How many days to travel 1,260 miles?
My wife's siblings are planning a surprise party for my in-laws in June. Originally, we were all going to meet in a more or less central location for a big family vacation. Now, they don't want to d...
Forum Discussion
A good question to have asked. Though some very bad answers above among the better.
All kinds of assumptions being made. Ideal weather and little to no traffic or construction problems. Then low population density.
50-mph average speed is an ideal (with very short daily breaks and a ten hour overnight), and RVs ain't high speed rigs, as 65-mph is taxing brake and handling limits.
40-45 more sensible, as a general rule (with problems above).
Let's round off 1260 to 1300.
Daily one hour break plus another hour for fuel and rest stops. That's minimal. Not really restful. Rest means more than anything. Nothing else is close. Ten hours total travel time (eleven is maximum for commercial drivers). That's with EVERY stop planned in advance. No last minute decisions so as to lessen stress.
Irrelevant about one or two day extra long journeys. I do this for a living, and third day is when fatigue really hits. Even being conservative.
I wouldn't consider more than 3-400 miles/day.
I'd call it four days each way. And consider it good if the last day was short in time and miles.
Might be less, but I wouldn't plan it that way. Put the brakes on "just another hour". Have several daily destinations strung out from the 300 to 400 mile mark. Plenty of elbow room.
In a big truck it's the best part of three days. Add a day for an RV.
Don't think I don't see RVs being badly driven. I see it all the time. "Skill" is recognizing limits. It should always be "easy" to slow or to stop for good that day.
Especially with an emotional topic. That's the operators worst handicap. It's not sickness or death or giddiness of others. It's that we aren't built to to focus on driving and have feelings rumbling along in us at the same time about our relationship to others. Consciousness is tiring all by itself. Throw in a major life event and it's a bad mix. Not suited to long days.
Get off the road early. I'd be on the road by 0500. Therefore, up by 0300. Backing into parking spot by 1500. Traffic builds over the course of the day, and it's become stupid to drive into the night as there is no diminution of traffic in the evenings. This is not the good old days of single bread winner families and early store closings.
And this kind of travel isn't about hours of TV in the evening or long morning showers. It's about staying ahead in terms what's needed for tomorrow.
It is very good pre-trip and post-trip inspections. Planning tomorrow's fuel, meal and rest breaks (never more than two hours apart). Keeping fatigue at bay is work itself for those who are amateurs.
The point is to arrive without incident. Rested. Ready.
Don't take it for granted.
Good luck.
All kinds of assumptions being made. Ideal weather and little to no traffic or construction problems. Then low population density.
50-mph average speed is an ideal (with very short daily breaks and a ten hour overnight), and RVs ain't high speed rigs, as 65-mph is taxing brake and handling limits.
40-45 more sensible, as a general rule (with problems above).
Let's round off 1260 to 1300.
Daily one hour break plus another hour for fuel and rest stops. That's minimal. Not really restful. Rest means more than anything. Nothing else is close. Ten hours total travel time (eleven is maximum for commercial drivers). That's with EVERY stop planned in advance. No last minute decisions so as to lessen stress.
Irrelevant about one or two day extra long journeys. I do this for a living, and third day is when fatigue really hits. Even being conservative.
I wouldn't consider more than 3-400 miles/day.
I'd call it four days each way. And consider it good if the last day was short in time and miles.
Might be less, but I wouldn't plan it that way. Put the brakes on "just another hour". Have several daily destinations strung out from the 300 to 400 mile mark. Plenty of elbow room.
In a big truck it's the best part of three days. Add a day for an RV.
Don't think I don't see RVs being badly driven. I see it all the time. "Skill" is recognizing limits. It should always be "easy" to slow or to stop for good that day.
Especially with an emotional topic. That's the operators worst handicap. It's not sickness or death or giddiness of others. It's that we aren't built to to focus on driving and have feelings rumbling along in us at the same time about our relationship to others. Consciousness is tiring all by itself. Throw in a major life event and it's a bad mix. Not suited to long days.
Get off the road early. I'd be on the road by 0500. Therefore, up by 0300. Backing into parking spot by 1500. Traffic builds over the course of the day, and it's become stupid to drive into the night as there is no diminution of traffic in the evenings. This is not the good old days of single bread winner families and early store closings.
And this kind of travel isn't about hours of TV in the evening or long morning showers. It's about staying ahead in terms what's needed for tomorrow.
It is very good pre-trip and post-trip inspections. Planning tomorrow's fuel, meal and rest breaks (never more than two hours apart). Keeping fatigue at bay is work itself for those who are amateurs.
The point is to arrive without incident. Rested. Ready.
Don't take it for granted.
Good luck.
