RV trippin daily driving distance?

[whiteworks]

Planning out our summer routes and time frames. Wife and kiddo have given me a hard date they need to be back by as well they both have tapped out at the two weeks tops with me and the dog cruising around like a pack of Gypsy’s.

As I lay out the routes, stops, and time frames it’s becoming clear that my wants may be a bit ambitious for that time frame. Im thinking about capping the trip at 2000 miles, that’s 4 solid legs of 500 mile drive days and 10 days of chilling and enjoying the places we end up.

So what’s the experienced family RV’rs have to say about this? I have another 1000 mile leg I’m chopping off to keep it from being like a truckers cross country marathon

 

[Done-it-again]

500 is a lot, would keep it closer to 400 if possible, or push it 1 day so the others can be closer to 400 and under.

Here was our trip last year.

 

[whiteworks]

500 is a lot, would keep it closer to 400 if possible, or push it 1 day so the others can be closer to 400 and under.

Here was our trip last year.

View attachment 1238187 View attachment 1238188

18 nights and 3100 miles, how fast do you travel and are you towing?

Also what app is that?

 

[Singleton]

When we did Yellowstone, we tried to keep it around 300 to 350 each day.
Wake up and leave camp by 630. Would get to next stop around 2, so we could relax and enjoy the afternoon.
Gave kids the choice, leave camp early and enjoy afternoon OR leave late and arrive by dinner.
kids liked the afternoon relaxing

 

[Done-it-again]

18 nights and 3100 miles, how fast do you travel and are you towing?

Also what app is that?

It’s called RV Parky.

I was towing a 38’ 5er with a F350 diesel. I don’t remember my average speed but had to be around 60 when you add in stops, I was traveling with the wife and 10 twin girls. I typically drive 70-75 when possible.

What I didn’t take into account was WIND. Had it from Williams when we left all the way to Custer SD. So bad I was having the wife Google wind speeds that can turn over trailers. Was close to finishing off a bottle of bourbon on those days.

 

[Singleton]

It’s called RV Parky.

I was towing a 38’ 5er with a F350 diesel. I don’t remember my average speed but had to be around 60 when you add in stops, I was traveling with the wife and 10 twin girls. I typically drive 70-75 when possible.

What I didn’t take into account was WIND. Had it from Williams when we left all the way to Custer SD. So bad I was having the wife Google wind speeds that can turn over trailers. Was close to finishing off a bottle of bourbon on those days.

I stop when the gusts go over 40. Driven through higher and the stress is not worth it.

 

[Thing One]

300-350 max, otherwise it’s work and not fun.

 

[Done-it-again]

I stop when the gusts go over 40. Driven through higher and the stress is not worth it.

That wind through Wyoming was crazy but kept going and figured that if the road gates were still open I was good to go.

 

[DalesSpeed]

We did 3,100 miles last summer from So Cal to Missouri and looped back to South Dakota, Colorado, Moab and then home.

Our 500 mile leg was LONG. Every other day was 300-350 miles. As said before, this was easy and enjoyable. Beaver Utah to Denver Co (approximately 500 miles) was tiring.

 

[GRANT@FUNCO]

500 to 550 is a big day, 350 to 400 is a piece of cake If your doing multiple days back to back. Better to have the afternoon to chill. Plus you get to meet so many people from different walks of life at the campgrounds
My dune group is is headed from Rancho Cucamonga to St Anthony dunes in 2 weeks. We will bang out 500 the first day so it’s and 400 the next only because we are staying for 9 or 10 days. Then 2 or 30 days back.

 

[Mcob25rg]

Many variables - type of roads/traffic, weather, towing or not. I get told that max is 500, and we can’t do those back to back. I run at 63-65 mph, so with stops for the dog, wife wants me to stretch my legs ( problem for the old guys like me ), we average around 50. 10 hours on the road is a long day - 350 is a lot better - just my situation - you asked. We’re in an A Diesel pusher, with a car on a dolly, mostly traveling in the Midwest - shit roads, tons of traffic

 

[sintax]

I think the real question is, are you traveling to get from A to B or are you trying to get to a destination while seeing stuff along the way.

If I’m trying to do stuff, I try to limit my daily mileage to 300ish

If im just trying to crank out miles I’ve done 800ish in a day. Did SoCal to Denver straight through a couple times, and SoCal to Ft Worth

 

[whiteworks]

I regularly do 600 miles a day in my sprinter van, it’s a 9 hour day with a gas stop. This trip will be in a class c flat towing a JLU so I won’t be running 85 mph, was thinking 500 miles is manageable and will get us out of the south west pretty quick and give us more time to explore PNW region.

I’ve run some bigger stuff across the country towing and it’s an hour every time you stop in those things, hopefully this setup will speed that up as well.

 

[Icky]

500 to 550 is a big day, 350 to 400 is a piece of cake If your doing multiple days back to back. Better to have the afternoon to chill. Plus you get to meet so many people from different walks of life at the campgrounds
My dune group is is headed from Rancho Cucamonga to St Anthony dunes in 2 weeks. We will bang out 500 the first day so it’s and 400 the next only because we are staying for 9 or 10 days. Then 2 or 30 days back.

We've done that trip twice, and break it up into 2 days. Last trip we left a day early from everyone else and stopped in Vegas, and met up with our group on the road the next day. Both times we drove straight home, it sucked.

 

[CarolynandBob]

When we started full timing we would go 500-600 miles. Was always tired after a travel day, so we cut it back to 6 hrs. Would usually leave about 8 and stop for an hour lunch and arrive about 3. F350 towing a 40ft 5th wheel.

 

[RCDave]

I did 865 in one day (class A DP). It was a LONG day....

 

[rivermobster]

500 to 550 is a big day, 350 to 400 is a piece of cake If your doing multiple days back to back. Better to have the afternoon to chill. Plus you get to meet so many people from different walks of life at the campgrounds
My dune group is is headed from Rancho Cucamonga to St Anthony dunes in 2 weeks. We will bang out 500 the first day so it’s and 400 the next only because we are staying for 9 or 10 days. Then 2 or 30 days back.

There is a pull through RV camp at a 6 Flags kinna place (I can't remember the name) in Salt Lake.

We stayed the night there on the way up to St Anthony's. Say hi to Courtney for me when you get there!

 

[Ziggy]

300-350 max, otherwise it’s work and not fun.

Ding-Ding!!!
.
Winnah!

 

[Terminal Velocity]

There is a pull through RV camp at a 6 Flags kinna place (I can't remember the name) in Salt Lake.

We stayed the night there on the way up to St Anthony's. Say hi to Courtney for me when you get there!

Lagoon, it's in Farmington Utah, just north of Salt Lake. RD and family stayed there a couple years back as well.

 

[Tooms22]

Did this summer 2021 with an F350 and a 29' Laveycraft over 2 days at the end of 2 week road trip:

Day 1:
Kalispell, MT to Lehi, UT - 660 miles

Day 2:
Lehi, UT to Mohave Valley, AZ (Drop off boat) - 510 miles
Mohave Valley, AZ to Corona, CA (Just the truck) - 235 miles

The first day of that trip was 533 miles to Tahoe with about 50ish miles of curvy ass mountain road.

This year, we did one day Aspen to Corona but it was just the truck - 860 miles

Lots of stops made it not terrible.

I agree that the 400 miles per day is a good limit when towing. Otherwise, you'll just be drained of energy when you get to the next destination.

 

[Cdog]

6-7 hours was our max travel hours in the truck when we did our Yellowstone/Glacier NP trip. With two girls and a farting 90lb Weimaraner in the back seat. Lmao!

We did scottsdale to Zion. Zion to Herber/Park City. Park city to Lava hot Springs Idaho. LHS to Jackson hole/Tetons. Yellowstone to Henry’s lake Idaho. Then onto Glacier.

The longest day was from Glacier back to Lava hot springs on the way back. From there we drove to Delta Colorado then through Ouray to Durango. Durango to Scottsdale is about 7 hours.

 

[DLC]

I think it depends on conditions

if it’s a whipping cross wind you slow down and white knuckle the drive Very Alert….

that makes you - exhausted….

we would always start out trip By leaving at 7 -8 pm after work to get out of town to avoid traffic, drive for 2 or 3 hours find a parking lot somewhere but it was just the 2 of us in out 35 ft motorhome.

 

[napanutt]

On our move from CA to NH in our class A DP I drove from 500 to 600 per day. We'd leave around 7 or so in the morning and arrive at the next stop by 4-5. Basically drive for 4 hours, stop for a quick lunch in the moho and drive another four or so hours to our next destination.
We have nice captain type chairs in the moho so I'm sure that helped a lot.

It’s called RV Parky.

Wife used that app while I drove. It seemed to help a lot.

 

[Done-it-again]

On our move from CA to NH in our class A DP I drove from 500 to 600 per day. We'd leave around 7 or so in the morning and arrive at the next stop by 4-5. Basically drive for 4 hours, stop for a quick lunch in the moho and drive another four or so hours to our next destination.
We have nice captain type chairs in the moho so I'm sure that helped a lot.

Wife used that app while I drove. It seemed to help a lot.

I can drive hours longer in a DP than 5er. We road tripped my parents DP from New Orleans back to CA a few year back. Spent 10 days driving through TX and up through AZ. Parents flew home.

Now driving this? Not as comfortable, smaller fuel tank, no bathroom makes for longer trips.

 

[78DiMarco]

Planning out our summer routes and time frames. Wife and kiddo have given me a hard date they need to be back by as well they both have tapped out at the two weeks tops with me and the dog cruising around like a pack of Gypsy’s.

As I lay out the routes, stops, and time frames it’s becoming clear that my wants may be a bit ambitious for that time frame. Im thinking about capping the trip at 2000 miles, that’s 4 solid legs of 500 mile drive days and 10 days of chilling and enjoying the places we end up.

So what’s the experienced family RV’rs have to say about this? I have another 1000 mile leg I’m chopping off to keep it from being like a truckers cross country marathon

We just did a 22 day trip to Canada driving the motorhome from AZ. I like to limit the driving to 300 or 400 miles per day and every other stop we stay a couple of days or more. Otherwise all you do is drive and setup and take down. You need to relax and enjoy the areas you are visiting....

 

[whiteworks]

I’m playing with that “rv parky” app now, it’s pretty cool. I sent my wife over a 20 day 3000 mile trip and the first thing out of her mouth was “oh fuck 20 days!”.

Looks like scaling back is in the cards, last thing I want is to be in a box on wheels with a hostile on board

 

[Riverbound]

I try to keep it at 6-8 hours a day. and palm stops around that.

personally i can get in and clock 12+ hours no problem. but with a family cut the drives to no more than 6-8hours.

 

[Meaney77]

Road Trippers is another cool app to plan out a trip.....

I would agree with what others said 350-450 in a day is good. I have no problem doing 600-700 miles a day in a car not towing. I dont care if you are driving a pusher or pulling a trailer- for me after 400 miles driving my pusher, flat towing my truck, listenting to anyone of my 3 kids asking "how much longer" and listening to my wife in the passeger seat tellimg me to slow down or how to drive at the end of the day I am spent.

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

We shoot for 450-500, but I have done 1100 when I really needed to get home.

 

[ka0tyk]

driven across the us from CA to mass and back... 8 hour days of driving is tough. not to mention once you get somewhere for the night, you need to hookup, dinner, etc...

having a plan is good, but braking up the long drives by stopping places def makes things easier for the driver. it doesnt matter if you get to the next campsite at 6pm or 10pm. we've also noticed that some of the best experiences were just places we "checked out" rather than the big stops we planned weeks in advance.

also keep in mind that 400 miles flat is a LOT different than going 200 thru the rockies or a windy road.

 

[wallnutz]

Phoenix to St Anthony ID 13 + hours. I have iron manned it two years in a row to and from. That's in a DP. In the old gasser I would probably only do 5 to 6 hours a day. Once was with four of us, last year did it by myself. The DP is nice only really have to stop twice for fuel, but I stopped 4 times so I could stretch , eat and shit. If I had more time I would split it up maybe, but don't really mind driving. The wife and kids can eat and sleep and watch tv so it really doesn't bother them too much if we drive straight through, it gives us more time at our destination.

 

[outboard_256]

I try to keep mine down to around 350 a day. It still gives me some energy left over when I get to the campsite to do stuff.

 

[HBCraig]

I regularly do 600 miles a day in my sprinter van, it’s a 9 hour day with a gas stop. This trip will be in a class c flat towing a JLU so I won’t be running 85 mph, was thinking 500 miles is manageable and will get us out of the south west pretty quick and give us more time to explore PNW region.

I’ve run some bigger stuff across the country towing and it’s an hour every time you stop in those things, hopefully this setup will speed that up as well.

My parents took us on a trip like this when I was 10. One of my fondest memories
Saw Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, zion and Bryce
It was awesome

 

[hallett21]

You guys are crazy lol! 8 hours day after day is brutal lol

 

[rivermobster]

Lagoon, it's in Farmington Utah, just north of Salt Lake. RD and family stayed there a couple years back as well.

That's it. It's nice cause I think all of the spots are nice big pull through spots! Perfect place for quick stop.

 

[Sportin' Wood]

In the truck, we can do about 500-600 miles or about ten hours a day.
In the RV I'm happy with 300-350 or 6 hours as others have said.

Somedays when the weather is just right, I have a tailwind and #ThisDamnRV runs well I can do 8 hours before I get cranky, but those days are rare. If you are gonna do RV parks factor in an extra 45 minutes before you can make camp dealing with the camp host and following the golf cart to your spot. I suggest a pre-game while the wife deals with the desk.

Don't miss out on all the stuff that happens in the in-between. We've stopped at some of the coolest little places.

 

[SoCalDave]

When we did Yellowstone, we tried to keep it around 300 to 350 each day.
Wake up and leave camp by 630. Would get to next stop around 2, so we could relax and enjoy the afternoon.
Gave kids the choice, leave camp early and enjoy afternoon OR leave late and arrive by dinner.
kids liked the afternoon relaxing

I’m playing with that “rv parky” app now, it’s pretty cool. I sent my wife over a 20 day 3000 mile trip and the first thing out of her mouth was “oh fuck 20 days!”.

Looks like scaling back is in the cards, last thing I want is to be in a box on wheels with a hostile on board

Been in this thing going on 7 months now so 20 days would be a blessing for us..

 

[STV_Keith]

As mentioned, 300-350 is a comfortable day. I'm heading to Sturgis from Vegas on Aug 1 and it's ~1050mi...we'll be doing that in 2 days each way, so about 525mi/day. They will be long, but we want to get there. It's about the destination, not the drive this time.

 

[bowtiejunkie]

We don’t RV, but I agree 300-350 is the sweet spot even for car travel. Adjust from there if not sightseeing or want to get to destination asap. The problem I found is the West is BIG, and to hit the hotels I wanted to stay, the mileage often exceeded 400+/day. During a 14 day trip, with only 3 multi-night stops, meant driving 10 of the days. Starts to wear on the wife and kids.

 

[Cobalt232]

We did this drive last week in a rental Toyota Tacoma. I had a boat trailer made in Ohio so we picked it up and we hit the Indy 500 on the way back. I needed to be back in the CA office on Thursday morning. After the Indy 500 we stayed in Terre Haute IN and made it to Amarillo Monday night. On Tuesday, we drove from Amarillo to Havasu and dropped the trailer off in the garage. Got home to San Clemente Wednesday night. My back is still sore.

 

[Mcob25rg]

STV Keith, I did a road trip w/4 life long friends from Ohio to Sturgis for Bike Week in 2021 - rented a 37’ Class A gasser, with a 22’ box trailer filled with 4 bikes and gear - 1,320 miles each way - I drove straight thru both times - 23.5 hours. NEVER AGAIN. Trip was awesome, but that’s the most brutal drive I’ve ever done ( at 64 years old - all the other guys were same age, but no one else wanted to drive! ). We rode 1,300 miles in 5 days to see everything SD had to offer. If you don’t see anything else, go to the badlands - it was a religious experience for me, like seeing the ocean for the first time!

 

[STV_Keith]

STV Keith, I did a road trip w/4 life long friends from Ohio to Sturgis for Bike Week in 2021 - rented a 37’ Class A gasser, with a 22’ box trailer filled with 4 bikes and gear - 1,320 miles each way - I drove straight thru both times - 23.5 hours. NEVER AGAIN. Trip was awesome, but that’s the most brutal drive I’ve ever done ( at 64 years old - all the other guys were same age, but no one else wanted to drive! ). We rode 1,300 miles in 5 days to see everything SD had to offer. If you don’t see anything else, go to the badlands - it was a religious experience for me, like seeing the ocean for the first time!

Wow, iron butt award winner. I'll be at Glencoe for almost 2 weeks, so should have plenty of time for the Sturgis stuff and the SD stuff in the surrounding area. Devil's Tower, Mt Rushmore, Deadwood, Spearfish canyon, etc.

 

[dezertrider]

This thread is helping me plan our trip in September. I downloaded the two aps suggested. RV Parky seems out dated and even though I spent the $20 it wasnt something I would use. Road trippers is nice. I was able to enter my RV height for road restrictions. Good stuff!!!

 

[calkid]

I towed my 5W from Spokane via Butte to Beaver Ut in one shot some years back. At about 14 hours I had a mutiny on my hands, apparently the family still gets tired while they're sleeping. After the realization that I was going to be left for dead somewhere around Fillmore, I got us to a KOA in beaver. I'm one of those people that can drive for extended periods without non prescription pharmaceuticals.

 

[whiteworks]

When I was 16 myself and three friends drove straight through from Jacksonville Florida to SoCal, 4 hour shifts in a converted box van set up for racing jet skis after the tour was over. It had 4 bunks in it, so two people were always in the back laying down 48 hours in the summer at 65MPH, fucking brutal.

Last continental crossing was 5 days in a 40’ pusher, still a good push, but super comfy.

 

[Gramps]

300 - 350 miles a day max...........you need time for an extra drink when you get there

 

[25Elmn8r]

Been in this thing going on 7 months now so 20 days would be a blessing for us..

View attachment 1238761

7 months is childsplay... you'll be back in the house in no time. We're coming up on 2 years in this:

They are both going bye bye as soon as we get moved into the house.

I towed my 5W from Spokane via Butte to Beaver Ut in one shot some years back. At about 14 hours I had a mutiny on my hands, apparently the family still gets tired while they're sleeping. After the realization that I was going to be left for dead somewhere around Fillmore, I got us to a KOA in beaver. I'm one of those people that can drive for extended periods without non prescription pharmaceuticals.

Beaver seems to be the stopping point for us as well when we head south. I wouldn't mind going a bit further to make the next day shorter, but the wife would probably kill me.

 

[Cdog]

We did this drive last week in a rental Toyota Tacoma. I had a boat trailer made in Ohio so we picked it up and we hit the Indy 500 on the way back. I needed to be back in the CA office on Thursday morning. After the Indy 500 we stayed in Terre Haute IN and made it to Amarillo Monday night. On Tuesday, we drove from Amarillo to Havasu and dropped the trailer off in the garage. Got home to San Clemente Wednesday night. My back is still sore. View attachment 1239128 View attachment 1239129 View attachment 1239130

I did that tow from Scottsdale to just south of Tulsa in one long day. Next day made it to Indianapolis. Mid to east Oklahoma has some beautiful county.

 

[Cdog]

When I was 16 myself and three friends drove straight through from Jacksonville Florida to SoCal, 4 hour shifts in a converted box van set up for racing jet skis after the tour was over. It had 4 bunks in it, so two people were always in the back laying down 48 hours in the summer at 65MPH, fucking brutal.

Last continental crossing was 5 days in a 40’ pusher, still a good push, but super comfy. View attachment 1239479

It's funny the last lot lizard I remember seeing was in Indio at the loves off of Dillon RD. Mid morning Monday on the way back from Buttonwillow. She was hitting up all the scummy looking dudes in the parking lot and avoided me like I was a cop. HAHA!

 

[Cdog]

I bought this new one in Mississippi. Finished a race at Buttonwillow on Sunday. Towed a flat bed with race car back to Scottsdale by 10PM. Unloaded the next morning and drove in shifts to Mississippi over night to arrive at 10am local time. Had my racing friend with me to drive when I got tired. Spent the night and drove to Frisco the next day to drop him off. Next day made it all the way home to Scottsdale in one long day from Frisco solo. Long day...