How long drive time with kids without wearing out?

bclan6 wrote:


I chose those stops because Rushmore is on the way to Jackson, where I used to live and have family. My goal in this trip is to see family I haven't seen in 11 years due to the expense of flying us out there, hotel, rental car. This is why I'm trying to get there as fast as the kids will tolerate, then relax with family and friends while there. We are doing Yellowstone and such all together.

Copy. Then my biggest recommendation is just see if you can build flexibility into your overnight stops. There were days I felt I could drive three more hours but needed to stop if I had a reservation based on a guess. Then there were others where the safe thing to do was stop for the day and it was nice if I didn't have to get to set wicket or bad if I did. Having a class A and the parking lot option should help and you can break camp quickly to get back on the road.

"5-6 hours is plenty in one day". If you are still thinking of 500 miles per day for the first 7 days to get there, and doing that 500 miles in 5-6 hrs, then you will have to travel 80MPH. Plan on lots of stops for fuel. Driving a Class A at that speed is not the same as a car or SUV.

4x4Dodger:

Thank you for your positivity! I work throughout the state of FL, and am homebased now so I work exclusively from home. When I was setting up all the territories though, some were 4-5 hours one way, I had no choice but to take the kids with me. My youngest at that time was an infant. (I had to fire someone and return to work in the field 6 days after having him. I brought him with me). I would make it as fun as possible and not one child complained. They don't remember being cramped in the car and having to sit quietly during my long meetings. They remember when we went to the keys after that meeting and long drive though, or visiting the Hard Rock hotel's pool. One example of our Keys trip was this: Drive from Orlando to Homestead. Meeting for 3 hours, then drive another 2 hours to Islamorada. Stay the weekend, drive back to Orlando but stopping for another meeting before heading home. I had no choice and they never knew it was difficult. We had a blast! They were 13, 10, 6, 4, and 1 during that trip. These times are the reasons why my oldest wanted to spend 21st birthday with me instead of friends!


Kids love this stuff. These long trips are the reason why we bought an RV instead of tent camping and cramming into an SUV. We've had it for 3 weeks and have made 3 trips already, trying to build up to our "big trip". If I don't push us all a little, we will not make it to see our family. I'll push to get there, expect delays, because that's everyday stuff, then coast on the way back.

I'm thinking 5-6 hours is plenty in one day, with a stop for rest in between. I just drove over 2 hours this weekend and I could've driven way longer. It was good weather and little wind though.

I want to offset some of the naysayers here who think 350-400 miles a day is all you should do "responsibly".

Claptrap! It depends on how you feel and your ability to drive long distances. Your vehicle really doesnt care one way or the other. And as for the kids...well my guess is YOUR attitude will set the tone for them if you think it's drudgery they will. If you make it into a Grand Adventure they will love it.

Kids are much more adaptable than parents often give them credit for.

I learned to read by reading the signs along highways from Ca to Mich in 1958 (Yes on the still operating Route 66)

My Mother had a slew of games for me and my brother most were made up by her...She was driving alone.

I for one think your plan is just fine. Kids sleep they play they fight they argue they do stuff you dont want to see in the rear veiw mirror. But it's all good and they will have great memories of the trip no matter how you do it.

I have driven as much as 850 to 1000 miles in a day with fuel stops and eating. I stop when I am tired and sleep. (I was on a bit of a schedule on this one) But I am not suggesting any particular distance for you.

Roll those boring miles behind you and when you get to the interesting stuff slow down...do it anyway you want. Just do it and have fun...I am sure the kids will love it.

Our last trip the kids went quietly 7 hours down and 6 hours home. I couldn't believe it and wouldn't expect it to happen again. We did get them Kindles to occupy them on the rides, so maybe that's the trick. We also packed plenty of snacks and only made one restroom stop between both rides.

Unless you are a seasoned truck driver YOU are the one to be concerned about! Fourteen days at 500 miles per day will turn you into a very mean person. Before you get to your final stop you will be a very unsafe driver and remember...you still have to return home. Better have plenty of Snickers candy bars handy! I would seriously consider scaling-down this trip. :E

Signed: Seasoned Truck Driver (retired)

In a Class A you can do many things to keep them busy. Our grandkids love to look out the window when we travel and if they get tired, they take a nap. We played the road trip games like "I Spy", License Plate Game, etc. They brought their video games if they got bored and some brought books and puzzles if they liked that. We have driven 8 hours with no problem. The trick for us is getting up early and leaving at least by 6 or 7am with the kids sleeping. Then we have time for rest stops for the driver, fuel stops and plan on arriving at our campground destination no later than 4pm. Let them play outside or go to the pool before bed. They never complained once.

djgarcia and chock full o' nuts wrote:
Some observations and considerations:
1. "1 ys. old and needy" could have an effect on all members of the family when traveling
2. Driving 48 hrs. at 80 to 90 mph is a disaster waiting to happen at worst and at best a "marathon butt buster"
3. "I want them to love the journey but focus on driving" is confusing and has questionable expectations.
4. IMHO, I would either shorten the distances of your RV adventures or increase the number of days of your RV trips.


You beat me to it~

I agree with every point made. Especially about violating the speed limit with your children in the MH. Yikes! How could anyone think that's a good idea? And speaking of children, OP...you have a very young child whom you describe as "needy"--what 1 year old ISN'T needy? You must know that your plans may often be dictated by the youngest member of the group. Babies get sick and cranky. Heck, big people get sick and cranky!

The trip you describe is VERY ambitious, IMO. The thought of driving flat-out for 7 days, only to have to do it again 14 days later, just leaves me exhausted thinking about it. Hopefully, your kids will be okay with being confined in a small space for days on end. Mine would not.

I'll give you a little example from our trip out west in 2007:
We took two kids, 12 & 14. The 12yo is severely mentally handicapped, at the level of a 1yr (diapers, full care, etc.) We do not boondock at the Walmart or Flying J when the kids are with us. We made sure to pull off every night at a CG with a pool or lake, so the kids could unwind and get some exercise.

DH has severe heart/lung disease, so that offered its own set of limitations. We found that everyone could hang in there for about 350 miles a day, as long as we didn't drive more than 3 days straight. At the 3 day mark, everyone was just about in meltdown mode, so we usually pulled off early on that day and stayed for 2 nights. Obviously, we didn't set any land speed records but we have some wonderful memories of the journey AND the destination.

A word about scheduling--plan for things to go wrong. With 6 people and 2 pets, someone is bound to get sick or hurt. We've had a lot of experience with that. In fact, our kids say it's not a real vacation until someone goes to the ER (we have pictures of ERs we've been to all over the US!) DH suffered pneumonia in Las Vegas. We ran out of seizure meds in San Antonio. I suffered a ruptured ear drum in Seattle. DD tripped on a fire grate and laid her shin open in Florida. DS fell off a 15ft cliff in Georgia. You just never know about these things.

The trip when we drove out there was over 14 years ago. THe other driver and I switched off driving/sleeping. It wasn't a vacation trip so we had no choice. I don't remember the exact speed we drove, but with the interstate speed limits 70mph? and the flow of traffic normally 10mph above, I just picked a number. We stay in middle or right lane and are very safe drivers that drive with the flow of traffic, but I could be wrong on the exact speed.

Pardon that you were confused with my comment on "enjoying the journey but focusing on driving" comment. What I meant is that we want most of our vacation time spent with our family out west so we want to get out there as quickly as one can with so many. Not to push them (which was the whole reason why I posted the questions in the first place), but to try and get a general idea of what to expect doing this trip in an RV. This way I can plan our trip more efficiently by having reservations and back up spots just in case based on the average drive time in one day (and knowing what my kids are capable of with long trips in the car). The more prepared I am, the better the experience will be and the more we can maximize our time while not driving, i.e.-enjoying the journey :)

Being a mom of 6, I'm very much aware of how needy 1 year olds are, but my littlest has been a bit extra-spoiled :) Those of you who have several children, especially with a large gap in between the youngest and the next, know what I'm talking about here. I will say that I haven't had near the amount of serious injuries with my 6 combined and totaling 21 years of being a mom as you did your 2 in one summer. We only have 1 of the medical issues you mentioned though. I cannot imagine even being comfortable taking a child with the severe heart and lung disease and other conditions on a trip like that, so Bravo to you because you're much braver than I!


Thank you to all of the commenters! I found some very good responses and useful information in here! Thanks to those who encouraged as well. Some kids do not do well in the car, but I've been lucky with mine. I'm more concerned with how tired I'm going to get driving.
The good thing is we do not have an exact time-frame of return, so I planned on a month and am ok with 5-6 weeks too. So while I understand the trip sounds crazy to a lot of people, I'm ok with the trip lasting longer if needed. I'm more concerned on the time frame of getting there and could care less how long it takes to get back. :)

outdoor photographer wrote:
I have a couple questions and my thoughts which are worth what you paid for them. I did grow up in SE and DW in South Florida so I understand being a long way from anything different.

Why did you choose those particular stops?
Show kids something you have fond memories of?
Bucket list for you?

I may take a shot for this but hit Rushmore last summer and thought it was way overrated and they have to honor America the Beautiful Pass so they gouge you on parking. Worth seeing if you are going that way but not out of the way for such a long trip. I see family in Jackson so maybe it's not far out of your way. We did find Wind Cave neat which is in the area.

I chose those stops because Rushmore is on the way to Jackson, where I used to live and have family. My goal in this trip is to see family I haven't seen in 11 years due to the expense of flying us out there, hotel, rental car. This is why I'm trying to get there as fast as the kids will tolerate, then relax with family and friends while there. We are doing Yellowstone and such all together.

I've made 3 cross country trips with kids, two with pop-up which is obviously no where as easy or convenient as a Class A - but I wouldn't take that aggressive of a schedule. I'm a road warrior and about 3 days hard charging (400-500) miles per day and it's time for a break. I had the issue of getting setup at night that you don't have which made me want to be stopped before dark. I still think it's nice to stop early enough to have an hour or so to decompress before going to bed and trust me with kids, the morning is never as smooth as you think, although again you save with the class A.

I have a couple questions and my thoughts which are worth what you paid for them. I did grow up in SE and DW in South Florida so I understand being a long way from anything different.

Why did you choose those particular stops?
Show kids something you have fond memories of?
Bucket list for you?

I may take a shot for this but hit Rushmore last summer and thought it was way overrated and they have to honor America the Beautiful Pass so they gouge you on parking. Worth seeing if you are going that way but not out of the way for such a long trip. I see family in Jackson so maybe it's not far out of your way. We did find Wind Cave neat which is in the area.

Glacier is on my bucket list but you save a day's driving each way by doing Yellowstone/Grand Teton instead. Have you considered that?

Last item, I've gone both ways on reservations. Absolute for destinations but I've started rolling the dice on travel stops if not passing through a tourist area (entire CA coast). I get not wanting to get to a town and not find a spot but I equally want to avoid have a reservation 500 miles from where I started the day and feeling I have to keep pushing when the prudent thing to do is stop. I usually had a good idea of how far I felt I could drive by midafternoon and DW would get on Good Sam and KOA aps and find a good stopping point and call for a reservation. Using 50 mile +/- flexibility never had a problem crossing W to E on I-80 and parallel highways.

Another thing we've used is municipal campgrounds. Stayed at a wonderful little city campground in Ellis, KS off I-60 for $30 or so. $8 for one in Minnesota. Harder to find out about them but usually cheap and something different. Google is your friend. Some states have campground associations or directories where you can find smaller campgrounds that might not be in GoodSam - although I wish I'd found GoodSam's directory a long time ago.