Holiday travel with Tina

theSane · 01-07-2021, 12:53 PM

In my last trip report, 650-700 miles per day at 62mph was what I settled on as a good travel day. We did not pull the VW Golf this time, and I ended up pushing myself harder, as well as traveling a bit farther each day. This will not be in my future travel plans.

Arizona to Illinois

Originally we were set to travel the day after Christmas and arrive with family on the Monday after, but the Christmas with family bug got us and we left Arizona on Christmas eve, early in the morning.

I was concerned about winter weather and the water lines freezing, but seeing that all of the water tanks are "inside" and there were openings from the pump house wet bay into the cabin, I held out hopes we would be able to withstand the projected temps of mid 20's at night and upper 30's during the day.

On the first day, feeling lighter and more nimble not pulling a car, I increased our average speed to 65 mph once we reached the flat lands traversed by I-40. The good night's rest and anticipation of Christmas with family also energized me and I did not feel like needing to stop until 875 miles and 15 hours later in Elk City, OK. The Walmart there is known to allow overnight campers in the lot, and being the half way point, it seemed like the place to stop. We were going to talk to the staff to make sure they had no issues with us camping, but being Christmas eve, they were closed and the lot was empty.

In the past, we would have run the generator overnight, but my wife thought it was a bit loud, so I turned off the inverter and left the heat on. In past tests, the fridge would use 40% of the house battery charge overnight. I hoped that the fridge would stay cold without anyone opening the door, and the batteries would carry the furnace fan overnight. Even though the temps dipped into the teens, we did not have any power issues, and the water lines were fine. I was feeling much better about the temperatures we would see in Illinois.

On the road again in the early morning, and another uneventful day of driving to our destination in Illinois. I felt bad not stopping at Uranus in Missouri to buy fudge and candy for the nieces and nephews, but I really wanted to buy gas just outside STL so I would not have to pay the higher rates in Illinois. We were able to reach our destination after another 14 hours on the road, and have 6pm Christmas dinner with the family. This was not really planned, but our excitement to get there made it happen.

Long days like this are not recommended, and future travel plans will not include them. I am going back to ~700 mile per day targets.

Illinois

First morning in Illinois I awoke to a warm camper, but no water. The Pex water manifold in the pump house wet bay had frozen, and the cap on the hot side popped off. More details can be read in this thread.

This was disappointing and got me re-thinking our return trip path. Wanting to get out of the cold, we decided to take I-57 down to I-55 in Mo, and then to I-40 out of Memphis to I-30, I-20, & I-10 back home.

I also discovered an issue with one of the power outlets in the outdoor kitchenet. The outlet for the fridge is not powered, while the outlet for the TV is working fine. Similarly the outlet next to the sink in the bathroom is dead, but the outlets on the other side of the wall in the bedroom are working. Still have to dig into this one to see what went wrong.

Illinois to Arizona

It being a new year and wanting to get home, get everything back in order, and start working on repairs, we pushed hard both days. The southernly route was a good choice, got us out of the rain and ice zone of the weather front we passed through, and kept the water lines from re-freezing. The night after we left Illinois, it was covered in several inches of snow and I am thankful we did not drive through a snowstorm. All we saw of it was the rain on the first day, and snow, ice, overturned salt trucks, and jackknifed semi on the shoulders and medians of I-20 in west Texas.

The longer route meant longer travel times, and the 932 miles each day were brutal. Once again reinforcing the correctness of not going over 700 miles in a day. Seriously, do not do this.

Everything is now home, cleaned up, and put away. I am sourcing a replacement part for the Pex manifold, and setting aside time this weekend to look into the electrical issues. Hopefully they are simple and cheap to fix.

**macnut** · 01-07-2021, 01:08 PM

theSane, those were insane miles to put on each day! :-) We follow the 330 rule, which is no more than 330 mile and stop before 3:30pm each day. But to each his own, and glad you had a safe trip each way and only minor issues with the RV. Happy new year to you!

theSane · 01-07-2021, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macnut

theSane, those were insane miles to put on each day! :-) We follow the 330 rule, which is no more than 330 mile and stop before 3:30pm each day. But to each his own, and glad you had a safe trip each way and only minor issues with the RV. Happy new year to you!

Waking at 4am and parking by 6pm matches my regular home schedule well. Gives me enough time to make a hot breakfast in the morning, along with a hot dinner, a nice relaxing evening, and a good night's rest. In the future, my goal is to travel however far that window allows and no further.

**creativepart** · 01-07-2021, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macnut

theSane, those were insane miles to put on each day! :-) We follow the 330 rule, which is no more than 330 mile and stop before 3:30pm each day.

We're with you Al. We leave for Tucson a week from to day and the trip will take us 3 overnight stops to travel 854 miles. We leave on Thursday mid-morning and arrive Sunday afternoon.

This way we don't have to leave too quickly in the morning or arrive at our nightly stop before the sun sets. Plus, we have reservations each night along our journey - except for a Harvest Host stop in New Mexico.

**macnut** · 01-07-2021, 04:48 PM

Yes, while I admire people with driving stamina like TheSane, we prefer to stop and smell the roses along the way. One of the things I love about RVing is that you can do it anyway that works best for you. Have fun in Tucson! We’ll be there in March for a few days.

theSane · 01-07-2021, 05:16 PM

I still have reservations making concrete plans for where we will overnight. We are new to this, and with towing issues as we had last year, meeting specific goals for where to stop for the night may not be possible.

We bought the FMCA Atlas which has been a great help. A few hours from when we would like to stop for the day we look out along the route for a KoA or other campground and call ahead to see if they have space. So far it has worked out well. If all else fails, we have overnighted in the RV parking area at a Walmart, Loves, or a state welcome center.

We have stayed at two KoA now, and they were our favorite stops.

sundog964 · 01-07-2021, 05:21 PM

We did a "quick" family trip from SF Bay Area to Denver. 2 Days each way, and 3 days there. Family obligations. Took the RV with my daughter. On the way back we did Vail to Reno, 940 miles. 7:30 AM to 10:30 PM. Only stops were gas, and running around the Bonnieville Salt Flats.

Daughter was doing remote school while I drove and listened to Audio Books.

It was too much for one day. Won't do that again.

roadster27 · 01-17-2021, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sundog964

We did a "quick" family trip from SF Bay Area to Denver. 2 Days each way, and 3 days there. Family obligations. Took the RV with my daughter. On the way back we did Vail to Reno, 940 miles. 7:30 AM to 10:30 PM. Only stops were gas, and running around the Bonnieville Salt Flats.

Daughter was doing remote school while I drove and listened to Audio Books.

It was too much for one day. Won't do that again.

that long of a day is ok , occasionally , but is too long for most , i have driven Calgary , Alberta , to Anaheim in 37 hours , with a 2 hour nap in Pocatello , Id , but we crashed in a hotel when we got there , slept for 12 hours

roadster27 · 01-17-2021, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theSane

I still have reservations making concrete plans for where we will overnight. We are new to this, and with towing issues as we had last year, meeting specific goals for where to stop for the night may not be possible.

We bought the FMCA Atlas which has been a great help. A few hours from when we would like to stop for the day we look out along the route for a KoA or other campground and call ahead to see if they have space. So far it has worked out well. If all else fails, we have overnighted in the RV parking area at a Walmart, Loves, or a state welcome center.

We have stayed at two KoA now, and they were our favorite stops.

we like the KOA the best , roomy and clean , but expensive , we did the 1000 trails a couple of years back , but run down and not kept well , and WAY too far out of the way

jcurtisis · 01-17-2021, 04:43 PM

We to TRY for the 330 rule; 540 per day is the max we will undertake (Our house to our Daughter's house). Understand time is of the essence sometimes....but those days for us are long gone. Retired! Woo hoo!.

MainelyScott · 01-17-2021, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by macnut

theSane, those were insane miles to put on each day! :-) We follow the 330 rule, which is no more than 330 mile and stop before 3:30pm each day. But to each his own, and glad you had a safe trip each way and only minor issues with the RV. Happy new year to you!

I really like this rule! I think that its close to what we have done in the past, but it seems to me like just about right!

bigb · 01-17-2021, 05:43 PM

You must be young, I remember driving all the way from Tucson to Houston in one shot in my younger days, on Pringles and Mountain Dew! Not anymore though. I will say this though, driving in a self contained unit I could go a lot further than in a car, even at slower speeds. I had a 442 Oldsmobile that could pass everything on the road but a gas station, and I also had a pickup and camper. I could easily make more miles in a day in the slow camper.
Plus, the slower speeds don't tire you as much as when you are pedal to the metal and all tensed up.

codgerbill · 01-18-2021, 06:30 AM

I take the coach down to the Orlando Florida area in November and put it in storage, before Thanksgiving from the Ann Arbor Michigan area. I will do the bulk of the driving the first day leaving early in the morning (600-700 miles). I normally keep the speed to 60mph where the MPG hovers around 7.5 to 8 mpg. When I start feeling tired I will stop at a Cracker Barrel or Walmart or in a pinch a truck stop.

n9wdq · 01-18-2021, 08:38 AM

Also, do not forget Boondockers Welcome. We are a host location - the closet to St. Louis that we are aware of in Illinois. We offer power, water, WIFI - sorry we do not have a dump, but 2 truck stops are closeby.

theSane · 01-18-2021, 11:57 AM

I am not exactly young anymore, but not quite old yet either.

Long hauls are part of what my family does to stay in touch. I used to think South Carolina to Illinois was a long 740 mile haul and was my single day limit in a passenger car. Then I started regularly making a 650 mile trip from Illinois to Alabama, 700mi round trips between Phoenix and San Diego in a day, and then multiple ~1700--1800 mile trips a year between Arizona and Illinois, Alabama, or Florida. When driving a passenger car, those 1800 mile trips can be done in two days, but they hurt. Three days in the Motorhome for those trips is relaxing in comparison.

Between all of my vehicles, I drive over 30k miles per year when not in WFH lockdown.