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Old 10-26-2019, 08:44 AM   #1
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Name: Mark
Trailer: Scamp
Minnesota
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Question How far do you tow in a day?

How far do Scamp and other fiberglass campers tow in a day? We are new and soon to get our 13' Scamp. As we plan/fantasize about future trips we've realized that we have no idea how many miles a day (or hours per day) are realistic. Are we right in thinking that it is very different than a road trip in our SUV without anything to tow where we can average 75mph if we wanted? Thanks in advance for the insight!
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Old 10-26-2019, 09:15 AM   #2
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Name: Bob Ruggles
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When I tow my Escape 19 from Michigan to Camp Verde, AZ it’s about 2000 miles. It takes 5 days at 400 miles per day.
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Old 10-26-2019, 09:18 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MSFrancis View Post
How far do Scamp and other fiberglass campers tow in a day? We are new and soon to get our 13' Scamp. As we plan/fantasize about future trips we've realized that we have no idea how many miles a day (or hours per day) are realistic. Are we right in thinking that it is very different than a road trip in our SUV without anything to tow where we can average 75mph if we wanted? Thanks in advance for the insight!
How long one wants to drive per day often depends on whether you are heading for a destination with a short vacation time vs being retired and just traveling without caring how long it takes to get from place to place.

I'm in the "retired" category, and prefer to do 150 - 200 miles per day when towing. I'm comfortable with 300 - 400 when not towing, and, to be honest, there really is little difference other than I do tend to tow at 63MPH, and when unhooked, keep up with traffic.

I try to stop for the day around 1:00 - 2:00, giving me time to relax before dinner, see some of the area, and, since I usually do not travel with reservations, find an empty site.
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Old 10-26-2019, 09:28 AM   #4
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I've done 600 mile says but prefer to keep it under 400 miles.


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Old 10-26-2019, 09:29 AM   #5
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How far do you tow in a day?

I have found 45mph average speed gives a pretty gauge of travel time, including stops and delays. Most of our actual towing is at 60-65 mph on two lanes and interstates, but stops take longer with a trailer and gas fill-ups come more frequently.

We are not retired, and we typically book 3-5 night stays well in advance. With limited vacation time we’ve done some pretty long driving days to get to our destinations. Even so, we try to spread anything beyond 400-450 miles over two days. Looking forward to a time when we can take a more leisurely pace. 150-200 miles every 2nd or 3rd day sounds perfect!

Then too, there are driving days and sightseeing days. San Luis Obispo to Big Sur along the Pacific Coast Highway is only 100 miles, but allow at least two days or don't bother!
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Old 10-26-2019, 09:33 AM   #6
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How far depends on route, road conditions and traffic. I can tow for 10-12 hours and only go 350 miles if there's enough road construction. . Too twisty mountain roads typically mean slower going than straight line freeways.


However far you go, please be safe.
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Old 10-26-2019, 09:56 AM   #7
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Name: Ed
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Miles per day

I have a 17 ft Casita SD and I tow with a Jeep Grand Cherokee that has the 4.7 engine. If I travel at 60 miles per hour I can get fourteen to fifteen miles per gallon. I can drive faster but the gas mileage really goes down which means I have to stop more often for gas. So generally I stop about every 180 miles for gas. Depending on the wind and driving conditions, towing a trailer is much harder than just the vehicle by itself. So my goal is four hundred miles each day. Sometimes more sometimes less. Generally I plan my traveling so that I have camp ground reservations at the end of the day. This takes a lot of stress off because I know how far I'm travelling and I know where I'm going to spend the night.
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Old 10-26-2019, 10:00 AM   #8
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Name: mikeh53
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We did 7200 mile round trip this past summer

We pulled our 69 13 foot Boler, Using our 2010 Six cylinder Ford Fusion.

I pull it 58 miles an hour and we averaged about 400 miles a day.

And easy toe, Indiana to Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, Oregon and home. no problems! Even over the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, The Sierra Nevada’s - Yosemite , the grand Tetons, And over Beartooth Pass in Montana!
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Old 10-26-2019, 10:07 AM   #9
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Of course it depends on the destination or whether it is just touring.
For longer trips, we often leave in the evening or late afternoon then stop for the night around 10PM. This gives us a 2-300 mile "headstart" on our journey. A fresh start the next morning for either a mid-day arrival or good day of travel of 4-600 miles.


For our ScampCamp pilgrimage in late January, we have to watch for a good travel day,and leave Northern Illannoy early in the morning. We then go straight south until at least Nashville,(about 450miles) in an attempt to get south of winter weather.


For most trips under 500 miles we like the strategy described in the first paragraph. That means two leisurely days of travel while arriving with plenty of daylight to set-up or socialize.


I have always found it hard to deal with last minute packing issues, so that first night on the road means better sleep than the last night at home.


One thing ...
When towing, slowdown and stop more often.
We have made Daytona Beach in one day with the Mustang...
We take 3 days to get to Sebring with the trailer, you can stop when you like without reservations since your accommodations are only a few feet behind you at all times. We seldom use campgrounds when in transit, staying in rest areas, WalMarts, or CrackerBarrels.


Bottom line,relax, go at your own pace and stop if you get tired.
Save some time for a few points of interest along the way.
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Old 10-26-2019, 10:07 AM   #10
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Like some of the others....we are retired and when travelling....every day is different. When we head down to see the kids.....we've driven 450 to 500 miles a day without many stops. When we head over to Montana, Colorado or Idaho....we've driven 20 or 30 miles down the road to the next campground. We visit lots of historic sites and I cannot pass up an old horse drawn wagon or carriage without stopping. Also....a nice little lake with fish jumpin gets my attention and I always have time to throw a few lures. BTW....on highways....we travel at about 60 mph....slower on two lane roads. We like to see the countryside and usually are not in a hurry. We also stop for frequent "P" breaks for my wife and dogs. Keep em happy....good rule to follow. Safe travel.
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Old 10-26-2019, 10:13 AM   #11
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Like most here, we trip plan for a 4-6 hr drive and use Wayz to assist in selecting the stopping location. That could be a RV park or several days at a State, BLM, COE, etc.
Stopping around 2 hrs for break, stretching, exercise really helps old joints. We try to quit before 5 and leave before 10.
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Old 10-26-2019, 10:23 AM   #12
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80 plus years of age and have on recent occasions towed 550 miles in a day but DW and I much prefer to limit towing to 350 miles . Not that we find it so terribly tiring when towing but more that we like to not start at the crack of dawn and then we like to be to our destination in time to get set up well in advance of dark. Lee and Norma
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Old 10-26-2019, 10:46 AM   #13
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In 2015 we drove 7 hours to pick up Peanut and show it to my Aunt...and then 7 hours home all in one day. We decided then even the 7 hours one-way was about at the limit of our endurance. We try not to drive any longer than that--ever. Four hours is better. But we're retired and can take our time.

Since my spine crumbled, the longest I've ridden so far is 2 hours in one day, an hour there and an hour back. It went OK and we're looking at a 3-hour each way drive. We'll see.


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Old 10-26-2019, 11:13 AM   #14
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My back gets sore after a few hours in the seat. So we get up just after sunrise, and are on the road in a couple hours. Then drive for under five, usually stopping for lunch (often cooking and eating in the camper). Then we have plenty of daylight to get setup at the new site.
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Old 10-26-2019, 11:24 AM   #15
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It depends where I'm going and how much time I want to spend travelling versus enjoying the destination. On the Island, the camping is withing one to three hours from home.

I just returned from Moab, UT and drove from Potlatch State Park (hour south of Port Angeles) to Twin Falls, ID (690 miles) and then into Moab (450 miles) the next day to arrive early evening. Return trip was essentially the same with an extra two hours from Moab to Lud Drexler Park, ID (578 miles) to avoid the nightmare through Salt Lake City (6 lanes across doing 65mph, mirror to mirror, zigzagging back and forth bouncing through construction on i15), then to Dosewallips State Park, WA (757 miles). We do the same when going to Death Valley on Spring Break (two long days, that is, i15's of no concern). This allows us to maximize our time there to ride off-road and hike. If I were retired like the friend that met me there then I would take more time on each side of the destination to smell the roses.

I also have to deal with a ferry on each end of my journey, either the Coho from Port Angeles or BC Ferries.

I love road trips and riding.

Scott

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Old 10-26-2019, 11:31 AM   #16
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This is a great thread, thanks to the original poster for asking.
Before retiring it was between 4 to 6 hundred miles per day,
Now we prefer 250 to 300 per day.
Towing a Bigfoot TF20 fifth wheel with a half ton Silverado,
Hovering between 60 and 65 I get 17 mpg till I hit the mountains, then it drops to 14-15.
Regards,
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Old 10-26-2019, 11:43 AM   #17
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Depends on TV comfort, speed, time, destination, etc. And I enjoy driving.

We tend to go a lot further in a day than others here. Retired or not, my wife won't take a trip over one month. So longer trips either means cover more miles on the boring days, or limit the distance.

I'm not slowing down to get better fuel economy, it is what it is. Typically I am going 65MPH on the freeway, 70 max (with tires rated for 81 MPH). And FWIW, not much of a MPG penalty at those speeds (5.4L V8). When we are heading to a destination (or heading home), we are often dry camping at Walmart or whatever. This makes late arrival no problem (no camp to set up, no late night check in paperwork, etc).

On miles traveled, you will lose at least 10MPH with stops, probably more (maybe a lot more). So if you are traveling 65MPH, for the day overall you might average 50MPH. So go for ten hours between when you leave the prior night's stop to the next night's stop, and you might be able to travel 500 miles. Ten hours can mean leaving at 8AM and arriving at 6PM. Try this with a GPS sometime. Do average speed while moving versus average speed overall (leave the GPS on during stops). If you haven't done this before, you will be surprised how large the difference can be!

Basically, on traveling days we are covering a lot of miles. After several days of that, we might hang out in one "mini-destination" for a couple of days. I am talking the longer trips like Alaska for instance.

On the way home, I really stretch the miles. It all depends. Traveling west you will gain an hour each time you cross into the next time zone. It adds up. There is no free lunch, as when we head back home (east) we lose an hour every time zone.

Yes, you can forget about averaging 75MPH towing a trailer.

Rough rule of thumb for us. If we are comfortable in the truck when we are not towing covering XXX miles in a day, then I adjust it down about 20%, in part for lower overall speed, more gas stops, more focus when driving.

Longest day ever was Paxico, KS to home. Never again. Last couple of hours were in the dark, in the rain, through the I-40 Smoky Mountains.
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Old 10-26-2019, 11:58 AM   #18
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Jon in AZ makes a salient point about average speed.
Of course there are too many variables to be precise but in general...
Highway speed is a study in diminishing returns.
Not scientific or exact, but from my experience...


For example...
Say it is possible to average 55MPH by driving 60MPH.
As your speed increases there is a dramatic drop in the percentage which is added to the average.

So when you slow down to tow you don't really loose as much in average speed as you do in highway speed.
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Old 10-26-2019, 12:11 PM   #19
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Name: Steve
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Average 300 miles or 6 hours per day . Have gone farther / longer but it makes for a long day . I don’t enjoy driving , never have , never will , seems more like having a boring job
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Old 10-26-2019, 12:46 PM   #20
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Name: Glen
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I have driven as much as 800 mile during a 14 hour day averaging 65 miles an hour...it was brutal. Most of the time I don't exceed 600 miles and prefer to keep it closer to 400+. I always drive 65 on the hwy unless speed posted is lower.
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