Road trips are a staple of U.S. living. There’s something about hopping into a car or an RV and hitting the road. It’s generally more affordable than flying to a destination too. Plus, if you’re road tripping in an RV, you’re bringing your quasi hotel room along with you. There are a ton of great grand touring routes that are worth the journey. Let’s imagine that you’ve loaded up your apps, and you’re ready to hit the open road.
It’s very easy to get too excited over the possibilities and to want to stretch your trip out as much as possible. That’s where the 3-3-3 rule comes into effect. The rule is designed to help you slow down and actually get some mileage out of your vacation by, ironically, getting less mileage.
Under the 3-3-3 rule, road trippers are encouraged to drive fewer than 300 miles per day, plan to camp at your site for at least three nights, and — possibly the most important part — never arrive at a campground after 3:00 p.m. There are very specific reasons for all three of those points, covering safety, convenience, and relaxation.
Why 3-3-3?
The three tenets of this rule cover a broad range of reasoning and the thinking behind each 3 covers a specific line of thought. The most practical of the three is the 3:00 p.m. rule. Camping can be fairly chaotic in the best of times, and it can be stressful during peak seasons. Arriving at your camp site by 3:00 p.m. ensures two things. First, it ensures you have time to properly set up your camp, make or go get dinner, and get settled in without rushing. It also allows you flexibility if you get to a campground and find there are no open sites and you need to find some other place.
The three nights portion of the rule ensures you have enough time to enjoy your vacation. Your arrival and departure day will both have you involved with setting up or taking down the camp, so by staying three nights, you have two days to enjoy the stay either by taking in local sights or just chilling around the fire. This does not include parking your RV at Walmart though. Тypically, that’s a one-night only solution.
Finally, the 300-mile rule is primarily geared toward safety. Driving itself can be exhausting, and a road-weary driver can be one of the more dangerous threats on the road. By limiting yourself to just 300 miles, you can alleviate that issue and still have enough gas in the tank to set up or take down your camp.
Other variants
Of course, with any rule, there are some nuances. Some RV campers rely on the 2-2-2 rule which has basically the same breakdown for the same reasons, though it’s a much more conservative rule. There’s also the 4-4-4 rule — the same three categories, but with 400 miles, four nights, and a 4:00 p.m. arrival time.
Other proponents of the 3-3-3 rule add in an additional “3” — stop and stretch every three hours, whether you need it or not. It’s often tempting to just put your head down and get to your destination as quickly as possible, but it’s also important to stretch and work out your tension before hitting the road once more.
300 miles will take about four hours if you average 75 mph. There’s a good chance you can find an excuse to stop after three hours anyway, either for food, bathroom, gas or all three. Bottom line, if you’re hitting the road, it’s important to do it safely and still have a great time.
