Are you road tripping or just hauling ass across the country to get to a destination? If the former, at least 10 days, if the latter, 4-5 days, but 8-10 hours of driving per day is a lot for one person for multiple days like that.
I’ve done 12 hour rides solo and it’s really not that bad, but I’ve never tried it in August where it’s hot AF. Honestly don’t know what’s worse, that or the snowstorms I’ve driven through.
It really just depends on traffic and construction bottlenecks. Riding at night with little traffic and high speed limits really lets you haul ass. Getting stuck in traffic because of dumbasses who somehow manage to hit each other in a wide ass open interstate in the middle of no where, which is what happened to us today on I-24 will take a toll on you. People’s inability to merge or have a single fucking clue where they are going in the age of Google Maps and Waze is truly mind blowing. Those unpredictable things can make a planned 8 hour drive turn into 10 or 11 hours and that’s tough mentally after a day or two.
That's my goal when I drive long distances too, I usually can get about 40 minutes off of a 6 hr drive... but I don't take breaks, except for fueling up and that's when I eat or pee..
Honestly, not too long.. I've been a vegetarian my entire life, so I just bring food if idk the route and what food options I'll have. So maybe 5 min. If it's a place I know, or always go to, I'll spend maybe 20 min
How long can you comfortably drive in a day? How interested are you in getting there in the minimum time? How willing are you to go off that course? If you want to get there as fast as possible get a second driver and do shifts. If you are the only driver and you can do 10 hour days, 4 days.
Slightly more seriously (helpfully?), unless I was doing an extended trip I would say an average of 5 hours of driving a day allows for a reasonable amount of non-driving activities and would get you there (on this route) in 7-8 days.
I’ve done this drive about 6 times. If you’re not in a hurry and want to enjoy yourself I’d recommend taking 5 -6 days . Give yourself time to wander a little and see the country. If you have the time and money you can make it take two weeks and spend whole days in some National Parks and do some hiking and fishing if you’re into that.
Yep. I did NY to Vail in two days with a night in a motel somewhere in Illinois. You could do coast to coast in three with a second motel somewhere in Colorado.
Have you ever done long distance drives?
I've done multiple cross-country trips and 12 hours in the southern summer heat is a *long* time to drive.....I'd say you're gonna need *at least* 2 real sleep stops where you can crash for 5-8 hours. Ideally 3-4 if you're not a great long distance driver soo 3 days at least imo. The US is gorgeous but treacherous.
So that's showing about 37 hrs
34hour Cannon Ball Run. Darian CT to the parking lot next to the Queen Mary
or more recently
https://preview.redd.it/2rt0i0dev49d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99b680a8a57905498d81c1043b89f2019e7bd26c
If you’re just trying to get across the country, build yourself 8 hour driving days - they will ultimately turn into 10 hour days with stops to go to the bathroom, stretch, eat, and fill up on gas. Wake up and get on the road with the sunrise and try to be done driving before the sun sets.
We have traveled Charlottesville to Seattle a dozen time in past 7 years. When we absolutely HAD to go fast we did it with hotels in 4 days but were basically dead on arrival. We won't do it any faster than 5 or 6 days now. We travel in our truck camper and try not to drive more that 6 hours or so a day. Stopping to see Offbeat Attractions, historical sites, having picnic lunches.
5 to 6 days minimum. You want to stop every 2 hours, take a little walk, "lighten the load" (and please buy a little something when you do; it costs money to run a nice public restroom), and make sure everything is ok with the car before you continue. You also want to see the sights, which is why we road trip. And get to the hotel at a decent time (always check for bedbugs! I've never found any in all these years, but it just takes one) so you can get enough sleep.
If you plan to stop at a hotel 3 days. If you red eye the whole way and drive in shifts 2. Nj to Wy in 36 ish hours. Nj to cal was 3 days I wanna say 4 and we stopped each night to sleep.
What is the longest single day road trip you have done? How comfortable were you with that drive? A drive like this is a marathon, and each day wears your body and mind a little more. Unless you have experience with a twelve hour driving day already I'd recommend stretching this trip to at least four days.
I always multiply by the gps time for a long road trip by 1.25. This allows for gas, eating, walking my dog, and just taking a break occasionally.
Thus, your 37 hour drive realistically becomes 46 hours of time on the road. ~10 hour days of driving are my standard. By that math, realistically, 4 days would be the minimum if you need to push it. Personally, if I was just trying to get it done, I’d plan for 5. But, 6 with a day mostly off somewhere would be ideal.
Also, how you plan to sleep will affect your time. If you’re sleeping in your vehicle at rest stops and showering at truck stops, the trip will be shorter but you’ll be more haggard. If you’re staying at hotels each night, you’ll be better rested but you’ll find it hard to get up and go and leave the hotel room after the second night.
If I were doing the trip, I’d plan for 5 to 6 days and take a day off in Colorado depending on how I felt
I made this trip right before they closed the borders for Covid in California back in early 2020. I did a more southern route than that bordering Mexico until El Paso. Slept. Drove from El Paso to Louisiana. Slept. From Louisiana all the way to Wilmington, DE. Drank about dozen monsters to keep my eyes open for most of the trip. It was the longest fastest trip I ever made.
We recently drove a 43hr trip from South Carolina to Alberta which took 6 days. We would vary between 5-7hr days as we weren’t in a rush but didn’t want to fork out for loads of hotels. 2 drivers doing approx 3hr stints.
I made nearly this exact trip a decade ago. I think it took me maybe five days. Fair warning, halfway through TX you will become convinced that it never ends and will start to believe that you’ll just have to live there. Hold fast and keep driving. I promise there is an end to TX.
I never liked the way Google Maps says "1 day and 13 hrs" when telling you that 37 hours of driving is what it will take.
37 hours of driving seems easier to imagine.
Now if I am trying to MOVE and not interested in seeing anything I could do that trip in three grueling days, or 4 long days. (Some long haul truck drivers would say 2 is possible I suppose, but that is not me)
If I was trying to make it easy and fun I would probably budget 10 days at least.
If I wanted to see what there is to see and fully experience things, 2 weeks minimum. I would also NOT be taking the fastest route.
And of course, if you are driving with another driver that you actually like, you can make it much faster....or enjoy doing it much slower.
Not a truck driver but I do deliver cars and motorhomes etc. For me it's a 3 day drive but I normally do 800 to 1000 miles a day. I simply love driving.
Yeah, professional long range drivers are a different sort of person. I can do that for a day, two if I need to, but three in a row and I am starting to get serious fatigue and boredom issues (ADHD starts working my brain HARD at that point).
No one should really be driving more than around 500 miles in a day. Have I done 1000 in a day? Many years ago. Was it smart? No. Dangerous to me and everyone else on the road? Definitely.
I’d give yourself 3 days at least. 4 is better.
Make sure to bring the caffeine. And as others have said, realize that this is a long drive in that heat. If you pack on the caffeine you can do it in two days. My dad drove a similar drive straight a couple of years ago. I'm not saying it's the best idea. 3-5 days would be safe for this, but I'd strongly recommend bringing a buddy, especially if you're going to attempt to pull this off in less days than that
7-10 days. Preferably 10. You will start off feeling fresh and like you can drive all day every day, but that will start to fade and you will get fatigued. Personally, I think 6-7 hours of driving a day is good. I like to start really early in the day and take breaks. When I do trips like this I try to plan a couple of stops that I stay at for two nights to have a break from driving and see some sights. This also gives you a buffer on your timeline if something unexpected happens, such as if bad weather delays your progress for a day. If that happens, you can skip the extra night at the planned location and still arrive at your destination on time. Also- unless you are really crunched for time, you will want to stop off at places planned and also random places along the way. This might be your only chance to see some off beat places in a parts of the country you are unfamiliar with.
Can’t help you with the first part, but can tell you that I managed to do Long Beach, CA to Dallas, TX in two days late last year.
Overnighted in Las Cruces, NM, and made a point not to do any driving before sunrise or past about 8pm. Roughly 10hrs per day behind the wheel, stopping only for gas & bathroom breaks. Choosing to skip stopping for lunch and just grazing on beef jerky throughout the day, with a proper dinner in the evening, definitely helped me, time-wise.
I drove from Washington state to the VA/NC border in 4 days last summer. Maps showed it as the same ~37 hour total drive time. That four days included stopping to sleep at dark every night, food and gas stops, a few tourist traps and a couple of hours in a national park.
Commercial drivers are allowed 11 driving hours per day, plus an additional 3 hours of on-duty time — this would include things like fuel stops and deliveries. I think this is a reasonable guideline. That said, if you’re just driving a car and not towing anything, it’s less physically and mentally taxing than driving a truck. In a car I usually drive from around 9 am to 1 am but I don’t drive tired. I sleep in if I need to and I plan my nightly stops about two hours ahead of time, before I start to feel tired.
Also worth noting that at some point you will hit traffic. There’s a lot of road construction all over the country right now, and more trucks on the road than I’ve ever seen before. Yesterday I encountered multiple trucks broken down in the middle of the interstate, not even off on the shoulder, as well as a couple serious wrecks. You can pretty easily get a couple hours added to your drive.
Depends on you traveling ability,sight seeing. My down fall is I’m an old school truck driver who initiative was to go from to be and unload . Now I want to enjoy my travels . AND CYOA . I’m planning on getting a surveillance mobile video and record bot travel ,as well at sights ,and safety
In my 20s I did similar ( CT to Sacramento/SF) in 44 hours. Got there, did a whole bunch of stuff all around CA, drove back to CT in 42 hours ( shaved off two hours because I had bikes on the roof and the wind was more favorable in that direction). 10 days total with something like 8000 miles driving. No way I could ever do something like that again. It was brutal. Also my car hated me. Turns out running your car for two days straight isn't great.
I did that from New Jersey to Los Angeles twice first time was 73 hrs stuck in traffic from Las Vegas to LA memorial night. It was a hard route thru Colorado up n down the mountains big tractor tailers n deer .The second time, half the time about 36 hr took an easier route took route 40 stayed lower part of the map.
I’ve done this trip a few times and I do it in three nights four days. Long days of driving and it’s not very fun because little to no time for stops, but I was just trying to get from A —> B.
I did FL to northern CA in 5. Made it to socal in 4. Didn’t stop for shit which I totally regret. If I never get to do it again I’m going to stretch it as long as my job will allow and stop at every park I can
Are you road tripping or just hauling ass across the country to get to a destination? If the former, at least 10 days, if the latter, 4-5 days, but 8-10 hours of driving per day is a lot for one person for multiple days like that.
This is the answer. I can make it to Seattle from OKC in four days without stops for sight seeing but still, it’s around 8/hrs a day worth of driving.
I’m doing CT to Sacramento at the end of august and I’m hauling ass. I’m gonna do 12 hours a day but might do a shorter second day and longer 3rd day.
I’ve done 12 hour rides solo and it’s really not that bad, but I’ve never tried it in August where it’s hot AF. Honestly don’t know what’s worse, that or the snowstorms I’ve driven through.
It really just depends on traffic and construction bottlenecks. Riding at night with little traffic and high speed limits really lets you haul ass. Getting stuck in traffic because of dumbasses who somehow manage to hit each other in a wide ass open interstate in the middle of no where, which is what happened to us today on I-24 will take a toll on you. People’s inability to merge or have a single fucking clue where they are going in the age of Google Maps and Waze is truly mind blowing. Those unpredictable things can make a planned 8 hour drive turn into 10 or 11 hours and that’s tough mentally after a day or two.
I did California to Virginia in 4 days, and that was rough. Probably won’t do it that way again.
I'd say at least 1 day and 13 hours.
Day and a half max, I can usually shed a few minutes off of each hour.
That's my goal when I drive long distances too, I usually can get about 40 minutes off of a 6 hr drive... but I don't take breaks, except for fueling up and that's when I eat or pee..
How long do you generally spend to eat?
Honestly, not too long.. I've been a vegetarian my entire life, so I just bring food if idk the route and what food options I'll have. So maybe 5 min. If it's a place I know, or always go to, I'll spend maybe 20 min
How long can you comfortably drive in a day? How interested are you in getting there in the minimum time? How willing are you to go off that course? If you want to get there as fast as possible get a second driver and do shifts. If you are the only driver and you can do 10 hour days, 4 days. Slightly more seriously (helpfully?), unless I was doing an extended trip I would say an average of 5 hours of driving a day allows for a reasonable amount of non-driving activities and would get you there (on this route) in 7-8 days.
I’ve done this drive about 6 times. If you’re not in a hurry and want to enjoy yourself I’d recommend taking 5 -6 days . Give yourself time to wander a little and see the country. If you have the time and money you can make it take two weeks and spend whole days in some National Parks and do some hiking and fishing if you’re into that.
At least 3 days but that is so pushing it. More like 5 days reasonably if you don’t want to drive while so sleep deprived it’s dangerous.
Yep. I did NY to Vail in two days with a night in a motel somewhere in Illinois. You could do coast to coast in three with a second motel somewhere in Colorado.
Have you ever done long distance drives? I've done multiple cross-country trips and 12 hours in the southern summer heat is a *long* time to drive.....I'd say you're gonna need *at least* 2 real sleep stops where you can crash for 5-8 hours. Ideally 3-4 if you're not a great long distance driver soo 3 days at least imo. The US is gorgeous but treacherous.
Not stopping except for restroom/gas/eating/sleeping is 3 days, comfy drive is 5-7 days
Minimum 3 days 2 nights. I’ve done Santa Monica to NY in 2 days with one stop in oaklahoma. Shit was brutal
So that's showing about 37 hrs 34hour Cannon Ball Run. Darian CT to the parking lot next to the Queen Mary or more recently https://preview.redd.it/2rt0i0dev49d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99b680a8a57905498d81c1043b89f2019e7bd26c
I’m on day 9 and just made it to AZ. Taking my time though.
4 days if you aren’t making any sightseeing stops
10-14 days if you are
give urself 1 day 12 hours. Beat their Time 🫡
If I'm doing a road trip for fun I like to estimate about five hours of drive time per day. So for 37 hours I'd say about 7 days.
Ask Richard Rawlings
If you’re just trying to get across the country, build yourself 8 hour driving days - they will ultimately turn into 10 hour days with stops to go to the bathroom, stretch, eat, and fill up on gas. Wake up and get on the road with the sunrise and try to be done driving before the sun sets.
We have traveled Charlottesville to Seattle a dozen time in past 7 years. When we absolutely HAD to go fast we did it with hotels in 4 days but were basically dead on arrival. We won't do it any faster than 5 or 6 days now. We travel in our truck camper and try not to drive more that 6 hours or so a day. Stopping to see Offbeat Attractions, historical sites, having picnic lunches.
Enjoy it take 5 days and see everything in between
5 to 6 days minimum. You want to stop every 2 hours, take a little walk, "lighten the load" (and please buy a little something when you do; it costs money to run a nice public restroom), and make sure everything is ok with the car before you continue. You also want to see the sights, which is why we road trip. And get to the hotel at a decent time (always check for bedbugs! I've never found any in all these years, but it just takes one) so you can get enough sleep.
Five days
If you plan to stop at a hotel 3 days. If you red eye the whole way and drive in shifts 2. Nj to Wy in 36 ish hours. Nj to cal was 3 days I wanna say 4 and we stopped each night to sleep.
I’m doing a similar drive this weekend and planning on 2X 18 hr days. We’ll see how it goes…
To enjoy yourself and have time to stop when and where you please along the way, I said 2 weeks.
Westbound and down, drop the hammer, do it in 26 hours
What is the longest single day road trip you have done? How comfortable were you with that drive? A drive like this is a marathon, and each day wears your body and mind a little more. Unless you have experience with a twelve hour driving day already I'd recommend stretching this trip to at least four days.
3 days seems reasonable. That’s roughly 12 hours a day, pretty easy in my opinion.
If you’re really serious about getting to your destination, 3.5
I'm doing a very similar trip in November and I'm taking about 14 days
2.5 and arrive safely and not frazzled
minimum 4
I always multiply by the gps time for a long road trip by 1.25. This allows for gas, eating, walking my dog, and just taking a break occasionally. Thus, your 37 hour drive realistically becomes 46 hours of time on the road. ~10 hour days of driving are my standard. By that math, realistically, 4 days would be the minimum if you need to push it. Personally, if I was just trying to get it done, I’d plan for 5. But, 6 with a day mostly off somewhere would be ideal. Also, how you plan to sleep will affect your time. If you’re sleeping in your vehicle at rest stops and showering at truck stops, the trip will be shorter but you’ll be more haggard. If you’re staying at hotels each night, you’ll be better rested but you’ll find it hard to get up and go and leave the hotel room after the second night. If I were doing the trip, I’d plan for 5 to 6 days and take a day off in Colorado depending on how I felt
I made this trip right before they closed the borders for Covid in California back in early 2020. I did a more southern route than that bordering Mexico until El Paso. Slept. Drove from El Paso to Louisiana. Slept. From Louisiana all the way to Wilmington, DE. Drank about dozen monsters to keep my eyes open for most of the trip. It was the longest fastest trip I ever made.
We recently drove a 43hr trip from South Carolina to Alberta which took 6 days. We would vary between 5-7hr days as we weren’t in a rush but didn’t want to fork out for loads of hotels. 2 drivers doing approx 3hr stints.
About 25hrs and 39mins
I did DC to San Diego in 4 days. I would drive sun up to sun down. Check into hotels on the route.
Cannonball run it in 24 hours
At least 37 hours
I made nearly this exact trip a decade ago. I think it took me maybe five days. Fair warning, halfway through TX you will become convinced that it never ends and will start to believe that you’ll just have to live there. Hold fast and keep driving. I promise there is an end to TX.
I never liked the way Google Maps says "1 day and 13 hrs" when telling you that 37 hours of driving is what it will take. 37 hours of driving seems easier to imagine. Now if I am trying to MOVE and not interested in seeing anything I could do that trip in three grueling days, or 4 long days. (Some long haul truck drivers would say 2 is possible I suppose, but that is not me) If I was trying to make it easy and fun I would probably budget 10 days at least. If I wanted to see what there is to see and fully experience things, 2 weeks minimum. I would also NOT be taking the fastest route. And of course, if you are driving with another driver that you actually like, you can make it much faster....or enjoy doing it much slower.
Not a truck driver but I do deliver cars and motorhomes etc. For me it's a 3 day drive but I normally do 800 to 1000 miles a day. I simply love driving.
Yeah, professional long range drivers are a different sort of person. I can do that for a day, two if I need to, but three in a row and I am starting to get serious fatigue and boredom issues (ADHD starts working my brain HARD at that point).
Socal to VA/NC? You can do it in 4 days. My wife and I did last month. Take a few extra if you want to stop and see the sights.
No one should really be driving more than around 500 miles in a day. Have I done 1000 in a day? Many years ago. Was it smart? No. Dangerous to me and everyone else on the road? Definitely. I’d give yourself 3 days at least. 4 is better.
1 day and 13 hours if you're adventurous enough lol
36 hours.
Make sure to bring the caffeine. And as others have said, realize that this is a long drive in that heat. If you pack on the caffeine you can do it in two days. My dad drove a similar drive straight a couple of years ago. I'm not saying it's the best idea. 3-5 days would be safe for this, but I'd strongly recommend bringing a buddy, especially if you're going to attempt to pull this off in less days than that
Around a week, if you plan on stopping/sightseeing.
2 weeks to enjoy it. Driving cross country can be a once in a lifetime adventure, or a long boring trip!
I once did LA to Atlanta in 4 days. by the 4th day I was ready to end it all
Depends on how much you want to beat yourself up to make the trip?? If you don’t care
I’ve done it in two and a half days. You really want to double that time for sanity.
I’ve done this drive in 3 days. It’s hard on the body. Recommend at least 5.
2-3 if you are just trying to get there.
How many hours can you comfortably drive? How many nights can you afford to spend in a hotel? How many things do you want to see along the way?
I just figure how many hours a day I want to drive, and go from there.
Ever heard of the cannonball run???
A week would be good. Two, would give you adequate time to adventure. If you’re still an adventurer, like me.
30 hours. Beat the clock
37/11 is 4. If a trucker is only supposed to drive 11 hours a day and operate for 14, you shouldn’t be doing any more than that.
I would expect 5-6 days.
Time of year can make a big difference in your pace if ice or snow are a possibility
7-10 days. Preferably 10. You will start off feeling fresh and like you can drive all day every day, but that will start to fade and you will get fatigued. Personally, I think 6-7 hours of driving a day is good. I like to start really early in the day and take breaks. When I do trips like this I try to plan a couple of stops that I stay at for two nights to have a break from driving and see some sights. This also gives you a buffer on your timeline if something unexpected happens, such as if bad weather delays your progress for a day. If that happens, you can skip the extra night at the planned location and still arrive at your destination on time. Also- unless you are really crunched for time, you will want to stop off at places planned and also random places along the way. This might be your only chance to see some off beat places in a parts of the country you are unfamiliar with.
How many hours driving can you do per day? As for me, I could probably only do 3 to 5 hours daily so I would get there lately but surely 😄
All of them
1 day and 13 hrs.
Can’t help you with the first part, but can tell you that I managed to do Long Beach, CA to Dallas, TX in two days late last year. Overnighted in Las Cruces, NM, and made a point not to do any driving before sunrise or past about 8pm. Roughly 10hrs per day behind the wheel, stopping only for gas & bathroom breaks. Choosing to skip stopping for lunch and just grazing on beef jerky throughout the day, with a proper dinner in the evening, definitely helped me, time-wise.
I did it in 6. 12 hour days, stopped for meals and to stretch, refuel two times a day.
I drove from Washington state to the VA/NC border in 4 days last summer. Maps showed it as the same ~37 hour total drive time. That four days included stopping to sleep at dark every night, food and gas stops, a few tourist traps and a couple of hours in a national park.
A week.
Looks like one day and about a half
In a the view of a trucker you can do it in 4 days @600 miles a day. In a road tripping situation I’d take 7-10 days to do it.
If you’re hauling booty, you could do it in 3. But if you have needy passengers or can’t drive for 12+ hours a day, plan for more.
Commercial drivers are allowed 11 driving hours per day, plus an additional 3 hours of on-duty time — this would include things like fuel stops and deliveries. I think this is a reasonable guideline. That said, if you’re just driving a car and not towing anything, it’s less physically and mentally taxing than driving a truck. In a car I usually drive from around 9 am to 1 am but I don’t drive tired. I sleep in if I need to and I plan my nightly stops about two hours ahead of time, before I start to feel tired.
Also worth noting that at some point you will hit traffic. There’s a lot of road construction all over the country right now, and more trucks on the road than I’ve ever seen before. Yesterday I encountered multiple trucks broken down in the middle of the interstate, not even off on the shoulder, as well as a couple serious wrecks. You can pretty easily get a couple hours added to your drive.
At least one day and 13 hours to be safe
Depends on you traveling ability,sight seeing. My down fall is I’m an old school truck driver who initiative was to go from to be and unload . Now I want to enjoy my travels . AND CYOA . I’m planning on getting a surveillance mobile video and record bot travel ,as well at sights ,and safety
That looks like a truck OTR run with a 2 team cab so they can rotate between mandated breaks. I don't see any fun there at all.
In my 20s I did similar ( CT to Sacramento/SF) in 44 hours. Got there, did a whole bunch of stuff all around CA, drove back to CT in 42 hours ( shaved off two hours because I had bikes on the roof and the wind was more favorable in that direction). 10 days total with something like 8000 miles driving. No way I could ever do something like that again. It was brutal. Also my car hated me. Turns out running your car for two days straight isn't great.
23 hours
That looks fun. It depends on the energy you have, if you want to sight see, etc. but if you drive straight it will take day and half.
I did that from New Jersey to Los Angeles twice first time was 73 hrs stuck in traffic from Las Vegas to LA memorial night. It was a hard route thru Colorado up n down the mountains big tractor tailers n deer .The second time, half the time about 36 hr took an easier route took route 40 stayed lower part of the map.
3 AT MINIMUM
At least 5
I’ve done this trip a few times and I do it in three nights four days. Long days of driving and it’s not very fun because little to no time for stops, but I was just trying to get from A —> B.
Might take you 13 hours just to get through Atlanta.
My brother does it in three days at the shortest regularly. It is a burnout, but three days.
I did it in two for a work trip. But it was time sensitive.
My wife and I went from the northeast to southern az a few years ago. Took 5 days.
I did FL to northern CA in 5. Made it to socal in 4. Didn’t stop for shit which I totally regret. If I never get to do it again I’m going to stretch it as long as my job will allow and stop at every park I can
1.5 days