Average Driving Distances

[SpaceNorman]

As always - the answer is it depends.

Our target driving distance per day - is between 200 - 300 miles ... and we try not to drive 2 days in a row. This is our favorite pace of travel.

Our maximum driving distance per day is between 800 - 900 miles per day - and is based on us driving 3-4 hours followed by a 2 hour "nap break" - and repeating that cycle for 24 hours. That's 16 hours of driving - at an average somewhere 50-60 miles per hour - split into 4 stretches with 2 hours of nap time in between. Neither of us can sleep when the other is driving - while both of us can get a pretty decent nap on the 6 hour cycle. It works for us if/when it's an absolute necessity. We've had exactly 1 of those situations in the 2 years we've been traveling.

While we're pretty good about sticking to our 200-300 mile max targets - there are some circumstances that will have us push our daily max a bit.
We can push the pace in a couple of ways. First, we simply eliminate the "day off" and drive every day. We'll do this when we're headed back to Michigan after an extended trip - traversing familiar ground. We'll eliminate the last one or two "off days" and simply drive our usual 200 - 300 mile target every day.

We can extend our range on the occasional day's travel. We tend to do this on Day #1 of a trip. If it's a trip west - we're looking to get past Chicago (roughly 300 miles from Detroit) before stopping for the night. If it's a winter trip south - we're hoping to get into the "near south" (i.e., West Virginia, Kentucky) in the hopes of getting far enough south that we're overnighting in mid 30 degree temps (versus temps in the 'teens and 20's farther north). Again, it's usually Day #1 o a trip so we're also harnessing the excitement of a new trip - so a slightly longer day (375 - 425 miles isn't that big of a deal.

[Gigattime]

We try to keep it around 300 miles or less. Will sometimes front load and do more on day 1 of our vacation journey.

[dustyone]

I like to do 250 to 350 per day. I like to stay a day between. We like to take in local scenery and culture. Make the trip part of the journey. Only time we extended that was to out run a bad storm.

[TonyDi]

I will travel 400-500 miles a day. My DS is a pleasure to drive and I'd rather spend more time at my destination. Everyone has a different tolerance to long driving so there is no definitive answer.

My longest drive has been 800+ in one day.

[Edd505]

Originally Posted by Lault

I like 300 miles or no more than 6 hours, then done and get set up and enjoy a long evening and dinner. No place to be in a certain time frame, and if making prior reservations, all this is figured in.

Exactly, works great.

[jimbo2013]

I try and average 65mph look for 500 miles a days, but we start early.

so the drive time is about 7 hours, off the road by 4 ish

If raining a bit less


I once did 950, totally bad idea, just slept the next day.

[LPerry]

Last year I did a 600 mile day on a motorcycle in the pouring rain. In the class A with a kid brewing coffee and warm dry company to chat with I feel spoiled.

[bill2011]

We plan in the 360 to 375 range but sometimes more sometimes less depending on where we can find a highly rated rv park along our route.

[Bush-edge386]

Most of our trips are weekend trips so we only drive around 3 hrs. But when we go to the beach or to the truck show in PA that we go to every year, 7 hr drive. we will leave the house sometime before dark so I can navigate my half mile driveway and 2 miles of gravel road while still daylight. Will drive until I get sleepy (most time around 3am.) Stop and sleep a few hrs at Wal-Mart etc. Then drive into where we will be camping for the trip and arrive at or near check in so we get a full day at the campground.

Last year we went to moab UT. Pulled out from the house in VA an hr from TN state line at 4pm on a Friday drove to near Knoxville and met two other couples both with toy haulers .had a good dinner and hit the road. Stopped in Illinois at around 2 am. Traffic was awful in Nashville. Sleep till 8 and on the road again. Stop for fuel about every 3 hrs. Stopped and had a good dinner about an hr or two passed Kansas city. Had a big hail storm halfway through Kansas right at dark so we pulled over to let it pass for an hr. Then drove to a Wal-Mart about 50 miles from Colorado. We wanted to see Colorado in the daytime. From there we drove into moab at 6 pm on Sunday. 1900 miles
Hit the trails for a week the pulled out and went to the grand canyon for a few days. Left there and headed back east. Stopped and ate at the steak house in Amarillo Tx then drove into OK sleep and back at it.next stop was back in Tn hr past Nashville. Then drove to Chattanooga Tn for two nights and then back home. 4763 miles and 86hr and 45min behind the wheel.

Wish I could take my time and see things on the way but can only get 2 weeks at a time off work and it hard to get that. Got 20 more years before I can retire but hope to hit the road an see as much of the country as I can when I do.

We are planning another trip to moab next year but plan to stay in moab the whole time so we can spend more time in the arches and canyon lands park and more four wheeling.

[Robmat]

I plan for 5 hours driving or 300 miles. Depending on the location of a campground and the total distance to my destination it varies sometimes more or sometimes less. I like to go over the next days travels the night before and we figure our start time based on whether we are leaving early to stop along the way or leave early to arrive early to do some destination sightseeing. Sometimes we leave late to do things before we head out. If no planned stops we try to hit a rest area every couple of hours to stretch the legs, etc. The only exception is the first day where I try to drive a full day to get as far as I can from home to begin the adventurer.

[steve11669]

I stop whenever I feel like it. There have been days I've driven less than an hour. I pretty much pick up the map while I'm driving and size up the next town for a destination or not.

Im retired too and when I have to commit to be somewhere I allow extra time to avoid stress. For example, I am currently traveling to a summer work/camp commitment in northern Colorado. I left san diego 16 days prior to the start date (its only 1300 miles). I can now deal with changes and stray off whenever I want. If I stay somewhere I enjoy or find cheap place, I'll stay longer.

When I get close, I'll hangout until times up. On this trip, I plan on parking around Denver and daytrip or just daydream to use up whatever extra time I'll have.

I prefer to keep the ability to stop anytime I want and if I feel like driving, I'll go on to that next town on the map. This morning I woke at 4am, got up and drove from 5 to 9am then hung out until afternoon and drove another hundred miles. Very light traffic and I whatched the sunrise.

This is my kind of retirement living! God bless America!!! (I'm an athiest but I'll ask for that much).

[NevadaNick]

On trips that time doesnt matter, 2pm is cutoff. Doesnt matter if we laft at 7am or 1:30 pm. Other than that longest mileage day when we had to be somewhere was 750mi.

[poppopc]

We try to adhere to the 3-3-3 method.
Less than 300 miles.
Setup by 3:00 pm.
Stay 3 days.
Adult beverage by 3:15!

[ralphie]

Thinking ahead to our trip from FL to Niagara Falls this summer, I'm thinking I want to drive no more than four hours each day. We're not in a hurry and I see I'm not willing to drive as far as most of you.