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Old 03-22-2015, 01:53 PM   #1
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Point A to Point B travel time limits

IM curious as to the driving time/miles Airstream folks are allowing themselves to safely get from point A to B??? Avoiding fatigue and arriving at the destination in good shape is my intent.
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Old 03-22-2015, 01:56 PM   #2
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No more than 5-6 hours.
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Old 03-22-2015, 01:57 PM   #3
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We have done 500 miles in one day (8 to 9 hours) but feel most comfortable with 300 miles and 5 to 6 hours if we are in a major "repositioning" mode.
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Old 03-22-2015, 02:17 PM   #4
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We're in that same time frame. We finish breaking camp about 11, stop for a bite on the road and drive until 5 or 6 PM, sooner in winter. I don't want to set up camp in the dark. We're retired so no rush.

I saw a hat in a Hallmark store years ago that I wish I had picked up.... "Dad's Tours - We get there when we get there"
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Old 03-22-2015, 02:22 PM   #5
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I prefer 300+/- miles as the regularly planned daily mileage. Of course, there are times when more or less occurs, but those days are infrequent. My re-positioning mileage when crossing the Great Plains tends more towards the 500-550 number and gets governed by passenger requested stop times. Setting up camp before dusk is my determining factor on longer hauls, so departures tend to be early on distance sprints and before rush hour traffic when passing through major metropolitan areas nearby.
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Old 03-22-2015, 02:26 PM   #6
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Question Time or distance...

Do you have a co-pilot?

That will make a big difference in how far you can comfortably travel in one stint.
Plus having a driving partner can be very important in an emergency.

On a cross-country destination centric trip, 500-800 miles is not all that unusual for us. 4-6hr rest and go again.

Other than that it's usually 4-8 hrs at a time, distance not all that important.


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Old 03-22-2015, 04:57 PM   #7
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10 hours is still comfortable and doable, if we need to get somewhere.
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Old 03-22-2015, 05:20 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by LakeState View Post
IM curious as to the driving time/miles Airstream folks are allowing themselves to safely get from point A to B??? Avoiding fatigue and arriving at the destination in good shape is my intent.
I don't go by time; I go by distance. Makes it easier to plan your stops on a map.

Long explanation follows— you have been warned!

I used to work for the Federal Government, and the Department of Defense Joint Travel Regulations call for a travel limit of 350 miles per day— unless stopping at 350 miles leases you closer than 50 miles from your destination. So the rule is, total distance divided by 350 is the number of travel days; if the remainder is 50 or less round down, if it's over 50 round up to add an extra day.

Doesn't matter how many drivers are in the vehicle, either; it's 350 miles per day for one driver or for four. That's based on the assumption that being a passenger in a moving vehicle is no more restful than is driving, and the next driver will start out just as tired as the one he or she is relieving.

The Corps of Engineers Safety Manual adds another useful rule, that applies to all work including driving: Take a 15-minute break every two hours, and at least half an hour for lunch.

Doing this, it will take you at least eight hours to drive for seven hours, and even poking along at 50mph, seven hours of actual on-the-road time will get you 350 miles to where you are going to stop for the night. So a 350-mile trip is a full day of work.

End of long explanation, finally!

I have violated these distance rules on occasion; when my dad went in the hospital for the last time I drove 750 miles straight, solo, more than twelve hours of actual driving time on the Interstate not counting stopping to fill the fuel tank and drain my tank, no stops for meals or anything. At the time it seemed like the thing to do, but I was so worn out when I got there that in hindsight it was a stupid thing to do. Now that I'm retired and I have no family left other than one younger brother I don't get along with, I will never drive more than 350 miles per day (400 the last day of travel) for the rest of my life. It's more important to arrive alive than it is to arrive quickly.
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Old 03-22-2015, 05:43 PM   #9
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Depends...

One of the best rules I have ever heard is 2,2,2... No more than 200 miles in a single day, arrive at the campground by 2 and stay 2 days.

Now in the "real" world, I try to keep it under 8 hours of driving a day while towing, 5-6 of driving is my target. I have broken that rule on occasion when I was trying to stay ahead of a weather front and drove nearly 18 hours straight through, covered around 1100 miles. Don't recommend it.

Everyone is going to have their own tolerance level, the road condition, weather and traffic will play in to it also. I watch the weather very closely, if the weather goes bad I will typically pull over and wait it out.

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Old 03-22-2015, 05:46 PM   #10
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5-6 hours, after that I get tired quickly and the back starts screaming at me.
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Old 03-22-2015, 05:51 PM   #11
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I have generally set a 400 mile a day target, which is a full day when you include the stops. However, over the course of a trip, some days will be 420, others 250, so it kind of evens out. We've aslo taken to stopping for two nights when we're on a longer trip; it gives an opportunity not only to recover from the previous day's drive but to get a look at the place you've stopped.

I have to say that as I get older, 300 miles is going to be a more realistic target.
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Old 03-22-2015, 06:53 PM   #12
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On average one tank of gas per day or 250 miles at 55 MPH plus or minus
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Old 03-22-2015, 07:10 PM   #13
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Just under 700 a day, i like to get places then relax.
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Old 03-22-2015, 07:23 PM   #14
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I did a little over 700 miles on the first leg of my vacation last summer. I was pretty well beat by the time we got there. Pulled out at 7:00am, got there about 6:00pm. Hammer down the whole way. Dagnab campground we overnighted at shut the pool down at 5:00pm. I really wanted a "Detox Swim."

300 miles is a lot more comfortable.
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Old 03-22-2015, 07:46 PM   #15
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400 is a stretch. It depends on so many factors! I have gone over 2000 miles in 24 hours by motorcycle....averaged a bit over 55mph!

Now, I take the AS! I have a place to rest, sanitary "facilities", not some indiscreet cover and a "Ranger Wipe", wife has safe place too which is my primary motivator. We can find a nice safe place to stop, have a break, snack, then check over the running gear and head out again.

I have done 460 miles to Ft. Smith, AR once. It was a very long day on I35 and the abomination loosely referred to as "highways" in Oklahoma. Lovely state... But the roads are done.

Weather, traffic and east west travel during certain times when sun in my face is almost unbearable when sun is low.
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Old 03-22-2015, 08:29 PM   #16
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The women in my family seem to stay youthful until about 63 then hag out quickly. I'm 66 now and I know that I'm about done between 250 and 300 miles per day. If I had a significant other I'd feel comfortable going slightly farther, but not much. No one questions me getting senior discounts - and even a couple of years ago, I actually got challenged frequently.

Chatting while driving CAN be a distraction, but having four eyes on the road does help a lot. I am very much in favor of that 15 minute break - and I regularly take an hour for "lunch". However one rule about lunch is eat VERY lightly - preferably just a salad so there's no urge to sleep off a heavy meal. When driving now, I always drink green tea. It is really more energizing than coffee... that grass clippings taste? I'm adjusting.meh

I finally started to use a GPS - which more than once I've been tempted to throw out of the window, but the snotty English witch usually does make driving much more interactive. I have always noticed that being in a convertible or riding a motorcycle does create a more focused driving experience. Studies have shown that high functioning people with Downs Syndrome are excellent drivers - and that the HIGHER one's IQ is the more likely he/she is to drive distracted. People with Downs Syndrome HAVE to focus 100% on driving to do it at all. (Proves that I'm a genius - it's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

I still check against maps - and I call my planned destination just to verify it's still in business. I do sleep at Cracker Barrels, but the presence of RV parking is not up to date on any app, and a few have closed here and there. Learned my lesson after selecting a campground that I didn't call... got there late and found that it had been foreclosed. The bank left all of the signs in place. Two miles AFTER the last chance to turn around I came to a locked gate with turnaround space INSIDE it. Cheap lock - sledge hammer, nuf said? Re-locked it after I got turned around with a spare lock I had. (Didn't leave the sledge hammer either.) Going back I spray painted "CLOSED" on the signs too. I'm a good citizen in some slightly "off" ways! truly I am.)

Paula
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Old 03-22-2015, 08:31 PM   #17
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Just a quick fact check CWF... if you rode 2000 miles in 24 hours, you would be averaging about 83mph. You must have been dog tired after that run. Were you participating in a Cannonball run?
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Old 03-22-2015, 09:36 PM   #18
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Unless you have some emergency (then again, if it's that critical, leave the camper at home to make better time), a 300-mile day is a pretty good limit, depending on the roads travelled.
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Old 03-22-2015, 10:45 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by Protagonist View Post
I don't go by time; I go by distance. Makes it easier to plan your stops on a map.



Long explanation follows— you have been warned!



I used to work for the Federal Government, and the Department of Defense Joint Travel Regulations call for a travel limit of 350 miles per day— unless stopping at 350 miles leases you closer than 50 miles from your destination. So the rule is, total distance divided by 350 is the number of travel days; if the remainder is 50 or less round down, if it's over 50 round up to add an extra day.



Doesn't matter how many drivers are in the vehicle, either; it's 350 miles per day for one driver or for four. That's based on the assumption that being a passenger in a moving vehicle is no more restful than is driving, and the next driver will start out just as tired as the one he or she is relieving.



The Corps of Engineers Safety Manual adds another useful rule, that applies to all work including driving: Take a 15-minute break every two hours, and at least half an hour for lunch.



Doing this, it will take you at least eight hours to drive for seven hours, and even poking along at 50mph, seven hours of actual on-the-road time will get you 350 miles to where you are going to stop for the night. So a 350-mile trip is a full day of work.



End of long explanation, finally!



I have violated these distance rules on occasion; when my dad went in the hospital for the last time I drove 750 miles straight, solo, more than twelve hours of actual driving time on the Interstate not counting stopping to fill the fuel tank and drain my tank, no stops for meals or anything. At the time it seemed like the thing to do, but I was so worn out when I got there that in hindsight it was a stupid thing to do. Now that I'm retired and I have no family left other than one younger brother I don't get along with, I will never drive more than 350 miles per day (400 the last day of travel) for the rest of my life. It's more important to arrive alive than it is to arrive quickly.

This is pretty much the basis for safe semi truck operation even though the numbers pencil differently. And, it works. I'm very pleased Protagonist has written out this explanation more than once. It is valid, statistically.

The other way is a shorthand: use 47-mph as an average speed to account for all stops, etc. West of the Mississippi can use 52.

Faster than this is too fast, for optimal preservation of energy.

The oldest version I've heard and still agree with is:

Three hundred miles or three o'clock.

Whichever occurs first means it is time to stop.

It was easier to make time on American roads once the Interstates were completed in the early 1970s. No truck traffic to speak of. This is no longer the case. Too much traffic, and too much stress over the course of a day.

Amateurs talk of skill, professionals talk of risk minimization.
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Old 03-22-2015, 10:58 PM   #20
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I'm very pleased Protagonist has written out this explanation more than once. It is valid, statistically.
Well, I worked for the Federal Government for 33˝ years, and I figure I had to learn something in all that time. That was it; all that I learned. Which puts me in the upper 10% of all Federal employees, I figure, because at least I left the Government smarter than when I went in!:
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