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Driving from San Francisco to Boston

F

freegeeks

Diamond Member
crazy or not???

a good friend of mine lives in San Francisco but has to move to Boston for a few months because his newborn son needs complicated surgery that could only be done in Boston. They left their cars in San Francisco and it's a bit annoying for them to be without a car. I was thinking of flying in (I'm from Belgium) and drive one of their cars from San Francisco to Boston so they can use it while staying there. He can not do it because of work and because he wants to stay with his son as much as he can

How many days would it take?
 
You could probably do it in 4 days if you were really motivated. A week at a more comfortable (and safe) pace. I'd figure a week if you're doing it by yourself.

Viper GTS
 
With the "modern" interstates, it's a fairly easy drive nowadays. Plan your trip for no more than 10 hours of driving, stay in decent motels along the way, and enjoy the scenery.
Allow a week for the trip.
This really isn't the time to make that drive though. Winter weather often makes the drive much longer and more hazardous.
 
I've done it a couple of times. It's 3.1k miles. Plan 4-5 days. However, I wouldn't recommend driving at this time of year due to the weather.

Where are you friends staying? I'm guessing the hospital is in Boston. If they don't need to drive daily, they may want to get a Zipcar membership if there are cars near them.
 
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I've done a couple of cross country trips, and they can be a lot of fun depending on the time of year and weather conditions.

This time of year I would take the southern route - Rte 10 or Rte 40.
 
freegeeks said:
crazy or not???

a good friend of mine lives in San Francisco but has to move to Boston for a few months because his newborn son needs complicated surgery that could only be done in Boston. They left their cars in San Francisco and it's a bit annoying for them to be without a car. I was thinking of flying in (I'm from Belgium) and drive one of their cars from San Francisco to Boston so they can use it while staying there. He can not do it because of work and because he wants to stay with his son as much as he can

How many days would it take?
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Alone you better figure 6-7 days. That's driving 10 hours a day. If you can do 12 hours knock one day off the trip. It's not something I'd do alone, that sort of trip really needs a 2nd driver.
 
cool!!! i would love to have a road trip like that! go for it man... but driving all by yourself may be a b1tch..
 
GagHalfrunt said:
Alone you better figure 6-7 days. That's driving 10 hours a day. If you can do 12 hours knock one day off the trip. It's not something I'd do alone, that sort of trip really needs a 2nd driver.
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yeah was thinking about that, if I decide to do it then i will try to get my brother onboard
 
Also one more thing to point out:

Unless you're looking at this as a vacation/adventure type thing just pay $1500 or so to open-transport a car across. More if you want a closed container.

Viper GTS
 
GagHalfrunt said:
Alone you better figure 6-7 days. That's driving 10 hours a day. If you can do 12 hours knock one day off the trip. It's not something I'd do alone, that sort of trip really needs a 2nd driver.
Click to expand...

Seriously?

I've driven alone several times from Washington DC to San Jose CA, once in 4 days, and once in 5 days.
 
Drako said:
I've done a couple of cross country trips, and they can be a lot of fun depending on the time of year and weather conditions.

This time of year I would take the southern route - Rte 10 or Rte 40.
Click to expand...

google maps gives me the I-80 for most of the route (2000 miles)
which kind of weather can I expect? Being stuck in snow storms?
 
Viper GTS said:
Also one more thing to point out:

Unless you're looking at this as a vacation/adventure type thing just pay $1500 or so to open-transport a car across. More if you want a closed container.

Viper GTS
Click to expand...

was thinking doing it as a road trip but in a not slacking way (not taking 3 weeks)
and it's my way to help them a bit, I probably would drive the car back then in a few months when they return home
 
freegeeks said:
google maps gives me the I-80 for most of the route (2000 miles)
which kind of weather can I expect? Being stuck in snow storms?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's a crap shoot this time of year. Snow and Ice are always possibilities, and getting over the Continental Divide is easier going through Arizona/New Mexico than Utah/Wyoming in my opinion.
 
I drove long-haul trucks for several years when construction was slow. The most direct route, (I-80 then I-90) can be heavily impacted by winter storms. The first 1000 miles or so will have lots of mountainous terrain, (Sierra Nevada, then relatively flat across Nevada and into Utah, then the Wasatch, the drive across Wyoming can be treacherous in the winter...I've seen the freeway there closed several times each winter...then across the plains states with heavy snow and drifting.
Can it be done? Certainly. Is it advisable? Not really. It's a much different drive than during the summer months...and not nearly as much fun. (don't forget snow chains...they'll be required on several mountain passes if it snows.)
 
BoomerD said:
I drove long-haul trucks for several years when construction was slow. The most direct route, (I-80 then I-90) can be heavily impacted by winter storms. The first 1000 miles or so will have lots of mountainous terrain, (Sierra Nevada, then relatively flat across Nevada and into Utah, then the Wasatch, the drive across Wyoming can be treacherous in the winter...I've seen the freeway there closed several times each winter...then across the plains states with heavy snow and drifting.
Can it be done? Certainly. Is it advisable? Not really. It's a much different drive than during the summer months...and not nearly as much fun. (don't forget snow chains...they'll be required on several mountain passes if it snows.)
Click to expand...

damn, doesn't sound like fun
 
It you take into consideration the cost of YOUR flight from Belgium to SF, the cost of making the drive from SF to Boston, (include gas, motels, tolls, etc.) It would be cheaper to have their car shipped by truck.
 
BoomerD said:
It you take into consideration the cost of YOUR flight from Belgium to SF, the cost of making the drive from SF to Boston, (include gas, motels, tolls, etc.) It would be cheaper to have their car shipped by truck.
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yeah i know but it's more a combination of helping them out and doing a "cool" road trip
I know the finances don't make any sense 🙂
 
freegeeks said:
yeah i know but it's more a combination of helping them out and doing a "cool" road trip
I know the finances don't make any sense 🙂
Click to expand...

:thumbsup: I would look at this as a once in a lifetime experience. Enjoy them when and while you can! Do some sight seeing along the way.
 
just pace yourself. gets tedious but interstates are pretty vanilla these days, especially outside the east coast.

just dont forget the bear spray and anti-venin!
 
My fiancee and I met online. She moved out from Sacramento to live with me in Baltimore. It took her 4 days to get here and this was towing a trailer. Shouldn't be too hard to do it in 4 days. 5 days tops.
 
Lord Zado said:
My fiancee and I met online. She moved out from Sacramento to live with me in Baltimore. It took her 4 days to get here and this was towing a trailer. Shouldn't be too hard to do it in 4 days. 5 days tops.
Click to expand...

I would be driving a 2010 Audi A4 2.0T, do all US Audi a4 come standard with quattro?
that would be a plus on winter roads

edit: audi US says it's an optional package
 
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