Driving from California to NC

[TC10284]

Have any of you ever driven from California to North Carolina (or vice versa) alone?
If so, how long did it take you total (accounting for sleep/food)?

 

[FP]

I dunno about CA->NC but a friend of mine drove from CA->FL in less than 48 hours on nothing but caffeine, loud music and books on tape.

He almost died doing it so I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[Farang]

Not on personal experience but that of others, 3 days.

 

[BoomerD]

Dude...that's a LONG way...it's gonna take you all fucking afternoon bro...

About 3000 miles depending on starting and ending points, so figure no more than 700 miles per day for comfort. (yes, if you drive like a bat out of hell and drive 15+ hours per day, you can make over 1000 miles/day, but that wears you out pretty badly.)
Figure on hitting a motel by 5 p.m. to have time for a decent meal, a shower and a good night's sleep before hitting the road the next morning.

Of course, you COULD do it just the opposite...sleep all day, drive all night, but unless I'm just trying to make time, I'd rather see where I'm going. Planning to hit major cities at night can be good though...you miss the rush hour traffic.

I drove truck for Fiberform boats out of Spokane when I was just starting out. They also had a plant in Edenton N.C. and we ran between the two plants all the time. A good sleeper team can make it in less than 3 days assuming no problems along the way. If you average 65 mph for the trip, (which allows for slow stretches, gas stops, etc. and the higher speed limits of many states) you have about 47 hours of driving time. Figure closer to 50 for good measure. Drive 4 days, 12 hours/day, and you should be in good shape, and not be wiped out for days when you arrive.

 

[intogamer]

WHy not fly? Gas is teh assrape? + tolls

 

[miri]

I drove from San Diego, CA to Richmond VA by myself.

Left Monday morning and got to North Carolina on Wednesday and then Virginia early Thursday morning. I would take at least another day if I was going to drive that distance again by myself.

Final leg of the trip I drove about 1400 miles straight. Way too long for 1 stretch of driving alone.

So I drove from CA --> VA in about 68 hours

 

[zinfamous]

taking the I40 Bristow>Wilmington route?

 

[indamixx99]

Is driving there a must? Or can you fly instead?

 

[boomhower]

I can't comment on the time but my wife did it in a three cylinder metro, twice.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

:music: East bound and down, loaded up and truckin',
We gonna do what they say can't be done.
We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there.
I'm east bound, just watch ol' "Bandit" run. :music:

 

[TC10284]

Originally posted by: Whoozyerdaddy
:music: East bound and down, loaded up and truckin',
We gonna do what they say can't be done.
We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there.
I'm east bound, just watch ol' "Bandit" run. :music:

lol - nice


As for comments on flying, no flying allowed. This is just a theoretical trip from CA to NC.
So someone leaving last Thursday night (Feb. 14th) should have made the trip already, you think?

 

[M0R0NI]

They should be there by now! That is if they did not do any site seeing on the way.

 

[reeserock]

3 days

 

[OhSnap688]

3 days if you take sleep breaks (which is recommended)

 

[Rage187]

3 days. I did Reno to Charleston SC and we stopped every night for sleep.

 

[IronWing]

It also depends on where in CA and where in NC. Both are largish states. State line to state line could be done in two days if you're an iron ass driver. Crescent City to Hatteras would probably be four days.

 

[EagleKeeper]

4 safe days with no mechanical issues

 

[trmiv]

I've done it, in a motorhome in June of last year. Took us 3 days with two people switching off driving. We drove from Fremont, CA to Las Vegas to pickup the motorhome, and then from Las Vegas straight to Raleigh, NC.

 

[Winchester]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
4 safe days with no mechanical issues

Originally posted by: OhSnap688
3 days if you take sleep breaks (which is recommended)

Texas will be about 2 of those days

~830 miles from El Paso to Texarkana. There are some spots that are now 80MPH now though.


FYI It takes 5.5 hours just to get from Odessa/Midland to San Antonio or ~ 6 hours to get to Dallas with the new speed zone.

 

[trmiv]

Originally posted by: Winchester

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
4 safe days with no mechanical issues

Originally posted by: OhSnap688
3 days if you take sleep breaks (which is recommended)

Texas will be about 2 of those days

~830 miles from El Paso to Texarkana. There are some spots that are now 80MPH now though.


FYI I takes 5.5 hours just to get from Odessa/Midland to San Antonio with the new speed zone.

Texas takes the least of any of the states because you only drive through the top part. The best way is to take 40 all the way across, so you just go through Amarillo. It probably took us 3 hours to go through there, but we slept in Amarillo.

 

[Capt Caveman]

I've driven from Boston to CA and back alone. Took me 5 days each time but I made sight-seeing and visiting friends stops.

For safety, I'd recommend 4 days. If you catch yourself dozing, pull over and take a nap.

 

[TC10284]

edited out - sorry

 

[TC10284]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xN8dP4CoFaw

 

[OdiN]

When I moved to CO, I drove from my parents home in CA to a friends house in CO. It was 1200 miles. I left at midnight. I got there at about 5:00 local time - 14 hours. Doing the math... I averaged 85MPH and I'd believe it. I BOOKED it out here lol. There was not much of any traffic at all from CA through Vegas because it was still early. Utah had nobody out there on the roads. Slower through Denver but not too bad. Traffic was great the whole way. I saw maybe 2...3 cops the whole way.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
4 safe days with no mechanical issues

Yep, I have driven from CT to CA several times.

4 days.

3 days is really pushing it.