Tool: how far can I travel in x hours?

[kohai]

Many RVers have a rule of only driving x number of hours a day (they choose what x is). I was curious how many camping locations were around my home within a half day drive.

I went in search of online tools that would show this and I discovered these two:

How far can I travel? - This tool lets you enter a speed and control more variables (miles vs km, how fast, avoid highways, etc). There are some other similar tools on this site.

Another tool - This one takes longer to run and frequently will timeout without finishing.

I don't think either of these take into account the speed on a road like Google maps does, which would be helpful. But, they are better than a simple radius tool showing how many miles from a location based on how the bird flies.

Are there other tools out there like these?

[Crowe]

I've towed after dark when I knew exactly where my destination was and I had reservations made so when I got there it was easy to get parked.

Same here. We did a lot of "shoulder season" camping. If you leave after work on a Friday it's quite likely you won't hit your destination until after dark. And on numerous occasions intent was to get somewhere before dark, but fate just didn't allow for it.

[PA12DRVR]

My experience towing a big TT and eventually a bigger FW was:

- If I'm trying to get somewhere (vs. enjoying the journey) and therefore traveling on interstates, I plan on 60 mph from departure to arrival...including fuel stops, eating, etc: If I leave at 0700, by 2100 (i.e. 9:00 pm, 14 hours later), I should be 840 miles down the road....and if I'm trying to get somewhere, that's a typical day's drive.

- If the object is the trip vs. the destination, I plan on 45 mph....so in the example above a 14 hour day would result in 630 miles down the road...but it wouldn't be a 14 hour day, more like 8 at the outside.

This has worked for 30 years of both towing and not, in Alaska and in the lower 48. Busted the average when I drove (for scenery) between Ewe-Stun and Amarillo....I covered a net of about 55 mph since there ain't any scenery worthy of the name on that trip. Flip side was taking a trip some years ago (after a 9 month spell of not leaving Ewe-Stun) from Utah through Idaho and into Montana...I tried to go fast, but simply couldn't avoid pulling over at every pull off that had a mountain vista. Think I averaged about 40 mph on that trip, even hitting the interstates.

[wbwood]

TucsonJim wrote:

wbwood wrote:
Another thing that comes into play is if you are crunched for time. For many of us, we work (sometimes both spouses like us) and have kids in school. Time off is often limited. So many a time it's about the destination and not the trip along the way.

I've been there, and completely understand. When I was working, I've put as many as 750-800 miles on in a day to get to the destination we were heading such as Yellowstone. Now that we retired last year, it's typically 250-300 in a day.

Yep, and when we go fulltime, we won't be pushing it like that either unless there is a specific reason...

We decided to do a 2 week trip this summer. 2 weeks is the maximum amount we can take. It's easier for me to do it than it is my wife. I get my entire time for the year at the beginning of the year, but she has to accrue it at a rate of a couple days a month. And it includes being out sick or being out for our daughter being out sick. Unfortunately, the corporate world now holds it against you for being out like that. Anyway, I can't even pick my time for the next year until December. So, in the middle of December, we are trying to make plans (for when our daughter is out of school). So it's usually the week of spring break or sometime in the summer. Both which are popular times. And of course where we want to go, is where everyone else wants to go. You can only do the same places over and over without getting tired of them. That's why we have an RV, so we can go to different places. Otherwise, we would just buy a condo or do the timeshare thin. Can you say BORING!? This summer, we are headed to the keys. 2 week trip. Planned on spending most of it down there, but will probably only do a week there and then come back up closer to home. We have a family obligation back home at the end of the trip that we need to be at. We constantly think of places to go, but then change our mind. I may pick some place, but my wife doesn't wanna go there. And then she may pick somewhere that I don't want to spend my vacation at. WE will eventually see those places, but when we are crunched for time, it needs to be somewhere mutual...lol

[PUCampin]

I use between 40 and 45mph average for longer trips, for short non stop 50 is about right. I am towing a TT in CA so 55mph limit, though I usually drive right around 60 on interstates, secondary can be slower. Add in stops for gas, lunch, bathroom, kids stretch, etc., and 40-45 works out.

Best I have ever done by myself was a trip from SoCal to visit friends near Salt Lake. I AVERAGED 70mph in my Ranger, 613mi in under 9hrs. That was 95% on I5 with one 10 minute stop for bathroom gas and lunch.

[kohai]

wbwood wrote:
Another thing that comes into play is if you are crunched for time. For many of us, we work (sometimes both spouses like us) and have kids in school. Time off is often limited. So many a time it's about the destination and not the trip along the way.

This is the challenge we have too. There are some places that would be cool to take the RV and the kids, but when I see how many hours of driving it is to get there, I wonder if it is feasible. Some trips would have to fit into Spring break or Fall break.

From me, there are some trips I've looked at that are 10-15 hours driving time by car (according to google maps). Given RV drive time is slower, it is harder to fit those trips into a busy schedule. Summer becomes the only time to do them but Summer is also not the best time to see some of the locations.

We did Mt Rushmore in a Suburban last summer staying in hotels. We broke that drive up into 3 days to get there but only 2 days to get back (10.5 hours car drive time according to google). On the way out we did some sight seeing so we went slower. But, even 6 hours a day on the way back for the last stretch to get home was a long haul. The kids did well though.

[CavemanCharlie]

Atlee wrote:


One rule I tried to never break, even though I did once or twice was be off the road before dark.

I did not want to be pulling the trailer, in the dark, looking for a place to stop.

I've towed after dark when I knew exactly where my destination was and I had reservations made so when I got there it was easy to get parked.

[CavemanCharlie]

Thanks. I did find that first one helpful.

It took a couple of tries. The first time I tried it I put in a speed of 63 mph and the range looked too big. That's when I realized that I needed to input average speed not the speed I was driving. By the time you stop to make a couple of breaks my average speed is only about 50 mph. Once I added that in, then the map looked better.

It did give me a better idea of my range and using it I may explore some new places this summer.

[Jim_Shoe]

I'm single and retired. I lay out my trips on Streets and Trips and then figure on 300 miles a day, plus or minus. Then search for CGs at the end points. I prefer FHUs plus cable and WIFI, but need at least electric for medical equipment. If I start at 8AM and average 50 MPH, I'm at my next stop by 2 or 3 PM so I rarely have to make reservations except at my final destination(s). Works for me.

[robatthelake]

Back in the Days when Triple A Maps were the King ,They published the average times along with the Mileage between Key Points on their map.

They were pretty much bang on if You were driving a Car,but Towing a Trailer usually needed twice the time.

Nowadays we have better Cars that are capable of greater speeds and it seems to take even longer to get from A to B . I guess that the increased traffic has a lot to do with that.Or maybe it's My Age!

In any event We no longer worry about how long the journey takes,but rather the quality of the experience.

Drive Safely out there!

[Cummins12V98]

Chris Bryant wrote:

Dog Trainer wrote:
I just figure about 50 miles in an hour.

That's exactly what we have always figured- 2 hours per hundred. It comes as close as possible to being a good rule of thumb.

It's dead on! NW WA to PalmSprings 1,300 miles 26 hours travel time.

I did bump it up when we traveled 75 instead of 62 like usual.

[TucsonJim]

wbwood wrote:
Another thing that comes into play is if you are crunched for time. For many of us, we work (sometimes both spouses like us) and have kids in school. Time off is often limited. So many a time it's about the destination and not the trip along the way.

I've been there, and completely understand. When I was working, I've put as many as 750-800 miles on in a day to get to the destination we were heading such as Yellowstone. Now that we retired last year, it's typically 250-300 in a day.

[wbwood]

Atlee wrote:


One rule I tried to never break, even though I did once or twice was be off the road before dark.

I did not want to be pulling the trailer, in the dark, looking for a place to stop.

That I would agree with, unless you are wallydocking or something...

I will say this. We've done the Destin trip I mentioned twice. First time was back in 2010 or 2011. We had the TT (35') and the F250. WE drove down there straight in one day. It was a lot different than our return trip last year which we drove straight with the motorhome towing a car. The motorhome is a lot easier and less stressful to drive than driving the truck pulling the trailer.

[Atlee]

On our cross country trip in early 2014, I tried to drive about 300 miles in a day. This was not chiseled in stone however. Sometimes it was a little less, and sometimes more.

Sometimes if I was really feeling good, I might go 400 miles, especially if it made sense to put an extra 100 miles behind us.

One rule I tried to never break, even though I did once or twice was be off the road before dark.

I did not want to be pulling the trailer, in the dark, looking for a place to stop.

[wbwood]

Another thing that comes into play is if you are crunched for time. For many of us, we work (sometimes both spouses like us) and have kids in school. Time off is often limited. So many a time it's about the destination and not the trip along the way.

[Houston_Remodel]

Really? If I drive 55 mph for 10 hours, I go 550 miles. If I drive 65 mph for 10 hours, I go 650 miles. If I drive 75 mph for 10 hours, I go 750 miles. So by driving 20 mph faster, I can go 200 miles further. I think I have saved far more than 15 or 30 minutes.

It takes 13.6 hours to go 750 miles at 55 mph. Looks like a savings of 3.6 hours going 20 mph faster. It takes 11.5 hours to travel 750 miles at 65 mph. That's a savings of 90 minutes. Quite a bit more than your 15 or 30 minutes.

There are a few problems with your premise; Unless you have the road to yourself, you can't average 75 miles per hour. Lord knows I've tried. In a typical car, with my lead foot, the best I've managed is to average 65 mph for 12 hours. That means there are many times you have to be in excess of 75 mph to keep an average of 65.

That being said, if you keep the throttle at 65 you will not average 65 in the long run. It will be slower as there will be traffic, hills, and construction, even if you had a giant fuel tank, no need to sleep and inserted a catheter.

Most folks here claimed 400 miles per day or less, but let's do the math at 500 miles per day;

500 miles at 65 mph = 7 hours 41 minutes
500 miles at 60 mph = 8 hours 20 minutes
500 miles at 55 mph = 9 hours 6 minutes

We know from practical experience to truly average 65 miles per hour you'd have to spend much time over 75 mph. If you drive like I do, and cap out at 65 with the occasional 70 to pass someone, you're going to average more in the 60 mph range.

Each 5 mph added will save 40 minutes over the day's driving. Not dilly-dallying around at the pit stops can also save that 40 minutes without the expense of the fuel, tickets, added wear and tear on the RV, and the white knuckles.

I'd love to haul my TT down the road at 80 mph, but I know better thanks to the fine folks on this forum.