Advice on Route

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Seajatt

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I need some advice on this route. I will be leaving on december first and need to arrive NLT december 7th. I'm more worried about this route in winter. Is this a safe drive? I added the picture in as an attachment in case the link didn't work.
 

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Some of those areas have already had snow you realize that right? You have several options if your chosen route gets snow, for instance you can catch I40 which will give you more options as you go west. I70 is probably the quickest weather permitting and if it is then just past Green River Utah you can catch HWY 6 to head to Salt Lake Utah. If you are lucky roads should be mostly clear that time of year with only a few trouble spots but it will be cold enough to watch weather reports closely. It is not unusual to have large snow deposits in the mountains after mid November.
 
Go straight south to Nevada - Arizona and then East.
There are still cold states, but you will avoid much of the colder states
 
In early Dec. you could possibly have bad weather over most of that route.
 
Living in the corner of Wa. Or and Id I avoid Oregon roads as much as possible in the winter..especially the eastern part of the state. The forecast from NOAA is anticipating the Northwest and Rockies to be much colder and more snow than usual this winter.

If I were to make the journey I would take i5 south into warmer weather and then head east.

Whatever route you decide on have a safe journey!
 
I wouldn’t attempt to cross the Rockies north of I-40 in December. You can still run into snow around Flagstaff, Gallup, and Albuquerque during that time of year. There has already been some rather heavy snow in the Colorado mountains along I-70 and from what I’m seeing, more is expected near Thanksgiving.
 
Beautiful drive going south. Once your south, you just might find some folks from here and abort the east coast plans. But yeah, I’m dreading the winter mountains... I’m thinking of turning my 20 place canoe trailer into a solar farm and parking my butt down south.
 
Thank you all for the replies. I have an awesome program opportunity for heavy diesel mechanics. I just need to get there first. Unfortunately, it's clear across the country.
 
The new route. I'll be in a 97 dodge 1500 with a 5.9 and that gas is gonna eat me up.
 

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Not wanting to confuse the issue, but I do have another suggestion.  I live in the Dallas area and used to have to drive to the San Francisco area.  I found that the best route from San Francisco to Dallas was to take I-5 south to just south of Backersfield, then get on CA 223 east.  CA 223 would run into US 58 which would take you into Barstow and on to I-40.  I’d stay on I-40 until Amarillo, TX where I would get on US 287 into Dallas.  US 58 and US 287 are both near interstate quality so you can make good and easy time over them.  

While there can be some snow in Flagstaff and Albuquerque, it tends to be rather light in early December.  Also I-40 has considerable truck traffic which tends to breakup any snow buildup.  That would help you avoid all of the congestion in the LA and Phoenix area.
 
The thing about those storms in the center of the country, is that they can cause roads to close as they drift shut, and that can have you with nowhere to go literally in the middle of nowhere.

A more southern route may add a few miles, but the likelihood you will get where you’re going without becoming stranded is higher.

Good luck!
 
slow2day said:
In early Dec. you could possibly have bad weather over most of that route.

Or it could be good, you won't know until the day you start. 
For me traveling that time of the year I'd plan on bad weather somewhere on the route and go I-5 & I-10
 

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Thank you for all the replies and information! Has there been any word on When RTR is being held?
 
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