How far will you drive?

[CamperMomma]

Hi!! Long time lurker, first time poster.

How far has everyone towed a camper to DFW? We live in ND and would love to camp, but with an almost 26 hour drive (not figuring in stops, slower drive, etc) I'm thinking it's not worth it. Has anyone else made this large of a hike? We'd be talking at least 3 10 hour days towing our travel trailer.

 

[happycamper47]

I don't drive that far, but there are units at the FORT from California all the time.

 

[North of Mouse]

Hi!! Long time lurker, first time poster.

How far has everyone towed a camper to DFW? We live in ND and would love to camp, but with an almost 26 hour drive (not figuring in stops, slower drive, etc) I'm thinking it's not worth it. Has anyone else made this large of a hike? We'd be talking at least 3 10 hour days towing our travel trailer.

We would personally never tow that far. We've towed 1,000 miles and that's about our limit (a special situation). Mostly we only tow up to 650mi.

Also, needing 6 days total to travel, how much *set up* time would you actually have? It would be a very expensive and tiring way to go IMO.

 

[Tinkmom]

Our drive takes about 12 hours and that's about my limit! Of course, some people enjoy the drive itself (and I'm not one of those, at all.)

If you made that trek, I would definitely make it a stay that was long enough to justify it. If you would able to spend a couple of weeks, that might be OK. But then you'd have to make the drive back - ugh!

The good thing is that you can experience much of the campground staying in one of the cabins. Not quite the same, but then again staying in a travel trailer isn't the same as tent camping, but what is so cool about Fort Wilderness IS Fort Wilderness itself.

I'd vote for flying down and staying in a cabin.

 

[jbrostek]

I run from VA to Disney, its about 18 hours total travel time and 1 overnight stop. Just shy of 1000 miles. It is definitely worth it and travel time is worked into my vacation plan. If you plan was only a week a Disney, I think once you added up all the expenses and time, you would likely find there are better ways to go.

But if you where doing a 2 week vacation with a week at disney, I would find a way to make it. Either by spending a week in a location near the halfway point, or breaking up the second week with a multiple 2 night stops along the way. If you could find a way to do a 2-3 night stop on the way down, disney, then the same on the return trip it could be a really fun vacation.

That really is the reason for RVing and Fort Wilderness in my opinion. While I may be there every year as part of my vacation, its usually just part of the vacation as I have a location for a week, or locations for less then a week planned. We are actually doing something very different this year and spending our entire vacation at the FW, the entire 2 weeks and it will be a blast even without ever going to a park.

 

[CamperMomma]

Thanks all! I think I just needed confirmation that we weren't "chickening out" of driving the distance. It's sounding like flying and a cabin is the way to go! Hoping the military discount on cabins (35%!!) holds out long enough so we can go!

 

[~Kristina~]

We live in Michigan about 1172 miles and 19 hours not towing the camper.

 

[rajak73]

1500 miles from home to Disney. Towed the 5th wheel last year and are going to do it again this year, except no Disney this time, just Daytona week, Shootout, duals and daytona 500 maybe a couple days at "that other place" I figure 3 1/2 days down, around 450 miles a day. Doesn't bother me to tow that far as long as I'm not rushing and driving 15+ hrs a day.

 

[CampingDad]

We drive 1200 miles. 21 hours of driving. Not including stops. We stop one night. We stay at the fort usually 11-12 nights to justify the drive and expense of getting there. Although its cheaper to drive there than fly for us. Nothing better than having your own camper with your own bed and kitchen. We love Fort Wilderness and love Disney so we make it a point to go every year in March.

 

[anniemck]

1500 miles from home to Disney. Towed the 5th wheel last year and are going to do it again this year, except no Disney this time, just Daytona week, Shootout, duals and daytona 500 maybe a couple days at "that other place" I figure 3 1/2 days down, around 450 miles a day. Doesn't bother me to tow that far as long as I'm not rushing and driving 15+ hrs a day.

We took our slide in to Charlotte in 2010, camped right across the street from the track and would LOVE to do it again, if we could take it with my Expedition. But I will NEVER travel long distance in dh's pick up again.. its old and not comfy. So JEALOUS of you doing Daytona week... considering a couple days though as we will be on the way home from dd's wedding in TN and we are only 3 hours from Daytona.

 

[my3princes]

We've towed from Vermont several times. Straight through with just gas stops takes us around 28 hours. Not worth it for less than a 2 week vacation, but well worth it if you've got the time. We love the Fort.

 

[CDNCruiser]

From our home in Kingston, ON, Canada it's 1,405 miles - 23 hours. We take 4 6-hour days to get there.

We drive a Class A and tow our car . . . we drive to Fort Wilderness at least twice a year and stay for at least two weeks each time!

Hey . . . somebody's gotta do it!

 

[2goofycampers]

I agree, it's worth it if you have the time and aren't rushing.

 

[Disney Fan Katt]

We just towed our new camper from NH in December and I am ready to do it again. We had quite the adventure along the way. Through 84 and 81 it was 33 degrees and raining with lots of fog in the middle of the night, then once we hit 95 it was pea soup fog. I did most of the driving (I haul horses all the time) and had bruises on my palms from gripping the wheel. We stayed at the truck stops and slept in the camper in the parking lot. My 6 year old son thought that was great.

I would leave in a heartbeat to get back to the campground. We loved it there, and I am not a camping person by nature.

 

[Goofyseven]

We drive from northern IL and take three days. Day one is to the Nashville area where we overnite, day two is to southern Ga or into FL, and day three is to the Fort with only a three to four hour drive.

We time our trip to go thru Atlanta on a weekend or, if we do make it to Chattanooga, to go thru after 9 am. Keep in mind that an RV can utilize the HOV lanes as long as you keep up with traffic and have at least two folks in the vehicle.

Paul

 

[CampFanatic]

It's DEFINATELY worth it in my opinion. We've driven from Michigan to WDW many, many times - dating back to the 1980's. We now try to go every year or every other year due to the grandchildren. We do the drive (24 hours or more) in 2 or 3 days - depending on our work schedules, and spend 14 nights in Fort Wilderness.

 

[sirenia88]

From my very limited experience at the fort, I found the West Coasters were generally those who were retired and didn't mind the drive out. They tended to stay for a longer around a month or so. Most of the people I talked to said they were pretty much East of the Mississippi with a 2 day travel range. When the family and I drove down from New Jersey, we were at 1150 miles one way. We planned 2 nights down and 1 night back. It would have been one night going down if we had left in the early morning instead of noonish. However, one thing with RVing, don't rush it. However, if your time is limited, I would suggest to looking into flying into Orlando. It might be worth having those extra days.

Good luck with your travel plans.

 

[msbegin]

We have driven from CT to the Fort many times (approx 1200 miles) We usually do 7 hours, 10 hours and 7 hours.... but always play it by ear depending on weather, traffic and how tired DH gets.

We are in the process of trading our 5th wheel for a Class A. We may actually be able to drive almost straight through this trip because we will have 3 drivers (DH, myself and my 19 year old son)... with the class A we can take turns sleeping while the others are driving. Not gonna push it though..

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[lodge]

I would love to park a unit down in Florida and visit multiple times yearly! I'm sure there are places that would do this, but it would have to cost less than renting one or wouldn't be worth it.........
Then ride a two wheeler down!

It's DEFINATELY worth it in my opinion, and spend 14 nights in Fort Wilderness.

THAT is AWESOME... 2 weeks there!!! WOW!

 

[jbrostek]

I would love to park a unit down in Florida and visit multiple times yearly! I'm sure there are places that would do this, but it would have to cost less than renting one or wouldn't be worth it.........
Then ride a two wheeler down!

THAT is AWESOME... 2 weeks there!!! WOW!

We are doing that this year. But we take a 2 week winter vacation every year and its usually a week in FL near or at the beach and a week at Disney.