How to travel slow?

[kayell]

Somewhere I read a rule of twos: Drive no more than 2 hours without a break; drive no more than 200 miles a day; take at least 2 days in place before driving again.

Hopefully I remember that correctly. May have been on another RVing site.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

The way I heard the Rule of 2s was:

No more than 200 miles in a day.
Stop and make camp by 2 pm every travel day.
Camp for at least 2 days before moving.

 

[Almost There]

Congratulations you two!

It took some doing for one of you (no names mentioned...  ) to learn to travel slow - the other one was ready for it long before this....  

Don't travel too slow, I'll be expecting a driveway in Michigan with my name on it round about the third week of April....

 

[skyl4rk]

The way I heard the Rule of 2s was:

No more than 200 miles in a day.

I think it is no more than 2 hours driving per day.

We will be back by April, gotta pay the taxes.

 

[MrNoodly]

All good stuff, but for me there needs to be a place to camp/park every night. So it's often best to have a base then take day trips in various direction. And if everything is in my van and I discover a new place to camp, then I can just stop and not have to go back for my stuff.

 

[leef]

What are some tips on traveling slow and seeing things, meeting people and relaxing on a van tour?

To address the "meeting people" part of your question: 

I use meetups.com to meet people while I'm traveling.  I'm mostly an "urban stealth" traveller, which is the situation meetup.com works best for. You can find meetups in all urban areas and for all kinds of interests.

I attend meetups for vegans, hiking, and bicycling.  I have met so many wonderful people doing this,  When I go back to a given area I have friends that I'm happy to see again, and who are happy to see me.  And I always meet new friends on each trip.

I have made some deeper and long lasting friendships this way.  For most of these friends, we keep up with each other on Facebook.

 

[Crow]

Another good thing about going slow, going 55 instead of 75 in my GMC Savana saves 16% on fuel.  That's the equivalent of  about $10 back on every tank, not to mention its going easier on your motor, tranny, tires, and brakes.

 

[DrJean]

Yep... on the driving a slower speed. I'm amazed at the difference in "feeling" even when driving the turnpike now to my physical therapist...from 70 in the fast lane to 60-65 in the middle lane... and the attitude of "I have plenty of time, let the maniacs fly" is calming too.

 

[BigT]

Another good thing about going slow, going 55 instead of 75 in my GMC Savana saves 16% on fuel.  That's the equivalent of  about $10 back on every tank, not to mention its going easier on your motor, tranny, tires, and brakes.

Yep... on the driving a slower speed.  I'm amazed at the difference in "feeling" even when driving the turnpike now to my physical therapist...from 70 in the fast lane to 60-65 in the middle lane... and the attitude of "I have plenty of time, let the maniacs fly" is calming too.

Yeah, besides seeing more when I slow down, I find my mood improves significantly when I take it easy and back off on the throttle.  

Fuel economy too.  At 65 on the freeway, I routinely see 27mpg, but speed up to 70 or 75, and that number drops to around 20mpg.  
That's my around town/city mileage!  :s

 

[Wabbit]

This is a great informative thread. If your reading this and its been 2 weeks since a bump, add something.

Meet people. Meet people from wherever, but meeting from here really puts some personal touches on their screen persona. Also, I've heard Trip Advisor is a good place to get a "feel" for an area and find interesting places.

 

[Kathleen]

I am learning how to travel slow.  We are currently doing a turtle crawl tour of Florida.  This method might work for long distances as well, such as crossing the US. 

I used to drive as fast as I could, fully loaded. But now, the way you described your day sounds delicious, sleep late, lounge, eat a lot of meals, drive slow and take in everything interesting, plus sleep well. Love it!

 

[speedhighway46]

1- People who drive "fast" have a higher probability of having an incident, either self inflicted by loosing control of the vehicle or driving too fast for conditions; or because some other "*******" is also driving to fast and you don't see each other and tangle.

2- If you're vandwelling and touring, why are you driving fast in the first place. Whadda, in a hurry? Getting paid by the mile?

3- Remember the 2-2-2 Rule and follow it.

4- Take it easy, you'll live longer.


Just my opinion . . .

 

[rvpopeye]

I would say I learned to slow down when I quit the music biz , but it wouldn't be true......

I learned to do it years earlier !
I would leave days ahead of a show with a pile of stops planned out for every trip.
I always hated being on itinerary and having to pass by everything interesting ,,,, so,,,,,,I built a camper on my truck and flew solo!
That itinerary thing COULD be defeated.

Great idea for winter driving in general too....


Oh yeah , how to slow down???????
Take your foot OFF the GAS pedal !

 

[Alcatraz]

I have a metal detector, so I stop everywhere that looks promising.
Word of advice, get one with headphones.

 

[Markw]

My philosophy on travelling slowly.

1. Not much worth seeing is going to run away and hide because I took a few extra days to get there.

2. People passing me on the road probably have somewhere they need to get to.  Since I don't, I see no need to try to keep up with them.

3. The minimum speed limit will get you there on the same road as the maximum speed limit.

4. Anything worth stopping at, is worth spending another couple of days at.

Will post more later, but that's what I can come up with at the moment.

 

[AmieW]

I used to have to drive to SC 2-3 times a year from FL with my son to visit my mother. We were usually on a schedule to get there, but left enough time for the return to take a different route almost every time. One year, we followed U.S. 301 all the way from Orangeburg, SC to Sarasota, FL, stopping here and there in tiny towns. One year, I was traveling alone and my windshield wipers went out in a terrible storm that was following me just about all the way home once I got off of I-10 onto 301, so instead of hitting I-75 and guaranteeing I'd probably get pulled for no wipers, I went very slowly down 301 in the slow lane. It was Christmas Day, so the roads were very quiet and never saw one cop. Made it home safe and sound with no tickets.

 

[AntiGroundhogDay]

In addition to websites and apps already mentioned, I use: https://www.fieldtripper.com/

 

[highdesertranger]

"How to travel slow", don't press down so hard with your right foot. better MPG too. highdesertranger

 

[WalkaboutTed]

One year, we decided to take the old US 80 road from Phoenix to San Diego. It took us 6 days to drive 400 miles. Is that slow enough?
Ted

 

[rvpopeye]

Perfect