I'm 29 years old. I drive long distances by myself many times a year. 600 miles is fine, anything beyond that beings to feel grueling. That being said the furthest I've gone by myself in one day is 750 miles which takes about 12 hours or so. I'm pretty much shot by that point. I'm sure 800-850 is possible if I really wanted to push it but it begins to feel like toruture after 750 miles in one day.
Longest trip within a day
- Thread starter Cellist
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Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Summer of 2014 I drove my 97' Camry to Montana straight through, around 20 hours and over 1,100 miles.
I won't do that again.
I won't do that again.
800 miles in 12 hours from Florida to Virginia.
These days - 500 miles
Many times though - 1000 miles
Once - San Diego to Dallas. 1400 miles in 21 hours. As someone else said I too was woozy and hallucinating by the time I got there and would never do it again.
Best car to do it in - Audi A6. Better than an S Class for interstate cruising.
Many times though - 1000 miles
Once - San Diego to Dallas. 1400 miles in 21 hours. As someone else said I too was woozy and hallucinating by the time I got there and would never do it again.
Best car to do it in - Audi A6. Better than an S Class for interstate cruising.
I did a days drive from the Oakland to El Paso which is about 1100 miles depending on how it's calculated. I left after 8 hours sleep and finished at my destination in Northwest Arkansas the next day. I doubt I could do that today without endangering myself and others.
The thing I remember that made it seem like 2000 miles was that the trip was done in a 1994 Pontiac Sunbird rental car and the foam in the drivers seat had compacted so much ( or otherwise collapsed ) that I had to sit on a phone book to reach the normal height. The seat bottom just swallowed the phone book. Did that the whole way.
The thing I remember that made it seem like 2000 miles was that the trip was done in a 1994 Pontiac Sunbird rental car and the foam in the drivers seat had compacted so much ( or otherwise collapsed ) that I had to sit on a phone book to reach the normal height. The seat bottom just swallowed the phone book. Did that the whole way.
I'd drive an Aplina B7 around the world 3 times.
I drove about 1600 miles in one day. I intentionally slept 19 hours before that trip. Had no problem with it, but it's not something I would want to repeat. It was literally a pain in the ___.
I drove about 1600 miles in one day. I intentionally slept 19 hours before that trip. Had no problem with it, but it's not something I would want to repeat. It was literally a pain in the ___.
25 hours straight through. I don't recall the miles.
me and another guy, driving a 2012 Chevy 2500 truck pulling a 31 ft enclosed trailer across WI, MN, ND, MT in winter with snow almost the whole way. Thats why it took so long. Going snowmobiling in the Rockies.
We do 3-4 trips like this every winter, though they usually last from 17 hrs (eastern WY) to 22ish hrs (eastern ID)
We do want to take a trip to Revelstoke BC, and figure its going to take us about 30 hrs in decent weather.
me and another guy, driving a 2012 Chevy 2500 truck pulling a 31 ft enclosed trailer across WI, MN, ND, MT in winter with snow almost the whole way. Thats why it took so long. Going snowmobiling in the Rockies.
We do 3-4 trips like this every winter, though they usually last from 17 hrs (eastern WY) to 22ish hrs (eastern ID)
We do want to take a trip to Revelstoke BC, and figure its going to take us about 30 hrs in decent weather.
Patman
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I drove from Toronto to Memphis, by myself, all in one day, it took me 15 hours and I only made three stops the entire trip.
I'm about to drive from here to Cape Coral, Florida next week, but I'm going to take two days to make the trip. But I do plan on driving straight to Atlanta, and stopping there for the night. So that first day will be about a 16 hour trip. I will be sharing the driving time with my wife though.
I'm about to drive from here to Cape Coral, Florida next week, but I'm going to take two days to make the trip. But I do plan on driving straight to Atlanta, and stopping there for the night. So that first day will be about a 16 hour trip. I will be sharing the driving time with my wife though.
I did Albany NY to Charlotte NC in a Cobalt SS pretty much nonstop. I took about an hour to sleep around 3 AM.
I did 3 days of 14-16 hours once by myself to get from Vancouver to Toronto. My great-aunt gave me her 1981 Olds Omega and I flew out and brought it home. I don't recall it being too difficult as I settled into the plush bench seat and cruised at 60mph enjoying the scenery, but I was also pretty young too.
Done a Saddle Sore 1000 (1000 miles in less than 24 hours) on a Buell motorcycle once...and MANY 700 mile days.
Driven a car from the middle of Iowa to SE Georgia a couple of times in one day...that is about 1,200 miles.
Honestly, 600 to 700 miles is about the comfort limit for me. Much longer than that starts to really suck.
Driven a car from the middle of Iowa to SE Georgia a couple of times in one day...that is about 1,200 miles.
Honestly, 600 to 700 miles is about the comfort limit for me. Much longer than that starts to really suck.
[negative nancy] here:
-since the holidays season is coming, the cops/highway patrol/staties will be out! be the middle or end of the pack, not the top speed.
-at night DO NOT outdrive your lights!!!
-(i'm not sure how capable are the stock/factory tires.... use caution in snow/slush/rain....)
-have 2 pairs of sunglasses. make sure they are CLEAN!
-make sure you have a bottle of windshield washer fluid with you. keep your windshield clean!
-also extra clothes for cold at night/hot in the midday
-comfortable shoes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-KEEP HYDRATED!!!!!!
-use a gps/paper map. a smartphone in TX sun at midday will go in thermal protection if not on the AC's path continuously
-you may not get cell service everywhere....download some offline maps...
-the most dangerous driving (oozing) is between 12am-3-4am. DO NOT DRIVE DROWSY!
-if tired/bored, stop, do a power nap, be on your way, repeat....
-check on a map if you have zones where gas stations are far away apart....(some close at night)
-DO NOT GET MAD on the road! DO NOT HUG A LANE! DO NOT BLOCK ANYBODY! (you're passing trough some CCW states)
[/end negative nancy]
you may pass trough some nice areas
enjoy them, but keep your hands on the driving wheel and your eyes on the road!
good luck and be safe!
-since the holidays season is coming, the cops/highway patrol/staties will be out! be the middle or end of the pack, not the top speed.
-at night DO NOT outdrive your lights!!!
-(i'm not sure how capable are the stock/factory tires.... use caution in snow/slush/rain....)
-have 2 pairs of sunglasses. make sure they are CLEAN!
-make sure you have a bottle of windshield washer fluid with you. keep your windshield clean!
-also extra clothes for cold at night/hot in the midday
-comfortable shoes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-KEEP HYDRATED!!!!!!
-use a gps/paper map. a smartphone in TX sun at midday will go in thermal protection if not on the AC's path continuously
-you may not get cell service everywhere....download some offline maps...
-the most dangerous driving (oozing) is between 12am-3-4am. DO NOT DRIVE DROWSY!
-if tired/bored, stop, do a power nap, be on your way, repeat....
-check on a map if you have zones where gas stations are far away apart....(some close at night)
-DO NOT GET MAD on the road! DO NOT HUG A LANE! DO NOT BLOCK ANYBODY! (you're passing trough some CCW states)
[/end negative nancy]
you may pass trough some nice areas
enjoy them, but keep your hands on the driving wheel and your eyes on the road!
good luck and be safe!
Left home (near Chicago) at 4am in a rental Hyundai Sonata, with my neighbor in the passenger seat.
Drove down to Olive Branch, Mississippi... negotiated for and bought a Goldwing.
Threw a leg over the Goldwing, and headed north to Sikeston, MO (ate at Lambert's Cafe).
Got back on Goldwing, and arrived back home at 10pm.
500+ miles in a car, then 500+ miles back home on a motorcycle... in less than 20 hours.
The crazy part was, the Sonata nearly got as good of gas mileage as the Goldwing. That Sonata got crazy good mpg's with the cruise set at 80mph.
Drove down to Olive Branch, Mississippi... negotiated for and bought a Goldwing.
Threw a leg over the Goldwing, and headed north to Sikeston, MO (ate at Lambert's Cafe).
Got back on Goldwing, and arrived back home at 10pm.
500+ miles in a car, then 500+ miles back home on a motorcycle... in less than 20 hours.
The crazy part was, the Sonata nearly got as good of gas mileage as the Goldwing. That Sonata got crazy good mpg's with the cruise set at 80mph.
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I did 3 days of 14-16 hours once by myself to get from Vancouver to Toronto. My great-aunt gave me her 1981 Olds Omega and I flew out and brought it home. I don't recall it being too difficult as I settled into the plush bench seat and cruised at 60mph enjoying the scenery, but I was also pretty young too.
My wife and I did pretty much that a couple of times: Once from Windsor to Burning Man (total driving time ~50h plus a couple of roadside naps), which is near Reno, NV; and once all the way out to Victoria, BC in 3 days.
We've done a few straight trips from Windsor straight down to Florida that take ~20h.
Once, wile vacationing in Spain we took a tiny little rented Euro "car" from just outside Gibraltar to the Tomatina festival (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Tomatina) near Valencia which took only ~10h but seemed much longer due to the Euro-ness of said "car". (Picture stuffing a motor from a sewing machine into a shopping cart.) We drove up the day prior to Tomatina and actually slept in that ridiculous contraption.
I did 3 days of 14-16 hours once by myself to get from Vancouver to Toronto. My great-aunt gave me her 1981 Olds Omega and I flew out and brought it home. I don't recall it being too difficult as I settled into the plush bench seat and cruised at 60mph enjoying the scenery, but I was also pretty young too.
My wife and I did pretty much that a couple of times: Once from Windsor to Burning Man (total driving time ~50h plus a couple of roadside naps), which is near Reno, NV; and once all the way out to Victoria, BC in 3 days.
We've done a few straight trips from Windsor straight down to Florida that take ~20h.
Once, wile vacationing in Spain we took a tiny little rented Euro "car" from just outside Gibraltar to the Tomatina festival (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Tomatina) near Valencia which took only ~10h but seemed much longer due to the Euro-ness of said "car". (Picture stuffing a motor from a sewing machine into a shopping cart.) We drove up the day prior to Tomatina and actually slept in that ridiculous contraption.
Originally Posted By: Cellist
Just been here in US recently and got a 2017 accord 4 cyl recently. I am planing a couple of road trips since I am pretty enjoying driving but I have no idea about the longest daily distance which is tolerable. I'd like to hear your idea and also what vehicle was driven. Thanks!
The longest I ever drove in one trip by myself was to and from Kingsport, TN to a friend's house in Reading Pennsylvania near Allentown, about 530 miles.
Strange I live closer to Harrisburg PA than Memphis by about 50 miles!
Just been here in US recently and got a 2017 accord 4 cyl recently. I am planing a couple of road trips since I am pretty enjoying driving but I have no idea about the longest daily distance which is tolerable. I'd like to hear your idea and also what vehicle was driven. Thanks!
The longest I ever drove in one trip by myself was to and from Kingsport, TN to a friend's house in Reading Pennsylvania near Allentown, about 530 miles.
Strange I live closer to Harrisburg PA than Memphis by about 50 miles!
Originally Posted By: MCompact
I drove an Alpina B7 from Fort Worth TX to Louisville KY
Fort Worth to to Baltimore Maryland. I started at midnight and arrived about 8pm. I have also done:
- Baltimore to Cedar Rapids Iowa
- Philadelphia to Minneapolis
- Los angeles to Portland
- Santa Ana to SanFran, ate some food, and back (same day)
I drove an Alpina B7 from Fort Worth TX to Louisville KY
Fort Worth to to Baltimore Maryland. I started at midnight and arrived about 8pm. I have also done:
- Baltimore to Cedar Rapids Iowa
- Philadelphia to Minneapolis
- Los angeles to Portland
- Santa Ana to SanFran, ate some food, and back (same day)
I can go 750 miles in a day with enough caffeine. With two food stops and a few rest stops, it usually takes 13-14 hours depending on how fast I feel like driving and traffic. I'm usually mentally gone by the end of it though and not a pleasant person to deal with. If you have the time, I'd say break up the driving into smaller chunks and stop at points of interests along the way and make it more enjoyable.
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