In today’s Taurus SHO – BMW 535i vintage comparison (Automobile Magazine), this line at the end caught my eye: The new 535i is perhaps only the second car in which we have, with only one driver, comfortably covered 800 miles (1300 km). Which reminded me of my longest and yet reasonably comfortable drive.
I had driven the 1000 miles from Baltimore to Iowa City straight through in my VW Beetles on at least two occasions, but I can’t say it was all that comfortable. The seats in them were sorely lacking in lumbar support. And there was the general lack of creature comforts, but I was young.
In about 2002 or so, I had to pick up my younger son in Sacramento, CA, where he had been taken after a primitive summer camp way up in the Sierras. It’s almost exactly 500 miles from Eugene to where I needed to go a bit outside Sacramento. I left Eugene in the Forester at 5;30 AM, and hit I5 and set my cruise control for 75, 80 in CA (or 10 over the limit). Arrived at 12:30, picked him up, and had lunch. Hit the road at 1:30PM, and got home right at 8:00 PM (I picked up my pace some on the home stretch). My brother and his family were visiting, so I drove directly to the old EMs minor league stadium near our house and joined them for the second half of the ball game. The sun was still well up in the sky, and I felt…great, even sitting on the unpadded seats of the old wood stadium (which burned down this past summer). Of course, I was almost 15 years younger then. Although I wouldn’t be eager to repeat it, the seats in the TSX are excellent, and if I had enough motivation, I’d be willing to do it again. Or so he says….
One thing that really helps on that drive is the scenery, which is good to excellent for most of the trip, except for the last part near Sacramento. So what’s the furthest you’ve driven in a day, comfortably or uncomfortably?
I’ve gone on the fairly short trek from Pittsburgh to Erie five times in one day, then driven around for a couple of hours transporting my ex’s stuff from his parent’s house in my 1995 four door Grand Am. I ruined the suspension on my poor car (young, in love, and stupid), but my posterior was in good shape, surprisingly. Total time in the saddles was about nineteen hours. My grandad drove from New Kensington, near Pittsburgh, to Anchorage straight through twice, in the sixties. Supposedly stopping only for coffee, cigarettes, and oil changes, he drove continuously for over fifty hours, most of it on dirt. I believe they had a Nash Rambler. My grandmother opted to fly home after enduring his brutal habits on the way up, so he grabbed all of his army buddies’ gear to save on shipping. It was far too much weight and he killed that car. Family legend says it never started again after he pulled it in their driveway and finally turned it off in a cloud of smoke.
Define day, in one unbroken except for fuel stops stretch, Bowen NQ to Pitt Town NSW about 2700 kms but it took roughly 25 hours in a 79 2L 5 speed Mitsubishi Sigma wagon, the 8 weeks later I drove back with a four hour stop at Byron Bay to wait for a friend to finish work to come with me, this sort of travel was normal just going from one job to another just fuel up air the tyres top off the oil and go. Comfort in that Sigma remarkably good.
There have been many long enjoyable drives but the one that stands out in my mind took place in the Spring of 1974 when I drove my wife and infant daughter straight thru from Savannah, GA to East Liverpool, OH. We were on a trip from St. Petersburg, FL back home to East Liverpool and had spent the previous night in Savannah. We spent most of the day sightseeing in Savannah and got on the road to home about 3 in the afternoon. We were driving our 1970 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham 4 door hardtop. I recall it as being a great road cruiser although the body shook a bit on rough roads. The Chrysler had a dial up climate control system that worked like a charm, cruise control, 8 track tape player, am/fm stereo radio and a cream leather interior that was as comfortable as your living room. It was a leisurely trip up I-77 to Ohio and then we followed the Ohio River up to East Liverpool. I don’t recall driving any faster than 65 mph but the trip took only about 11 hours which is about right for 700 miles. Part of the trip was in light rain. Arriving in East Liverpool about 3 in the morning we didn’t feel tired so went to our 24 hour Kroger Supermarket and stocked up on groceries. Of course in 1974 we were both in our late twenties so we didn’t know what it was to get tired!
Visual aid:
And inside…
Personal Best was 21 hours with one short stop to run through a museum with my younger son, who had gone with me to Sinclair, Wyoming on a missions trip (doing construction work at a camp for troubled teens). It only took us 17 hours going out (just over 1,000 miles), but coming back, we hit very heavy fog for several hours, and spent most of the rest of the day driving in torrential rain that kept our speed way down. I was quite loopy by the time we got home (son was only 14 and couldn’t help drive).
I used to make the trip to my Dad’s house in Georgia in one shot (825 miles, usually 16-17 hours depending on stops and traffic through Nashville and Atlanta), but the last year or so I’ve been getting a motel so I’m not on the road more than about 10 hours in a day. Those trips were mostly made in my New Beetle or one of our succession of Chrysler-product minivans. The ’13 Beetle convertible I had for 18 months or so simply killed my back on long trips. The ’15 Honda Fit that replaced it has been reasonably comfortable on the same trip.
Paul, I did do *one* long-distance trip in my ’64 Beetle, from Atlanta to Peoria, which was about 800 miles. I were a younger man then, though! I also commuted from Charlotte, NC to Knoxville, TN (about a 4-5 hour drive) for about three months (home for weekends) in my ’71 VW bus (with non-functioning heat).
Back in 1994, wife and I drive from Cleveland, OH area to Naples, FL area about 1,200 miles straight stopping only or gas/eat/relief developed a low level pain in my side I attributed to truck we were driving (C3500 flatbedding a car). Turned out I had a kidney stone and went to the hospital about 30 minutes after arriving at the destination.
Mission Viejo, CA to Seattle, WA in a 1989 Toyota Corolla automatic, about 1200 miles back in around 1996 or so.
We needed to deliver my future Sister-In-Law’s car to her at UW, it was at the parent’s house. Made a very early start and thought we would stop around Sacramento, hadn’t really thought about it enough to realize that we’d be there by early afternoon so we kept going. Then it got late in Oregon and by the time we hit Portland it was REALLY late and started raining. The last three hours were pretty much a blur, I don’t recall much, but I know I was exhausted and had the window open while it was raining, the radio blaring etc.
I do distinctly recall that the car struggled to exceed 70mph in the beginning having been an in-town car for many years but by the time we hit the Oregon border it had no problems cruising at 90+.
Two and a half years ago my daughter and I drove from Woodland Hills, CA to Fort Collins, CO on July 4th, left around 6am west coast time, arrived around midnight mountain time. That trip, while long (1100 miles), was more bearable since we were in the 911 and able to make up some serious time on the more deserted sections in Nevada and Utah allowing us to take more and longer rest breaks and make up for the traffic we hit between LA and Las Vegas.
I’ve driven some other long distances but those are the longest in one go that I recall offhand. I know that after about 500 miles I need a good rest break and around 1000 miles is the most I want to do in a day by myself anymore (so about from here to Chicago)
I once spent 11 hours behind the wheel of a V-6 ’91 Cougar LS, mostly on highways 101, 199, I-5 and 20 in Oregon and California. What a highway car….and it averaged 27 MPG most of the way, at 70-80 MPH. Comfortable leather/cloth seat, smooth ride, enough power to pass anyone in my way, nice AC and stereo.
Dunno. I drove 350 miles today (and rode 12.5 miles on a 125 motorbike) and feel pretty goosed. I live in a country where you’re never more than 40 miles from the sea in a straight line. But we never drive in a straight line.
I think my longest ever “road trip” wasn’t just driving, but was a 15 hour shift delivering and collecting cars in the highlands of Scotland. At least a couple of hours of it was spent in the 3rd row seats of a VW Touran, which are slightly cramped.
The longest I’ve driven straight through in one go by myself was the over-700-mile trip from Michigan to Vermont. Did that in 2008 in my 2006 Honda Element. It wasn’t a bad trip, really. The Element’s chairs weren’t terrible, and I had an EX-P, which gave me the excellent radio and an armrest (because good ol’ Honda didn’t include an armrest standard in the Element!). I wound up getting in a pack of traffic at the Ontario-Quebec border, and we ran 140-150 km/h from there to London, Ontario. Did that whole drive in just over 10 hours.
Longest trip straight through switching between my dad and I driving was this March. We had to go clean out Grandma’s house in Sarasota, Florida. A lot of things transpired while we were down there, and we elected to leave pretty much straight away. So, with dad’s 2005 Silverado HD crew-cab pickup towing the largest trailer U-Haul offers, both loaded down so much we were squatting the truck’s suspension, we set off for Michigan. Dad taped over the sticker on the wheelwell of the trailer that told us not to go over 55, and away we went, 70-80 miles per hour while towing that much weight, averaging 9 miles per gallon even with the Duramax diesel. 21 hours, way too damned many fuel stops, and over 1,200 miles later, we arrived at my place in Detroit. I felt bad for dad, since he had another two hours of driving yet the next day to make it home.
I will say, though, the seats in that Silverado were pretty good. Wide, La-Z-Boy like. Dad’s truck has the big fold-down center console/armrest thing. It actually rode pretty decent with all that weight on it.
I didn’t drive the entirety of that FL-MI trip (dad and I switched pretty much each state), but that was the absolute longest trip in one go I’ve ever done, and not just because of the mileage. If I ever have to do one like that again, it’ll be too soon.
I have driven from northeastern Pa to Memphis, Tn stopping only for gas and Jacksonville, Fl to northeastern Pa only stopping for gas, most recently the middle of November. Depending on how tired I am, the trip takes 21 hours. I could make better time if I had a car with cruise control. Both trips are almost 1,050 long.
When I was a lot younger than I am now (in the mid 1980s), I rode over 600 miles in 1 day on my motorcycle.
In November 1996 my wife and I had to make a quick trip to L.A. to pick up our daughter. I was driving a short bed V6 five speed Ranger regular cab. I drove two 900 mile days in a row. We made it there on the third day , loaded up and headed back to Indiana with a truck bed full and pulling a U Haul. The cab was a little crowded with 3 of us in there but I was surprised how comfortable I was both ways. Since then I have done some 700 mile days, but not 2 in a row. We made it back to Indiana in 5 days.
I won’t claim I wasn’t tired when we got back. It is a good thing I love to drive
I’ve routinely driven from St. Louis and Chicago to NYC in one shot, stopping only for gas, about 800 miles. My personal best was I believe Memphis to NYC, iirc. I can’t remember if I napped or not at all, though. Most trips were in my ’89 E30, though I once did the Chi-NYC haul in a B3 Passat (terrible seats!) and an e-250 (surprisingly comfortable!).
Time-wise, the longest two trips I’ve ever done were the haul from Memphis (17 hours) and my very first solo drive home from STL, in which I took all backroads–22 hours!
In 1995 I drove a 1992 Geo Metro 23 hours from Tacoma, Washington to Jackson, Wyoming….. I would never attempt such a drive in such a small, spartan vehicle now. By the way, near the end of this drive I saw a ufo…. but now suspect I may have been hallucinating! ?
Over the years I’ve driven the approximately 800 miles between Los Angeles and El Paso numerous times; sometimes at night. Everything from U-Haul trucks to comfy sedans. Usually averaged twelve to thirteen hours (except in the U-Haul). The worst section was upon returning to L.A. on I-10 and hitting traffic around Pomona, knowing I wasn’t even close to West L.A. and it was going to be slow-and-go the rest of the way home. Those days are over, though.
I’ve made the trip on a motorcycle with no windshield or fairing, but stopped overnight somewhere in the Arizona desert with a sleeping bag. Those days are over for sure.
I’ve done Columbus, Ohio to Kennesaw, Georgia a couple of times in my ’84 Chevette. A little over 8 hours drive each way, with about one extra hour for gas, food and restroom stops. Didn’t feel too bad afterward, but then I was about 25 years younger. 😉
22 hours, from Fort Worth TX to Metro Detroit.
When I was moving from Memphis to Portland, I did the Denver-Boise leg in one shot. Thats about 900 miles or so, which is a haul but not the worst anyone’s described here. However, my buddy had recently moved there and when I arrived at 5pm-ish the previous day I parked my rig and we immediately went and started barhopping….closing the town down at 2:30-ish the next morning! I knew I had to make it to Roseburg by day 4 so I hauled my hungover carcass up at 8am downed a couple rockstars and started out of Denver.
A lifted Wrangler isnt too happy at anything over 65mph except to pass…and Wyoming is incredibly windy. And I was hauling my remaining earthly posessions on a 4×8 Harbor Freight trailer. AND the grades in ID tend to be pretty gnarly. So it was one noisy, bouncy, pounding head, hangover sweaty, getting blown all over the road haul! Pretty brutal. Would I do it again? Sure, why not. I have more guts than brains, it would seem.
This past October I had to drive up to Burlington, VT (about a 500-mile round trip) on an out of state delivery in a 2016 MINI Cooper S 2-door hardtop. Wicked comfortable, quiet, and smooth driving at highway speeds between 80-100 most of the way. I don’t think it would’ve been half as enjoyable in the TSX or even the GLK.
I had only been working for MINI for a few weeks at that point, and it was this extended journey that solidified my impression of how refined the new hardtops are. It helps that the highways through New Hampshire and Vermont are well maintained. It was also at the height of fall foliage, and the views were breathtaking.
Took this picture from the dash. Note the red bonnet stripes!
The Cooper S from our demo fleet I took.
I made several Los Angeles to Vancouver Wa (and vice versa) runs (around 960 miles) leaving around 6:00 am and arriving around 9:30 pm in the ’86 Jetta. It has really comfortable seats for long trips, and with AC hot mid summer days were no problem. I would usually just stop for gas, bring food and drinks and make one stop at a restaurant for a half hour to 45 minutes. This was in the ’90’s and I never felt worn out after the trip.
Always took two days when towing my trailer with the ’70 Chevy pickup, at 55-60 mph and a lot more stops for gas with it’s 18-19 gallon gas tank it would have been too long of a drive in one day. I did once do the one day 980 mile drive in the C10 truck without trailer and it was a lot more tiring in that old truck after a long drive. At least it was in the cooler fall weather.
Haven’t done a long run like that in almost 20 years, did do a 460 mile trip to Boise last year in the ’04 Nissan Titan truck. That was a comfortable ride and could have easily done twice that mileage in a day. Trucks have come a long way in 34 years in comfort (and fuel mileage).
Caspar Wyoming to Calgary Alberta; 1,400 kilometres (850 miles), 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), cruise control set at 130 kph (80 mph) in a 1980 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow II. One may question the wisdom of doing such a trip in a 30 year old British car (I know I did) but the drive passed without incident. Refueling was frequent, however.
This particular daily distance is about my limit and I’ve done it many times before in my Renault 30, Peugeot 505 wagon, Audi Coupe and a VW Jetta (when I still owned them). The king is my 1985 Mercedes 300D, in which I did a similar drive this past summer.
At least once a year we drive from Iowa to Eastern North Carolina with an over night stay near Lexington, KY. Roughly 10 hours each day.
The most comfortable drive was with the ´03 Ford Windstar, the least comfortable was with the ´86 Mazda 323 for lack of air conditioning and a buzzy 4 cylinder engine.
Recently, the most discomfort I experienced with our `05 Pontiac Vibe because of a hidious driver´s position and complete lack of lumbar support. I did not notice this in a 10 minute test drive. But I sure noticed back pain after 30 minutes behind the wheel. I made minor modifications to that car and that improved comfort levels to fair.
You can tell, I am not spoiled in that department.
With my job, a 400 mile day is nothing abnormal. But beyond that, I have to think….
Jefferson City, Missouri to Auburn, Indiana – 512 miles in a rental Camry.
Hannibal, Missouri to Mitchell, South Dakota – 569 miles in our 2000 Ford E-150
Jefferson City, Missouri to Tupelo, Mississippi – 450 miles in my ’63 Ford
Detroit, Michigan to Cape Girardeau, Missouri – 590 miles in my ’96 Thunderbird
Hannibal, Missouri to Alto Pass, Illinois and back -227 miles each way driving my ’87 Dodge D-250 with my Galaxie on the trailer for the last half.
Longest ride (that I remember): Thebes, Illinois to Cut and Shoot, Texas – 702 miles and crammed in the backseat of a 1983 Plymouth Reliant
I’m thinking I may be fizzling out around 600 miles!
1200 miles from Savannah, GA to Bangor, Maine summer 2014 in my Buick Verano. Our daughter goes to college in Halifax NS Canada and we usually do the drive of 1750 miles in three days with hotels booked in Delaware and Maine up I95. We got off a day late and wanted to still use the prepaid room in Bangor. We left at 2:30 AM and got to the hotel at 11:45 pm. Car did great and averaged 34mpg, but I was super tired at the end.
Norfolk Virginia to Copper Harbor Michigan, way up on the UP, 1,300 miles in a beat up penalty box of a Chevette, August 1985. 24 hours straight through, though to be fair my buddy and I did share the driving. That was bad enough, but it got worse. As soon as we got there we had to get on the ferry to Isle Royale National Park, most of the way across Lake Superior. 50 foot boat, 10-15 foot following seas, with the screw getting out of the water every wave. “The lake is about 900 feet deep”, said the Captain over the PA, “so you’re never more than a quarter mile from land.” I skipped breakfast that day. (At least we got to stay on the island for a week of backpacking. We saw a family with 2 young kids get on for the return — apparently they took it as a day trip. A memorable vacation for them I am sure…)
(WRT Isle Royale’s being part of the US despite it’s proximity to Thunder Bay ON, let’s just say the cartographer wasn’t a Canadian… interesting story if you look it up.)
I’ve never has a automobile trip as horrid as any time I have had to fly– 3hrs from Vegas to Toronto are hell. Aircraft are made for people under 5ft tall.
Having said that when we drive from Ontario to Florida its about 14hrs to Atlanta, stay over night then another 7 hrs to Orlando, it seems quicker going down than home. Last year I drove my Bullitt Mustang on its last road trip and we drove Hamilton Ontario to Carlisle Penn for the All Ford Nats then 11 hrs to Smyrna Tenn to visit relatives. Couple days late it was 11s home to Ontario. That car had the best front seats–better than my 2015 Mustang I think, but after an 11 hrs drive I was not overly tired or sore–unlike 3 hrs in an airplane.
It helps if you can fly the plane yourself.
Not if the wife gets airsick in anything but the smothest air. LOL. Whole nother story.
I do 600 miles in a day without much trouble. From here to the Mayo Clinic is about 600 miles and I had checkups every few months, although they have backed off a bit on that.
Cambridge UK to Poitiers, France in 1.1 litre 4 speed Fiat Uno.
Google says that 537 miles, plus a sea crossing.
Or Stansted to Exeter and return, around 500 miles, in a Hertz Citroen Picasso with wind, rain, fog, no lunch and an impatient boss for company
Attended a wedding in Clearwater FL, then drove to North Port FL, went to bed and couldn’t sleep, so at 1:30 AM, I left for Long Island. I did catch a little sleep in a rest area, but still made it in under 24 hours. From North Port to LI was about 1,250 miles and you could add another 100 for Clearwater to North Port, but that would put the entire trip over 24 hours. I did it in a ’91 Toyota Corolla.
For four years, when my son attended the University of Alabama, I drove from LI to Tuscaloosa, (over 1,100 miles) or vice versa several times a year. On the first trip, we stopped for the night near the Virginia Tennessee border. All other times, it was a one-day trip. That trip was made at varios times in the aforementioned Corolla, am ’86 Taurus Wagon (hey it is Taurus week) or a 93 Ford conversion van.
I also drove from Sacramento CA to LI by myself in less than 72 hours, including two overnight stops, but that one was comparatively easy because each day was somewhere around 900 miles. Did that one in a 2000 Chrysler T&C with the seats out. I suppose I could have slept in the back, but I paid for a motel.
I did all of those trips alone. The more people you take with you, the longer it takes to drive because someone is going to need to take a pee break when nobody else has to go.
1793 miles from Elko, NV to Stevens Point, WI in a Ford van following a bus, but that includes a three-hour stop for sleeping somewhere in Iowa I believe. As for continuous, non-sleep driving, my maximum is 1,007 miles from Orlando, FL to St. Louis, MO.
I’m comfortable with about 10 hours on the road – which with breaks translates into about 650 miles.
Beyond that, I can usually make sense (both economic and sanity) out of airline tickets and a rental car.
When I was a delivery driver for my former job I did 120 miles one day, all around Portland. May not sound like much, but I was in a clapped out almost 500K mile 268 Hino box truck. And getting in and out of both the cab and box of that truck, when making multiple stops got old real quick. Not a fun day.
Across France, Calais to Carcasonne. Not an issue in a SAAB 900.
In 1999 I drove about 1100 miles, some back roads, some highway, over the course of 18 hours nearly non-stop, from Pierre, South Dakota to Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was made easier by the pristine 1986 BMW 325es I had at the time. That car made for some very comfortable miles.
Once a year for the past 15 years I have driven from Toronto to Nova Scotia and then back non stop, other than for gas or food. It now works out to just over 1100 miles although It used to be longer before all the New Brunswick highways were finished. I got lucky when I got a new car in 2001. The seat fits me perfectly and I have never been uncomfortable behind the wheel. I also love driving at night. The trip usually takes between 16.5 and 17.5 hours, depending of traffic and construction delays.
I do a SC to MI trip twice a year to see my brother and his family, a little over 700 miles each way. I generally enjoyed it until reaching my 40’s, now not so much.
This year I got serious about dealing with my fear of flying that came out of nowhere in my 20’s(I learned while doing some research on the subject that this is actually very common) and flew both trips successfully as well as another trip to NY, so I think I’m cured. Even with a cancelled flight that delayed me an extra day to deal with on one trip, it’s was much less stressful and I was able to enjoy my trip more than if I had to spend 11 to 13 hours each way in the car. I have no idea why people get so upset about flight delays and cancellations – OMFG I had to spend the night at the DTW Hampton Inn and take a flight in the morning instead, the horror!
I’ll fly on any trip that would require more than 6 hours of driving now.
I’ve made the 1,000-mile trip from northern Missouri to Virginia countless times, but have done it only once without an overnight stop, in 2007.
We made that trip in my 1998 Ford Contour SVT, and those seats were extremely comfortable. I actually felt like I could keep driving some more!
That was pre-kids. Now with two little ones, a 500-mile day is a good accomplishment.
Have driven the approx. 1100 miles from central Ohio to Dallas, TX and later, back again in the 1970s, in the 1980s, in the 1990s and again two months ago.
My most challenging was in the mid-1980’s, when I worked a day shift job, ate supper, went to a seminar that I’d prepaid to attend, then drove the 1100 miles! It took a good hour longer than usual and I almost wasn’t sure I would make it. But I was stubborn as I was so close to my destination and didn’t want to stop and rest. On any of these trips, I only stopped when I needed fuel – and I’d also take a restroom break, too, of course. This year, recognizing that I’m not as young as I used to be, I was prepared to stop and get a room for some rest if I needed to. But I pulled it off with no problem. None of the trips, even this year, were in any way uncomfortable for me, thank goodness.
Almost forgot my longest trip, from Dallas to L.A. in October of 1983. Like the other trips, the only stops were for fuel. Don’t recall how many hours it took but the miles were in the range of 1400-1500. It was to attend a weekend spiritual retreat. Then, only two days later made the return trip, again with no problems. That trip was made in a Mitsubishi-made Plymouth Sapporo with the 2.6L and a 5-speed manual transmission. I have nothing but good things to say about that Sapporo in regard to the trip or my everyday driving. It was a great little car and that may have been my most comfortable trip.
Ok, have also made trips to Florida and back where I was with friends and we drove straight through, taking turns, going down and coming back. One time was in a nearly new PT Cruiser.
When my mother died, I couldn’t afford airfare to get to the funeral. So I did Grand Rapids, MI to Ft. Lauderdale, FL in one sitting. That’s about 1400 miles.
I was in a bit of a rush, so I did it in 18 hours.
In the late 1970’s, driving from Halifax NS to Vancouver BC, I managed Winnipeg MB (or just outside) to Calgary AB in one very long day, driving the older two-lane Route 2 south of the TransCanada most of the way – probably about 1250 km / 750 mi – in a 1973 BMW 2002.
A great day, watching storms cross the Prairie landscape and wondering whether I could dodge them. It was a comfortable car for a long trip but I was glassy-eyed getting into Calgary around 10 pm. What struck me at the time was that I had crossed the Prairies in one day, but it had taken me three and a half to get across Ontario.
What doesn’t probably count was a Christmas 1969 40-hour marathon from Halifax NS to Cocoa Beach FL (200 mi + an overnight ferry + 1400 mi) in a 1968 Datsun pickup. It was with a friend and we traded shifts, sleeping in the back as necessary. My strongest memory of that trip, other than a great library of 8 track tapes (Santana, Beggars Banquet, Nashville Skyline, Taj Mahal!), was that I-95 was still not complete through parts of South Carolina and Georgia. That, and what a tough little truck the Datsun was – no trouble at all on a 3500 mi round trip.
Hmm… For me, driving the family in our 1984 Chrysler E-Class from Florissant, MO to Hays, KS for the first leg of our 1989 Colorado vacation. That E-Class was one comfortable car, but then I was 38 years old!
Later? Cincinnati-area to STL area in the 1996 Intrepid we owned from 1997-1999. Very comfy.
Now? Same trip but in my 2012 Impala.
Of course I don’t make any trip non-stop! Are you kidding? I have never driven more than 3 hours straight!
Santa Rosa, CA to Cheyenne, WY, starting in the wee hours and stopping only for gas and fast food.
About 1185 miles in a 1995 Dodge Intrepid, still the most comfortable longhaul car I’ve driven. Its long-distance comfortable seating, stable ride and confident handling made me feel I could have gone farther, but that’s where the hotel was.
Baltimore, MD to Indianapolis, IN – about 600 miles. In a rented Chevy Cobalt. It was for a training class for work for a new piece of software, there were only a couple places in the country offering the class. I could have flown but thought it would be fun to drive.
I’m actually have one coming up that will be about the same – I’m driving from Baltimore to Orlando in February for the “Hamcation” hamfest. I’m doing Baltimore to Savannah in one day and the rest the next. I’ll be driving my recently-inherited ’98 Voyager with the back full of electronics and old computers, so that should be an adventure.
Western NJ to Bar Harbor ME 422 miles…2010 Honda Accord
Eastern NJ to shore of Lake Erie in Ohio about 400 miles…1978 Chevy Caprice
Northern MD to Virgnia Beach VA about 300 miles..1998 Chevy Cavalier
Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island are worth the ride, regardless of the distance. The home of Acadia National Park.
A couple years ago me, the wife and 3 kids drove our 2005 Odyssey 1200 miles straight from Chicago to Cocoa Beach FL. 21 hours and I did every minute of the driving myself. Was borderline delirious by the end of it. The seats aren’t terribly comfortable on a good day and after just a few hours it was pure torture. But we made it.
Second longest would be returning from a camping trip from Yellowstone in Wyoming to Chicago. Don’t remember the mileage but the drive was 19 hours straight, in my ’93 stripper Ranger that lacked AC and power steering. Did every minute of that drive myself too, perched on a vinyl bench seat and sweating with the windows open.
About ten years ago I drove from Waco, TX to Jackson, MS and back in the same day to pick up a friend in my ’97 Taurus. That is about 900 miles with only gas and 1 meal stop, and I did all the driving. From what I recall it was reasonably comfortable, but I was tired when I got home.
In my earlier years I made many long distance trips but did not rack up more than about 500 miles per day due to several factors like slow vehicles (’65 Dart, ’54 Chevy pickup, ’73 Econoline with a 16 foot trailer and a 8 month old), slow speed roads (the Alaska Highway, 1100 miles of dirt at that time), or winter driving.
I haven’t done any travelling in many years to speak of. I don’t have anywhere I need to go, and it is not as much fun as it used to be. Maybe I will take it up again after I retire.
From Overland Park, KS to Hilton Head, SC 1,091Miles in a 1985 Ford Country Squire
From Overland Park, KS to Williamsburg, VA 1,133 miles in a 96 Plymouth Voyager
From Overland Park, KS to Paradise Valley, AZ 1,286 miles in a 91 Dodge Caravan
From Southfield, MI to Houston, TX 1,334 miles in a 74 Ford Maverick which was the worst thing ever to drive
Leave work in St Paul MN Friday afternoon. Drive to sisters house in Winter Park CO. Ski all day Saturday, ski Sunday morning, drive from Winter Park Home to Lake Elmo MN, then back to work Monday morning. Drive Just over 2100 miles, Ski around 6 Vertical miles, all in just over 60 hours (32 driving a SAAB 96 or 1st generation Accord). Oh to be young and stupid again.
Gallup, NM to El Reno, OK – roughly 700 miles. Everytime I drive back to OH (where I was born and raised) that is my first day goal. I can drive that comfortably and there’s a pretty good hotel there that I’ve stayed in now 3 times. Otherwise I don’t usually do more than about 500 day on a long trip.
Ironically Gallup is roughly the same distance (700 miles) from Anaheim, CA and Disneyland. I married into a family of Disney Nuts and about twice a decade we do that drive straight through and usually leaving at 3 AM!
I once did 1400 miles in one day.
I live in Hampton Roads, VA and I bought a tractor near Nashville in October, 2004 and it was about 700 miles one way. It was a beautiful Sunday so traffic was relatively light, the leaves were changing in the Blue Ridge Mountains and I had lots of good music to listen to. I had my then-new Dodge Ram pickup and I left my house at about 5 in the morning and got to the small town where I bought the tractor just east of Nashville early in the afternoon. I loaded up and started heading back home and figured I would just stop for the night when I got tired. It wasn’t until I got about 2 hours from home that I really started feeling tired so I just stopped, took a quick nap and finished the trip home and I was home by midnight.
I couldn’t do that again. Having done a career in the military, I travelled a lot for work and moved several times and my normal limit is 500-600 miles a day.