driving from ny to seattle in 2-3 days?

[rdelia]

Im getting ready to move to seattle in october and Im not sure if i should just fly and ship my car or drive it. The thing is I want to make it across the country in 2-3 days. Does anyone think this can happen? And what would the expenses be if im not planning to sleep in a hotel?

Thanks

[Mass Tim]

Welcome to the RoadTrip America Forum!

Generally, driving across the country takes 5 days. The trip you are looking at is roughly 2800 miles - to get there in two days, you would have to average 1400 miles a day, 58 mph, for every single hour of the day. How you would do that while you are sleeping is beyond me. So, no, it cannot happen safely.

Is there a reason that this trip has to happen in such a short period of time? Or do you just want to make the trip 2-3 days? If you had a week or a bit more, then you could make an enjoyable road trip out of the move.

[rdelia]

well I didnt want to stop anywhere for sightseeing and there will be 2 of us driving...we actually drive all day in the tristate area for a living and we are used to catching sleep in a vehicle for 2-4 hours at a time. I didnt think it would be possible thats why i wanted advice. we are trying to keep the costs down thats why we want to get there in a hurry.

also would u happen to know the estimated costs?

[Mark Sedenquist]

also would u happen to know the estimated costs?

Here is a good place to begin your budgeting plans.

Mark

[roadkill]

Also, to get an idea of gas prices, you could go to Gasbuddy.com and look at gas prices in areas along your route. They also have a "Gas prices temperature map" that shows the cost of gas in terms of color

Being from the Seattle Area If I were to come here from New York, I would take the most direct Route from the east coast, which would be I-90. Going East-West, I-90 starts in Boston, and ends in Seattle. Portions of I-90 are Toll east of the Mississippi so that would have to be taken into account. West of the Mississippi, there are pretty much no tolls on I-90. On I-90, You will be traveling through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, & Washington. According to the current Map (At time of posting) the cheapest gas on the route is in Ohio, Wyoming, and especially Idaho.

You didn't state WHERE in NY you were coming from, but I-90 goes through the following areas of NY:
Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Albany, & Niverville

I make a 2100 mile trip ever year in about 4 days, that's with just me driving 8-11 hours a day. So if you drive in Shifts of 11 hours you MIGHT be able to in 3 days, but that is pushing it. From Buffalo to Seattle is about 2635 Miles.
About 535 miles longer then my annual drive. Round off the Buffalo-Seattle mileage to about 2700 miles and that will give you a decent gas figure for that stretch alone. Gas prices vary by location, so again, go to gas buddy to find gas prices along your Route. Also, you say you are used to sleeping in vehicles, so if you do drive shifts, you can pretty much eliminate the lodging costs.

I beleive they call I-90 the New York State Thruway in NY.

I know that in Washington, Idaho, and Montana, the highest Interstate speed limits are about 70 MPH.

[casioqv]

I've driven from Corvallis, OR (80 miles south of Portland) to Washington DC in 3 days. The distance was about 2,900 miles and we drove about 75mph the whole way in 10 hour shifts with two drivers, taking 4 hour stops each day. We had a 1979 mercedes and drove the whole way on biodiesel. With two drivers I think the trip would be possible in two days if you wanted to push hard. We had a third person along, but he didn't drive.

What kind of vehicle do you have? We used about 116 gallons of biodiesel, which cost about $350 USD. We also purchased mobil 1 oil, and a new water pump before the trip, making the cost about $450 USD. We slept in the car, and food was free, as a friend gave us BP gift cards his credit card company had sent him.

[casioqv]

Driving 2900 miles in 48 hours requires an average speed of about 60mph. There are areas where you will have to slow down, but there are many wide open streches of road where 75-80mph can be sustained for long periods of time. If you don't stop to rest, just for food and fuel and take turns sleeping in the car this is very possible.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Driving 2900 miles in 48 hours requires an average speed of about 60mph.

This might be possible if one never had to stop for fuel, food or rest or accomodate traffic delays. I have driven ~ 750,000 miles in recent years -- I can guarantee that if you want to cover 2900 miles in 48 hours (of actual real-life travel) you will need to drive at a minimum of 97 mph. In the real world, we recommend that no one drive more than 650 miles per day (which is about 11 hours of travel). I have driven from Seattle to NYC in under three days, but the vehicle I was driving only stopped for fuel (no extra food or rest breaks) and I had another professional driver with me.

It can be done -- but it will be brutal.

Mark

[casioqv]

In the real world, we recommend that no one drive more than 650 miles per day (which is about 11 hours of travel).

I agree, 11 hours a day is a reasonable safe maximum for each driver, but with two drivers, and sleeping and eating accomodations for the other driver in car 22 hours a day is possible in the real world. I have done this many times, in four different vehicles which were all diesel, and able to go long distances between refueling. It's not easy or comfortable, but it doesn't require speeds more than 10mph above the speed limit.

A 60mph average speed can be maintained on US freeways formany days with two drivers, including all required stops as I have done it myself. I and my co-driver(s) are not professional drivers, but we are experienced long distance drivers.

[Mark Sedenquist]

A 60mph average speed can be maintained on US freeways for many days with two drivers

A computed average speed of 60 mph over the course of a 2900 mile trip is considerably different than actually driving an average speed of 60 mph. In order to achieve a 60 mph average speed, the driver of any vehicle will have to exceed the posted speed limits in virtually any jurisdiction in America for most of the day. I have placed "black box" devices in a variety of vehicles with a variety of drivers and have a very good database of data-points for highways and commuter routes all over the USA and Canada. Anyone who drives 2900 miles in less than three days is exceeding the speed limits by an average 10 to 25 mph on any stretch of that route.

Mark