Need advice. Driving 15' van, possibly towing a car, from Pahrump NV. to Portland OR.
What is the safest route to take mid January- late February. I have never done the driving. Always flew.
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Need advice. Driving 15' van, possibly towing a car, from Pahrump NV. to Portland OR.
What is the safest route to take mid January- late February. I have never done the driving. Always flew.
Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !
The truth is all major routes are as safe as they could be but the weather is another thing that could bring poor conditions and disruption. The fact is you won't know what your best option will be until a day or 2 before departure where you can check weather forecasts and road conditions with more accuracy. If you are flexible when you can leave then that is a big advantage as you can just wait for a window of opportunity where the weather looks settled. This is a minimum 2 day drive so you will be looking for at least one overnight stop. The quickest route would appear to be using US95/376/95/OR78/US20/US26/I-84 if the weather plays ball. The biggest problem with that route is how sparse the towns/lodgings are about the time you would need them, McDermitt NV having just one Motel I think. It might be that staying on US95 to US395, which puts Susanville well placed for an overnight stop is a better choice even though slightly longer. Leave it open and check the conditions before heading out before making a choice of which there are others.
It's a couple hundred miles longer, but in the winter I'd stick to the Interstates and 4 lane highways as much as possible if you will be driving a truck and towing a car.
Take NV-372/CA-178 to Shoshone, then CA-127 to Baker. Then take I-15 to Barstow and CA-58 to Bakersfield. Take CA-99 north to CA-46 to I-5, take that all the way into Portland. You might be able to do this in 2 days with an overnight around Sacramento.
By the way, don't tow a car with a dolly, get a full car trailer. It may cost more but it will be a much easier tow, with a dolly you cannot back the rig up without unhitching the dolly.
I will concur with the above advice: route should be finally chosen a day or two before you leave. If you get overnight reservations, just get the kind that can be canceled by 4 pm of the day of arrival. (That's usually possible except in high-tourist areas.)
Yes, get a car trailer. U-Haul will usually "help" you secure the car to the trailer after the truck is loaded; don't know about Penske or Budget. Don't think that you can take the car off the trailer (or the dolly, if you ignore the good advice given here) so that you can run to a restaurant. That's not gonna happen. Find overnights that have a restaurant within reasonable walking distance, or eat before you pull in for the night.
Donna
Thanks so much for the replies! It helps immensely having other people's advice from experience