Advice on Route

[vanbrat]

Watch the pass around Shasta. We have done that way in December a lot and only had trouble a few times...(minor trouble) keep an eye on the weather forecast and be ready for a possible day or so lay over in Oregon. Keep the gas topped off, sometimes you may have to sit while it gets plowed. Still better then trying the other way..... just watch what is coming ahead and be ready for some delays. I am envious I wish I was headed south for winter....Sometimes we go down the coast, but that involves getting over the coast range and takes twice as long, but less chance of running into snow. Pretty, but sloooooowwww.

 

[MrNoodly]

If it were me, and I just wanted to cover ground and avoid bad weather and traffic, I'd do I-5 to Bakersfield, CA-58 to Barstow, I-40 to Needles, AZ-95 to Quartzsite, I-10 to Buckeye, AZ-85 to Gila Bend to bypass Phoenix, I-8 to Casa Grande, then I-10 to Florida.

 

[BelgianPup]

Good advice on the southern route. Yes, it will cost more for gas, but better than getting caught in a blizzard. Having to keep the engine idling while not going anywhere isn't cheap, either.

And stick to the main highways --- if bad weather hits, they get the first and best road clearance, and they will sometimes send a tanker truck to fill your gas tank so no one freezes to death.

Plan for hitting the very worst conditions possible, and you should be okay.

 

[ridgeway]

Your southern route is much better.. I have had some crazy stressful drives on 80 & 70 in the winter.

 

[Qxxx]

If it were me, and I just wanted to cover ground and avoid bad weather and traffic, I'd do I-5 to Bakersfield, CA-58 to Barstow, I-40 to Needles, AZ-95 to Quartzsite, I-10 to Buckeye, AZ-85 to Gila Bend to bypass Phoenix, I-8 to Casa Grande, then I-10 to Florida.

Bingo, you win First Prize for finding the sunny way. (of note, traffic can backup for 10+ miles coming into Phoenix from the west).

 

[wayne49]

Thanks. [Someone here must know that acronym, otherwise it could have drawn a yellow card.]

A general Internet search on "NLT" had returned nothing, except religious related terms, specifically New Living Translation (NLT), and a New Life Tabernacle super duper mega church, dominating the results.

Ah, I see, I needed to specify the Urban Dictionary in the search, "NLT is a shortened version for No Later Than".
Which puts that usage of NLT on a somewhat dark shelf of the Internet.

 

[user 423]

On military orders when reporting to a new duty station.

 

[highdesertranger]

yes DEFINE ALL abbreviations that are not well known or that are not on the list. I would have said something about NLT but I missed it. highdesertranger

 

[mpruet]

I would still urge you to stay on I-40 until Amarillo and then get on US 287 to Dallas instead of taking I-10. I used to have to drive between Dallas and San Francisco on a monthly basis, including in the December/January time frame. While I did run into occasional snow in the Flagstaff, Gallup, and Albuquerque areas, it was always just a dusting and didn’t really hinder my journey. I’ve also driven on I-10 between Quartzsite and Dallas. While it is less likely to have snow, it is also much longer than staying on I-40. I could generally get between Kingman and Dallas in 1 1/2 days while Quartzsite has always been a 2 1/2 day trip.

Generally when I would head out from San Jose, I would spend the night outside of Bakersfield and reach Kingman by noon the next day. Kingman is due north of Quartzsite so is a good reference point. I’d then make it to Grants, NM the second night. And then be in Dallas the next night. So it was roughly 1 1/2 days between Kingman and Dallas. I’ve never made it from the RTR back to Dallas in that short of time.

So unless I knew it was going to be heavy snow, I’d opt for the I-40 route in early December. You can get the “Weather Bug” app to check the weather and then decide.

 

[TooFarGone]

I'll pitch in my few cents' worth about part of that route. I've lived in Colorado for 40+ years. Road trips anywhere in this state in December are absolutely unpredictable more than a few days in advance - and sometimes not even then. If you can avoid Colorado on your December route - do it, and it sounds like you've decided to. Smart move!  :thumbsup:

I also agree that US 287 from Amarillo to Dallas is a really good divided highway and I wouldn't hesitate to take it. (I can't count how many times I've driven that part of it to visit family, most recently last January.) You could still get some snowstorms in that area - driving home in January I actually pulled off the road for a couple of hours as a freaky storm front went through. I'd been driving on 287 when the rain turned into a strange combo of sleet and what I swear seemed like snowballs driven by high winds, and visibility was - nada. Scary, but waiting it out was do-able, the front moved through fast, the road didn't get iced up, and I didn't regret the wait. Just watch out for speed traps. 287 isn't an interstate and goes right through little towns and mid-sized cities, so watch for the speed limit signs and you should be good. 

[EDITED to add: My comments on 287 are intended to just report on the road itself. I'd personally be inclined to take the most southern route possible for your trip, but if you don't then that stretch of 287 makes sense.]

Good luck and safe travels!

 

[MrNoodly]

I would still urge you to stay on I-40 until Amarillo and then get on US 287 to Dallas instead of taking I-10.  ...
I could generally get between Kingman and Dallas in 1 1/2 days while Quartzsite has always been a 2 1/2 day trip. 

According to Google Maps, Barstow to I-10 to I-20 to Dallas is only about two hours longer than Barstow to Amarillo to Dallas. And then that still leaves you up in Dallas and needing to get down to the Gulf. By the time you get to, oh, Lafayette, Mobile or Tallahassee, it's only an hour's difference.

 

[mpruet]

True, but there is much more congestion on I-10 until you get far south on Tucson.  And then there tends to be a lot of congestion from Las Cruses through El Paso.  Also while it might seem odd, traffic through Odessa and Midland tends to be stop and go.  I’ve never had any slowdown on I-40, and the typical speed on 287 is 75.  Oh yes the most congested part of I-20 is from Wetherford to East Dallas. It goes right past Six Flags, Cowboy Stadium, and Ranger Stadium.  Just to get through the DFW metroplex can take two hours. US 287 can get you out if Dallas much quicker especially by taking 114 in Rhome and then 12 to I-20.

 

[crofter]

You will miss Pahrump NV and Quartzite AZ with that route. Prepare for snowy mountains and plains.
-crofter

 

[crofter]

The new route. I'll be in a 97 dodge 1500 with a 5.9 and that gas is gonna eat me up.

US95 is a nice alternative to driving through Cali, check out the gas prices. -crofter

 

[Sofisintown]

something is stuck on your keyboard

 

[Seajatt]

Hey everyone, thanks for the great replies and information. I've been bouncing the suggestions off of google maps and am taking you guys input seriously. I should add a few pieces of information that I should have from the start:

-I'm driving an older truck, and as such I want to stick as close to 60mph as possible. I say that because I can see a two-lane being a problem if I had people riding my bumper the whole way. I'd rather avoid that stress and the delay caused to other drivers.

-I have family in Odessa and Kermit that I'd like to see.

 

[mpruet]

Hey everyone, thanks

-I have family in Odessa and Kermit that I'd like to see.

Then I-10 it is.  Just be sure to stop at Taco Villa...

 

[Qxxx]

Hey everyone, thanks for the great replies and information. I've been bouncing the suggestions off of google maps

On reviewing your last map, in post #12, it shows you going through LA and onto I-10. The trouble with that route is you go over the Grapevine, where you'll be dodging semis doing 30 MPH, and then drive almost 100 miles of freeway through urban Los Angeles. If you're only doing 60, you'll find the LA drivers are total whackos and the average freeway speed is about 85.

Much better to avoid LA, like Noodly said in post #22, and head east at Bakersfield, to Barstow and Needles, then down to I-10.

 

[tx2sturgis]

-I'm driving an older truck, and as such I want to stick as close to 60mph as possible. I say that because I can see a two-lane being a problem if I had people riding my bumper the whole way. I'd rather avoid that stress and the delay caused to other drivers.

-I have family in Odessa and Kermit that I'd like to see.

You are gonna have all kinds of fun on I-10 and I-20 in west Texas. 85 mph speed limits means that anyone poking along at 60 mph is at risk of being a rolling roadblock...or worse. 

I think you might want to seek alternate routes, maybe take some secondary roads and US highways.

 

[mpruet]

US 62 out of El Paso then TX 652 and finally US 285/TX 302 to Kermit/Odessa is mostly 2 lane, but doesn’t have that much traffic.