Seniors over 70 and anyone else who wants to respond

[nomadleslie]

Originally Posted by dmbecke

For those of you who take the back roads... how do you find the way
My nav system wants to take the interstates

We use maps. Sometimes I couple our atlas with the free state road map I pick up at the welcome center. Maps have never failed us, but I can’t say the same for Siri, MapQuest app, etc.

[Mollysdad]

Since I drive solo I usually just want to get there.
I've driven 600 miles a day, and just stop for gas.
Yes, it's no fun, but I have more time at the destination.
Lately, I've tried to cut back to stopping at 4 pm, but often that leaves you where there's no campgrounds nearby or in the middle of a big city and I just keep going.
I hate arriving in the dark, and so I try to cut back on miles. Getting up at 0-dark-thirty is not an option, so I make up for it on the other end, sometimes wandering around a strange campground in the dark, swearing I'll never do this again.

Because I drive solo, there's no co-pilot to read maps, look up phone numbers, search apps, and do all the other stuff that makes driving go smoothly. Once I'm rolling I hate stopping to consult the campground guides.

[sbowman]

Originally Posted by Rocinante

We’re experimenting with a “no more than 200 miles in a day” rule, but that doesn’t work so well on back roads that are twisting and mountainous (e.g. Route 101 in Oregon). Maybe we’ll try a 150 mile rule on those routes.

101 is our favorite. We drive it couple or more times each year.

[urnmor]

For those of you who take the back roads... how do you find the way
My nav system wants to take the interstates

My method is not very scientific however this is what I do especially if I am not in a rush to get there. I note my final destination, open my map on the screen on the car, pick a road going in the general direction and travel it. At some point I will relook the map , see where I am. pick another route and go. As I said this is not very scientific but it is fun and you get to see a lot of places that you would not have seen. By the way one time I went the wrong direction and ended up on the coast. So I just turnt around and found another road going in my direction.

Two points since I am a male I am never lost as long as I keep moving. At least the is what item my wife.

[FreshAirStmr]

The very first time we towed our Airstream, it was for over 7 hours and into the night. We had an accident. So we said we'll never do that again.

We're now retired and full timing, so getting there fast isn't a concern. We typically drive in the 100-200 range in a day. When I'm planning a route, if it's more than 4 hours between destinations, I'll add in a overnight halfway because when Google Maps says it will take 4 hours to get there, we know it will take us at least 5 if not longer. A few times in the last two years, we've gone 5-6 hours but we find it's hard to keep up the concentration needed to tow safely. And we never tow at night.

Joanne

[TexasMarci]

We try to get to our location by 2-3 in the afternoons - latest. But it all depends on the roads, weather and attractions. We have NEVER travelled more than 350 in a day and don't intend too - just too long for us and still needing to set up. If the only route is an interstate, we might be able to get closer to 280 miles or so - but for state roads, we try to keep our goals around 180 to 240 max during the day. We have discovered LOTS of nice RV parks (that we hope to visit again) and hometown diners and hardware stores and more in the smaller towns. Plus it gives us time for sight-seeing or running to pick up groceries and a little longer fun in the dog parks. We think the fun is in the journey too - not just the destination. I do a lot of research ahead of time to find towns that might have what we might need - a Ford dealer - RV supplies and/or a veterinarian. I keep these in a "trip notebook"" which is helpful when trying to choose a stop. Friends make fun of all my trip ""spreadsheets) but they have come in handy many many times.

[Julie-Bob]

We been RVing for over 30+ years. When I was working all day and sometime all night was nothing for us to do. We have slowly down sized the miles to maybe 300 to 150 a day. Travel for three days then rest for two full days before going again. We now stay off interstates and like the back roads. The Lincoln Highway RT 30 is a great non travel road lots of small towns lot of sites not seen by many. Yes we boondock a lot, when pull up to rest always in an RV park. We use Allstays app each day each trip.