stamford, CT to phoenix, AZ

Hi everyone, I am planning to relocate to Phoenix AZ from Stamford CT.

1st. Not sure if all my things will fit on a 20' or I should go with a 26' to be safe plus I will be hooking the trailer to bring my car along... will a 20' compare to a 26' make much difference on the driving?

20' or 26', I will be driving with a pal of mine, departing around March 10th and taking turns on the driving.... Not sure if I should just trust google maps or if there is a way to find out what highways and roads are truck friendly, one of the concerns being the tunnels and bridges height..., Safe hotels to sleep, weight stations, etc.... And anything that I might not be accounting for,

Last, I like the idea of the road trip, but does this sounds too long, crazy or dangerous? should I consider finding another alternative like U-Pack to send my furniture and just fly there even though it might be over my budget?

Thank you for any advice!

Fabio

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Your questions are ones that only you can really answer. We have no idea how much stuff you have to move, but if you are unsure the larger truck would be wise and it won't make a lot of difference on the driving. Unless you are considering doing sight seeing detours on minor roads you should have no problem with tunnels and bridges etc. You will find a lot of Motels near Interstate have room for big rigs to pull through, but you could research your options before heading out. You ask if this is 'to long' yet you don't tell us how much time you have. I don't think anyone here would think it crazy to take a road trip, it is a road trip forum after all ! I am not sure what you mean by "Dangerous", motorists use the roads every day and with common sense it is no more dangerous than walking to a local store. You can make it dangerous if you don't plan to take the proper amount of rest needed and plan on a good nights sleep, fatigue is a real danger on our roads and that's why professionals are limited in driving hours each day. So to avoid danger you will require at least 4 overnight stops, in a Motel room, using a direct and mainly Interstate route. If you haven't that time available then yes it is dangerous and you should look to pack your stuff and fly.

I am currently on the road (well, sitting in a motel waiting for roads to dry up north). We are driving a 20' U-Haul with a car on a car trailer. Do NOT, under any circumstances, use a tow dolly for the car, as you cannot back up. And you WILL need to back up.

Famous phrase, revamped for towing: "Swing wide, sweet chariot...". When you make a turn, leave plenty of clearance to avoid "curbing" your car on the trailer. BUMP.

Taking Interstate and US Highways will avoid any issues with underpasses. You are only going to be 11' high, compared to truckers' 13'9" height. You will have more issues with finding a place to have lunch, because of the LENGTH. If you can stick to the truck stops for lunch, you'll find plenty of those and most of them have fast food these days.

Get your fuel on the outskirts of cities. That way you won't have to navigate city traffic and possible U-turns (IMpossible with a long rig). We dragged along our "The Next Exit" book, which I use in tandem with Gas Buddy to find reasonably priced fuel along the way while hubby drives.

You do not need to stop at weigh stations while driving a U-Haul unless you are hauling commercially. You MAY have to stop at inspection stations (IF they're open) and Border Patrol stations. Answer questions honestly. We were asked (at an AZ Inspection Station) what we were hauling, and we gave the simplest response, "Household goods." The man just smiled and said, "Been there, done that, good luck!" So far, in 3 states, that was the only inspection station that was open.

Motels -- pick out three likely places to stay overnight. Trust me, you don't want to be out driving at night in a U-Haul by driving straight through. Besides being potentially suicidal, you could hit icy and snowy sections that haven't been cleared yet! When you pick three likely places, look on the motel's website to see if it says "Truck and RV parking". If it does, call anyway. The one we're at was jammed -- we were glad we got in early! They had long-rig parking but a lot of rigs used it last night. Looking online, also look for cancellation policy in case you get holed up somewhere. Most will hold your room late. Some want you to cancel by 4 pm in the event you think you will get hung up in another place.

Good luck with your move!


Donna

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Originally Posted by FAPELBAUM

1st. Not sure if all my things will fit on a 20' or I should go with a 26' to be safe plus I will be hooking the trailer to bring my car along... will a 20' compare to a 26' make much difference on the driving?

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As Dave noted, we have no idea what you're bringing so we can't possibly know what size you'll need. I will say, however, most people tend to underestimate how much stuff they have, so if you're on the fence, you probably need a bigger truck.

And as Donna noted, if you are planning to tow a car, make sure you get the full trailer and not just the 2 wheel tow dolly. That's a much more important difference that will make a much bigger impact on how this trip goes for you.

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departing around March 10th and taking turns on the driving.... Not sure if I should just trust google maps or if there is a way to find out what highways and roads are truck friendly, one of the concerns being the tunnels and bridges height.

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Google Maps can be trusted - if you use it the right way, as in it's a tool. If you are thinking of blindly follow what it says, then no, you shouldn't trust it. The travel time estimates are complete fiction, so completely disregard those - this trip will take you a minimum of 5 full days on the road, even with 2 drivers, and if you don't have that amount of time, then shipping your stuff and flying is your only option.

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Last, I like the idea of the road trip, but does this sounds too long, crazy or dangerous? should I consider finding another alternative like U-Pack to send my furniture and just fly there even though it might be over my budget?

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All by itself, there is nothing crazy or dangerous about driving a UHaul across country, people do it all the time. If you have enough time and are concerned about the driving the Uhaul and Towing aspect of it, you could consider a middle ground. Use U-Pack or some other option to ship your belongings across country, but then still do the roadtrip to drive yourself and your car to Arizona.

Agreed, this is a full 5 days drive. I'd recommend the following route:

I-95 to I-287 across the Tappan Zee around the suburbs to I-78.
I-78 to I-81 to I-40 to I-17 to Phoenix.

Plan for overnights near:

Roanoke VA
Jackson TN (or the western side of Memphis)
Shawnee OK (or the western side of OKC)
Moriarty NM (or the western side of ABQ)

Why the western side of the cities? To avoid morning rush hour, you will be going against the traffic.

I-80 to I-76 to I-71 to I-70 to I-44 to I-40 is about 100 miles shorter, but goes through more cities and has more tolls. It also has more exposure to late season storms.

Just for the record, Moriarty NM is on the EASTERN side of Albuquerque. To avoid ABQ rush hour, particularly the "Big I" exchange, blow into ABQ early and stop in the Coors Rd/Iliff Rd area overnight. For the western side of OKC, if you are in El Reno, you'll be great. Daughter and family just stayed at the Motel 6 there and said it was clean and inexpensive, relatively speaking.



Donna

Right - and Shawnee is on the east side of OKC and Jackson is on the east side of Memphis. I only mentioned those 3 because that's where my software said would be the right overnights for the time and distance.

With this in mind, blow out of Stamford before rush hour - before the crack of dawn - and push the first night to Wytheville VA. This will get everything synced up.