Los Angeles to Raleigh NC 24' truck towing car trailer

Greetings all,
So next week,(aprox 12/11/13) I'm planning on driving a loaded 24' Penske truck towing a car carrier from Los Angeles CA to Raleigh NC via route 40, (southern route). I've been searching around a bit for realistic time lines for the trip but am coming up short, so I thought I'd toss it out on this forum and see if I can get some feed back. We have two drivers and are not looking to sight see or get off route. At the same time we are not looking to bust a hump or push for extra long driving days. I would like to spend a night in Memphis. The upshot is I'm trying to figure out how many days I should plan to be on the road. Also if anyone has any motel and/or epic food recommendations along the way this is information I could make good use of.
So what do you say road trippers...

Thanks,
Donovan

Welcome to RTA!

Assuming the weather cooperates, this is a 5 day drive. Memphis would be a logical 3rd night stay. Your other stops would be Holbrook AZ, Amarillo TX, and Knoxville TN. Your longest driving day will be the leg between Amarillo and Memphis, you may want to see if you can make it a bit farther the first 2 days - maybe Gallup NM and OKC.

There are usually plenty of hotels with truck parking at most Interstate exits, I'd recommend looking outside the major cities for best rates and convenience.

One dinner recommendation is the Big Texan in Amarillo. They even have limo service to local hotels so you don't have to jockey a rig around in their lot.

Thanks a lot glc,

The fact of the matter is that day 1 will be a late start. I live in the heart of downtown LA and there are pretty tight loading zone restrictions. On top of that, being "skid row adjacent" and what with the parking situation around here loading the truck the day before and leaving it on the street or even in a lot is not an option. It gets worse... I need to make another two stops to pick up some items before I hit the road. The upshot is a pretty late start the first day, just a push to get clear of greater LA. Maybe if things go well we may push to Flagstaff... maybe, just some random stop short of Flaggstaff, I'd like to get off the road by midnight the first day. In any case I'll try and make up time and get back on track by Amarillo. Truth be told we want to take a day off in Memphis so a push for the first few day will work for us.
Thanks again for the info, it helps a lot.

Cheers,
Donovan

The difference between just getting out of LA and going all the way to flagstaff is pretty huge. Flag staff is practically a full day drive from LA all by itself. You would have to leave before the pm rush to get there by midnight. from the sounds of it, Barstow would probably be as far as you could look at getting that first day, considering it is a very long stretch between there and the next stop with services.

From Barstow, Albuquerque is about as far as you could get the next day. It's two days from Albuquerque to Memphis with halfway being a little past ok city. Amarillo to Memphis is too far to drive in a day

Thanks Midwest Michael,
I'm sure that I can at least make Kingman the first day. Funny thing having lived out west my entire life, my concept of a huge distance is a bit skewed, San Francisco seems like it's just up the street from here and I make that drive a lot. So yeah I'm flying right past Barstow at the very least I'll make Needles. The western part of the trip is familiar territory Plus with two drivers it a bit easier to endure past midnight if it serves a greater good. In any event thanks for the heads up. Amarillo to Memphis may indeed be a bit ambitious seeing as how I'm towing, and moving slow. So Michael, how many days would you estimate for the entire trip?

Thanks so much
D---

I'm not sure pushing on beyond midnight will be for "the greater good" as you have at least 4 more full driving days ahead that are considerably further than LA to SF and in a slower moving, less comfortable truck, while towing. You don't want to be starting out tired on the morning of day 2. Multi day trips are more about pacing yourself as it's a marathon not a sprint. Of course a lot will depend on what time you finsh picking up your stuff and actually get out of LA and how much driving you would look to do without "busting a hump". You really shouldn't be looking at more than 600 miles in any one day to keep things sane and safe, if you have more time to spare and can take a couple of shorter days in and out of Memphis to afford you a little time there, then great. Barstow or Needles to start will still mean a minimum of 4 days to follow.

As was said above, you're in for a marathon no matter what. We've gone cross-country via I-40, coming out of San Diego via Phoenix, however.

Kingman would be about 4-5 hours for you, depending on the traffic out of LA and "over the pass" (Cajon Pass). Hopefully it's NOT a Friday late start, as the traffic to Las Vegas can be annoying on a Friday afternoon/evening.

Your next stop could be Albuquerque NM (475 mi) or Santa Rosa (585 mi), depending on how long you want to drive. There are motels that can handle that size rig in either place. The advantage to Santa Rosa is that there is no morning rush hour to worry about. If you stay in ABQ, be sure to stay as far east as you can to avoid that same rush hour on I-40 in the morning (or get an EARLY start, like 5 am!).

If you stay in Albuquerque, you'd probably want to stop at Oklahoma City for the next one. If you stay in Santa Rosa, it's a 585 mile trip to Sallisaw, OK. If you stay there, make the 7 mile trip south of town to Shad's Catfish Hole. All you can eat catfish or chicken, served family style, for one price. Either cash or check, no credit cards. It's wonderful, and I see that recent reviews say it's still good!

We went from Sallisaw to somewhere between Nashville and Knoxville (Cookeville), but we're used to several 580-600 mile days in a row. Nashville would be a good stop if you like to keep it towards 500 mi a day.

Your final day would be around 500 miles, Raleigh, if you stay in Nashville.

Do keep in mind the weather --


Donna

Considering the weather that is happening right now and for the foreseeable future, I would like to recommend taking an even more southern route.
Take I-10 to east of El Paso Texas.
Take I-20 to Atlanta Ga (do not take beltway around Atlanta)
Take I-85 to Greensboro NC
Take I-40 to Raleigh NC

This way is less than 100 miles further. It keeps you out of the mountains and most likely out of snow. In fact it could be a faster route. Have done both many times and I prefer the southern route anytime of the year!

Two neat places to eat around El Paso. On the west side is Rosa's Cantenia (remember the Marty Robbins song "El Paso.") West of El Paso in Fabens is the Cattleman's Steakhouse and Dude Ranch. It is probably the best steakhouse in the USA-at least the best I have had....

scotishbob

Yeah Dave you are right...
The good news is that I'm not on a tight Raleigh arrival deadline. Plus I may even spend 2 nights in Memphis, roll in late in the day then hang out for a full day plus a night out and depart the next morning... if the schedule is looking good when I get there. The truth about Memphis is that it just sort of struck my fancy for no particular reason, if anyone has other suggestions for a better / more fun semi midway stop feel free to chime in as I'm still pretty open. That said I'm looking for a fun city or town, not a national or state park. Plus I'd really like to stay on route.

Thanks to everyone who responded so far, it's really helping me inform my plan which is still pretty loose, (except I'm now pretty sure I'd like to get an obscene steak at Big Texan so I'm gonna try to be there around dinner or at least breakfast).

I look forward to reading more!
D---

Thanks Bob and Donna,
Info is pouring in fast! Guess that's my cue to go find out what that weather situation is. I think I've neglected it as it seems like I've been in 72 degree weather for at least 30 years. Guess I'm going to have to start paying more attention to the forecasts from here on out... shoot, I'm gonna need a jacket! Thanks for all the concise information and food recommendations... mmmmm catfish and more epic steakhouse's.
So yeah I'll consider that more southern route, my rig doesn't look like much fun to drive in weather and I may be able to more than make up for the 100 miles, time wise, just by having better road conditions. I don't really need to go to Memphis anyway, it's not critical to the trip.
D---