Traveling at Night?

[GPoppins 0]

Hello All,

 

We recently jumped up from a TT to a Class A and have yet to travel to WDW in it yet.  We had our TT for only a couple of months when we made the big move to a Class A - we're nuts.   So we're thinking of traveling in one day to FW in October rather than stopping for the night somewhere. We're roughly 14 hours away and are considering leaving very late at night, traveling through the night, and arriving at FW early afternoon.  As we have never traveled in the MH for a long trip yet, I'm wondering if you have any thoughts on whether this will be a tough task.  We're thinking of stopping at the FL welcome center (which is about 5.5 hours from the start of the trip) and maybe even putting out a slide to eat breakfast and really rest.  Then taking a similar break a few hours later.  Any thoughts on this?  My husband and I will tag team the driving by the way... Any good spots, in general, for stopping for a real rest?  Thanks!!!! 

[Andrew Roberts 17]

I do it in one shot form time to time form south bend Indiana. but to tell the truth you really don't save anytime. if I stop for about 6 hours and sleep somewhere usually around Macon then I arrive at the fort feeling good and set up in time to enjoy a nice night. if I push on through and do it all at once then I exhausted and then have to set up just so I can go in and crash feeling like crap. I have had reasons do do it both ways.I do prefer to drive at night. everything runs cooler and no traffic jams or construction delays

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Which road will you be arriving on?  It's obviously not 95 since you said your trip is 14 hours and the FL welcome center is 5.5 hours into your trip.  Without knowing which road, it's impossible to suggest rest stops.

 

BTW, it's considered bad camping etiquette to put out your slides in a resting area.  That includes Walmart, Flying J, rest stops, Cracker Barrel, etc.  I see people doing it all the time, but it can be hazardous or inconvenient to others.

 

We have a Class A too, but our driving limit per day is 12 hours, including breaks.  We did 15 hours one time and said never again.  We travel to WDW on 95 south, leave home at 4am, and arrive in St. Augustine by 2 or 230pm.  Overnight there, leave about 430am the next morning, and arrive at the Fort around 630am.    This works well for us, and we avoid the traffic jams in the major cities.  We arrive at the Fort feeling refreshed, and we usually don't have to wait too long to get onto our site.

[Specularius 102]

We are about 14 hours from the Fort in Louisiana. Our normal trip down is to leave about 4 in the afternoon and drive 60 miles into Florida to a rest area where we go to sleep around midnight. We pull out of the rest area around 7 the next morning and we arrive around 1 Fort time to check in. On the way home we pull out at 7 fort time and make it home around 9-10 central time, 830 miles in one day. 

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

We do the drive very similar to Spec. (Ours is about 12 hours) We usually leave around 2pm Central which puts us through Atlanta after 7pm Central, then stop somewhere as far South in Georgia as we can manage. Depending on traffic, sometimes it's Tifton, sometimes it's Valdosta. Then we stop for the night, and get to the Fort by checkin time.

[tim5055 120]

While I don't mind a long drive on the way home, on the way there like AR I dont want to arrive tired and going ion to sleep/crash as soon as I get there.

 

I have used the I-95 Florida Welcome Center as a stopping point several times.  I try to be there by 10 PM so I can be up and on the road rested by 6ish.  Figure 3 hours from the resat area to FW drive time and I really want to be through Jacksonville before rush hour if it is a week day.  If I add in a sotp for fuel/breakfast or whatever that puts me at the Fort a little after 10.  I guess I'm lucks, because I've never had to pull into the overflow to wait for my site.

 

Unless you book a campsite somewhere the closer you get to Orlando the more difficult is to find a place to stop.  Local laws prohibit WalMart and plsces like that to allow overnight stopping in the central Florida area and the later at night you drive the rest areas fill up with truckers looking to sleep.  There is nothing worse than a trucker pulling in next to you and leaving his engine running or teh ThermoKing running while you are trying to sleep.

[Campingdad 3]

Which road will you be arriving on?  It's obviously not 95 since you said your trip is 14 hours and the FL welcome center is 5.5 hours into your trip.  Without knowing which road, it's impossible to suggest rest stops.

 

BTW, it's considered bad camping etiquette to put out your slides in a resting area.  That includes Walmart, Flying J, rest stops, Cracker Barrel, etc.  I see people doing it all the time, but it can be hazardous or inconvenient to others.

 

We have a Class A too, but our driving limit per day is 12 hours, including breaks.  We did 15 hours one time and said never again.  We travel to WDW on 95 south, leave home at 4am, and arrive in St. Augustine by 2 or 230pm.  Overnight there, leave about 430am the next morning, and arrive at the Fort around 630am.    This works well for us, and we avoid the traffic jams in the major cities.  We arrive at the Fort feeling refreshed, and we usually don't have to wait too long to get onto our site.

I will take comfort over the new PC police etiquette that has come about in the last few years. I am still equipped with common sense which is a hot commodity that seems to disappearing. That said don't look for me in the middle of the lot taking up 17 spots at walmart or 2+ spots at a reststop/truckstop. look around the edge of the lots. The areas where a slide can be opened with out worry of others hitting it.

[pixiesteno 2]

Like others have said, not sure what route you are taking but the second rest area south of Jacksonville on I-95 allows for overnight stays and they have a separate area for RVs from where the semis are supposed to be.  

[BouncingTiggers 98]

We have done the trip a couple different ways. Sometimes we stop in southern nj then again in sc depending on time. Other times we drive all day and only stop overnight once. We often talk about buying a mh just so we are comfortable to sleep in rest areas.

[southernview -- Ray 25]

We do the drive very similar to Spec. (Ours is about 12 hours) We usually leave around 2pm Central which puts us through Atlanta after 7pm Central, then stop somewhere as far South in Georgia as we can manage. Depending on traffic, sometimes it's Tifton, sometimes it's Valdosta. Then we stop for the night, and get to the Fort by checkin time.

 

What roads do you use from Madison to Atlanta Carol?

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

What roads do you use from Madison to Atlanta Carol?

We take I-565 to I-65 (Birmingham) to I-20 to I-75

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

We're thinking of stopping at the FL welcome center (which is about 5.5 hours from the start of the trip) and maybe even putting out a slide to eat breakfast and really rest.  Then taking a similar break a few hours later.  Any thoughts on this?  My husband and I will tag team the driving by the way... Any good spots, in general, for stopping for a real rest?  Thanks!!!! 

 

We've done this - we've even stopped over for a nap there a few times.  I was worried the first time, as there are signs that say "no overnight camping" so I made DH go over and ask the officer sitting there.  He basically told us that it was fine to take a nap, just don't put out your slides/awnings, chairs, etc. and "set up camp."  As long as it's not in anyone's way, we usually crack one slide open about a foot just so we can more easily get into the bathroom/bedroom.

 

As places to stop for a nap, we found it to feel like a pretty safe place - patrolled and relatively well lit.

 

Coming down from NH we've got about a 24 hour drive.  We usually leave around 6pm, drive until about 2-4am, stop for a 4-5 hour nap in VA/NC, and then try and get as far as we can throughout the day.  We've pushed it as hard as all the way to the Fort, but more often than not stop in GA or north FL that 2nd night and then get an early start the next day to finish up the trip.

 

We usually plot out our options to for places to stop along the way, in case we don't want to drive quite as long at a whack, or if I get a burst of energy and we actually get further.  The worst thing is "hitting the wall" in terms of driving, and then not being able to find a good place to stop nearby.  (ugh)

 

Good luck and safe travels!