All in one day?

[JustB_Rad]

Originally Posted by awellis3

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.

Correct..thank you for breaking it down a bit more. I broke it down the opposite way because all I seem to think about is when I'm going to eat during the day!

[Oaklevel]

50 mph is a decent average I can rarely do better........... Don't forget Murphy....... I usually loose a lot of time around cities ....esp if there are accidents.

[JustB_Rad]

Originally Posted by djemgoss

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!!!

We never know with our little man....depends which side of the crib we pick him up! I've got some parks scoped out and plan on hitting them during our lunch hour for sure!

I've got a 32 gallon tank, and have the Cracker Barrel in Bloomington from house marked at 210 miles, 3hours 30 Min at 60MPH. I'm hoping I get mileage like I got last weekend (9.5) on our way up to Northern WI than last year (>8.0) average. I'm hoping the Flatlands of Illinois help that out!

[Lynlanning]

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.

Completely agree. Relax and enjoy as much as you can!! Safe travels!

[rockfordroo]

X2 on 50mph average.

Gas, potty stops, kid gets car sick, McDonald's stop, construction, accident slowdowns.

IF (and I say IF) you do better, that's gravy. But if you don't, you won't be trying to play catch-up because you've mis-calculated.

626 miles = 13 hrs.

I haven't been down I-39 south of Rockford recently, but I think it was supposed to be torn up between Rockford and I-88 in June.

[JustB_Rad]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

X2 on 50mph average.

Gas, potty stops, kid gets car sick, McDonald's stop, construction, accident slowdowns.

IF (and I say IF) you do better, that's gravy. But if you don't, you won't be trying to play catch-up because you've mis-calculated.

626 miles = 13 hrs.

I haven't been down I-39 south of Rockford recently, but I think it was supposed to be torn up between Rockford and I-88 in June.

Thanks for the I39 Info! Hopefully it's clear at that time of the morning.

I agree on the 50MPH Avg....I just calculated a little differently. My overall time will still be at/over 13 hours no matter what, I just wasn't calculating the time I'm definitely going to be stopped in my average mph while we're IN the vehicle.....I did it backwards! Not the first time....

[djemgoss]

Originally Posted by JustB_Rad

We never know with our little man....depends which side of the crib we pick him up! I've got some parks scoped out and plan on hitting them during our lunch hour for sure!

I've got a 32 gallon tank, and have the Cracker Barrel in Bloomington from house marked at 210 miles, 3hours 30 Min at 60MPH. I'm hoping I get mileage like I got last weekend (9.5) on our way up to Northern WI than last year (>8.0) average. I'm hoping the Flatlands of Illinois help that out!

How big of a trailer do you have and what are you pulling it with?
We picked our 2016 Rockwood Roo 21SS at the end of March and then drove down to the Land Between the Lakes In Tennessee. I pulling it with a Ford F150, 2.7 ltr Eco Boost. Camper pulled just fine, but I was driving too fast, 70ish and got about 7/8mpg. I slowed down to 65 or less and got just over 10 mpg. I thought driving in that flat state with no wind I would be ok doing 70, but thats not the case. Have a great trip!!!

[JustB_Rad]

Originally Posted by djemgoss

How big of a trailer do you have and what are you pulling it with?
We picked our 2016 Rockwood Roo 21SS at the end of March and then drove down to the Land Between the Lakes In Tennessee. I pulling it with a Ford F150, 2.7 ltr Eco Boost. Camper pulled just fine, but I was driving too fast, 70ish and got about 7/8mpg. I slowed down to 65 or less and got just over 10 mpg. I thought driving in that flat state with no wind I would be ok doing 70, but thats not the case. Have a great trip!!!

I have a Grey Wolf 26DBH at about 6,700 lbs towing with a Ram 1500. I seem to make the best mileage between 62 and 67mph depending on the hills.

Thanks! We can't wait!

[Myrle]

Originally Posted by JustB_Rad

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.

For some strange reason it just happens that way you have some major cities to go through, it is a holiday weekend, have you checked for road construction, all these little things begin to add up. If a major wreck in by passes around cities you might only make 25 or 35 miles an hour if you are lucky.

[JustB_Rad]

Originally Posted by Myrle

For some strange reason it just happens that way you have some major cities to go through, it is a holiday weekend, have you checked for road construction, all these little things begin to add up. If a major wreck in by passes around cities you might only make 25 or 35 miles an hour if you are lucky.

I see all the construction signs on google maps, but haven't checked out exactly what they all entail yet. That'll be a project for next week. I'm planning on using 270 around St. Louis because there is a Cardinals game on Saturday afternoon. It will be what it will be as far as traffic is concerned...I can't do anything about that.

[mdstudey]

I would not worry to much about the baby. Bring a lot of toys along to keep him entertained. The only thing that could make the trip a bummer is if the baby is cranky or not feeling good. Lucky for us, our son would fall asleep in the car as soon as we got moving. I always worried if he would fall asleep at the wheel when he got older. He doesn't, but still falls asleep as a passenger. Good luck on your trip and have fun. Like someone said, schedules are for work.

[Luv70sFords]

I say go for it. Even trips from hell leave lasting good memories and make for good tales around the water cooler.

[nomad297]

Isn't this what it's all about? Travel and adventure. Just GO! Have fun!

Bruce

[JustB_Rad]

Thanks for all the input and reassurances! Hopefully all goes smoothly and when we have problems that they're minor!

[CaptnJohn]

When my girls were young I would come home from work and get on the road asap. I would go as far as possible while everyone slept. When tired would pull off at a rest stop or ??? and nap. Any trip over 550 miles I figure 2 days but all depends on how I feel behind the wheel. I've been retired nearly 14 years and have no reason to drive at night but at times that is relaxing ~~ coming home from FL drove 13 hours (almost 800 miles) as traffic was light and my wife was sleeping.

[wrvond]

I think 50 mph average is rather generous. My trips average out to more like 45 mph. One thing I noticed was your comment about stopping for the night along the way, and the trouble required to set up for one night. We often stop at interstate rest stops for the night on long drives (driving to Oklahoma for example). Cracker Barrel or Walmart would work too. I don't put down stabilizers or any of that stuff, simply lock the truck and climb into the camper. We'll generally eat sandwiches (no microwave) then go to bed. I might stay up and read for a bit, but that's about it. We could take a shower if we wanted, but don't normally mess with it until we get where we are going.
I suppose a 1 year old might complicate things a bit, but I wouldn't think he'd make that much difference...

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by wrvond

I think 50 mph average is rather generous. My trips average out to more like 45 mph. One thing I noticed was your comment about stopping for the night along the way, and the trouble required to set up for one night. We often stop at interstate rest stops for the night on long drives (driving to Oklahoma for example). Cracker Barrel or Walmart would work too. I don't put down stabilizers or any of that stuff, simply lock the truck and climb into the camper. We'll generally eat sandwiches (no microwave) then go to bed. I might stay up and read for a bit, but that's about it. We could take a shower if we wanted, but don't normally mess with it until we get where we are going.
I suppose a 1 year old might complicate things a bit, but I wouldn't think he'd make that much difference...

We do about the same. We often will have the radio on. We will eat, shower, and read to help relax before sleep. Almost never Cracker Barrel as they are usually off the interstates and never Walmart. If warm enough for a fan or want tv an extension cord can be run from the truck. Rest stops for a short stay is most comfortable unless a CG is desired. If so, connecting to utilities is only 15 minutes and do not bother to unhitch.

[purduepete97]

Lots of good advice above. Our girls are older now (9 and 6), but on a recent trip from Indy to Disney, we did a short evening drive after work. Got about 5 hrs in before we stopped at a campground right next to the interstate. Parked, plugged in electric, put slides out, and went to bed.
In the morning, got everyone in the truck eating breakfast while I brought slides in, disconnected power. Other than the time we were actually sleeping, we were only in the campground for about 45 minutes.

The key to an overnight stop on a long trip is minimal setup!

[ependydad]

Like wrvond, our average time works out to be 45mph or even less. I've gone a few 600-650 mile days and 13-14 hours is very realistic.

I wouldn't go out of my way to find a play area. Some grass, a ball, and chasing daddy goes a long way.

We have traveled with our kids from little on up. My son just turned 4 and our first long distance trip was when he was about 7 weeks old.

If you do decide to do overnights, try to consider that plan ahead of time. Setup the camper to have as minimal work inside as possible. For us, when my son was a baby- that meant we had to setup his pack and plan (and break it down). But if we overnighted in a campground, I only plugged in electric (I carried water in the tank and didn't use enough gray/black to warrant dumping). I don't unhitch or do anything with stabilizers. With Walmarts, we obviously don't even include electricity- just park, deploy slides on one side, and head in.

I agree with nomad: go, adventure, and have fun!

[Wolverine 1945]

625 miles,,, perfect distance for a 2 day trip !!!
Find a nice State park about half way,,, have a couple of cold ones,,,
and chill for the night !!!


Take Care & Drive Careful !!!