Getting from the 10 to the 40 out of California?

[ichijou]

I'm going from South LA County to Wisconsin, and hauling a trailer in my kind of beat Dodge Intrepid. As such, I'm hoping to avoid any uphill and rocky roads, and was wondering where a good place to transition from the 10 to 40 might be. I'm hoping to avoid traffic and any added uphillness by just taking the 10 out, rather than taking the 40 out.

Looking at Google Maps, taking the 17 up would be the most effective, but the terrain in that area looks a bit unpleasant, and waiting till the 35 and just heading north seems like it might add a bit of time to the trip.

Could anyone suggest a good flat area to make that jump, or would i be best just heading east till Dallas then head north?

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

I think your questions show at least a few misperceptions you have about your trip, and also reveal a few potentially serious problems you may not be considering.

First of all, if you are sticking to the Interstates, there are no "rocky roads," they are all at least 4 lanes, and are built with minimum grades, slopes, and curves designed so that semis can maintain highway speeds.

However, there is no way to get from LA to Wisconsin without crossing the Rockies. Even sticking to I-10 means getting up to an elevation of 4,500 feet. That is the "flattest" route, but does have some significant disadvantages, especially that you're adding 500 miles to your trip. That's a full extra day on the road, and a lot of extra stress. Heat is also not your friend on a trip like this, and the Deserts of California and Arizona, along with the plains of West Texas aren't exactly considered cool places.

I think your best bet would be to head north on I-15. In fact, I probably wouldn't take I-40 at all, instead I'd head past Salt Lake City to I-84 east to I-80 (bypassing I-80 directly east of SLC, which is rather steep). That's about 100 miles shorter than using I-40, and crosses Wyoming at a high elevation, but remains relatively flat through Wyoming. If you'd rather take I-40, I'd still use I-15 to get on I-40 right at Barstow, rather than going to Phoenix and up.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, if your Dodge is already "kind of beat" you may want to reconsider pulling a trailer at all. Pulling for long distances can be extremely stressful on your car, especially when you are talking about a sedan that isn't really designed for this sort of thing, and doesn't have things like an oil or transmission cooler to protect some of those high stress parts. If your car is already near the end of its useful life, then a trip like this may be enough to push it over the edge, and you really wouldn't want that to happen while you are on the road.

[Yeehaw]

Your only concern for the route Midwest Michael gave you will be the stretch between Mesquite NV and St. George Ut where I15 climbs through Arizona. From I10 to I40 it's a flat drive between Blythe and Needles but you'll gain elevation in the Willaims direction. Not a big problem though.