If you have to be a certain place at a certain time, reservations are really necessary. You have to be able to manage your pace of travel so you can make it to what you've reserved, so don't stretch your limits.
Altough not a full timer, I do not usually travel this way, my style tends to be more free form, what interests me along the way and how much energy I have to keep going. But I also travel on tight schedules, and from time to time employ professional travel managers to put those trips together for me. Sometimes it it almost doubles the cost of my free form, free time travel, but for any situation you have to be evaluating cost of time vs. value of money.