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I am pulling a u-Hall trailer from Moscow, ID (northern Idaho in panhandle) to Dallas, TX during the Christmas holidays. I am wanting to avoid step mountains due to my load and possible snowy roads. Also, I would prefer to stay on interstates as much as possible. Any suggestions?
Google Maps suggests heading north to I-90 then east to Billings then south thru Colorado.
I can speak to the route that far. I-90 is preferable to I-80 for lower average altitude and better road surface condition. (personal experience on these)
Yes there are passes you have to cross. No matter your route, you'll have to cross passes and if going in winter you'll have snow.
Interstates are graded as gently as terrain allows and are the first roads cleared in snowfall so - that's the route I'd take if I were you.
Be sure your vehicles are in good winter shape. Stay conscious of the weather forecast and try to choose a clear window to travel in if you can. (but your trip is probably too long to stay in a good bubble the entire time)
Good luck!
As noFan notes, Interstates are designed to standards that limit grades - to no more than 6% - even in the ruggedest of mountains. I agree with his choice of routes, north to I-90 to cross the mountains, as far as that goes. Continue on I-90 to Buffalo WY and then head south on I-25 along the Front Ranges to Denver. There, use CO-470 around the city and head out onto the Plains on I-70 as far as Limon CO. Now, good as the Interstates are, it has long been a complaint on the High Plains that they pretty much only go East-West - not your direction of travel. But then again, you're on the Plains, so grades are no longer a problem and most of the main US highways are wide open roads with decent speed limits. So this is where you'd leave the Interstate system for the US system. From Limon just take US-287 the rest of the way into the DFW area. Even though it's only two lanes for most of its length, it is freeway quality where it counts - through Amarillo (use TX-335 around the city) and Wichita Falls. You'll need a full four days for this trip since you'll be going slower on average than any mapping routine expects.
AZBuck
As Buck said, I'd take I-90 to I-25, but I'd go through Denver and stay on I-25 to Raton NM, then take US-64 to US-87 to US-287 north of Amarillo.
CO-470 is a tollway with license plate tolling if you take it, no cash booths. I-25 through downtown Denver is okay except at rush hour. If you take 4 days, you will be going through Denver close to midday.
Knowing the area you live / I'd go to Boise than I-84 to Salt lake than I-15 to Las vegas than 93 to kingman az than I-40 to Amarillo tx than 287 to Dallas.It's 2275 miles and better chance of not having bad road conditions. I know Montana dosen't keep it's roads plowed well in bad weather ( wife from there) and wyoming isn;t much better/plus both have colder weather than going south.This is a longer but may be lots easier and faster in bad weather.
I'm sorry Dave, but you keep posting these recommendations about I-40 that simply aren't true.
First, Montana has some of the best road crews in the country, and it's just not true at all to say they don't keep their roads plowed in winter. Even after a major storm, the roads are usually in good shape within hours (they have webcams so you can see for yourself).
Second, and we've said this before, but it is simply not true that I-40 sees better weather than more northern routes. I-40 is at an elevation of over 5,000 feet nearly all the way across Arizona and New Mexico, with 3 passes above 7,000 feet. These areas are actually higher in elevation than anyplace on I-90, and they see snow every year. Not to mention, if you think Montana's road crews are bad, then I can't imagine you'd be impressed with road crews in Arizona and New Mexico! The thing is, the chance of snow and high elevation isn't the worst part of I-40. Ice storms are quite common along I-40, especially in North Texas, and ice is far more difficult to deal with on the road than snow.
And of course, the distance isn't something to be dismissed. Going via Las Vegas adds 300 miles, that means at least one more overnight stop is needed, so you've got another day where someone could see a storm, and one fewer day to deal with bad weather if they see it.
Really simply put: Going south to generically avoid winter weather, assuming it will be safer or faster, is a myth. Not only is it not true, but many times, it can actually lead to bigger problems and conditions that are much slower and less safe.