All in one day?

JustB_Rad · 06-17-2016, 08:41 AM

I have a dilemma.

In 2 weeks, we are taking our camper to Branson from Milwaukee. It's 626 miles total. We have a 1 year old now (Last year, he made a 8 hour trek to Minnesota with no problems). We took a trip last weekend (4-1/2 hours) and he was good, but obviously he doesn't sleep as much now as he did last during last years trips.

My plan might come off as insane, however, I've given this A LOT of careful thought. First off, I have a lack of vacation time due to changing jobs last fall, so that's why we're going over 4th of July week (Free day)! Second, I know 626 miles is a TON to tow in 1 day. Third, I know it's even more trouble with a 1 year old! Fourth, I'm not worried about me driving that far....and my wife can switch with me if need be as well. I have long breaks scheduled in the trip to accommodate for some road fatigue.

Here are my options based off the time we have scheduled off and our reservations in Branson.

My current plan is:

Leave home at 4:30 Saturday morning - drive 3 hours to Bloomington, IL and have a 1 hour breakfast break/run around time for the tot. I will top off with gas.

Back on the road by 9 for another 3 hour jaunt which will put us in the Western St. Louis burbs for Lunch. Take an hour+ break at lunch for eating and run around time.....maybe find a park for him to play in for a bit.

Back on the road by 1:30 for the final push to Branson....which should have us at our campground by 5:30-6:00.

I set this plan up based off of his schedule...that if we leave home at 4:30AM, he SHOULD sleep most of the way, if not all of the way to Bloomington. 7:30-8:00 is when he normally wakes up on the weekend. Then my plan would be for my wife to sit in the back with him for some/most of the ride to St. Louis to help entertain him with toys and the tablet. After lunch, he normally takes a good nap again....so out of our 10 hours of drive time, my hope is he'll sleep for 5 of it.

After our trip last weekend, I have given consideration to altering the plan, but I'm not sure if it even makes sense to try it.

The idea would be to leave home Friday afternoon and drive between 3 and 4 hours. We then have 2 options for accommodations.....find a campground with pullthru's for 1 night, not unhook and sleep.....or find a hotel that accepts pets and stay there for the night.

My problem with a campground is, it's still a good bit of work to get everything comfortable for a night, which all has to be ripped down in the morning before we can leave.....PLUS, we realistically can't do that before 7 or 8 AM....which means to make it possible to get to Branson by dinner, we have to drive FURTHER on Friday night.

A hotel is a decent option, but with that decent option obviously comes with additional costs. Obviously we don't have to set anything up with the camper, but still have to get all the stuff for the baby inside a hotel, and it's just a place to crash for the night. We could still hit the road early as well, but I'm not sure how well the baby will sleep if he's REALLY woken up like he would be in a hotel room vs being able to sleep until we are ready to leave at home in his own room.

On the way home, we are planning on driving back in 2 days, spending the night in the St. Louis area, mainly because I don't care what time I get home. I don't have to do ANYTHING when I get home, whereas I have an hour+ of setup when we go camping.

Thoughts on my madness?

limblips · 06-17-2016, 08:52 AM

Murphy's Law of Road Trips with Children: For every hour slept on a trip, awake time at the end of the trip is always greater than a factor of 2.

JustB_Rad · 06-17-2016, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by limblips

Murphy's Law of Road Trips with Children: For every hour slept on a trip, awake time at the end of the trip is always greater than a factor of 2.

Point taken! At least I'll be there already though! haha!

SeaDog · 06-17-2016, 09:15 AM

Take this with a grain of salt. When my kids were growing up and we were traveling they conformed to the families schedule not the other way around.

Time schedules are for work not RVing relax move along until you want to stop then stop kick back and leave when you want to

JustB_Rad · 06-17-2016, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeaDog

Take this with a grain of salt. When my kids were growing up and we were traveling they conformed to the families schedule not the other way around.

Time schedules are for work not RVing relax move along until you want to stop then stop kick back and leave when you want to

I understand what you're saying....Selfishly, I tried molding the travel schedule around him simply to make our lives a little easier, not really to have less of an effect on him. I figure I'm turning a 10 hour drive into 12-13 hours, and if it takes me 15, it's really not that big of deal.

5picker · 06-17-2016, 09:55 AM

Sounds good on paper but averaging 50 MPH over the course of a long trip, towing a trailer is about all your going to get. So if it is 626 miles that's 12+ hours of driving.

Add in all your planned stops and you've a much longer day than you have suggested.

JustB_Rad · 06-17-2016, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5picker

Sounds good on paper but averaging 50 MPH over the course of a long trip, towing a trailer is about all your going to get. So if it is 626 miles that's 12+ hours of driving.

Add in all your planned stops and you've a much longer day than you have suggested.

How do you figure 50MPH? It's 97% Interstate, on a Saturday, so traffic will be way less than a weekday. I figured it out at 60MPH (Which is 10MPH under posted speeds) and two 1 hour and 15 Minute stops, which puts me at 13 total hours.

Also, as stated, if it takes 15 hours, it takes 15 hours. Regardless of when we leave (Fri night or Sat morning) it's still 626 Miles.

hjznewcomb · 06-17-2016, 12:43 PM

When our kids were little we would finish packing after work - grab a shower and hit the road anywhere between 8 and 10 pm. We switch off driving, kids sleep most of the way and there is a lot less traffic to deal with.

Both of them are now teens we still travel that way. Vacation is precious - I don't like to waste it on the road. That lack of sleep is nothing a bit of a nap on arrival day won't fix.

Crusadernoob · 06-17-2016, 01:07 PM

I bet you don't average 60mph, 50-55 most likely. Even a quick pit stop is an easy 20 minutes lost. I would do it, but I'm not normal either.

labarn · 06-17-2016, 01:10 PM

My guess is if you have china bombs on the trailer you will have a tire problem and mess up your schedule. Plus being tired. Hope it works out great.

chevman

sjbuzz54 · 06-17-2016, 01:12 PM

If it all works out, great!! I always have a plan "B" on long hauls myself, just saying. Things like road construction, unplanned traffic is areas due to who knows what and god forbid and mechanical issues. I did Zion NP to Sparks NV last year in 1 day, 571 miles with TT and no child (retired) and that was a long day for us with open road and no stops but fuel. Good luck!

JustB_Rad · 06-17-2016, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by labarn

My guess is if you have china bombs on the trailer you will have a tire problem and mess up your schedule. Plus being tired. Hope it works out great.

chevman

Wow....Thanks for your input and great hopes! I would call it more of a plan than a schedule too....I don't think anybody on this forum leaves home without a plan.

jmign · 06-17-2016, 01:29 PM

It can be done. My family and I (we have 3 kids the oldest 4) live in Ohio and took a trip out west last year with the travel trailer that many would have said would have been impossible to do and impossible to enjoy. Best trip I've ever taken. Just do as you've planned and take a break when you need to. Also know that something is going to go wrong, and be as prepared as possible to handle it when it does and don't stress when it does. And realize that while you hope to be somewhere by a certain time you might not be.

JustB_Rad · 06-17-2016, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjbuzz54

If it all works out, great!! I always have a plan "B" on long hauls myself, just saying. Things like road construction, unplanned traffic is areas due to who knows what and god forbid and mechanical issues. I did Zion NP to Sparks NV last year in 1 day, 571 miles with TT and no child (retired) and that was a long day for us with open road and no stops but fuel. Good luck!

Thanks for the input! I have no doubt it will be a long day. I'm just not sure leaving Friday after work would make anything any easier in the long run.

Burnking · 06-17-2016, 01:34 PM

Don't forget you have the same thing for the return trip! Monday??

JustB_Rad · 06-17-2016, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmign

It can be done. My family and I (we have 3 kids the oldest 4) live in Ohio and took a trip out west last year with the travel trailer that many would have said would have been impossible to do and impossible to enjoy. Best trip I've ever taken. Just do as you've planned and take a break when you need to. Also know that something is going to go wrong, and be as prepared as possible to handle it when it does and don't stress when it does. And realize that while you hope to be somewhere by a certain time you might not be.

Thanks! I always set a time I would "Like" and a time I'd be reasonably happy with for both leaving and arriving....I have to with my wife.....otherwise I just end up getting frustrated!

JustB_Rad · 06-17-2016, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burnking

Don't forget you have the same thing for the return trip! Monday??

No, we're staying the week in Branson, leaving Branson Friday morning and spending the afternoon/evening in St. Louis. Then we can take as long as we need to get home on Saturday and have Sunday (10th) to recover! I figure the excitement of being on vacation will be all I need to get us there.....that's why we're 2 daying it on the way home, plus we can sight see in St. Louis.

awellis3 · 06-17-2016, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5picker

Sounds good on paper but averaging 50 MPH over the course of a long trip, towing a trailer is about all your going to get.

That's what we average. And by average I mean miles traveled divided by time on the road. Time on the road includes time spent in gas stations, lunch stops, etc. (I, too, use 50 mph as my speed for trip planning purposes.)
The OP is not including his stops in his time on the road, so his average speed while traveling will be higher.
Taking his miles and his figuring on 13.5 hrs. of time on the road (04:30 to 1800 hrs,), he will average appx. 47 mph. This is right at your (and my) planning average of 50 mph.

dwayneb236 · 06-17-2016, 01:38 PM

Just took a trip to Yosemite and back last month. The longest day I did was 530 miles. So, add another 2 hours to what I did. around 9 or 10 hours I think. I had no problems driving that far since I do enjoy driving. Was a long way though we did make several stops. 2 women and 4 dogs.. I'm sure you can do it to get to the fun stuff.

djemgoss · 06-17-2016, 01:38 PM

Sounds like a plan, just do it! He or she might just surprize you and be an angel. If not, find a McDonalds with a play area and let him burn some energy off and might take a nap for a couple of hours.
How big of a gas tank do you have to make it to normal/Bloomington, IL? I thinks it closer to 4 hours from MKE!
Let us know how it goes!
Enjoy your trip!!!

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