Miami to Los Angeles - HELP - what route to take??? North or South??

[markdudanj]

Hello

I am taking a UHaul across country from Miami to Los Angeles this weekend and would like to hear your thoughts on the route to take. I can default down and take the Southern Route via I-10 the whole way or shoot up and head through Dallas and Albuquerque. Both are relatively the same time and mile, and we are expecting fantastic weather.

My question is... which is more scenic from the road (I will not be stopping at park or sightseeing) but I would like a "prettier" trip.

Has anyone taken both routes?
Pros & Cons both ways?
What are the safest areas to sleep in as I will have a UHaul and do not want it to get robbed as I sleep?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

While it is true that there is very little difference in total mileage between using I-10 (or 'southern' route) and cutting up through Dallas to Amarillo and then continuing westward on I-40 (or 'northern' route), there are some significant differences between those two routes. One is simply elevation. I-40 climbs, gradually to be sure, to well over 7,000 feet in elevation in the Flagstaff AZ area and especially pulling a trailer that is going to cause some significant increase in fuel consumption. Then there's the fact that you would have to do two significant stretches on surface roads to cut from I-10 to I-20 using US-98 and US-49 between Mobile and Jackson, and from I-20 to I-40 using US-287 between Dallas and Amarillo, again adding traffic and requiring the stop and go driving of navigating the small towns and cities in between. Both routes are certainly scenic enough, in somewhat different ways, but in this particular case, the several hundred pounds you'll be dragging behind you make them unequal with the southern route having the clear advantage, particularly if you are not planning on making any tourist stops along the way.

As for where to sleep safely, pretty much any highway-side motel will be better than any rest area simply because there will generally be people around - at a minimum the night desk clerk - and you won't be in the vehicle to be a target. The two things you can do to help ensure that you don't get robbed are (1) invest in two solid locks, one to secure the trailer to the vehicle and the second to secure the trailer's doors, and (2) ask the desk clerk where you should park your rig. It may be possible to park it out front in full view of the lobby, but at the very least this will alert him to what you've got and that if it seems to be leaving without you something is amiss.

AZBuck