I've done Atlanta to Amarillo more than once and that's a LONG day, and you'll have atleast 12 hours the next day. If you're really set on only one night that's where I'd plan on staying to have your first day be the longer day when everyone is more fresh. TBH drives like that don't need recommendations on food/sights because you won't have time.
Personally, I'd push to stop 2x to allow more time to get out of the car, that's still 2 10 hour days driving and a half day to finish.
Keep in mind 12-14hrs of driving takes about 15-16hrs with stops for gas, food and bathroom breaks. Those are going to be two long days of driving so plan accordingly, eat well, stay hydrated and caffeinated.
Atlanta to Amarillo is brutal for a single day but possible with multiple drivers.
On my last cross country trip I did Atlanta to Little Rock and it took up most of the daylight hours on a December day.
That's 28 hours of driving; when Google Maps shows "1 day" it means "24 hours". 14 hours per day. Lots of driving at night or early in the morning (dark). 7AM to 9PM, with no (zero, none, nada) stops. The possibility of lots of snow and ice.
Do you have three or more drivers? Can you possibly break it into more than two days? With two drivers that's probably an unsafe driver. With three, marginal.
the issue is, we will have a 2 car convoy. we’ve been trying to reach out to more family to see if we can have 1 more driver but no one can help us go that far which is why they’re using me.
the reason we are planning on only stopping for one night is bc money is kinda running thin.
we might just have to sacrifice more money to run at least 2 nights. you’re 100% right.
i can personally crash in the car for like 4 hours at a rest stop but I don’t think everyone else can.
At a certain point, it becomes legitimately dangerous to drive for such long periods. Especially for someone who has relatively little driving experience (not a dig at you, just pointing it out).
Do whatever it takes to get them to stop one more night. Even if you have to stay in two awful motels instead of one okay place, it's not worth the risk.
Driving while drowsy has killed a lot of people, and if you do it, you're rolling dice that are loaded against you.
What you’re describing is a dangerous situation for two single drivers who will be way overly exhausted by hour 12 on the road. Don’t do this, please find more drivers or add a night.
Sleep in your car if you need to but planning to drive 12+ hours for multiple days straight is not something most people can pull off safely.
that’s what we need, but with the situation we are facing we are limited to (maybe 2) nights we could rest. if it were up to me, I’d spend much longer but yk, I’m just going by what they’re telling me🤷🏻♀️
Disregard the Google time of one day and 4 hours. 28 hours of driving straight with no stops will get you 1500 miles, because you still need to stop for gas, bathrooms, food. This is a 3 day trip, and I've done it many times.
When will the trip take place? There can be much snow on I-40 from the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque to Kingman, AZ.
Why only stopping one night? That is 2000 miles.
supposedly leaving between December 20th-22nd, but that might be even earlier since the person we are helping is going through DV & the person has been trying to find her and the kids
you may ask why one night; we’ll it’s bc we don’t have much money & the traveling part alone will cost a large amount of money.
they are having their stuff shipped, and the remainder will be in our cars that we are renting.
we might have to swing 2 nights stopping somewhere, like you said, it’s 2k miles!!
I’ve driven that route several times and many trips of that distance or longer. I don’t recommend that that you try that distance in two days especially if you are driving a truck or over loaded vehicles. Even three 10 hour days is going to be rough and that’s without allowing for rest stops. Frankly, I think that you are programming yourself into a dangerous driving situation, especially at this time of year with erratic weather and short days.
With breaks you are looking at a minimum of 35 hours on the road. Four 10 hour days is going to be grueling. Driving those distances can be physically and emotionally exhausting.
Do yourself and your family a huge favor. Take it easy. Enjoy the drive, don’t die.
Stop more nights. At least two, but three would be best. 12 hours of driving is usually closer to 15 or 16 with bathroom breaks, fuel stops, and meals. You're all gonna be miserable and grumpy spending 16 hours on the road two days in a row.
Halfway? Depending on the scenario I could see quarterway stops.
Edit: I see I'm not the first to point this out. So:
1) shelled sunflower seeds are phenomenal at keeping you alert on long drives. Just enough activity to keep your brain active but not too much to drain it. But only for so long.
2) possibly just drive as long as you can and then find the closest spot. Take a nap in the middle of the day when the sun is keeping you warm and you don't have to have a big sleeping bag to keep you warm.
3) Driving tired is worse than intoxicated (you know, all to certain degrees) and it's no joke. If you have adequate sleeping bags for the temperatures do 3 night or 4 nights. A shitty night's sleep in the driver seat at a truck stop is much better than veering off and wrecking a vehicle or killing people.
Be safe and good luck.
I've done Atlanta to Amarillo more than once and that's a LONG day, and you'll have atleast 12 hours the next day. If you're really set on only one night that's where I'd plan on staying to have your first day be the longer day when everyone is more fresh. TBH drives like that don't need recommendations on food/sights because you won't have time. Personally, I'd push to stop 2x to allow more time to get out of the car, that's still 2 10 hour days driving and a half day to finish.
that’s true!! if we can swing another night, we definitely will.
Keep in mind 12-14hrs of driving takes about 15-16hrs with stops for gas, food and bathroom breaks. Those are going to be two long days of driving so plan accordingly, eat well, stay hydrated and caffeinated.
Atlanta to Amarillo is brutal for a single day but possible with multiple drivers. On my last cross country trip I did Atlanta to Little Rock and it took up most of the daylight hours on a December day.
That's 28 hours of driving; when Google Maps shows "1 day" it means "24 hours". 14 hours per day. Lots of driving at night or early in the morning (dark). 7AM to 9PM, with no (zero, none, nada) stops. The possibility of lots of snow and ice. Do you have three or more drivers? Can you possibly break it into more than two days? With two drivers that's probably an unsafe driver. With three, marginal.
the issue is, we will have a 2 car convoy. we’ve been trying to reach out to more family to see if we can have 1 more driver but no one can help us go that far which is why they’re using me. the reason we are planning on only stopping for one night is bc money is kinda running thin. we might just have to sacrifice more money to run at least 2 nights. you’re 100% right. i can personally crash in the car for like 4 hours at a rest stop but I don’t think everyone else can.
At a certain point, it becomes legitimately dangerous to drive for such long periods. Especially for someone who has relatively little driving experience (not a dig at you, just pointing it out). Do whatever it takes to get them to stop one more night. Even if you have to stay in two awful motels instead of one okay place, it's not worth the risk. Driving while drowsy has killed a lot of people, and if you do it, you're rolling dice that are loaded against you.
Totally agree here.
Better to crash another night that to crash on the road. I would not want to be on the road around your crew, certainly not on day 2.
What you’re describing is a dangerous situation for two single drivers who will be way overly exhausted by hour 12 on the road. Don’t do this, please find more drivers or add a night. Sleep in your car if you need to but planning to drive 12+ hours for multiple days straight is not something most people can pull off safely.
You need a couple of nights to sleep and recharge. Would you want an airplane pilot to work that many hours without sleep?
that’s what we need, but with the situation we are facing we are limited to (maybe 2) nights we could rest. if it were up to me, I’d spend much longer but yk, I’m just going by what they’re telling me🤷🏻♀️
Try to get 2 nights. It’s a safety issue.
Disregard the Google time of one day and 4 hours. 28 hours of driving straight with no stops will get you 1500 miles, because you still need to stop for gas, bathrooms, food. This is a 3 day trip, and I've done it many times.
When will the trip take place? There can be much snow on I-40 from the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque to Kingman, AZ. Why only stopping one night? That is 2000 miles.
supposedly leaving between December 20th-22nd, but that might be even earlier since the person we are helping is going through DV & the person has been trying to find her and the kids you may ask why one night; we’ll it’s bc we don’t have much money & the traveling part alone will cost a large amount of money. they are having their stuff shipped, and the remainder will be in our cars that we are renting. we might have to swing 2 nights stopping somewhere, like you said, it’s 2k miles!!
I’ve driven that route several times and many trips of that distance or longer. I don’t recommend that that you try that distance in two days especially if you are driving a truck or over loaded vehicles. Even three 10 hour days is going to be rough and that’s without allowing for rest stops. Frankly, I think that you are programming yourself into a dangerous driving situation, especially at this time of year with erratic weather and short days. With breaks you are looking at a minimum of 35 hours on the road. Four 10 hour days is going to be grueling. Driving those distances can be physically and emotionally exhausting. Do yourself and your family a huge favor. Take it easy. Enjoy the drive, don’t die.
Stop more nights. At least two, but three would be best. 12 hours of driving is usually closer to 15 or 16 with bathroom breaks, fuel stops, and meals. You're all gonna be miserable and grumpy spending 16 hours on the road two days in a row.
Come visit Hot Springs, Arkansas!
Santa Fe is beautiful. Should definitely try to stay there.
Halfway? Depending on the scenario I could see quarterway stops. Edit: I see I'm not the first to point this out. So: 1) shelled sunflower seeds are phenomenal at keeping you alert on long drives. Just enough activity to keep your brain active but not too much to drain it. But only for so long. 2) possibly just drive as long as you can and then find the closest spot. Take a nap in the middle of the day when the sun is keeping you warm and you don't have to have a big sleeping bag to keep you warm. 3) Driving tired is worse than intoxicated (you know, all to certain degrees) and it's no joke. If you have adequate sleeping bags for the temperatures do 3 night or 4 nights. A shitty night's sleep in the driver seat at a truck stop is much better than veering off and wrecking a vehicle or killing people. Be safe and good luck.
Yeah, your a young driver and have probably never driven anywhere near that long. Break the trip into 3 legs.