Moving to Dallas from Arlington Virginia.. Thought to make it a road trip

Hi Everyone,

I read through the posts and liked it. I am planning to move my base from Arlington Virginia to Irving Dallas. I have booked a 14ft UHAUL with a car tow to pull my Honda Accord. I have planned the trip to be for 2 days. I need your opinion. I am pretty much excited about the trip. I know I can only go slow (55 MPH). I would like to know if I would always have to keep right on lanes. At toll booth should I pay for two vehicles? Is there any particular booth I may have to choose since I am in a UHAUL. Also would need your advice on where to spend nights. I would like to know if I can park the UHAUL with a tow link in a motel.I was thinking it would be great if there is a website which would tell me where approximately I would reach after a 6 hours drive so I could plan and book a place for night. I am planning to start on 4th october early morning.

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

First, I need to warn you that you really can not safely make this trip in 2 days, it's just too far. Professional drivers would be required to make 2 overnight stops on a trip of this distance (almost 1400 miles). Considering your situation of towing and traveling at slower speeds, you're going to need almost 3 full days for this trip.

Any of the major online map programs should be able to assist you with a route and places to spend the night. The travel time estimates, however, should really be ignored. They really aren't accurate at full freeway speeds, and won't even be close when you factor in your tow. If you're going to be traveling at cruising speeds of 55-60 mph, you're only going to average around 45 mph, once you factor in traffic, terrain, and just the minimum stops for food, fuel, etc. Considering that, 500 miles a day will already put you on the road for 11-12 hours, which is about the most you should plan on driving - again factoring the lower speed, and higher stress of driving a truck/trailer.

I'd be looking at Knoxville and Little Rock for your two overnight stops. Many hotels will have room for you to park a truck and trailer, especially if you are at places right along the interstate, and in suburban locations - although you should always make sure you have room to park and turn around before you pull into a lot (trust me from experience in an "L" shaped parking lot that I thought was a "U,") If you are going to make reservations, I would call and double check the parking situation first.

I actually can't think of any place you will see tolls on this route, except perhaps right in the DC area. You shouldn't pay for 2 cars - there will be a specific rate for you, based on the number of axles of your set up. You should be able to use any lane with an attendant, who will provide the appropriate rate.

For a trip of this distance, I'd strongly recommend using a full trailer (Auto Transport) rather than the 2 wheel tow dolly.

I agree with Michael that this is a minimum of 3 days on the road, but I'm not sure you realise the distance as you say that you want to do the trip in 2 days and want to look for a place to stop after 6 hours of driving. With 3 days you will probably spend 10-11 hours per day on the road with plenty of short breaks, if you only want to be on the road for 6/7 hours a day then you should plan on it taking 4 days for the journey.

Definitely, you do not want a tow-dolly. That means you will NOT be able to back up without disconnecting the dolly. You want a trailer that can tow your vehicle "four up", meaning all four wheels off the ground. This way you don't add 1400 miles onto your tires, nor do you need to worry about what gear your vehicle is in.

Traveling only 6 hours a day means you are only going about 350 miles every day. You can probably do 450 a day if you just stop a lot -- get gas (your UHaul WILL gulp it), go to the bathroom, get yourself some food, walk around (even if it means making two rounds around the truck stop).

A couple of tips: use GasBuddy (either an app on a smart phone or on a laptop, if you're traveling with one) to find your cheapest gas -- believe me, when you have to put gas into that thing, you'll be happy to find the cheaper stuff. Truck stops/travel centers are usually going to have the most "swing room" for your UHaul and Car Trailer. When you take possession of the truck/trailer combo, BEFORE you put anything into it, get yourself to an empty parking lot (try a church that doesn't have weekly stuff) and drive the vehicle around it to get used to driving it. This is especially important if you have never driven something this long before. Remember, "Swing WIDE, sweet chariot", make left turns from the right-most left-hand turn lane (if you have a choice). Practice backing that trailer if you can, in the lot -- you'll love gaining the experience before there's a car there.


Donna