13 Hour Drive

serotonins

formerly maroki
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Sep 13, 2012
Longest drive i have ever done... Any tips? planning to drive half 7 hours first day then sleeping in my car? or motel... then waking up and driving the rest.

Driving from DC to St Louis. Passing directly through louisville, ky

tips will be aprreciated!
 
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I've done a 13 hour drive in the past, Tucson,AZ to Sacremento, CA. My pops drove the first 6 hours while I slept, then I drove the next 7 hours while he slept. It wasn't bad because I wasn't alone, which I'm assuming you will be alone. My main advice would be don't drive when you're dead tired, it's a recipe for disaster. Soon as you're drowsy pull over somewhere and get some sleep
 
Drove from Boise, ID to San Francisco, CA for my first long road. Wasn't too bad until I reached Nevada where it got mountainous and I really had to concentrate on the descent and sharp turns while trying to stay awake.
 
Definitely stop somewhere for the night. I usually try to stop in or around a larger city so I can get out and grab some beers. It's fun meeting random people in a new town when drinking is involved.

Just don't go too hard or that next day of driving will suuuuuuuuuck. Been there, done that. :smh:
 
So my freshman year of college I drove from Portland to LA over winter break to see a girl. Made the drive non stop over 12 hours. Was dead *** tired, got there and had maybe 2 hours of sleep then woke up and we went to disneyland. Later that evening I drove over a slight hill and was a bit sleepy and looked at my ipod(hey, this was 2005) and before I knew it the only car on the road was at a stoplight right in front of us. Needless to say I totalled my car, no available flights home so I ended up taking the damn train. Also had not told my parents where I was going so had to make the worst phone call of my life :smh:

So OP, I would suggest stopping when you are tired. Don't do what I did.
 
That's a wild story bro.
I've driven from LA to SF.
Busted an all nighter. Finally like around 7am I had to stop and rest.
 
I've driven from Seattle to LA which was about 18 hours. Go to rest stops whenever you feel tired. I like to listen to audiobooks or stand up comedy while driving, it helps me stay focus for some reason.
 
Why don't you just wake up at 5, pack everthing in the car overnight and head out before 6am? You will get there by the end of the day.

Podcasts, phone calls with old buddies , eat lightly and healthy,no greasy foods. You don't want to #2 in some random spots or have it slow you down. Bring gum/skittles. Pop an aleve, it will reduce cramps and muscle aches. Drink a redline. If you can't keep your eyes up go to a safe area and sleep. Make markers and goals for yourself, 1 hour snack, 2 hour bathroom, 4 hour lunch stuff like that. You will go insane and consider quitting if you keep counting down from 13 hours.

And it's winter so bring extra blankets, battery cables, chains? In the west coast, roads can shutdown at any moment due to weather.
 
Dude I drove 18 hours straight from Louisiana to DC and only took at 30 minute nap cause my mind could not mentality keep going when I got to Virginia.

And you are talking about 13 hours...

I would drive 10 sleep then drive the rest.
 
But also advice. I had a lot of music and also drank alot of red bull. Every time I stopped for gas I got a red bull. Felt my body started to reject all the sugar. Keep snacks on deck.
 
Drove from NJ/NY to Houston,TX which is 24hrs. No red bulls or anything. Lots of water,fruits and small snacks and plenty of music. Easy ride....

Made one overnight hotel stop so my body could rest completely and any pit stop I had to make took a brief nap in the car somewhere safe or in a hotel parking lot. Never take naps in those rest stop areas especially at night.
 
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Tape a tablet to the passenger side of the windshield so you can watch some shows.
 
I'd get a gallon of water and some food and just drive it. That's not that bad. I've driven from Seattle to mpls in one day. :lol: you can go 100+ a lot of the way though on 90 though so that's a plus. No one cares and everyone does it.
 
Why don't you just wake up at 5, pack everthing in the car overnight and head out before 6am? You will get there by the end of the day.

Podcasts, phone calls with old buddies , eat lightly and healthy,no greasy foods. You don't want to #2 in some random spots or have it slow you down. Bring gum/skittles. Pop an aleve, it will reduce cramps and muscle aches. Drink a redline. If you can't keep your eyes up go to a safe area and sleep. Make markers and goals for yourself, 1 hour snack, 2 hour bathroom, 4 hour lunch stuff like that. You will go insane and consider quitting if you keep counting down from 13 hours.

And it's winter so bring extra blankets, battery cables, chains? In the west coast, roads can shutdown at any moment due to weather.
Agree with waking up early.  I drove from Iowa City to Gettysburg (about 13 hours if you drive straight through) in one day.  Stopped for lunch and supper so it turned into 15 hours, but was glad to knock it out in a day.  
 
13 hours really isnt that bad.

You rest up good before you leave you can knock it out in one shot.
 
Yea 13 isnt bad once you get going. I drove cross country 36 hrs over 3 days. 13 hrs first day 13 hrs second then 10 hrs
 
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Driven from Tucson AZ to San Diego and a separate trip Madison WI to Minneapolis MN. 6-7 hours and 5 hours respectively. I barely drink coffee so a couple of those kept me awake.
 
I've done Baltimore to Chicago. About 10-11 hours of driving and about 2 hours worth of stops (gas, bathroom, food). I didn't ride with anyone else. I did this solo.

It wasn't that bad, I pretty much played old albums that I didn't listen to in a while. Also helps to speak with someone on the phone. Went to sleep as soon as I got to my destination.
 
im in Baltimore.

drove to talahassee FL on a Friday. drove back on the next day...

forgot how many hours it took.
 
Drove from south shore Kentucky to grand rapids Michigan that took a while I wanna say atleast 8/9 hrs at like 2am and it was like 10 degrees out I was told when making late night long distance trips never let the passenger sleep so I opened the sun roof, had the windows down, and had my music pretty much on full blast--my boy still slept through that ****
 
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