Is 1100 miles in one day a lot?

[Andrena]

Originally Posted by brymat

Hello!

I have been lurking these forums for some time but finally decided to register to join in on the fun!

Long story as short as I can make it: My wife and considered going full-time without ever having owned a coach when I was struggling to find work a while back. We researched for a couple years what to buy etc. Fortunately, I found gainful employment to help us get closer to retirement age but alas, the RV seed was firmly planted. We pulled the trigger on a well maintained 2015 Newmar Ventana last December to make sure full-timing would be something we really wanted to do.

So, about the title- we initially ventured further and further out as we gained confidence in the coach and ourselves. The further out (and longer) we went, the need for a 4 wheeler became obvious. Rather than fit a toad with all the necessities, we decided an enclosed trailer would give us the option to take different cars depending on the destination and need.

Stick with me- the trailer we chose is manufactured in Napanee IN and they wanted more than fuel cost to deliver it to the Denver area. Moreover, Napanee just happens to be where Newmar is built. Road Trip!

I'm getting there- so, we planned 2 days travel there (Denver to Napanee), one day to tour the Newmar plant and pick up the trailer with 2 days return. 550-ish miles per day seemed reasonable to me...

Where it went wrong- all was going according to plan except for the Lake Michigan sized pot hole I hit in Illinois (quick evasive maneuvers don't seem possible in a DP) The impact knocked out the alignment to the point the steering wheel was at 11:00. Not wanting to risk ruining the big bucks front tires, the wonderful folks at Newmar found me an alignment shop. The only problem was staying an extra day to get it aligned. We needed to hold to the schedule because I had to be back to work. Remember the job I found that delayed full-timing? We now had just a day to return home.

The 1100 mile day- with the fresh alignment done, we set out at 4:00am ET and drove straight though only stopping for fuel once and a brief pit-stop for the pup and your's truly (and a detour to return a cell phone found at a rest stop- but that's another story). We arrived home at 10:30pm MT. That's 20.5 hours and 1100 miles later. It was a surprisingly easy trip...

So far, we're really enjoy this RVing thing! Thanks for reading!

I guess you are under 40 — 1100 mi/day - laugh: Late in that day, Please don’t be on the road I’m on Good job on the RV brand! Obviously, your rig is being very good to you!! Ours too!!!! — for 10 years + counting! Love it!!!

[gsh-DP]

Wow that’s a long day
400 is a shift, 800 is a double, 1200 is a triple
Can be done as many have professed, but obviously not
sustainable (or safe). With 2 capable drivers you can go
24 x X if need be.

I do 12 hour days in transit buses, so 12 in Motorhome is easier -
but at some point you face drowsiness which makes for a risky venture.

Remember RV mean recreational vehicle not
revenue vehicle (long haul trucking)

My fun story is on one of first long trips I drove for 10 hours and my dw asked “when do we have to stop for gas ?” I replied, “it’s a technical point, but never put gas in our dp, and we still have about a half tank, so we’re good to keep on rolling”

[Kurtsara]

Originally Posted by Excesses

On our motorcycle or in our 90 Supra Turbo, it would take next to no time . LOL! 20 years ago.

Seriously, that is waaaaaaaay long to safely drive a 20,000 lb vehicle, or any vehicle at highway or even secondary road speeds.

Do you plan to stop or do you wear a leg bag?

Cheers ��

DJ

How is that not safe? Or is that just your opinion?

[Tom and Patty]

In my mid forties we made many a trip between Fresno CA and St Louis. We would do it in coach, leaving Fresno at 8-9 PM stopping near Barstow CA around 1AM. Then on to OKC and a short day to St Louis. I cannot even imagine doing that now.



I'm looking forward to retirement. I understand retirees only drive between 10AM and 2PM

[Monaco go]

Originally Posted by TonyDi

Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I'm sure that will not be repeated. My longest drive was 880 miles. I arrived the next day. I was beat.

I don't completely disagree, but the DOT has some pretty narrow opinions regarding extended hours of service for the "other big rig drivers". We need to think about our environment, age, and reaction times based on the size of our rigs. How safe do you suppose we are while running a 33,000 lb rated combination vehicle down the road in our 12th-20th consecutive hour behind the wheel without a sleep break. The public has demanded that the "Big Rigs" be limited in hours of service if their GVWR is 26,001 lb or more, regardless of the actual weight on any particular day. Why should we be exempt from that logic? Most of them already have us at a considerable age disadvantage.

[Grandpa5x]

Use to drive 715 miles per day as allowed by regulations in 11 hrs driving truck just about every day. That company aged me by 5-7 years in a years time, I wouldn’t do that again but I’m 13 years older now. Lol

[Salim]

My wife and I normally like to keep it between 200 to 250 miles in a day. This year however, we moved to Texas so I needed to take the coach first then the moving truck.
The first day, I drove 970 miles in 15 hours from Indianapolis to Waco. The second day I drove 435 miles in 7 hours. The next day I flew back home to start packing.
A week later we closed on the house, loaded the truck and made the same trip in three days. What can I say, the dog can't ride 15 hours in one sitting.

[BikesandGuns]

Hey, it's whatever works for you, lol. We shoot for 200 miles/day because we like to lounge around in the morning and enjoy our coffee, breakfast and cappuccino. It takes a while to get closed up because we have to move in the deck furniture, shut up our side deck, shut up the side deck, deal with the cats and hook up the pickup. Plus, we are full time and have all our possessions so there's more rearranging to do. Anyway, we are on the road between 11:00 and 3:30, stopping for a picnic lunch about 1:00. It takes about 90 minutes to set up after arrival. So....no commute traffic, no rushing and no nighttime driving. Occasionally, we needed to get somewhere sooner, so we get up at 6:00 and drive 400+miles, but that's not the norm.

[zzotte]

Just don’t make a habit of it ok? Thanks

Zzotte

[jarata]

I would never do it 350 max for me

[StageCoachDr]

With stops the average speed is somewhere around 60MPH (or less, depending on your OTR speed). That's about 18 hours drive time, minimum. You up for that and then going to work 6 hours later?

[edmyers5]

I find that as I age, now 86, my driving time grows shorter. When traveling we usually do 250-300 max, start late and quit early. Slow down and enjoy the good life, don't be in a hurry to get out of it.

[Fixin to]

Did 2500 miles in 2 1/2 days. Wife still trying to get over blood clots in leg and lungs. Never again!

[pathvet]

300 miles is plenty, life is short and who wants deadlines.