For 2,000+ Mile Round-Trip Drivers Only! (III)

[dvczerfs]

Originally Posted by stazmatic

Looking for some advice.
For about 5 of the last 7 trips we have rented a 15 passenger van for 12 of us to drive down. There is zero cargo space but we cram everything in and make do. It is pretty squished and we drive straight through both ways from north of Chicago to Disney. We have no interest in stopping at a hotel on the way there.
This last trip we flew and took a Mercedes sprinter van home from the airport. It comfortably seats 12 and has a huge cargo area, plus the roof is so tall we can stand comfortably when we need to stretch our legs (not when the car is moving obviously)
So for this spring break do I rent the stand by 15 pass for $600 total or do I rent the sprinter van for $1800 total? Obviously there will still be gas and tolls for either car, but those are the prices for the car and unlimited miles.

to quote Ron Whites inlaws................ " nothing rides like a mercedes benz "

we drive one, not the sprinter but i have to say out of all the cars i have driven. M.B. is it!!!

[theyoungs07]

We own a Sprinter and love it...if you are splitting the costs, maybe everyone will be up for spending more each for the Sprinter. They are also safer in rollover situations.

Are your passengers adults or tall kids? Most Chevy/Ford 15/12 pass vans have benches without headrests which is extremely dangerous in the case of an accident.

[theyoungs07]

Also, my Sprinter gets 20-22mpg on highway, you'll be lucky to get 14 in the others. 50% better mileage for fuel that normally costs 10% more (around my place in IL, not sure in the south)

1200 is a lot of money difference, good luck.

[stazmatic]

Thanks for the advice. We own a Mercedes E320 and love it! Would love to own a Sprinter, but it's not in the budget for now.
Most of the people on the trip are adults or kids well over 5 ft tall so safety with the seats is a great consideration - thank you!

[sharadoc]

Originally Posted by Chuck-PA

I have been a lurker for a long time. We just purchased our first AP's.
Airfare seems expensive lately, so we are considering driving. It would be 2 adults 50 plus. We drove over 18 years ago and we don't remember all of the details from back then.
We live about 3 blocks from I-95, in Philadelphia, Woodhaven exit.

My question is roughly how much do you spend on gas, hotels, food, etc both ways.? I think the mileage is about 1,024 miles.
Also, what do you do differently, to make the ride home not as bad.?

Thanks for any info.

Hi. We're right about the same mileage as you, we use 100 gallons of gas round trip so the prevailing price per gallon x 100 is our gas cost. Then we spend around $120 a night for hotels each way (we like a suite, but even a regular room will run around $75.) We pack food in the car for everything but dinner on the first day, which runs around $60 for 4 of us. So, total round trip cost is usually around $600 to $700. A few years ago, it was around $450-500.

[Shir Kahn]

Well, it happened again. Second straight trip we've driven more than 4000 miles roundtrip with zero problems only to have something happen to our vehicle shortly after arriving home. Last time, the day after we got back, someone smashed in one of our windows so they could steal a gps mount and a wire. About 25 minutes ago, someone ran into our parked RVR and smashed in the drivers side front bumper and lights. Love paying those deductibles.

[DSLRuser]

Originally Posted by Shir Kahn

someone smashed in one of our windows so they could steal a gps mount and a wire. .

That stinks.

When I park, at home or on vacation, the inside of the car is spotless. No trash, no blankets, not a single cell phone charger. i want to give zero reasons for someone to attempt a smash and grab.

[Shir Kahn]

Originally Posted by DSLRuser

That stinks.

When I park, at home or on vacation, the inside of the car is spotless. No trash, no blankets, not a single cell phone charger. i want to give zero reasons for someone to attempt a smash and grab.

Yeah, I do that too. The gps mount and wire were in the compartment between the seats, not even visible.

[mrjef]

I am excited to find this thread! We live in central Indiana and drive down at least once a year. We just do qualify for the 2000+ mile roundtrip club. Our commute to WDW is basically 1000 miles from front door to WDW. We are weird and really like the drive. I will have to do some research to see how many times we have made the drive. Our route is I65 to I24 to I75 to the FL Turnpike (SR 91) to I4 to WDW. Often we will also sneak in a quick stay at New Smyrna Beach at the beginning or end of our trip only adding to our roundtrip mileage?

What classifies as a "non-stop" trip? I am assuming that means you drive straight through without spending the night in a Hotel. If someone is truly making a non-stop trip, they either have a bladder of steel, wear depends (gross), or have good aim in bottle (again gross). Speaking of bladder of steel on our last return home, we made back with only stopping two times! That is two stops with two adults and five kids (ages: 9,7,4,2,2). That has to be some kind of record! I am not sure we will ever duplicate or better that trip.

[sharadoc]

Originally Posted by mrjef

I am excited to find this thread! We live in central Indiana and drive down at least once a year. We just do qualify for the 2000+ mile roundtrip club. Our commute to WDW is basically 1000 miles from front door to WDW. We are weird and really like the drive. I will have to do some research to see how many times we have made the drive. Our route is I65 to I24 to I75 to the FL Turnpike (SR 91) to I4 to WDW. Often we will also sneak in a quick stay at New Smyrna Beach at the beginning or end of our trip only adding to our roundtrip mileage?

What classifies as a "non-stop" trip? I am assuming that means you drive straight through without spending the night in a Hotel. If someone is truly making a non-stop trip, they either have a bladder of steel, wear depends (gross), or have good aim in bottle (again gross). Speaking of bladder of steel on our last return home, we made back with only stopping two times! That is two stops with two adults and five kids (ages: 9,7,4,2,2). That has to be some kind of record! I am not sure we will ever duplicate or better that trip.

Welcome. A lot of us on here are "weird" too! Yes, you're correct, by non-stop we mean no sleeping overnight anywhere. Potty breaks are acceptable

[LadyBeBop]

Originally Posted by mrjef

I am excited to find this thread! We live in central Indiana and drive down at least once a year. We just do qualify for the 2000+ mile roundtrip club. Our commute to WDW is basically 1000 miles from front door to WDW.

We live fairly close to you. We're in the Cincinnati area.

We are weird and really like the drive.

You are not weird.

Often we will also sneak in a quick stay at New Smyrna Beach at the beginning or end of our trip only adding to our roundtrip mileage?

We're actually at about 1,800 miles round trip. But we stay offsite, so we always travel a couple of hundred miles around the Orlando area to build it up to 2,000. Last time (2010), we departed a day early to beat an snowstorm that was hitting the Tennessee mountains. Because we would arrive a day early, we took a side trip to Tarpon Springs. That added onto the mileage. This time, we're taking our youngest daughter. She doesn't have many vacation days left, so no side trips here. Besides, we shouldn't have a snowstorm in Tennessee in October.

I hope.

Speaking of bladder of steel on our last return home, we made back with only stopping two times! That is two stops with two adults and five kids (ages: 9,7,4,2,2). That has to be some kind of record! I am not sure we will ever duplicate or better that trip.

In other words, you only stopped every 330 to 340 miles? Wow. We always have to stop every 150 to 200 miles. At least, to give the driver a break.

[DSLRuser]

Originally Posted by LadyBeBop

In other words, you only stopped every 330 to 340 miles? Wow. We always have to stop every 150 to 200 miles. At least, to give the driver a break.

From st. louis e stop about every 300 miles. paucha KY, north of Atlanta, and Ocala Florida.

My wife takes the 1st and last stint, that gives me the 2 in the middle which happen to be over night. Leave at 6pm, arrive at 11am.

But, i have done all 1008 miles and 16 hours straight by myself. stopping twice for gas at the 450 mile mark each tank.

[NJRRK]

Originally Posted by DSLRuser

From st. louis e stop about every 300 miles. paucha KY, north of Atlanta, and Ocala Florida.

My wife takes the 1st and last stint, that gives me the 2 in the middle which happen to be over night. Leave at 6pm, arrive at 11am.

But, i have done all 10008 miles and 16 hours straight by myself. stopping twice for gas at the 450 mile mark each tank.

Wow 10,008 miles non stop, and only 16 hours, are you sure you stay on land?

Lol, but it was a funny typo.

[theyoungs07]

I'll jump in here. We drive about 1200 miles each way from N IL (NOT CHICAGO). We always stop on the way so we aren't too drained when we get there. 2008, 2010, and will April 2013. In 2010 we decided to try going through Alabama to avoid hitting ATL during a busy time...it was a mistake I think. We still got stuck in traffic in Birmingham, got to dodge armadillos late at night, and I can't say that I liked the panhandle very much.

This time my goal is to leave early AM, and if kids allow, get through ATL late the same night...then stop. My wife gets very nervous driving Monteagle at night, so we're hoping to hit it before sundown.

With a pile of young kids, I've always thought driving through the night might be a good idea, but then my wife reminds me of how my mood is when sleep deprived :-).

[Gumbo4x4]

Originally Posted by DSLRuser

From st. louis e stop about every 300 miles. paucha KY, north of Atlanta, and Ocala Florida.

My wife takes the 1st and last stint, that gives me the 2 in the middle which happen to be over night. Leave at 6pm, arrive at 11am.

But, i have done all 10008 miles and 16 hours straight by myself. stopping twice for gas at the 450 mile mark each tank.

We'd never make it. We're about an hour West of STL and Paducah is always stop 2 or even 3