get a site early call ahead, one or two days Try for travel and visiting Fed. or State Park camp grounds when it is not a holiday. Experience.
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Old 02-22-2018, 03:45 PM   #3
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our trip

we just got back from a 4k trip to az and around no special destinations planned for the day I got enough of that on my sales route.

get up around 8 cook breakfast get ready and take off no stress don't care where we go or when we get there!

bob
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Old 02-22-2018, 04:12 PM   #4
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We shoot for around 300 miles a day. Sometimes much less depending on where we’re going.

60mph on secondary roads and 62mph on the interstate, except in West Texas where the speed limit is 80mph, I do 65. Mike
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Old 02-22-2018, 04:23 PM   #5
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Thanks for the replies. They generally match up to what I was thinking.

Well, except bob:

Quote:
Originally Posted by k0wtz View Post
we just got back from a 4k trip to az and around no special destinations planned for the day I got enough of that on my sales route.

get up around 8 cook breakfast get ready and take off no stress don't care where we go or when we get there!

bob
That is the one solution that would never work for my wife!

I can't complain, I benefit a lot from her excellent planning.
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Old 02-22-2018, 05:16 PM   #6
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We average around 125 to 140 miles per day and try to limit our driving time to 6 hrs per day .
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Old 02-22-2018, 06:14 PM   #7
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Year 18 of our travels. We are not truly destination drivers. We enjoy the journey and average about 150 miles per day. We start early always before 9 and stop early usually around noon. We explore the area and decide if we want to stay. Everyplace you go has something interesting.

We've made 6 loops of the USA and Canada. Even when we return to one of our favorites we always find something we did know about.

This year we're making our 10th 2 month trip to Newfoundland. We virtually driven on every numbered road, yet we're always stumbling upon something new.

There's no rush in our minds, at least when you're retired. For those still working a faster pace may be necessary.
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Old 02-22-2018, 06:27 PM   #8
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I always start out trying to drive 55-62 mph, and limit our travels/day, but old habits are hard to break form our working/vacation days. I’m still trying to adjust to the retired thing.
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Old 02-22-2018, 07:26 PM   #9
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60 MPH

Last winter I drove to Arizona and back towing my Companion, and I chose 60 MPH for better MPG and also safety by not driving to the limit. The length of my day was somewhat longer as I traveled the 2000 miles in 5 days.
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Old 02-22-2018, 07:55 PM   #10
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Road Speed

We like to drive state highways or 2 lane roads in general, most of the time at about 60 to 62 mph. Going though towns, stopping for gasoline and lunches, the dog etc, we average 52 mph. If we drive the interstates we still only run in the low 60's but the average goes up a couple miles an hour because we don't go through as many towns. We like to go about 300 miles a day but on occasion, duty calls and we will run 400 or 450. Have driven more to get home when there's no camping attraction that we are interested in. Those 150 miles or less days are very refreshing.
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Old 02-22-2018, 08:39 PM   #11
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I am still at my full time job, and if I want to go to, say, Wyoming, and I live in Philadelphia, I will drive like a maniac to get there so I can have up to 10-11 days to do my thing (photography) and then drive like a maniac to get back home to return to the salt mines.

And by "maniac" I mean a 60-65 mph average, for up to 900-950 miles per day, sleeping in Walmart parking lots and showering at truck stops. It's a little tiring but worth the effort.

I'm definitely looking forward to earlyish retirement and a more meandering pace.
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Old 02-22-2018, 08:58 PM   #12
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We travel from BC to SoCal and back every year, about 1700 miles one way pulling our 13ft Boler with a minivan or similar.
We tend to travel around 60-65 and about 300 miles a day as well.
The exception being when we leave home, actually set the alarm, at the border when it opens and pound down 500 or so miles to get out of the snow!!
Depending on destination day to day I prefer interstates. I feel they are safer, no chance of a head on, the speeders always have a place to pass instead squeezing by on a 2 lane. But, gotta go through the redwoods on the 101 everytime!!
Pic somewhere in Or. on the coast hwy.
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Old 02-22-2018, 09:55 PM   #13
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Our travels have been not quite like what Jen describes, but we have often done 650 - 700 miles in a day. We would leave Vermont and arrive in Denver in three days, practically all on the interstates at about 65 mph. On the way back we would take four days, basically to avoid driving after dark.

Once we are in the area of interest we are happy doing no more than 300 miles in a day. In the BT era (Before Trailer) we made the return trip in three days also, but at about 65 to 75 mph.
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Old 02-22-2018, 10:30 PM   #14
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On travel days, we tend to put on the miles, at least 500 miles per day. This is one reason I like having reservations. We tend to pull in later than most. Once we start home, the miles increase, more like 700 or more per day. Did a 950 mile day once, never again!!!


When we are going west (90% of our trips have western US destinations) we shoot for a "shorter" first day, around 450 miles. If we put on many more miles the first day, we just end up hitting St Louis rush hour on day 2.


And traveling from the East to the West, you gain an hour a day with the time changes. Of course, returning we lose that hour a day.


60 to 65MPH.

+10 Once we are in an area of interest, mileage drops, a lot! But crossing TN, MO, KS and half of CO, we tend to keep moving.

Lesson learned from my old endurance motorcycle days, its all about managing stops. The time you waste during the day just gets added to the end of the day. At 65MPH, 500 miles is under 8 hours driving. Add whatever time you waste during the day, and figure less than 10 hours from start to the next campsite.


I guess its the decades of only being able to take one week of vacation at a time. We had to have long driving days to get very far. Now we are retired, we tend to move quickly from destination to destination, but then spend more time in one place once we get there.
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Old 02-23-2018, 05:59 AM   #15
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I like to follow the “2-4-6” rule when traveling. I’ll stop at 2 hundred miles, 4 hours or 6pm...which ever comes first. I travel solo and am retired so there’s no reasonable reason to rush. My Nissan Frontier is going 62 mph @ 2000 rpm in 4th gear (no od) and that seems to be the sweet spot for fuel mileage.

P@
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Old 02-23-2018, 06:50 AM   #16
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gotta get there!

I hate to say it but we also rush due to the fact that we have to "get back to work". Our employer continues to put more and more restrictions on our time off its absolutely crazy. So we too have to hurry, so we have more time to enjoy the destination.

I'll be the first to say it. We travel in the low 70's mph. I've pulled trailers my entire life - even dual trailers. I'm a stickler for maintenance. Fresh packed bearings, oversized and new high quality tires, and much less weight on axle/wheel/tire setup than it can handle. I also do and always will oversize the tow vs the load. I like 1/2 - 2/3 of tow capacity max. Factory tranny coolers, big brakes, etc all a must. We drive a full size Silverado V8 pulling 2500 lbs, so I personally feel low 70's mph is ok with me. Also at this point, time is more important than mileage.

This WILL all change once we retire! Travel slow and stop often! Cant wait!
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Old 02-23-2018, 07:03 AM   #17
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One problem we have is we take long distance trips, 7,000 to 8,000 miles typically. Add in staying at a few spots for 4 or 5 days, or even a week along the route. On a 8,000 mile trip, if we only drove 200 miles on driving days, and spent multiple days at some desirable stops, the trip would take over two months. On that trip, we spent seven days split between two campgrounds in Washington state, six days at one in Utah and three days at one in Colorado. So that just leaves 14 travel days in a month, for 575 miles on travel days (actual miles on travel days averaged less than that, as "stay put" days we put on some miles touring in the area).


It was different when we lived out west. First, we were a lot closer to the destinations we enjoy the most. Secondly, most of our trips were either weekends, or long weekends. So we might drive 125 miles after work Friday. Set up camp. Spend the weekend, return Sunday afternoon.
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Old 02-23-2018, 07:34 AM   #18
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In my opinion, there are many factors that determine what kind a mileage a person can/will accomplish. Many people who extoll the virtue of taking things more slowly will do so because they are retired with no particular destination in mind and want to let the experience wash over them, slowly taking their time to "stop and smell the flowers." You might say that for these campers, it's the journey and not the destination.

Then there are those who are still working full time for whom camping is a chance to get away from some place and decompress. For those still employed, getting to the place physically as well as mentally becomes a tasked to be completed as part of the their job, having earned the opportunity to go camping. To this group, camping is about the destination and not the journey.

I would suggest that each camper marches to the beat of their own drum and finds solace where they look for it. In any case, getting out there has become the mantra.

For me, I realized that long distance driving can take a serious toll on me, in more ways than one. When I drove into Canada pick up Gladys while doing a turn and burn for home, I learned that I can easily do 300 miles without really noticing any effects. I can do 400 miles but I begin to feel the wear/tear of the road, both mentally and physically. Beyond 500 miles a day is my "danger zone" and I wouldn't normally drive this distance without serious motivation. It becomes an issue of safety because of many factors like tunnel vision and decreasing situational awareness. It just ain't safe.

"Your Mileage May Vary."


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Old 02-23-2018, 07:53 AM   #19
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We have broken our trips to our adult children into overnights rather than drive 18 hrs thru hellacious traffic. I really, really hate interstates- especially I4 and I75. 80-85 mph and still being passed like we're standing still Yes, it gets a little squirelly at those speeds.

I just google mapped last June's trip to the Canadian Maritimes and it shows as taking 24 hours from South Florida. They are crazy. When I planned it I allotted 3 days and that was pushing it. I had other things go wrong so we spent over a week and 1/2 travelling to the CAT ferry in Maine. DH moves slowly in the morning and he sits in the dark till I wake up and then we get a late start and get in to the campground between 9 pm and 11 pm. I am trying to restrict myself to 300-400 miles daily now. But DH is still working and one month once a year is the best he can give me.

When my father was instructing me on navigation years ago he said to plan 50 mph and that would include the time needed for pickup touch football games (stretching) gasups, rest stops and meals. I have found that to be a pretty good rule of thumb, myself.
GPS and I have a difficult relationship at best as it seems to want to route you all over Hell's half acre to get you on a superhighway, even for just a mile or two. DH is still a superhighway sort of guy. My father drove the back roads to avoid traffic and enjoy the sights. I take after him. I have managed to get to places when main roads are closed down because I already scouted out side streets and back roads in non emergency times. DH was kinda like that in college but has reverted to the way his parents did things- like thye time they drove S FLorida to Texas in a 12 hr day.

I really don't like getting in this late but DH gets antsy if I start loading up a few days in advance. I would ideally be entirely loaded the night before leaving. So I am left rushing around like an idiot the night before or the morning of departure...
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Old 02-23-2018, 08:24 AM   #20
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backroads...

Speaking of using backroads, last winter we REALLY enjoyed driving the Natchez Trace Parkway to return home (in the North). This is a 440 mile two lane, two way highway between Natchez, Mississippi and Nashville, Tennessee. The speed limit is typically 50 mph and no commercial vehicles are allowed. Very relaxing drive.
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