Cross-Country Car Trip

[Mike Johnson]

I said ten hours but not day after day. Average eight hours max, no more than ten in a day.

[fauch]

$tevie wrote:
I don't understand the point of driving cross-country if you are going to zoom along and not see anything.

This. It may be a once in a lifetime opportunity. So either take best advantage, or just fly and save yourself a LOT of time and aggravation (and mileage on the car).

[tenders]

If you or your wife view the driving as a necessary chore, I would echo the suggestion that you fly to the first relative, then rent a car, drive to see the rest with a one-way rental car, then fly home. You can save a lot of money with rental cars by choosing cheaper cities and by not picking up the rental at the airport. Airport rentals soak you with all kinds of fees because they assume business travelers will just pay them...and, they will.

Another option would be to fly out and drive the rental all the way home.

I drove from basically Buffalo to LA once with a friend in three days, stopping each night for 6 hours, stopping briefly in Vegas. Years later I drove back with a different friend and we went continuously - each would drive a tank of gas and we'd refill, eat, drain the main vein, and switch places at each gas station. I don't remember anything about the second trip, it was entirely a blur.

With my wife and family the longest continuous drive we've made is 900 miles in 18 hours from Perce, QC to NYC. I did 80% of it and didn't mind as the breaks she spelled me for were rest enough.

All bets are off if you're contemplating doing this in winter conditions. Do not put yourself on a timeline then, that's how people end up not making it home.

[davester]

mstudio wrote:
[quote=Filliam H. Muffman]
(19 of America's best drives).

Thanks for that link. We've done seven of those and didn't know about that list at the time. I've got to catch up!
Me too. I've only done eight of those.

[M A V I C]

IronMac wrote:
What car?

That's a good point. My answer was for the cars that I've had. If it had been a Honda, there's no way I could make it more than 4 hours a day. Their seats are horrible.

C(-)ris wrote:
I usually do a 1 day drive from Denver to Minneapolis. That is the longest I can go, and if I do that I really wouldn't want to set foot in a car the entire next day.

You need to drive better cars Has Subaru finally fixed their passenger seat problem? The last I checked was in 2012, and you still couldn't get a front passenger seat that wasn't painful.

The most comfortable trip I've had was a straight shot from San Francisco to Seattle. A friend picked up a new seven series and we were driving it back after I got done with a business trip. Fully adjustable seats (and I mean length, width... in additional to your typical lumbar, tilt, seat back... adjustments.) Plus they were vented - cool air blowing through the seat. And massaging.

Plus it handled well. The first time we got in the freeway we were doing 90 and didn't even realize it... other than the other cars were slow.

It looks like Google maps put SF to SEA at about the same duration as Denver to Minneapolis. 13 hours in that BMW, and I wished I could do it all over again the next day.

[Speedy]

In a car? It would be tough to do a lot of long days. I suggest keeping regular sleep hours no matter how far you drive each day.

But seated in a nice truck like a Peterbuilt and you can drive 24 hours on, 8 off, repeat. Truck seats are so much better than you will find in any car on the road.

[OWC Jamie]

Filliam H. Muffman wrote:
Driving more than 8 hours can be a good cutoff for taking a flight instead of driving... unless you specifically have a goal of experiencing driving on those roads (19 of America's best drives).

have done Big Sur, Overseas Highway, White Rim Road, Blue Ridge Parkway, Highway 12, Kangamagus, Old King's Highway, part of Pacific Coast byway, Park Loop Road, driven, biked ( and even walked parts of ) Ocean Drive.

[Robert M]

Hi everyone,

I'm with $tevie and Fauch. I've driven cross-country twice, both times in five days or less. This was in 1989 and 1990 in a 1979 Datsun 310. No rush but no sight-seeing either. Just to and from with a quick stop at a friend's place along the way.

Both trips are pretty much a blur in my mind. One of the few moments that stand out is when the Datsun began to overheat in the middle of the Arizona desert. We had to open the windows and turn on the heat while driving to get the old piece o' crap to cool down.

If the goal of going cross-country is to get to and from, then I'd fly and be done with it. If I was driving with some sight-seeing thrown in, then I'd allocate ample time for the trip and definitely _not_ drive for more than 8 hours per day. Some days, I'd consider driving fewer than 8 hours per day. What's the point of driving cross-country if you're going to rush through the sight-seeing and/or be too tired from driving to enjoy it?

These days, I'd do the drive in sections. I'd drive from NY to a destination that is 1/3 of the way. Drive. Enjoy the sights. Take my time. Next trip, fly 1/3 of the way and drive the next 1/3 of the country. Do that east west across the country and use a similar method north south. Maybe even do some zig-zags.

Robert

[mrbigstuff]

Speedy wrote:
In a car? It would be tough to do a lot of long days. I suggest keeping regular sleep hours no matter how far you drive each day.

But seated in a nice truck like a Peterbuilt and you can drive 24 hours on, 8 off, repeat. Truck seats are so much better than you will find in any car on the road.

I have long wondered why car manufacturers do not incorporate some form of air suspension into their seats. perhaps they think people would not pay for it...?

[Speedy]

mrbigstuff wrote:
[quote=Speedy]
In a car? It would be tough to do a lot of long days. I suggest keeping regular sleep hours no matter how far you drive each day.

But seated in a nice truck like a Peterbuilt and you can drive 24 hours on, 8 off, repeat. Truck seats are so much better than you will find in any car on the road.

I have long wondered why car manufacturers do not incorporate some form of air suspension into their seats. perhaps they think people would not pay for it...?
There are trucks with air suspension, air cushioned cabs as well as the seat. Plus you sit straight up, not reclined, which makes a difference.