Driving cross country

[scottyrocks]

Very soon we are moving from NY to CO.

One of the many things I have to figure out is automobile transportation. The distance is 1800 miles.

We have three cars. My '63 Beetle is definitely going by truck. My wife and a friend of hers are going to tag team drive our Forester because we have two 12+ year old dogs that most likely wouldn't survive being knocked out in kennels in the cargo hold of an airplane.

My quandary is whether to fly or drive my Civic.

I don't want to fly out there and be without a car until it would arrive by truck.

The drive would take 3 days at about 500 miles per day. I know I can do this in about 10 hours per day with stops as I have done 1-day 500 mile NY to Ohio/Ohio to NY drives a number of times.

So my main concern is overnights. I don't want to camp, and I don't want to sleep in my car on the side of the road.

Is it even feasible to expect to be able to pull into a random hotel after dark and get a room without a reservation? Or should I, as carefully as possible, plot it all out on a map, locating hotels every 500 or so miles and hope I get there at a reasonable hour each night?

For anyone who has experience with this type of drive, your advice would be greatly appreciated.
_________________
“If you care for a thing long enough, it takes on a life of its own, doesn't it? Mending old things, preserving them, looking after them – on some level there's no rational grounds for it.”
– D. Tartt, 'The Goldfinch'

[markswagen]

why not air b&b, l've not rented one, as we only travel by vanagon, so we always have a bed.
_________________
markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.

619 201 0310

[airschooled]

I did Milwaukee to San Diego round trip a few years ago, and planned on camping in the bus. When nightly lows were below 20f, I got hotels, which ended up being 9/10 nights…. There was only one rural stretch in Kansas where I got a sketchy room that didn’t lock all the way. The other nights I was able to get a nice 2-3 star hotel/motel for 100-200 a night, depending on the day of the week.

Use all the discount apps you can, then call the hotel before dinner with your info and tell them the price you will pay on the app. (Not the advertised price, but the checkout price after taxes and fees.) I have never found a hotel that wouldn’t match the online price. Most are small business or franchise-owned that respect you booking through them. They’d rather cut $20 off the price for you than cut $20 off for an app that takes 30%.

Hotel Tonight is my favorite app for finding who is open, has deals, or has certain amenities I want. (Always breakfast, don’t care about WiFi or pool…)

Interstates have tons of options, but Blue Highways have fun themed and kitschy places that you’ll remember long after the move is done.

Robbie
_________________
One-on-one tech help for your vintage Volkswagen:

www.airschooled.com

https://www.patreon.com/airschooled

[mukluk]

I've done many long road trips like you describe, just driving and relying on chance that a room can be found when I wanted to stop, and on only one occasion did I completely strike out on finding a hotel/motel room to stay in and had to sleep in the car. Typically the worst that would happen is the first town I looked was full up, but I'd find something available within an hour's drive farther down the road.

If you're risk averse or generally tend to stress easily, planning the route out and making reservations beforehand would be a good choice.

Either way, in my opinion driving is the much better method of getting where you need to go if you have the choice. The views are better, the food is definitely better, and you have the opportunity to see some cool attractions and make memories along the way. Plus it's always nice to have your own wheels when you get to your destination.
_________________
1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[Abscate]

[oprn]

Never done it that way. On trips longer than a day the wife and I tag team the driving. Fill up at 10PM (the car is good for 10 hours on a tank) and take turns driving and sleeping. Usually 2 to 3 hour shifts.

If we take the Buggy (3.5 hour range) we carry several full Jerry cans.

_________________
Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[Cusser]

Mrs. Cusser and I have done the "just look for a place as it got around dinnertime" thing, even when we traveled with the kids, but that was over 25 years ago. We had the information books from AAA, and of course, before cell phones.

In 1986, we had driven to Carmel/Monterey and all was booked or out of budget, we stayed in next-door Seaside. Returning, we just found a place in Bakersfield.

In 1994, on a drive from Arizona to Iowa with the kids, we stayed overnight in Tucumcari NM about a mile off the Interstate; small motel with a pool, and pizza place across the road, kids loved it. Returning, just found a place near Pueblo CO and another near Window Rock or Winslow.
_________________
1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[Max Welton]

[Teeroy]

Get lodging and food as you go, not stuck with a route or time deadline that way. You may have a day where you want to keep driving, or see a sign for something you want to see. With a smart phone it will almost always (unless you are really in the sticks) bring up food and lodging options. We have done many trips in the car and on the bike this way, and only one time going through Utah, we needed to hit the next town for a room
_________________
Pres. Rivercity VW Club www.rcvwclub.org
Founder Derr Wheat Panzers (DWP)
ARR #3
www.autosportsnorthwest.org

[67rustavenger]

I've driven I40, I80, I90 many times traveling coast to coast. I never needed a reservation at any hotel during those travels.

The only time I have had an issue finding a room for the night was during a snow event when the roadways were closed. Then finding a room becomes a challenge.

Traveling with dogs will slow you down a bit. They need pee breaks, so you need to factor that into your daily mileage driven.
_________________
I have learned over the years.
Cheap parts are gonna disappoint you.
Buy Once, Cry Once!

There's never enough time to do it right the first time. But there's always enough time to do it thrice.
GFY's Xevin and VW_Jimbo!
2003 Astrovan? GFYS again, Xevin!

[ALLWAGONS]

I have driven many times by car from Los Angeles to Guadalajara Mexico, about 1250 miles by car, both in modern cars and in aircooled VW's. Easy task. 24hr drive non-stop, 4 hr driving shifts. My job as a copilot is to cater to the pilot's needs. water, soda, food , tell jokes and vice versa. Had a blast every single time.
_________________
I'd be UNSTOPPABLE if not for Law Enforcement and PHYSICS.

I recycle old cars and parts, other than when I rot, that's as Green as I am going to get.

Thanks to my Tesla driving neighbors, I feel more relaxed driving my SUBURBAN and old VW's.

Everything sounds good on paper!

[scottyrocks]

[scottyrocks]

[Dusty1]

[scottyrocks]

[Dusty1]

Few years back a buddy called.

"Cam you help me move?" he asked.

A friend will help you move. A true friend will help you move a body.

I said, "SURE!"

Buddy then told me (over the phone) where I could pick up the 24' U-Haul he reserved. He told me he and the wifey were already out west. I simply had to load up his three bedroom New England farm house with front parlor, back parlor, formal dining room w/ canning cupboards, large mirrors and oriental rugs in every room. Oh, yeah. The two vintage motorcycles went in first.

I did it because I'm a dumb- ass on some level. I would do it again just not for that particular buddy and if you're wondering, he asked. That kind of thing is one per customer.

Easy- peasy. That ride was mostly down I-81 then across I-40. I would do I-70 to Colorado because I have less seat time on 70 than I do on 90, 80, 40 and 10.

80 might be a little sketchy weather- wise for another month, 90 more so. Although... there's no need to go anywhere near 90 for your trip.

You get a good measure of Pennsylvania when you drive I-80 all the way through.

One of these days I'd like to do Route 50. 66 gets all the glory. 50 is the real Mother Road. I'd like to start in Nevada and end up eatin' crabs in Maryland.

.
.

[TDCTDI]

[Abscate]

I moved out of a 30 year 8 person family house to a small ranch on Long Island 5 years ago. Pros moved the furniture, I moved belongings in 26 foot Uhauls x3

They should not rent such a large truck to “ civilians” . These things are too big for the inexperienced.
_________________
🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🍊 🍊 🍊

[cbeck]

We travel with the rv a lot. By 1 or 2 pm we have an idea how much further we care to go. We will make a reservation at this time so we arent scrambling for a place.to stay.. Campgrounds/rv parks have become real crowded since covid.
_________________
My cut in half and rebuild thread
www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=647779

[hobthebob]

Well, I've done some traveling and I've made it planned and also unplanned. In the unplanned examples, I did stop at hotels randomly and make day-of hour-of reservations. Will you get the best deal? Probably not, and you'll save some cash reserving ahead, but it does give you some flexibility. I'd go hotel all day long over Airbnb, simply for the fact that it's usually about the same price and you get included breakfast. If you wanna find a "deal" on an Airbnb, you may have to stay in a dangerous neighborhood or worry about cameras spying on you in the shower! Maybe they have an only fans for old wrinkly men, and you didn't know you were on it!