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Thread: night travel

  1. #21
    Site Sponsor Steven@147's Avatar
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    Everyone has made valid points for and against, it comes down to what an individual prefers or is used to and managing risk. I used to drive our truck or car a lot at night traveling to see family up north but I wasn't pulling a 37 foot trailer. Visibility, hitting animals, breakdowns, dangerous being seen at night along the road fixing a breakdown, getting help along the road, pulling into a campsite at night are made more difficult driving at night. My wife now can not help drive at night so I'm it, if I get tired and inattentive its not good so while we are pulling the RV we avoid travel at night.

    Truckers, Semi Drivers - I have the highest respect for. My Brother-In-Law and Nephew are drivers. To me Semi Drivers are likely driving a much more robust and reliable rig than I am even though I maintain our rig. If they hit a deer or blow a tire their rig can most likely take it and keep going. If I hit a deer it could destroy the whole front of my truck and visability / reaction time is less at night. Blowing a tire or bearing for whatever reason could severely damage the side of my RV and even make it untowable without a tow truck/dolly and that becomes more difficult at night and my RV does not have dual tires all around.

    Yes you have to be more keenly aware of the traffic around you during the day, expect them to do the unexpected like swoop and squat. Don't get mad and blow your horn, shake your fist or flip them off, that only makes it worse. I've driven our rig through Houston traffic close to rush hour, not the best or worst but man you better have your head on a swivel keeping an eye on traffic every second.

    Manage your risks and sanity.
    Last edited by Steven@147; 10-04-2019 at 09:21 AM.
    Steve & Tami Cass - Escapee's, FMCA Members, Texas Fulltimers Since July 2020
    2019 Solitude 3350RL S-Class, 2018 Ram 3500 DRW, Laramie Longhorn, B&W Companion, Texas Class A Non-CDL Drivers License
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  2. #22
    Seasoned Camper TahoeTrekker's Avatar
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    I too worked a lot of night shifts in Law Enforcement and still am a night owl as they say. We do some night driving but avoid overnight for many of the reasons listed. We sometimes book an extra night so we can stay in out site resting during the day and then hit the road when traffic has died down. We usually have a boondocking location 3 to 5 hours down the road if we're trying to cover some distance, that way we've shortened the next days drive. All depends where we are and where we're trying to get to.
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  3. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Helicopter951 View Post
    Has anyone tried driving the interstates at night to avoid some of the automobile traffic? We are tired of being cut off by cars entering the highway without any thought of yielding.
    So ended up with a perfect comparison this week. Our son moved to N. Carolina, so we decided to visit for his birthday. Planned on leaving right after work, so till I finished packing up we left PA at 8 am. Figured I'd hit D.C. around 11:30 so traffic might be bearable. Nope- 1 hour in and we're at standstill when a big rig hit a bridge abutment and 5 lanes had to get down to 1. Sat for over an hour. Rolling along, get to road construction on 270, sat another 40 minutes getting down to 1 lane. Almost made it thru Richmond, but there was a car fire on opposite side, so another 20 minutes to get 3 lanes down to 2. The best was farther south on 95 and signs to move left, right lane closed. Everyone slowing and moving over, and there wasn't 1 vehicle or worker in the area! What should have been an 8 hour ride turned into 10. And this was with the car no less, couldn't imagine what it would have been like towing. Not sure what we're doing to go home yet. I love driving at night!!

  4. #24
    Long Hauler geotex1's Avatar
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    I am a night owl, and used to drive our long trips exclusively at night. However, my eyes began changing significantly after 40, and my night vision is not at all what it once was! I've always had sensitivity to bright light, and it's personified by the glare of modern headlights! So I minimize the continuous overnight travel now and time travel around rush traffic. Google has made that easy will being able to very traffic history. I also choose more scenic routes as much as possible versus the bustle of the interstates. I also try to remember if you're rushing to vacation, then there's no vacation at all...

  5. #25
    Setting Up Camp hduncan's Avatar
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    We try to make the trip part of the vacation, which means we usually are on the road no later than 6 am and pulling into our stop for the night no later 6 pm. The earlier the better since we typically explore the local area. Driving at night certainly does have some advantages but I prefer daylight to help keep my family and myself safe.

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