Road Trip Tips

[StillAWarrior]

In about a week, my son and I are embarking on a road trip of 1700+ miles.  According to google maps, it's about 26 hours.  I've never driven this far (probably topped out at about 8-10 hours), and am looking for any tips people have.

Unfortunately, we're primarily focused on getting from point A to point B pretty quickly.  We're planning on doing it in 2 or 2.5 days.  As much as I'd like to do the same trip over the span of a week with lots of stops and sightseeing along they way, we just don't have the time.  We've got a hotel for the first night about 10 hours from home, but no hotel for the second night.  We'll either find one or potentially push a really long day and get to our destination.

So, tips or information appreciated.  I'm specifically curious about what realistically we can expect when google maps says...say 10 hours...on generally highway driving.  Obviously (I think), they don't factor in fuel stops, leg stretching, meals, etc.  I'm curious whether traveling 10 mph or so over the speed limit generally cancels out minimal stops over that distance.  I know that on apps like Waze (which I use) they've gotten pretty good at factoring in typical driving speeds (even if above the speed limit).

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

We would drive from Chicago to Tampa multiple times a year which was about 18-20 hours.

Before we got older and drove straight though we would only make one stop and we would always go more than halfway usually stopping in Chattanooga.

Honestly, by day two you won’t wanna stop again and just get it done.

[copious1218]

I'm specifically curious about what realistically we can expect when google maps says...say 10 hours...on generally highway driving. 

Last year I did a drive that google maps said was 13.5 hours and it took 16 hours with very young children.  Probably would have been pretty accurate without the frequent food and bathroom stops.  I generally drive 5-10MPH over speed limit.

[Chili]

Get and use Waze as your guide. They show speed traps (cops hidden), cameras, etc. plus update your trip based upon traffic conditions.

[🏀]

'Nuff said

[StillAWarrior]

Get and use Waze as your guide. They show speed traps (cops hidden), cameras, etc. plus update your trip based upon traffic conditions.

I've been a big fan of Waze for years and pretty much always use it if I'm driving anywhere outside of town -- for both GPS and warnings about police.  I'm assuming that I'll have cell reception for most of the trip since I'll be on a major interstate.

[StillAWarrior]

'Nuff said

Music/entertainment will be interesting.  We definitely have different tastes in music.  Also, we're going to be in a rental.  I'm considering springing for the satellite radio for the two long days we'll be driving.  It's only $8/day.

[🏀]

Music/entertainment will be interesting.  We definitely have different tastes in music.  Also, we're going to be in a rental.  I'm considering springing for the satellite radio for the two long days we'll be driving.  It's only $8/day.

TOTALLY worth $8/day. Unless you can agree on plowing through a podcast.

[JWags85]

My best road trip tip is...just fly

Understand how some people like it, but it sounds like a nightmare to me.

[CTWarrior]

So, tips or information appreciated. 

Fly

Edit - I see JWags beat me to it.

[StillAWarrior]

TOTALLY worth $8/day. Unless you can agree on plowing through a podcast.

I listen to a lot of podcasts.  This would be my preference, but I'm not sure he'd agree.  I think I'll probably pay the $8/day.

After using every money-saving trip I could figure out, I've got the price of the rental down to a reasonable amount.  I hate to add to it, but I think it's definitely going to be worth it.  We're also going to add to it by putting him on as an extra driver, but I think that's also necessary.  Unfortunately, because he's only 22, it's more than usual to add him as a driver.

[StillAWarrior]

My best road trip tip is...just fly

Understand how some people like it, but it sounds like a nightmare to me.

Two reasons we're not flying:  1) we're moving him there and have a bunch of stuff to take; and 2) we're kind of looking forward to it.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Depends

[StillAWarrior]

Depends

My bladder can generally outlast a car's range on a single tank.  That should help. 

[Jay Bee]

ZFB keeps an old Mountain Dew 2-liter in his whip and pees in there to save time. He also has diapers on deck if the deuce is gonna get loose.

[Spotcheck Billy]

ZFB keeps an old Mountain Dew 2-liter in his whip and pees in there to save time. He also has diapers on deck if the deuce is gonna get loose.

My old boss had a 2nd home in FL and used to brag about not stopping much when driving there because he kept a pee-can in his Cadillac.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

We are frequent road trippers from Connecticut. 
Like ChitownSpace I've driven to Florida a dozen times and will do again this summer.  (18 hr drive to Orlando, 1.5 hrs shorter to Daytona or St. Augustine).
Myrtle Beach (13 hrs a half dozen times)
Milwaukee (15 hrs, three times including one roundabout via Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis)

* We leave 5:00/5:30 in the morning and are at our destination the same day.  Florida arrival is 10:30-midnight but you are at least there.
* Don't do the overnight driving thing.  You're body is not used to driving at that time, so don't and you'll be wrecked the next day if you do.
* We switch off driving every 1.5/2 hours to keep fresh and alert.
* We pack a cooler with drinks, sandwiches, fruit and also bags of snacks and eat while we drive.  If you sit down and eat somewhere it increases you travel time.
* We tend to drive 9 mph over the speed limit on cruise control.  Seems to be the flow of traffic anywhere and everywhere. 
* Google maps is pretty accurate on drive times.  Going over the speed time cuts into the estimated Google time, but the length of your pitstops will increase the total drive times.     
* I have used Waze too which does alert you of police activity and accidents.
* I also check the Google maps which gives you a wider view traffic report.
* When going North to South, you are in the clear when you get past Richmond.  There is nothing between there and Jacksonville except annoying South of the Border and JR Cigar outlet signs.
* Because we drove we have visited places we would not have been able to make time for a special trip to fly there.

* I believe I've mentioned this here before.  We've been pulled over only once.  Sheriff Roscoe somewhere near Wilson, NC pulled us over because my Marquette license plate frame covered up the top half of the words CONNECTICUT on the plate.  He wanted to let us know that we should remove ASAP because if my car was stolen in the great state of North Carolina it would be harder for the police to identify the plate.  Thank you very little for the public service announcement that cost me another 1/2 hour in the car on the way to Florida. 

[MUBurrow]

I listen to a lot of podcasts.  This would be my preference, but I'm not sure he'd agree.  I think I'll probably pay the $8/day.

After using every money-saving trip I could figure out, I've got the price of the rental down to a reasonable amount.  I hate to add to it, but I think it's definitely going to be worth it.  We're also going to add to it by putting him on as an extra driver, but I think that's also necessary.  Unfortunately, because he's only 22, it's more than usual to add him as a driver.

Not sure how prohibitively expensive it would be to add him as a driver, but I'd recommend it.  I've found that when deciding between driving vs flying, choosing driving is where I save real $. So from that point on, its about not being penny wise pound foolish the rest of the way and making the trip as enjoyable as possible.  Buy all the fast food and gas station garbage you want, splurge on satellite radio/audible, add him as a driver so you can take a couple hour breaks in the middle of the day.  At most over a two day trip that all adds up to like $100, and if it saves you needing to stop for a second night, its paid for itself - and you won't want to kill each other.

[jsglow]

MUConn has it about right.  I've done a good amount of long distance by myself (and will be again in about 3 weeks) and have driven with my son to Seattle.  The latter was far easier.  That was 2000+ and we did it in essentially 3 driving days.  The second day we did 'a little' sightseeing but still accomplished 500 miles.

- Agree with the early start every day.  7a is a 'late' start.
- Trade off every 2-3 hours.
- No overnight driving.
- Cheap Hotwire motel some reasonable distance up road.  Book from the car an hour or two out.

There's 2 ways to do evening driving for me.  One can stop for a reasonable dinner break (say 30+ minutes off the road) and then bite off another 2-4 hours driving prior to pulling into a motel to sleep.  Alternatively, one can push through in the early evening but get off the road in time for a dinner at your motel location.  I much prefer the second, especially when alone.  It doesn't have to be a Baatan death march.  Frankly, it does get unsafe at a point by one's self.

The max I have ever done alone was 900 in a day.  That exact same route/distance was pretty manageable for 2 of us together starting at 5a.  For 2 days back to back alone, 1500-1600 would be about my absolute top end.  And that simply has to be in light traffic so focused concentration is minimized.

Good luck and safe travels. 

[mu_hilltopper]

I used to swear by Waze and used it extensively .. but have switched to Google Maps (who own Waze.) 

In theory, GMaps use the same data Waze is using, so the data should be the same.  I like Google Maps better mainly for one reason .. if you're ever in a traffic jam, both products will suggest other routes .. but GMaps will say "X minutes faster" on the alternate.

If X is just a few minutes .. you can forget it and stay on the freeway.  Waze won't give that info (or at least it didn't 4 months ago, when I switched.) 

Waze does give other data like you can scroll a few miles ahead to see if there are other Wazers, and how fast they are going.  Admittedly, that's nice too.

[DegenerateDish]

For the rental car, I'm assuming you have rented a specific type of vehicle (especially if you're moving stuff), but my suggestion is keep a $20 on you, if there's a different vehicle on the lot you like (bigger/more comfortable/better gas mileage), go back to the counter, give the guy/gal the $20 and tell them you'd like another vehicle. When I travel with my wife/kids, generally have to get a minivan, and that works every time.

I agree that the 5am leave time is best, hopefully beat metro traffic, and you get to utilize as much daylight as possible.

100% on getting Sirius/XM, totally worth it.

If you are set on just getting fast food, try getting regional places you can't get at home (example, if you're in the South, get Krystal since they only have locations in the South).

The summer roadtrip still holds as a thing for me, having made some drives the last few years (Salt Lake to Montana, Phoenix to Vegas, San Fran to Tahoe), there are some awesome things out there you can see without even getting out of your car. Given, those examples are all out west, but the landscape of America really is something to be hold and under appreciated.

[jsglow]

Not to be too personal Stilla but where are you going?  Reason I ask is that west of the Mississippi makes a big difference.  The east is damn crowded and will be more challenging.

[jesmu84]

Google bought Waze and pulled all their best features into Maps. Plus Maps has many features Waze doesn't. Use Maps.

[StillAWarrior]

We are frequent road trippers from Connecticut. 
Like ChitownSpace I've driven to Florida a dozen times and will do again this summer.  (18 hr drive to Orlando, 1.5 hrs shorter to Daytona or St. Augustine).
Myrtle Beach (13 hrs a half dozen times)
Milwaukee (15 hrs, three times including one roundabout via Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis)

* We leave 5:00/5:30 in the morning and are at our destination the same day.  Florida arrival is 10:30-midnight but you are at least there.
* Don't do the overnight driving thing.  You're body is not used to driving at that time, so don't and you'll be wrecked the next day if you do.
* We switch off driving every 1.5/2 hours to keep fresh and alert.
* We pack a cooler with drinks, sandwiches, fruit and also bags of snacks and eat while we drive.  If you sit down and eat somewhere it increases you travel time.
* We tend to drive 9 mph over the speed limit on cruise control.  Seems to be the flow of traffic anywhere and everywhere. 
* Google maps is pretty accurate on drive times.  Going over the speed time cuts into the estimated Google time, but the length of your pitstops will increase the total drive times.     
* I have used Waze too which does alert you of police activity and accidents.
* I also check the Google maps which gives you a wider view traffic report.
* When going North to South, you are in the clear when you get past Richmond.  There is nothing between there and Jacksonville except annoying South of the Border and JR Cigar outlet signs.
* Because we drove we have visited places we would not have been able to make time for a special trip to fly there.

* I believe I've mentioned this here before.  We've been pulled over only once.  Sheriff Roscoe somewhere near Wilson, NC pulled us over because my Marquette license plate frame covered up the top half of the words CONNECTICUT on the plate.  He wanted to let us know that we should remove ASAP because if my car was stolen in the great state of North Carolina it would be harder for the police to identify the plate.  Thank you very little for the public service announcement that cost me another 1/2 hour in the car on the way to Florida.

Thanks.  Some good tips here.

I have specifically planned to avoid and/or minimize driving at night.  The first day we're leaving at about noon and driving approximately 10 hours.  Because of time change, I would think that we should be reaching our hotel by 10:00 or so.  Maybe even before dark.  Then, I plan to get up pretty early the next day and get on the road.  We'll either stop about 3 hours short of SLC (which should be mid-evening) or power through (which would probably get us there around midnight).  Either way, very little night-time driving.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Why leave at noon?  Morning is great driving time. Don’t waste it.