Delaware to Cali

[Eshav1234]

Me and 3 friends are driving to cali in July we plan to drive nonstop the whole way only stopping in nevada to see the grand canyons just for half the day. We are going to rotate the driving in shifts so its literally nonstop. 2 people awake and 2 people sleeping and switching off every 10-15 hours. We also plan to only stop when needed for gas and use that same time to stretch/eat/bathroom etc. The date we are leaving gives us about 3 and a half days to 4 days to make it to check in at the rental in LA. Do you think this will be possible in the time frame we made. Any advice or suggestions appreciated!

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

The problem with your plan is that it simply is not safe. You're relying on people to be getting enough rest to safely operate a 2 ton vehicle at 70 mph, when the only sleep they are getting is while sitting up in a moving car. You're also doubling down on the dangers by trying to stop as little as possible - when in fact, on a speed run, you need to be making lots of short stops to keep your body, and mind active.

Even if you do make it without hurting yourself or anyone else, we can promise you that you will be beyond exhausted when you arrive in California - and will likely be unable to enjoy yourselves for several days after reaching the west coast. Plus - half of your group would be on a completely different sleep cycle.

You would do yourselves a huge favor by taking a much more sane approach to this trip - giving yourself 5 days to cover the miles, and stopping for a real night of sleep at least 4 times.

And for the record, the Grand Canyon is not located in Nevada.

[Southwest Dave]

As above, proper sleep and rest is a must on a long journey like this. The journey will be no fun, it will be fraught with danger and if you make it you will be exhausted. If you don't want to take your time and pay for Motels then it's better and safer to fly.

[noFanofCB]

Ever tried sleeping for 10 hours in a car without lying all the way down?
Me either.

Not a very good plan.

What's the point of the trip?

[Eshav1234]

Thanks for all the responses... I feel dumb about the canyon thing i was clueless LOL.. Say we were to make one stop to sleep just for one whole night is it possible to make it there in the time frame needed to get there in time?

[glc]

No, you need to stop and sleep for 4 nights - each way.

[Eshav1234]

Also our jobs all have the craziest hours so all four of us are used to the crazy sleep schedule the trip calls for. I just wanted to know if it was possible without the "exhaustion" obstacle. Also the point of our trip is to get to cali as fast as possible and maybe pick one place we all wanna see and make that the one and only longer stop

[Eshav1234]

4 nights...?

[Midwest Michael]

Listen, you're going to do what you're going to do, but we can't make it more clear than we've already said.

If you want to safely operate a 2 ton machine at 70+ mph, you need real rest. You can't safely operate such a machine when all you are getting for rest is naps in a moving car. It's a simple fact of how the human body works - and no, there is nothing about you or your friends that will make you special or exempt from those biological laws. Attempting to break those biological laws means at some point during the trip your fatigue levels will make you every bit as dangerous as a drunk driver.

In other words, exhaustion is not just an obstacle that can be dismissed or overcome.

4 nights of real sleep is the bare minimum you need on a trip of this length if you care about safety.

[Eshav1234]

So are you saying its immoposible to actually sleep for 7-8 hours in a moving car? Because when i drove to vermont I slept to make the time go by and when i woke up I was there! i slept the whole 7ish hours!