850 Miles in One Day

[bozley0621]

For those of you that drive around 850 miles from door to Mouse, do you take one or two days? If you take one day, are you towing a camper?

I’m thinking of ways to optimize the budget and time for more trips to WDW. We could save money by driving instead of flying from northern Virginia and optimize time by driving the 850 miles in one day. We could really optimize the budget and time by driving in one day and staying in the camper. However, driving that far in one day while towing may be overdoing it.

 

[Capt_BJ]

What kind of average speed can you maintain pulling a camper .... remember that to maintain a 60 average you need be driving nearer 70 most of the time when you factor in rest/gas/food stops

850 miles at 60 is 14 hours driving . . . .

when I see a camper being towed at 65 or 70 I go 'oh my'

I recently did a 650 miles straight thru drive and that was plenty for me ... but in my youth 850 was not unusual .... but the next day is full recovery mode!

Of course if you have multiple drivers it is a different story .... I'm looking at ONE driver

 

[bozley0621]

What kind of average speed can you maintain pulling a camper ....

We don’t exceed 65 mph and usually only consider that an option on flat roads.

 

[sam_gordon]

We don’t exceed 65 mph and usually only consider that an option on flat roads.

Which means you'll probably average around 50 (maybe 55). That makes the trip 17 hours. Doable? Yes. Advisable? I don't think so. I think you should plan on two days.

 

[NYCgrrl]

We don’t exceed 65 mph and usually only consider that an option on flat roads.

That's approx. 14 hrs of driving with no stops or traffic. I'd make it more like 18-20 hours to be on the safe side. If you have 2 drivers it's doable in one day but I'd probably aim for 2 days or nights on the road so I didn't feel like collapsing when I got to FW.

 

[Woodview]

Remember ONE Wobble while Driving Could send Many into Hospital.

Take 1 day & sleep overnight & then next morning finish Drive & start ( Refreshed ) your Vacation

 

[bozley0621]

Sigh - folks are right. Whether towing or not, 850 miles is too much for one day.

 

[Spaceace5150]

I don't think I'd do it with a camper due to the extra time and extra steps that come with that.

How long would it take you for the 850 drive? I know Virginia can have crazy traffic. I've done longer drive mileage wise in one day. Its not fun, but if it means a trip or no trip, it has been worth it for me.

 

[NYCgrrl]

An out of the box thought.
Check the cost of an Amtrak/commuter train or bus ticket to somewhere around the midpoint mileage of the trip to Orlando. Locate a reasonable cost storage space for a short term rental of the trailer/5th wheel. A few days before your FW trip, drop the trailer/5th wheel off and either leave the vehicle hooked up or drive back. Should you leave the vehicle at the storage area use a train or bus to get you back home and return to your staging area luggage in hand. Should you have family or friends further down south there is always the possibility you can leave the camper on their property and forgo the storage cost. Many variables w/ this scenario but having laid out the basics I'm sure you can take it from there. You'll acquire some unexpected costs but I suspect they'll be minimal when compared to the benefits of beginning your road trip w/ half the mileage already under your belt.

HTH

 

[tobikaye]

It is about 950 miles from my house to WDW. On the trips where I drive to WDW, it is probably an even split on when I drive straight through or make a stop. I have not made the trip with a trailer, but I would expect to add at least 2-3 hours to my trip if pulling a trailer so I would probably stop somewhere along the way.

On the trips where I make a stop, it depends on what time I leave on the first travel day. If I leave before 3 pm, I try to stop as close to the Georgia/Florida boarder as I can. If I leave after 3 pm, I either stop just before Atlanta or just after depending on what time I want to leave the next day to finish the trip.

For my return trips home, I normally drive straight through.