looking to drive a moving truck from prescott AZ to richmond VA what are the best tools too plan a trip to avoid weather and find pet and large truck freindly hotels.
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looking to drive a moving truck from prescott AZ to richmond VA what are the best tools too plan a trip to avoid weather and find pet and large truck freindly hotels.
Welcome to the RTA Forum!
The best way to see the best road conditions and easily find motels that have room for large trucks is to stick to the interstates, which are designed for trucks and get first priority in bad weather.
For route, the best route is generally the shortest - and in your case, that is pretty straightforward: I-40 to Knoxville and then I-81 to I-64 in Virginia. Its a solid 4 day drive, but you would be wise to have a 5th day available in case you do see bad weather. There is no route you can pick that doesn't have the chance of seeing winter weather.
The 2 most pet-friendly hotel chains are Motel 6 and La Quinta. Others have varying policies, generally up to the individual property.
Your best bet is to stay right at Interstate exits, but NOT in or close to major cities. The smaller towns generally will have at least one major interchange with truck stops and a few hotels that cater to trucks. On your route, taking 4 days, good examples would be Santa Rosa or Tucumcari NM, Van Buren/Fort Smith AR, and Cookeville TN.
From experience, you could also choose Sallisaw, OK, over Fort Smith, AR.
During the summer of 2011, we went from Tempe AZ to VA in 4 days. Our overnights were at the Quality Inn in Santa Rosa, a Days Inn at Sallisaw OK, and a really budget motel in Cookeville. There was truck parking at the Quality Inn in Santa Rosa (and a trucker-friendly restaurant right next door), but I'm not sure about their pets policy since we haven't traveled with a pet in years. I would not recommend the Days Inn for parking, as that lot is cramped and the rooms are equally so. I can't remember the name of the place in Cookeville, but it had trucker parking. It was one of those really budget chains and we went in on a coupon deal.
LATER: It was America's Best Value Inn, in Cookeville. Don't look for much in the line of a "continental breakfast". It was pretty small!
Donna