is it possible to drive from detroit,MI to chicago,IL and back to detroit in 1 day

On the route he's going there is plenty of parking along the way, so using PC to get to a "safe haven" won't fly.

 

I think, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

You’ve never pulled flatbed, which isn’t something you casually pick up. Just like backing a trailer, you’re either intuitively good at it or you’re not. There’s a lot of labor involved. Thinking you’re just going to be banging it out, at both ends, everyday, is nuts. Flatbed doesn’t work with that way, even with a covered wagon or conestoga. Do you really want to be sitting in lines on both ends, getting out and putting away equipment on both ends, getting back in the truck filthy and sweaty, knowing you have to then drive ~300 miles? That doesn’t sound like fun at all. When are you going to eat and shower?

Load times are hit and miss. You’re going to have 2hrs minimum in loading and an hour minimum in unloading. It hardly ever works out perfect. I wish I had a picture of all the trucks sitting at Pittsboro, IN, today. It was bad.

The traffic. Chicago is never easy. It’s not a loop with possible alternatives, like Indy, for instance. When you drive into that cesspool, you’re in it. Plain and simple. You’re counting on things going right, fairly regularly, or you wouldn’t be looking at trying it. It’s not going to go right. Maybe, 30yrs ago, you’d have a chance, just maybe. But, every road you’d need to travel is heavily congested, these days.

I ran flatbed for 4yrs, ~25yrs ago. I pulled a skateboard, then covered wagon, then back to skateboard. Back then, we were on paper logs. I ran myself into the ground, running OH/MI, doing stuff like what you’re wanting to try. I switched it up, went back to longhaul, kicked back in my seat, and did my miles. It was so much easier.

With the amount of traffic we have today and E-logs, I don’t believe it’s possible.

 

Two snowy areas and lots of traffic.
Not going to happen.

 

Might get lucky twice a week. Question is why a Sane person would want to

 

I wouldn't want to do it

 

I used to run Chicago-Detroit-Chicago everyday but it was straight drop and hook. You got 6 weigh stations (all together) on I-94. Good luck

 

This is possibly the best idea in the whole thread. I might go as far into Illinois as say Markham (159th St. on I-294). You go much farther than that, you're gonna have a bad time.

And even Markham is gonna require you missing both 80/94 rush hours in the morning and evening.

 

I used to haul flatbed myself. You'll probably need to tarp and untarp. If you're loading out of the Detroit area, you're most likely loading steel of some kind. Coils are easy but you’ll always have to tarp them in the winter. The time it takes to secure it and tarp it properly is usually about 1½hrs minimum if you're loaded promptly. It takes a little less time to untarp and take the securement off. Also, you better not be in a hurry or cut corners on your securement, or else the results could be devastating. If you're pulling a conestoga or covered wagon, it'll take less time, but you still gotta do some work. I think if you learn how to use the split sleeper then maybe you can do a round trip in 24 hrs. To do it in 11 hours drive time, in a flatbed, now that I'm thinking about it harder, is ambitious.

 

We have guys in our general area that run from WELL into Chicago to nearly downtown Detroit, five days a week. It's quite possible, if not always pretty.