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Old 04-05-2017, 09:17 PM
 
33,387 posts, read 34,659,590 times
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oh, one of the problems with getting into a hotel at 5am is that you may have to pay for two nights if you plan on staying past 2pm. the reason is that they lose the revenue when you leave later because there is no one there to clean teh room after you leave, and they cant sell it.

also sometimes if the property is in its busy season, you might not be able to find a vacant room until after 3pm when housekeeping releases all the rooms.
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Old 04-05-2017, 09:18 PM
 
Location: San Antonio
3,536 posts, read 12,284,216 times
Reputation: 6036
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian_M View Post
For me, easily the single biggest issue is road noise. It fatigues you Very quickly and I simply can't drive anywhere near as long in my DIY RV (sprinter van) as I can in our VW Jetta. Add earplugs or noise canceling headphones, and I see an immediate improvement in mental condition/alertness.
THAT IS SO DANGEROUS!! You can't hear emergency vehicles, horns, or other important things!!
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Old 04-05-2017, 09:44 PM
 
Location: Niceville, FL
13,259 posts, read 22,692,629 times
Reputation: 16409
Do check state laws about naps at rest areas. While few/no states allow overnights at them, many will give you 1-3 hours of nap time because a drowsy driver is a danger to themselves and other motorists. And since the crime problems of years back, many of the higher volume ones have security guards on site 24/7.
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Old 04-05-2017, 09:55 PM
 
Location: Montgomery County, PA
16,568 posts, read 15,139,225 times
Reputation: 14589
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens View Post
At the beraks, get out and run.. A quarter mile or half a mile is enough.
Wow, never thought of that. I am a runner so this caught my eyes. Problem is where to run? I have a 2000 mile road trip coming up in June going southwest, all by myself. Some people suggested 300 miles a day. No way. I won't ever get there. I am wondering what is the longest you can drive a day without killing yourself? I am not a novice. I ride a motorcycle for 350 miles a day. Can I do twice that?
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Old 04-05-2017, 10:47 PM
 
Location: Lake Arrowhead, Waleska, GA
1,088 posts, read 1,449,152 times
Reputation: 1611
Lots of great recommendations so far. But I think the most important thing, especially for the driver, is a comfortable, supportive seat. Drive a Volvo for a few hours and you'll be hooked, IMO. Their seats are regarded by most automotive journalists and experts as the best in the business. After years of renting them, I totally agree.
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Old 04-05-2017, 10:47 PM
 
Location: Arizona
3,148 posts, read 2,708,463 times
Reputation: 6060
10 hrs of driving will cover 600 miles pretty easily.
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Old 04-05-2017, 10:59 PM
 
Location: Wyoming
9,724 posts, read 21,152,402 times
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Someone uptopic mentioned it, but I'll repeat it. Audio books, aka, books on tape (on CD, etc.) I've bought a few and rented a few from our public library. I never get tired while listening to a good book.

Age/health condition makes a big difference in how far you can comfortably drive in a day. Up into my mid-50s I made lots of long drives in a day. For about 2 years back then, I drove a 1900-mile (round)trip nearly every weekend, and one of those (longer weekend) was 4,000+ miles. I'd make the 850-mile stretches with only one stop, just long enough to refuel the car and take a quick potty break before I'd make the final push.

I'm now 71. My wife and I took a 700-mile (round)trip to Denver about a year ago. We stopped at a rest area after 250 miles... and neither of us could hardly make the walk from the car to the building! Ouch! Part of that is that we bought a Prius a couple years ago. I drive it regularly on 350-mile routes, but they include several stops in which I get some exercise (working). We're more used to our bigger cars or a pickup where we can scootch this way or that. In the Prius we can hardly move our butts once seated, so a 3-hour trip with no stops is pushing it -- at our older ages.
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Old 04-06-2017, 12:14 AM
 
Location: Lake Arrowhead, Waleska, GA
1,088 posts, read 1,449,152 times
Reputation: 1611
Quote:
Originally Posted by WyoNewk View Post
Someone uptopic mentioned it, but I'll repeat it. Audio books, aka, books on tape (on CD, etc.) I've bought a few and rented a few from our public library. I never get tired while listening to a good book.

Age/health condition makes a big difference in how far you can comfortably drive in a day. Up into my mid-50s I made lots of long drives in a day. For about 2 years back then, I drove a 1900-mile (round)trip nearly every weekend, and one of those (longer weekend) was 4,000+ miles. I'd make the 850-mile stretches with only one stop, just long enough to refuel the car and take a quick potty break before I'd make the final push.

I'm now 71. My wife and I took a 700-mile (round)trip to Denver about a year ago. We stopped at a rest area after 250 miles... and neither of us could hardly make the walk from the car to the building! Ouch! Part of that is that we bought a Prius a couple years ago. I drive it regularly on 350-mile routes, but they include several stops in which I get some exercise (working). We're more used to our bigger cars or a pickup where we can scootch this way or that. In the Prius we can hardly move our butts once seated, so a 3-hour trip with no stops is pushing it -- at our older ages.
In my 20s, I drove from Atlanta to Key West more than a dozen times. It's just over 850 miles and I would drive it with only a few stops for fuel, food and restroom breaks.

In my 30s, I made the trip from Atlanta to Los Angeles with my cousin. We took turns driving and stopped two nights at a hotel and drove around 900 miles for two days in a row and 400 miles on the final day. In comparison, my flight back to Atlanta in coach was heaven!

Last year, when I was 41, I decided to drive rather than fly to visit my best friend in Pittsburgh (from Atlanta). It's just over 700 miles and I expected it to be an easy 11-12 hour drive. My friend (who had made the trip numerous times) strongly recommended that I take a stretch/exercise break every 2.5 hours. I gave it a shot and it made all the difference in the world. I was able to stand up straight and walk when I finally made it to Pittsburgh.

I suppose my point is to take care of yourself and your body's needs. Food, hydration, rest and exercise are all very important and well worth any time or effort involved.
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Old 04-06-2017, 01:10 AM
 
17,487 posts, read 17,349,511 times
Reputation: 25473
Working HVAC
Snacks should be a blend of protein and carbohydrates. Payday candy bar, nut and pretzel mix, and protein snack bar are some examples. Leave out the corn syrup or sugar rich drinks. The sugar will give you a quick boost but then a hard crash later when the sugar wears off.

Get a pair of amber colored polarized sunglasses for driving. These will help with eye strain and visibility. If you wear prescription eyeglasses, they have clip on or over the glasses versions. Clip on is better.

Try out different seat products if you feel your seats aren't up to par. Can't recommend anything because what you need depends on your seats.

Depending on your age and health, stop for the night after 8 to 10 hours. Don't wait until you become drowsy. This will give your body time to unwind from the drive to get some rest before hitting the road again. If you're traveling with another licensed driver then you could extend your time on the road by switching drivers every few hours.

If available on your car, subscribe to satellite radio. Besides music, you can also listen to comedians telling jokes or news stations for updates. This will be better than trying to find a new local station to listen to as you go in and out of their service area.

Besides snacks, consider making some sandwiches ahead of time to bring on the trip.
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Old 04-06-2017, 01:48 AM
 
1,664 posts, read 1,470,028 times
Reputation: 3146
Quote:
Originally Posted by WyoNewk View Post
Someone uptopic mentioned it, but I'll repeat it. Audio books, aka, books on tape (on CD, etc.) I've bought a few and rented a few from our public library. I never get tired while listening to a good book.

Age/health condition makes a big difference in how far you can comfortably drive in a day. Up into my mid-50s I made lots of long drives in a day. For about 2 years back then, I drove a 1900-mile (round)trip nearly every weekend, and one of those (longer weekend) was 4,000+ miles. I'd make the 850-mile stretches with only one stop, just long enough to refuel the car and take a quick potty break before I'd make the final push.

I'm now 71. My wife and I took a 700-mile (round)trip to Denver about a year ago. We stopped at a rest area after 250 miles... and neither of us could hardly make the walk from the car to the building! Ouch! Part of that is that we bought a Prius a couple years ago. I drive it regularly on 350-mile routes, but they include several stops in which I get some exercise (working). We're more used to our bigger cars or a pickup where we can scootch this way or that. In the Prius we can hardly move our butts once seated, so a 3-hour trip with no stops is pushing it -- at our older ages.
Yes, my mid 1940s model body needs more frequent rest stops. We've made (7) 1100+ mile trips to Florida in my Chevy Malibu. We had been doing it with one stop about half way. Three years ago, near the end of one leg of the last 500+ mile stretch, after hours and hours of monotonous fixed position, cruise control, straight ahead, between two lines, hypnotic, driving I started to wonder if something suddenly happened in my path, would I recognize it in time to react. Highway hypnosis, driver fatigue or whatever it was, I felt I was not on top of my game. On the way home from that trip we split it in to 3 legs. It worked out to about one tank of gas with at least one break. Limiting our driving to under 400 miles a day allows us the time to stop if we see something of interest and we are in a lot better shape when we arrive.

I just bought a used Chrysler minivan which will let us bring along some on the road food prep stuff and will give me some of that scootch space you refered to. I read of an easy seat track mod that will get me another inch of leg room. At least my right leg won't be smashed against the console for 3 hours. I'll never get DW to camp but maybe I'll hide an air mattress in there in case we get stuck somewhere with no room available. It happened once on a trip west. We drove all night looking for a vacancy.
I have never listened to a audio book but it sounds like a great idea. Somewhere around here is a collection of old radio shows, on cassette, that I picked up at a garage sale.
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