What I have learned this summer

[Brumeiser]

We bought a 2004 Coachman as most of you are aware and taking mini weekend trips. We have had 3 so far and what we have done is we keep driving further distances each weekend. Well this past weekend we had a 200 mile drive one way. I think part of the problem was the wind my dad went over the problems when it was windy and boy it was true. Well anyhow for 200 miles it was about a 4 hour drive home. I know for a fact that with a car and my heavy foot in a car it is about 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive. So basically with a motorhome what is your experience on how many miles you tackle in a day? Our disney trip in 2009 it is 1100 miles. I know it can't be done in 2 days but can it be done in 3 days?

 

[homebrew2]

You're looking at 18 to 22 hrs of driving so you can go from there.

In my own case about 26 hours total.

 

[dtum]

We're driving from Eastern OH (near Akron) and take two days. We like it better doing it in three days (easier driving about 8-9 hours day), time to get to each destination and relax a bit before the next leg of the trip, but seems we are always a little pressed for time lately so do it in two-going the biggest part of the trip the first day. If you have the time, take the three days down and if you feel like you can come back in two then do it on the way home. Being in Toledo, I'd say your trip is a little further than ours.

 

[Brumeiser]

yes according to mapquest we are about 100 miles further than Akron. I am going to try and get a personal day put in ha ha the day before Thanksgiving. That would give us 13 days for the trip. I don't have to work till 6pm Monday night and my wife would be off. So if we drove 3 days each way that stills gives us 7 days down in Florida. Now all I have to day is to start counting backward 500 days from 2009 and get me a date to make reservations next summer. I want to make sure we get this all figured out so we can get in at the fort. I have to experience this at least once in my lifetime.

 

[kimluvswdw]

We drive our motorhome from Virginia Beach and we can make it in about 11-12 hours depending on traffic. My husband does not know how to drive under 80 mph on I95.

 

[BarleyJack]

We drive our motorhome from Virginia Beach and we can make it in about 11-12 hours depending on traffic. My husband does not know how to drive under 80 mph on I95.

80MPH in a motor home? yikes!

 

[bama_ed]

I average about 7-8 mph slower pulling my pop-up. To go 610 miles to WDW for us is 8.5 hours of road time by car only, 9.5 hours with camper. Nearly all that's on interstate or equivalent 4-lanes.

Bama ED

 

[kc5grw]

Ft Wilderness is just under 1100 miles from our home on the east side of Dallas. I pull a 32' 5th wheel with an F350. Our first trip to the Fort took 21.5 hours driving straight through. Our second trip was planned over 2 days and it took a bit longer because I had 2 tires blow on my trailer. Overall driving time on that trip was around 24 hours. I typically engage the cruise at 65 and keep it there for the trip.

 

[big kahuna1]

If I was pressed for time and wanted the extra day I would do it in 2 days. If not, I would take my time by driving 8 to 9 hours for the 2 days and finish the drive the next day.

 

[dtum]

IMHO-pressed for time while towing a big trailer (in our case fifth-wheel) is not a good thing. We always take the time to plan the whole trip so we have plenty of time. It's not safe to be speeding along towing a trailer. We find it's usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours longer than the Good Sam maps, but we stop at each welcome center and take a lot of breaks. Maybe it's being older, but we would rather not hurry. We're planning May 08 trip and were just talking today about when to leave and what day we needed to leave FW to get home. Yes, we have to use two more days vacation, but the stress on my husband is a lot more important than getting there one day early. Just MHO.

 

[disney6family]

We drive the 960 miles from uniontown, pa in just under 18 hours. We drive 12 hours the first day to point south, sc then 6 hours the next to WDW. You should easily be able to do it in 2-3 days. We used to take 3 days when the kids were smaller and needed more frequent breaks. Now, with the bigger bladders and DVD player we stop about every movie and a half - oh, sorry I meant every 3 hours. We try to time our gas/ lunch breaks so we aren't stopping extra for potty breaks.
We never go over the speed limit and are frequently under it on hills, etc. In fact, sometimes I have to look over at the speedometer when I see all of the people speeding by us to make sure we are going close to the speed limit. AAA says to budget an hour for every 50 miles of road and that would include your break time and that is always more than enough for us. We get bogged down in the mtns in WV, but can make up time later. And our kids are pretty good about getting in/ out, doing what we need to get done and stretching and getting back on the road now.

 

[stacktester]

I pull a 31' fifth wheel with a 2500 Duramax. Even though we're only 2.5 hours from WDW I just put the cruise on 65. My truck runs about 2000 rpm there and I actually get about 11-12 mpg instead of 9 mpg at 70 mph. With all the slowing down in downtown Orlando I figure why push it because you're going to have to slow up anyway.

 

[drafthorsecrazy]

Hi neighbor! We live in the Sandusky area and it takes us roughly 21.5 hrs of driving time with our truck & camper. On the way down we usually spend two nights on the road and arrive the third day around mid morning. We are feeling fresh and relaxed and ready to set up our campsite. I personally would not want to arrive late in the day (exhausted) and have to set up in a site that perhaps isnt the best because all the better ones were taken earlier in the day. When it comes to the drive home we usually are feeling the pressures of everyday life creep back in and press on longer each day and make it home in two days. The plus side of this is knowing our bed at home is waiting. Hope this helps.....enjoy planning your trip!

 

[bradisgoofy]

I'm with drafthorsecrazy, we are 1200 miles away and take three days to get to FW. Two 500 miles days then sleep in the third morning and arrive at FW refreshed and ready to go. The same number of days home only we leave FW at 11:00am ( gotta stay as long as possible ) then stop at the same CG only in reverse order.

 

[ram101]

Just curious as to if you all travel during the day or at night. I work night shift and decided that we would do all the traveling at night. Thought it would save some traffic time. Any thoughts?


By the way big kahuna1 ...I totally agree with your statement about the troops!!!

 

[dtum]

We get up really early and leave, but if you're used to being up at night you could probably do the night thing. The big cities would have a much better traffic pattern at night, but we can't stay up all night to drive, so we grit our teeth and hope we hit the big ones at a decent hour (not sure Jacksonville has a decent hour )

 

[bradisgoofy]

Just curious as to if you all travel during the day or at night. I work night shift and decided that we would do all the traveling at night. Thought it would save some traffic time. Any thoughts?...

I work the 11pm to 7am shift, too, and I posted this question on RV.net. Most of the replies I received were positive to the point I may try it this next trip to FW in '08.

 

[Shannone1]

We bought a 2004 Coachman as most of you are aware and taking mini weekend trips. We have had 3 so far and what we have done is we keep driving further distances each weekend. Well this past weekend we had a 200 mile drive one way. I think part of the problem was the wind my dad went over the problems when it was windy and boy it was true. Well anyhow for 200 miles it was about a 4 hour drive home. I know for a fact that with a car and my heavy foot in a car it is about 2 1/2 to 3 hour drive. So basically with a motorhome what is your experience on how many miles you tackle in a day? Our disney trip in 2009 it is 1100 miles. I know it can't be done in 2 days but can it be done in 3 days?

We plan for 2 hours for every 100 miles. That figures in time for fueling up, meal stops and rest area breaks for the dog.

We are also about 1100 miles from FW. We left home on an early Thursday morning, stopped for the night about 7:00, left about 9am the next morning and stopped for the night about 7:00 again. That left us with about 3 hours of driving the next morning and we arrived at 11:00am on Saturday.

 

[ghendricks]

we live just outside amarillo texas, it is 1450 miles. we tow a 31 foot 5th wheel with a chevy duramax, it was 2 hard days and one easy one, we averaged 12 miles per gallon at about 70