How far do you tow in a day?

[Perryb67]

Originally Posted by Doctor Harold

Ten days, 57 great replies, and yet no response from the OP.

He asked a question I find interesting. I didn't see a problem that needed unknown repair. Why does he need to reply and how will that help this thread? Sometimes people just look for input. I see this on forums all the time.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Doctor Harold]

Originally Posted by Perryb67

He asked a question I find interesting. I didn't see a problem that needed unknown repair. Why does he need to reply and how will that help this thread? Sometimes people just look for input. I see this on forums all the time.

Enjoy,

Perry

Perhaps you are right. I saw the thread as a conversation, and expected the person who started the conversation to remain somewhat involved. I guess my expectations were unrealistic to the thread.

Mea Culpa,

Harold

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Daniel A.

Nexus has been around since 2000 its a joint program between Canada & US customs land air and sea entry. NEXUS fits with the US Global Entry program for expedited customs and immigration clearance, and TSA PreCheck for expedited airport security checks. There are Nexus lanes all across the country. It is the responsibility of every traveler to know the rules before crossing any boarder in the world.



In order to obtain a Nexus card there is a screening process one must attend an interview in person and provide much documentation to be declared a low risk for crossing boarders. Makes no difference which way your traveling the rules are very strict. You can also use your Nexus card in place of your passport.

I just converted my Driver's license to a "Real ID Driver's license.
It allows flight and can be substituted for a passport to drive into Canada.
It required a ridiculous amount of paperwork "proof" to get it issued.
How does it compare to Nexus in terms of convenience for crossing.
Has anyone hear even used a Real ID license to go to Canada yet?

[Kai in Seattle]

We got "ENHANCED DRIVER LICENSE" a few years ago, just in case. Our passports had just expired and price had more than doubled, plus I had to be "disarmed" last time I went for a passport photo (they confiscated my Ladies' Swiss Army knife) so we tried this. I think it had some paperwork attached, but it wasn't a huge deal.

They worked fine coming back into the US. We would have had to make an effort to get into the Nexus lane coming back; going north we made a couple turns that directed us directly into the Nexus Lane, so it was just too, too easy to stay there. I'm grateful to the Canadian Border Patrol Officer who was really quite restrained.

To be fair, those tales of folks who got arrested were people who had actually wrongly crossed the border; we were just in the wrong line.

"K"

[ThomasC]

South Coast Mass to Tampa....3 days

[Iowa Dave]

You’ll usually make a little better time on the 4 lanes than the two lane roads. But I’d rather drive the roads less traveled if they are in good shape. Stopping for gasoline, letting the dog out, lunch, take a picture whatever and I average 52 miles an hour. Don’t do that much better on an Interstate. 6 Or 7 hours a day unless I have an ending destination that’s say 400 miles or better and then lay up for a couple days or more. Favorite days are about 150 to 200. Least favorite, rain all day. Rarely done, Towing in the dark
Never do anymore: Snow and ice. Been there, done that. No desire to repeat.
Iowa Dave

[computerspook]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

You’ll usually make a little better time on the 4 lanes than the two lane roads. But I’d rather drive the roads less traveled if they are in good shape. Stopping for gasoline, letting the dog out, lunch, take a picture whatever and I average 52 miles an hour. Don’t do that much better on an Interstate. 6 Or 7 hours a day unless I have an ending destination that’s say 400 miles or better and then lay up for a couple days or more. Favorite days are about 150 to 200. Least favorite, rain all day. Rarely done, Towing in the dark
Never do anymore: Snow and ice. Been there, done that. No desire to repeat.
Iowa Dave

For me that depends on the reason for the trip and the need. Have done some really long trips in bad weather a few times to get to a requested location where I was needed. Yeah drove for 12-16 hours and then pulled in and went to sleep without setting up, but was ready to help when everyone else got there.

Have done somethings with the kid where I did what my parents did. Hard long day of travel, a full day of fun and then early roll out to another hard long day of travel. That will get you most places or close to it.

[UrbanSurfer]

Well I was going to start a new thread question(below) until I found this discussion - lemme thank all the really good replies because it relieves my concern about how long a drive to do in 1-day.

We've been towing just over 1-year and have about 10-trips completed.
bought in Sept. 2019 and feel lucky and fortunate, even geniuses

Thoughts on the # of hours driving/Towing in 1-day? We are planning a 4-day weekend (Friday to Monday) in the near future.
To be on the scene for Saturday and Sunday we have a 9-hour drive and the same on the return. +/-550 miles one way.
Is that considered excessive?

fwiw-our tires are just over 1-yr old. The trailer axle bearings were replaced and packed Spring 2020.
We tow a fiberglass RV (Parkliner - 2300 lbs. dry weight)
1-axle/3500 Lb. Rubber Torsion Axle and Tire Size: ST205/75/R14

[2morebeer]

Originally Posted by UrbanSurfer

Thoughts on the # of hours driving/Towing in 1-day? We are planning a 4-day weekend (Friday to Monday) in the near future.
To be on the scene for Saturday and Sunday we have a 9-hour drive and the same on the return. +/-550 miles one way.
Is that considered excessive?

I think you'll find from the posts in this thread that it's excess to some, but not to others. It's not something I would do on a regular basis, but sometimes you want to maximize your time at the destination, and in your case, you only have 4 days to being with. To me, the key is to get an early start when you're feeling fresh and traffic is lighter to make some distance, then start taking regular short breaks (10 minutes of walking/stretching at a rest stop) and change drivers, when or if possible. I was solo to Moab, but on our Death Valley trips my wife will drive on easier parts of the route so I can rest.

Important to know your limits and be wary of when you're reaching them.

Cheers,
Scott

[thrifty bill]

On long driving days, the time you waste during the day gets added on to the end, when you are more fatigued and it might be dark. So being efficient in your stops is important.

I come from an endurance rally background, so hitting the road early and ending late is typical. But if you are not comfortable doing it in your car, no way!!

A normal driving day to me is excessive to many on this forum. The first question I ask people is how many miles do you drive comfortably with no trailer? Decrease those miles by about 20%. I find I go lower speeds when I am towing and I stop more for gas. So if you travel without the trailer 500 miles a day, then 400 miles is a decent guess. To some, towing is very stressful. To others, not so much. If you tense up a lot when towing, I might cut your daily mileage cap by 50%. I have a friend that can't do more than 175 miles a day, and preferably, less than 125 miles.

And if you really want to know your range, think about back to back to back driving days. This usually cuts your average.

I also plan my timing so I reach big cities in the middle of the day. A common one for me is St Louis. I need to go through St Louis after 10 am and before 3 pm, or better yet, time it for a weekend.

A common destination for me is Golden, CO, a suburb of Denver. No way I will tow through Denver during rush hour!

Another "trick" on driving days when they are back to back, do overnight STOPS instead of camping. Stopping in a campground for an overnight takes time. First, you have to get to the campground. Many campgrounds are not convenient to the highway (some are). Then you need to register and pay. Finally, you have to set up. And what if they are full? Overnight stops (not camping), tend to be convenient to the highway, no set up, no check in, no check out. Just park and you are done. Such overnights are the typical Walmart, Cracker Barrel or a truck stop.

One last trick, since 90% of our trips out west go through Denver, we have identified both easy overnight stops and conveniently located campgrounds. We keep both in our plans. On campgrounds, we will grab a pull through and not unhook.

In the end, the miles I drive a day have nothing to do with the miles YOU drive a day. Maybe you drive more, maybe less. But do not set your expectations on my driving. Our trips tend to be long distances. So being efficient on travel days is important to us. A typical trip will be 8,000 to 10,000 miles. Divide by the number of days driving and you will know what you need to accomplish. And if that is not practical, shorten the miles of the trip, or add days.

[IMEd]

Ideally 4-5 hours if in transit but never more than 6.
Leave by 9, stop by 3 or 4 including breaks.
Never overnight in a campground. Free and easy places to stop tend to be readily available in the western states we travel in.

[Lynn Eberhardt]

I figure 50 miles an hour overall average when towing. That takes lower speeds and stops into account. For 550 miles, I would figure 11 hours for us. Given that it's someplace you really want to be at for 2 out of the 4 days, I'd go for it.

We recently did 690 miles/14 hours one day and stopped at a closed Cracker Barrel because we wanted to get someplace and hadn't planned properly. Made sandwiches, walked the dog, and went to sleep. Had a nice breakfast in the morning and were on our way. We don't do that regularly but will if we have a goal in mind. Everyone's idea of what is too far is different.

[floyd]

When towing our Scamp, we like to leave in the evening(say+-5PM).
We then drive until 10 or 11PM and stop at Walmart/Rest area/CrackerBarrel to overnight.


Next day we are rested and the last minute trip prep from the day before is a dim memory.


We then have a full day to drive. I like driving, and my Ranger is more comfy than my couch,also the view from the cab is FAR more interesting than anything on TV at home. I can drive alert and comfortable for between 10 and 14hrs at 62MPH and arrive rested. Getting older now, so I feel the need get out and walk around for a few minutes when refuelling and maybe once in between at a reststop.


We leave WAY early in the morning when traveling without the trailer, but when towing our comfy little tagalong sanctuary... the evening head start is really satisfying on most trips.
Even on shorter trips, we can arrive earlier next day refreshed at check-in time at the campsite, set up, and still have time to relax or explore.

[David Tilston]

I tend to leave LATE, like 9 - 10pm. I drive all night, while my family sleeps. There is something profoundly heartwarming about looking in the rear view mirror, on the windshield, and seeing my kids resting comfortably. Occasionally there was the glow of one, (or more) hand held video game. With my wife sleeping in the seat beside me. I pull into rest stops when necessary, trying not to wake anyone. My wife drives during the day, and I sleep. Some trips last three days. You would think one of the five kids would complain, or, "Are we there yet?" But no. In fact on the first three day journey, when we arrived at my father’s lake front cottage, one of my daughters ran around the place, very excited. She said to me, "Dad, it's even better than the trip!" Too bad they had to grow up. We only have two of the kids living at home. Traveling feels less like a migration now.

[parmm]

Originally Posted by Kai in Seattle

Daniel A: well, good. 2000 then. It's more than 20 years ago, right? And yes, I'm sure the Canadians could have fined us. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, but our purpose wasn't to cut in line or cheat the system, it was, simply, having missed one turn, and been baffled by the other options, we just picked the nearest line to where we entered the big area.

I don't mean to make light of it. Thanks for updating and upgrading the information.

PS how do you "know all the rules" when you don't even know there ARE rules? We got our enhanced Drivers' licenses and nobody said a thing about Nexus lines. We literally had no idea. Now FGRV has been duly warned. How dare we travel without knowing ALL the rules first? Wow. Good thing we didn't end up in prison.

Within X miles of a international border there is what is called "No Man's Land" where we "citizens" have no rights. Customs and Border agents can search your vehicle and person, and can detain you or your vehicle as long as they want!

[Borden]

300 to 400 max

[UrbanSurfer]

'how far you go so it is really up to your ability to drive that far in a day.'

Thanks to everyone for all the input, it'll remove that bit off my wondering/anxiety, focus/safety concerns I usually have behind the wheel.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by UrbanSurfer

Thoughts on the # of hours driving/Towing in 1-day? We are planning a 4-day weekend (Friday to Monday) in the near future.
To be on the scene for Saturday and Sunday we have a 9-hour drive and the same on the return. +/-550 miles one way.
Is that considered excessive?

In my experience 550 miles in 9 hours is unrealistic for towing. Even with a towing speed of 65 mph on freeways, we have found through much experience that fuel stops, meals, traffic delays, and other factors combine to give us a pretty consistent 45 mph average speed for long distance highway travel. That’s the figure I use for planning and puts it closer to 12 hours total travel time to go that distance.

Maybe if you’re young, childless, petless and willing to scarf down a sandwich while you drive, maybe if you don’t encounter road construction, accidents, or drag racing semis blocking both lanes, maybe if you’re blessed with fair weather and following winds… you might make it in 10 hours. .

Doable in a long day, especially with two drivers, but not fun. The view may be better than the TV at home, but there’s only one channel, and it might be the back end of a truck.

[AC0GV]

Originally Posted by floyd

When towing our Scamp, we like to leave in the evening(say+-5PM).
We then drive until 10 or 11PM and stop at Walmart/Rest area/CrackerBarrel to overnight.

I too like to leave the night before. I'm in a different frame of mind on the road and not thinking about things that need to be done at home. I have a Walmart about 65 miles from home that still allows over night parking and stop there. I read, watch TV and relax.

Setting a daily mileage distance is a personal thing, it is different for different people on different days. I once worked with a person than would get tired just getting in the car and wrapping his fingers around the wheel.

The type of trip also changes things. I have been on the road twice so far this year and have run 200 - 400 miles per day and it is comfortable travel if you can find a place to stop. Last year one day I put on over 800 miles in one day to get out of the wild fire smoke, NOT COMFORTABLE.

[UrbanSurfer]

+1 everything you mention is accurate and real-world most-likely what will happen.

we'll hope for the best and be patient if it turns out otherwise.

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

In my experience 550 miles in 9 hours is unrealistic for towing. Even with a towing speed of 65 mph on freeways, we have found through much experience that fuel stops, meals, traffic delays, and other factors combine to give us a pretty consistent 45 mph average speed. That’s the figure I use for planning. That puts it closer to 12 hours total travel time to go that distance.

Maybe if you’re young, childless, petless and willing to scarf down a sandwich while you drive, maybe if you don’t encounter road construction, accidents, or drag racing semis blocking both lanes, maybe if you’re blessed with fair weather and following winds… you might make it in 10 hours.