How many miles per day do you travel on average

Hello again everybody:

I am a realy newbe with this towing thing as I have posted in the past. In trying to plan out our trip, I know that with just the car I can drive 9-12 per day fairly easy. I know the TM will slow me down, but on average what is a good dsitance or hours per day to plan when driving long trips?

Again, thanks everybody for you help
g w/ 06 2619 and Honda Pilot

Originally Posted by greaves

...In trying to plan out our trip, I know that with just the car I can drive 9-12 per day fairly easy. I know the TM will slow me down, but on average what is a good dsitance or hours per day to plan when driving long trips?

When we travel across country, or more than a day's drive from our home, we limit ourselves to 250-300 miles per day. We drive at 55-57 mph, both to conserve fuel and because the towing speed limit in our home state (CA) is 55. It's the speed I'm most comfortable driving.

We typically hit the road by 8:30 a.m. and are looking for a place to spend the night by 3:00 p.m. Of course, our travel includes stops for fuel, mid-morning coffee (& potty stop), lunch, mid-afternoon soft drink (& potty stop). We are over 65, so the potty stops become very important. We travel with a conventional trailer these days, so it is our "potty" and we just look for a wide, safe area off the highway when we need those stops.

We are leaving on June 21st for a 6-7 week trip to and through the mid-west, including Branson, Amana Colonies, Grand Rapids, MI, Dayton, OH, Mt. Rushmore, and more.

[B_and_D]

I think it depends a lot on your passengers and you....and how long you have to get where you're going. We could probably do 500+ miles per day if we were trying to get somewhere fast on an interstate (without metropolitan areas) and had reservations and a set plan. Most times when we're trying to make time, we don't really stop for lunch, we just run into a fast food place, grab a sack of food, use the bathroom, and keep driving. With the kids in their late teens, and us in our early 50's, this works for us. Our (my) biggest problem is trying to get everybody up in the morning so we can get going early. I have no problem getting up at 4 am to get on the road, but it doesn't agree with the rest of the family. I like to drive, and don't mind driving the TM at all (as long as I have DH to park it ).

And then there are times when we don't have reservations (during the kids' winter break in January) when we just feel like stopping somewhere and we only travel 100 miles or so...or more, depending on what we find along the way that looks inviting.

If it was a trip I was planning for our family, I would look at each part of the trip, research the roads, elevations and metropolitan areas that we would pass through, and decide on what I would want to stop and see to really calculate the time it would take us to get where I wanted to go. You will have to make some choices on what you'll stop and see, and what you won't (and be able to make changes along the way). And give it an extra hour or two each day for the delays you will probably encounter. Flat, straight roads are not too much different with a TM, but curvy mountain roads make a BIG difference in your speed.

(I guess you can tell that I'm the trip planner in the family...we'd probably never go anywhere if I didn't just get on the internet and make reservations for us!)

[Bill]

G -

As pointed out, it depends very much on the roads (Interstate?), terrain (flat or hilly or mountainous?) and your purpose (fun, sightseeing, or "let's just get there!").

One more data point for you. My wife and I just finished our twice-a-year cross-country run. This year, we cut the trip more or less in half by staying in Colorado for a couple weeks. The last half of the trip was from Estes Park, Colorado to Wells, Maine - 2100 miles of Interstate driving. We did it in 4 days, or about 500 miles a day. Those are long days, and after 4 of them, we were beat. Next year, we may make it five days.

While we are on the road with our trusty TM in tow, we try to maintain 65 mph (max), which means we average 50-55 mph, depending on terrain, gas stops, etc. As a result, the time between pulling out of one campground in the morning, and pulling into the next at the end of the day, was about 10 hours - a long time. I don't recommend this unless your primary goal is just to cover ground. In no way can this be called "fun".

Under one extraordinary set of circumstances, we did 800 miles in a day, but in my opinion, that is just plain stupid. We won't do it again.

Hope this helps - and that you are not faced with too many 10 (or 12 or 16) hour days.

Bill