Daily mileage

[Old GI]

Since we have not been on any real long trips with the Montana can anyone give me an idea of how many miles per day is a good average? We are travelling with a 10 year old Grandson (11 by the time we head out) and our cats. We are planning to drive from Palm Bay Florida to the Cherry Hill Park in College Park, Maryland in early June 2008. Time is not an issue I just want to be able to program where to stop on the way. I will be going between 55-60mph. Thanks for any help you can provide.

[Jolu]

If I am pushing it to get from point A to B without any wandering around I have been known to do 450 to 500 miles. I don't like that many miles because you usually get in late in the day and it is tiring.

I prefer to do 300 to 350 miles per day. I don't like to get up early and get in late. This is if I am heading to a destination place. If we are wandering around taking in things we may go only 50 to 100 miles.

What ever you choose to do, just travel whatever miles in a day you enjoy traveling. It is no fun to put in long days and mile after mile. The whole part of enjoying RVing is to have fun doing it. We also try to avoid interstates where possible. You get to see so much more off the interstate.

Happy Travels!

JB

[Waynem]

I agree with JB. Do what you are comfortable with. If you travel during Daylight Savings Time, you have longer in the evening to get settled in during daylight. Come Standard Time you run out of daylight real early. I have the TomTom programed to alert me after an hour to take a break. Sometimes I just tell it I have taken one, especially if I had stopped for any reason. It really is a personal choice of what you are comfortable with. When I was driving for a private company I would never exceed a 10 hour day of driving, but then I was 15-20 years younger. We just got home from a 256 mile trip out and I slept real well that evening.

Depending on whether you take the interstate or back roads will depend on your fatigue level. The interstate can be deceiving and lull you into a boring tired state, whereas the back roads are more intriguing and require more physical endurance. You may be mentally alert on the back roads, but it may tire you out sooner.

Do what is comfortable for you and you grandson - and don't try to keep up with him!!!!

Also, if you travel off the main highway be very attentive to overpass heights. The Rand McNally Motor Carrier's Atlas lists all the states and the heights of overpasses/bridges.

Happy traveling.

[richfaa]

Since we are both retired and long timers we are never in a great hurry. We do not like to set up in a campground in the dark and we do not like to get up early so that sets some boundaries. We both drive the rig so that makes it less tiring and stressful on both of us. There are times when "conditions" like weather may cause you to do a longer that desired run...having said all that we usually do in the area of 250/300 miles a day. Many times much shorter....It is good not to have a schedule or time restraints.

[firetrucker]

Pete, 300 miles a day, plus or minus, seems to be the favorite number of most MOCers who aren't still constrained by their job or a rigid schedule (there was quite a long thread about this a while back). Coming back from Canada a few years ago, we didn't have anything planned between Edmonton and home, so I did a few 600 and 700 mile days, but never again, and certainly not where there would be any traffic. When we go to Vegas, we split the trip up into two 200-mile days. At the rest stop, it's not unusual to have someone pull in after dark and be gone by the time I roll out of bed at dawn the next day. Schedules and distances between towns tend to drive that sort of driving habit out here in Nevada, though.

Although it must be nice to have a class A or C that you can just pull the slides in, get into the driver's seat, and be on your way, that seems to short circuit the pretrip inspection that makes me feel more secure when I'm driving. Besides, it gets me out in the fresh air and starts the blood, and other internal functions, moving.

Bob

[Charlie]

300 miles is a good number. I have made as many as 500 but it really take it's toll on the body. That was before I retired, now I take my time.

[ols1932]

We like 250-275. However there are times when we go 375-400 but those are only when we HAVE to be somewhere at a given time. I don't get near as tired when we only travel 250. That gives us time to set up, take a shower and relax.

Orv

[TLightning]

We do an average of about 375. Leave at 9:00, stop at 4:00, with a few rest stops (no fuel stops) gives us about 6 1/2 hours of driving at around 60 mph. We'll vary it, sometime shorter sometimes longer, depending on where the CGs are located. Makes for an easy day.

[stiles watson]

Ours is a 250/2 o'clock rule. We stop at which ever occurs first. We are, of course, flexible enough to go 300/3 o'clock. I like to set up in the new CG early enough to find a good eating place and scope out the interest spots we might take in.

I hate parking and setting up in the dark. If you drive anywhere close to a safe/legal speed for you and your equipment, 500 miles is a 10 to 11 hour work day. I don't have to do that any more, so I won't. I drove the rig 1700 miles in three days because I wanted to get back for Dianna's surgery. The last day was 800 miles. It was utterly exhausting.

With stops for meals and rest stops 250 is a 6 hour day and that's enough. Besides, 11 year-olds would rather be doing something in the afternoon/evening other than riding seat-belted to a truck.

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Pretty much agree with all the rest of ya, Specially Richfaa.

We have done 405 in one day, GROAN. We have done as little as 90 (just moved to get out of a muddy campground when 3 inches more rain was coming, ahhhhhh concrete is a wonderful thing!)

Last trip, Irish Hills Michigan to Mission, seems that it was 305ish, 320ish, 285, 400 and 400. The first 400 was not FUN, windy, and we arrived after dark, grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

We both drive, Al usually more than I, but last year on the same trip MI to TX, I actually drove about 2/3rd of it, he was feeling a bit punk, I felt fine, I drove more.

We have done the 1650 to 1700 mile trip in 5 days, 6 days, and 8 days. We never unhook in those 1700 miles.

Allowing your self to be flexible as to miles per day, length of rest stops, lunch stops, where you eat, where you stay and for how long (we really like sitting out storms, rain or otherwise) is the key for us.

[wersqu]

When we traveled with our children we were always on a schedule. Trying to fit 3 weeks of fun into 2 seemed to be the case. What we would do is leave between 3 and 4 in the morning and drive until 2 to 3 in the afternoon. The kids would usually sleep for a few hours in the morning and by stopping early in the afternoon gave them plenty of time to burn off some of their endless energy. That first tank of gas with everyone sleeping and light traffic at that time of day really made for good traveling without stopping every 100 miles for a rest room etc.

[awaywego]

We start looking for a site around 3:30 no matter how far we have gone. Sometimes it is only 50 miles, if there is something to see other times it may be 300.
We try not to make reservations so we can go north south east or west on a whim.

[rogue]

Since you will be traveling with your grandson, age 11, you may want to consider about 250, with rest stops, and a break for lunch, that will probably be between 5 1/2 - 6 1/2 hours. So if you leave at 10am, you would get into the next place about 4pm. Get set up, and have time to go out for a nice dinner with him, or get the BBQ out and cook up some burgers.

[Parrothead]

We go 200-250 or when we need fuel. Ed prefers to fuel up unhooked so one tank = 1 day of travel. We've done less when we wanted to stop someplace special or a little more when there was no CG available. Like the others we don't do dark setups unless it is an emergency. I believe children pretty much tell us when they are ready. Some have more energy than others, some like to play games and listen to music in the vehicle. We do take frequent pit stops, at least one per hour if possible. And we always stop for lunch.
Happy trails.........................

[sreigle]

I suspect the most accurate answer is "it depends." When we were weekending/vacationing, when getting to our destination as quickly as possible so to maximize time at the destination, we normally ran 450 to 550 per day. As fulltimers, we shoot for 200 to 250, with 50 miles either side of that not unusual. We leave later, arrive earlier, in other words. And stop if we see something interesting. When my folks were very ill and we needed to get back quickly we were running 400 to 500 per day.

The most I've done in one stretch (meaning without a stop for sleep) is a bit over 800. Twice. But that's the exception for us.

[Old GI]

Thanks for all the input, I think we will try to do 250 per day. It will still get us to our destination about the same time, after a week in D.C. we promised him a trip to Hershey, Pa., to the Chocolate factory then south hopefully through some mountains, he is a native Floridian and has never seen mountains.

[Montana Sky]

My normal is 700 to 1,000 miles towing and 1,000 to 1,300 not towing.

[rogue]

Montana Sky, I think this thread was for mileage per day on the ground, not the air

[Steve and Brenda]

quote:Originally posted by Jolu

We also try to avoid interstates where possible. You get to see so much more off the interstate.

Like low bridge clearances, diesel stops that are hard to enter or few and far between, travels through downtown....

[exav8tr]

I think you can see that there are many different answers to this question. Having only been towing since June, I have come to like the 300 mile/3 O'clock answer, although I have gone longer and most times shorter. I think the real key is driving conditions and how your body reacts. Also taking adequate breaks is important. Yeah, I like the 300/3 deal........