How to hurry

You haven't said what your time frame is for completing this trip, or what you'll be driving.

I-75
I-40
I-25
I-70 or I-90

I not sure about what you mean by not driving long hours, unless you plan to fly or ride the greyhound driving long hours is the only way. We were late getting off and had resevations in Yosemite. We left North Florida and were in California (Panamint Valley) in 4 days and in Yosemite in 4 1/2 days.

We did it by being on the road at 7 AM at the latest, minimizing stops, no long lunch breaks, and driving until 8 PM. You gain an hour driving west for each time zone so we were on the road 14 hours a day. Eat in the car. We were pulling a popup and so we couldn't drive 75 mph.

Day 1 left N FL, made it to east of Dallas on I-20.
Day 2 Made it to just across the NM border
Day 3 Kingman AZ
Day 4 Panamint Valley CA

There is no other way.

You need to pick an expeditious and as close to direct route as you can find too. No following the Interstates and you cannot afford to be caught on minor highways with lots of stop lights either. We were familiar with the route ahead of time.

For us there are direct routes east to west. For you cutting diagonally across the country it will be much harder.

You will arrive exhausted.

RickLIght wrote:
...The kicker is no RV, camping, or time for (extended) fun. Neither are we as young as when we did those all night crazy road trips...

Depending on your time frame, if you need to make the trip quick and fast with no frills involved, then your best approach is to switch off drivers. When one sleeps, the other drives.

About a year ago my wife and I did a fast 2 day trip from central Indiana to Kansas City, Missouri. We only had Saturday and Sunday. No trailer, no frills. We left early Saturday morning and drove straight through by trading off. We met our mission, (which took a whole 15 minutes), and turned right around and headed back to Indianapolis. We did stay the night in a motel, and got an early start Sunday morning.

We both got back to work Monday morning and were completely wiped out!

Yes, getting older just plain sucks. Not near the energy or stamina like we use to have. Long gone are the marathon road trips. So this fast 2 day turn around was a real killer for us.

In order to do it, you have to keep your focus! Don't think about how tired you may be, or how long the trip is. Look at the clock and look at the odometer in your vehicle and look at 30 minute increments. Let's see, at 70 mph, in 30 minutes, I should travel 35 miles. Once you reach the 35 miles, set the goal again and keep driving. When you feel tired, switch drivers and keep pushing.

It will all be over fast and furious... THEN you can collapse!

On long road trips, not hauling the TT, my wife and I will swap driving about every 2-3 hours. We will stop at a Holiday Inn Express along the way by around 5-6 pm. Get some dinner shower and relax in the room for a bit and go to sleep. We only bring in a single little travel bag to get thru the change of clothes and toiletries for each of us.

We will get up at around 5 am and brew up the coffee that comes in the room and get ready to go and usually out by 5:30am.

Repeat until we get to our destination.. Have only stuck to the West coast doing this, but in my single, younger days, I would do coast to coast trips driving an E250 Van and 16' utility trailer by myself in around 4 days...

But that was a long time ago and I was getting paid to do it!

Anyway, just gotta do whatever works best for you in the end.

Good luck!

Mitch

* We will be in a Subaru wagon helping my daughter move.

* I know we will be driving long hours. My question is more about how to do so, as safely and comfortably as possible.

agesilaus wrote:
We did it by being on the road at 7 AM at the latest, minimizing stops, no long lunch breaks, and driving until 8 PM. You gain an hour driving west for each time zone so we were on the road 14 hours a day. Eat in the car.

I hear your plan, 3 days of pain and a week of healing. That sounds like what I'm trying to avoid.

Trip planning tips are great but not my major focus. I figure interstates are the smart move, that is what they were designed for.

1961 HWY66 Tulsa to Bakersfield ~~ 32hours ~~ No sleep ~ Coffee only ~ 1960 Corvair DO NOT RECOMMEND

Switch Drivers every two hours. Start early and end early. A thermos for hot beverages is a boon to have.

Use a small inverter to keep your cell phones charged and use them for entertainment.

Make up a "care pack" with carrot sticks and other veggies.

Be aware of weather issues and try to "build in" a spare day.

Keep south (below the snow zone) for as long as it makes sense to do so. Avoid big cities if possible.

What city do you start at? What city do you end at?

RickLIght wrote:
Sometimes one has to hurry, rather than doing it "properly"!

DW & I have to drive from Georgia to Washington state in December. The kicker is no RV, camping, or time for (extended) fun. Neither are we as young as when we did those all night crazy road trips...

So I'm looking for tips, beyond not driving as long as possible.

To your question -- keep in mind that December is a snowy month, particularly for the mountain states. And you'll need to go through the mountain states somehow. The DIRECT route is I-75/I-24/I-64/I-70/I-29/I-90. And depending on your timing it could work. However, you'd need to be prepared to either hole up in a hotel in case of a bad storm, or chance it driving through the storm IF the roads are open. Depending on how bad this winter becomes, you could lose several days. How does that fit into your timetable?

A viable option, again weather dependent, would be to take I-40 (or even I-20/10) all the way across to CA, and then one of the many routes north from CA to WA. Yes, there could also be problems in northern CA, but probably not as many as a northern route. But being able to go straight through without having to stay overnight (or longer) in a hotel, makes up the difference in the length. And if two of you are driving, so much the better, making better time this route.

If the forecast for the days you're planning to travel make it look like the northern route is not viable. then the southern route would be an option. I'm fully aware that there can be problems on I-40 (or I20/10) as well, but they are probably less of a chance than the northern route where your odds of running into snow/ice/freezing rain are likely much greater.

Either way, it's going to be up to the weather gods as to what will work for you and what will slow you down.