Need serious Advice Safety not fun

I have a 1966 F250 motor home with drum brakes no AC and no power steering- Single rear wheels so it gets blown all over the roar when a big rig passes- 60 MPH tops- 50-55 is stable 45 is even better- .
im going from orange county CA to Tampa FL about 2600 miles- no interest in sight seeing.

I've just made a successful trip to sacrament and back --that's 1000 miles. But it was not hot-

Map quest has me going south... hugging Mexico... El Paso.. San antonio

Given the temperatures i think ill need to drive like from 3 AM or 4 AM to noon-- Thats a problem as
I need to be alert-- very alert and driving early in the morning tired in the dark can be an issue.

The truck just made the Grape Vine at 25MPH emergency flashers on-- but thats a big consideration for the
FL trip -- hills and mountains are hard on an old truck

So im asking what my best route would be and any advice--except buy anther home or ship it- thats not helpful-- unless i could get it shipped for 2 grand-

As it stands- @ 10 miles per gallon it will cost me 1000 plus i cant sleep in it as it will be too hot- 10 days on the road is another 500 in hotel rooms-

i know there is no good answer but the idea is to minimize risk-- getting thru LA was a white knuckle ride as cars going 75 clime up my right side merging in traffic-- hitting big cities at busy times is really tough

So all comments welcomed- i definitely need trip advice

Thanks

I'm not sure why this was sent to moderation, but I'll respond anyway.

I "get" what you're saying. You know you have to go slow and mountains, which you will have to get over somehow, make you even slower. When you are presented with a "truck lane", you should take it.

That said, how about taking a somewhat "northern" route where it will cool off at night so that you can sleep? Going up Cajon Pass on I-15 might be a little slow, but once you are in Barstow, you could take I-40 across. At Nashville, drop down on I-24 as far as Chattanooga, and then pick up US-27 south. Take that for awhile to avoid Atlanta - if you were white-knuckling Orange County, Atlanta will also be "no fun". You could, perhaps, take US-80 eastbound over to I-75 south, which could get you home.

As for overnights, it will cool off a lot faster at night in many areas along I-40, such as in Northern Arizona. Staying on the I-10 is, as you put it, very HOT. Public campgrounds could cost you around $20 per night instead of $50. Save the motels for those nights when you have to head south again.


Donna

Maybe it would be possible to mount a small air conditioner in a window? There are 5000btu 50lb units. Of course, you’d have to have the proper wiring for it. Safety first.

Donna that route sounds better and if i plan Cajon pass should be doable-- do you know how i can get this route displayed on an on line map? That way i can check total mileage and also temperature ranges- i checked out a few cities and definitely cooler!-- I also dont like going near Mexico with this border Crisis.

Traveling man-- i have a 900watt generator that will go for 4- 5 hours--i will check out the AC unit
power ratings that you suggest-

thanks to you both!! I have time to plan as im busy with details for the next 5-10 days
Comments welcomed and appreciated

I need to emphasize the risks in Big aggressive cities. I'm doing a top safe speed in Sacramento of 55 --lanes merge- and im getting passed on the right by people doing 80 with my directional on attempting to get in a more right lane so-- yes Atlanta is nasty-- any others on the more northern route?

With a speed differential of 25 MPH i just cant gauge a safe lane change so i move over slowly and that just seems to piss people off more.

Try using Google Maps. Once you set the start and end points you can drag the intermediate route anywhere you want.

Taking I-40, you are going to have one big issue - the I-40 bridge over the Mississippi at Memphis is closed. Detour is I-55 to I-240, expect traffic delays. If you time it right, you can go through Atlanta without too many issues, the western bypass would be the best bet. US-27 really isn't that great a road.

There's no sugar coating this. You have several significant problems:

1) You've got a 55 year-old under-powered motor home
2) It has no air conditioning
3) Its brakes are questionable
4) It starts to get unstable at speeds greater than 45 mph
5) Its top speed is 60 mph
6) It slows to 25 mph climbing grades

The fact of the matter is that I don't think your vehicle is safe for Interstate Highway travel. Period. Full stop.

Study after study by federal (FHWA, NTSB), state, and academic researchers have shown that speed differential is at least as important as speed per se in determining highway safety. You yourself note how scary it is to be traveling 30-40 mph slower than the rest of traffic. It is not everybody else on the road causing safety problems. It's you. No one can tell you how to make this trip safely because your vehicle itself makes every moment that you're on a road with a greater than 55 mph speed limit an accident waiting to happen. It's up to you to keep out of everyone else's way, not vice versa.

If I were you and I had to get that vehicle cross country, I'd allow an absolute minimum of 10 days for the task and stick to surface roads rather than Interstates. I wish you luck. You're going to need it.

AZBuck

AZBuck has a good point! I’ve had several “close calls” with slow trucks. The problem is twofold. First of all, you’re not expecting someone to be driving slow on the expressway. Second, you get surprisingly close to a slow truck before you realize just how slow it’s really going!

It might be a good idea to run your emergency flashers continuously. It might also be a good idea to somehow hang a large SLOW VEHICLE sign across the back, up high. Your flashers will only be obvious to the car directly behind you.

It may be illegal, but I might consider posting an orange triangle too.

The scariest situation is a couple of tailgaters coming upon a slow vehicle. The first driver zooms up behind the slow driver and quickly changes lanes at the last moment. The tailgating driver might not have the time or clearance to change lanes and might be traveling too fast to brake in time.

An alternative would be to engage a flatbed company to transport it. Vehicle transporting company would be what I'd search for.

I had a Mercedes Unimog that was that slow or worse. It was delivered to me in California and I live in Colo. I thought long and hard about it but decided to get it shipped.

There was a story in the Unimog groups about a group of trucks that were wiped out from behind as they were convoying someplace when a big truck ran into them. It only takes one mistake like that to cause mayhem.

There's one issue that I see with surface roads, and that's the unpredictability of climbing (and down) grades. Surface roads, such as those on US and state highways, are allowed far more leeway with grades than an interstate.

For instance, US-60 might be a nice alternative to I-40. However, it has some of those problems I just mentioned: grading issues. In Eastern Arizona, for instance, it has some 8% grades (if memory serves), while I-40 is limited to 6% (and usually stays under that).


Donna

Another thing about surface roads is speed traps! On one vacation in the northwest, there were many times when I would notice a police car right at the city limits as I came into town. Invariably, it was after an abrupt speed limit change and often at the bottom of a hill.

This was over the Labor Day holiday, but still.

Also, a lot of surface roads are only single lane with limited passing ability. You will have angry motorists stacking up behind you if you are driving slow.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AZBuck

There's no sugar coating this. You have several significant problems:

1) You've got a 55 year-old under-powered motor home
2) It has no air conditioning
3) Its brakes are questionable
4) It starts to get unstable at speeds greater than 45 mph
5) Its top speed is 60 mph
6) It slows to 25 mph climbing grades

The fact of the matter is that I don't think your vehicle is safe for Interstate Highway travel. Period. Full stop.

Study after study by federal (FHWA, NTSB), state, and academic researchers have shown that speed differential is at least as important as speed per se in determining highway safety. You yourself note how scary it is to be traveling 30-40 mph slower than the rest of traffic. It is not everybody else on the road causing safety problems. It's you. No one can tell you how to make this trip safely because your vehicle itself makes every moment that you're on a road with a greater than 55 mph speed limit an accident waiting to happen. It's up to you to keep out of everyone else's way, not vice versa.

If I were you and I had to get that vehicle cross country, I'd allow an absolute minimum of 10 days for the task and stick to surface roads rather than Interstates. I wish you luck. You're going to need it.

AZBuck

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The question is, how much of the fault is really due to this vehicle? If it is going 45 or 50, the only way for a 30-40MPH difference is for someone else to be going 75-90. While there may be a few places that those speeds are posted, most are not that high. Thus the speed differential would be much lower if everyone was following the rules (thus some of the blame goes to those speeding, possibly well above the limits to get to 90).

Same would be the issue on most of the surface roads (where speeds above 55 aren't terribly common) - the motor home going 45-50 wouldn't be as much issue holding up traffic as those behind it who want to go 60+ but shouldn't.

65 on surface roads is becoming very common in a large portion of the country. A few states even allow 70.

The Original Poster (OP) said his vehicle's speed dropped to as low as 25 mph on the shallowest of grades. On an Interstate, with 70 mph speed limits being common, that's a 45 mph difference. Normal traffic will be going three times as fast as his 55 year old motor home is capable of on those grades. Bicycles and mopeds are banned on some Interstate Highways for precisely this reason. Then there's the fact that the OP stated that his vehicle started to get unstable above 50 mph or so. That in and of itself is VERY not good. If he can't control his vehicle at highway speeds, that vehicle has no place on the highway. The OP claimed it was a 'white knuckle ride' negotiating the flat terrain of LA, also not very good.

Finally, there is the fact that the OP apparently knows that all this is unsafe and asked for 'serious advice' and stated that he 'definitely needed trip advice.' I gave him my best advice. That advice was NOT based solely on his comfort or just for his benefit, but on the safety of the thousands and thousands of innocent people who would be forced to share the roads with no knowledge of how unsafe someone else's actions have made those roads. I stand by my comments that his vehicle has NO PLACE on the Interstate Highway System.

AZBuck

my sincere thanks to all of you i will consider everything that was said -- i thought at 55 i was not the problem-- perhaps i am...

with some adjustments- weight distribution and wagner brakes shoes and a power vacuum unit the vehicle is more road worthy-- 25MPH referred to the grape vine- 55 is stable on a decent road- it is not under powered-- it is just not smart to force the vehicle up a 6% grade that is old- i could go 70 and have-- but the box on back is not suited for that speed- due to windage

i have been thinking of some sign for the back-- slow vehicle is good- i was thinking of a big caution sign with an arrow pointing to the right hand directional

unfortunately there are realities... like me doing 55 and nut jobs passing on the right at 80--

suggestions welcomed-

i have gotten a couple of transport quoted-
my experience is that they low ball you and then as you get tired of waiting--paying hotel and car rental bills-- up the price as much as 30%

Also the rules say you cant have stuff inside- i have stuff inside-- some car parts etc- thats another reason for them to raise the price on pick up --then there was something about fines if they (authorities) catch the stuff in the back after they take possession--

Anyone with more experience than i have with these issues ???

First, the people you are forcing to pass you on the right are not 'nut jobs'. They are simply trying to make the best of the no-win situation you have placed them in by insisting on traveling at well below highway speeds in a passing lane.

Second, your vehicle IS under-powered. The 1966 Ford F250 came with at least a 150 hp in-line 6 engine and could have as big as a 200 hp V8. Either one of those in good working order could push your motor home at well past 25 mph up the Grapevine, which at 5% grade is not as steep as is allowed on the Interstate System. That alone indicates that your engine is not in good working order.

Third, the 1965 and 1966 models introduced a new frame and far more complicated suspension system. While this new system allowed for a smoother ride, it did so at the expense of controllability if any component of that system degraded significantly. Your suspension has clearly degraded.

What I see in your posts is something that I experienced myself with my faithful old 1957 split-window SAAB 93. That is a vehicle that degraded so slowly over time that I never noticed how unsafe it had become little by little, year after year. Your motor home is now clearly (to an outside observer anyway) well past retirement age. It is probably not worth the cost of repairing/replacing the engine and suspension. I doubt that it is even worth the price of shipping it to Florida. I know it's hard, but I think it's time to say good-bye to this old friend and treat yourself to something newer and, more importantly, SAFER.

AZBuck

AZ-- i appreciate your concerns- i share them-- but you are making the picture bleaker than it is- the motor and trans are not under powered- 352 Cu inch with lots of torque-in perfect working order- on the grapevine 6 % grade i was in the truck lane with dozens of Semis- there was no safety issue there- my concern is for the truck and if there were many grades like this on any route it would put strain on the vehicle- Cajon pass going north seems to be 3% grade-
does anyone have different information on this-??

I do think someone passing on the right at 80MPH is a nut job-- if they want to go 80 at least pass on the left- this only happens in aggressive cities-
Also posted speed limits for vehicles with trailers is 55-- i can do 55-- i am a realist however and realize few vehicles with trailers go under 60


i noticed something interesting- i put an American flag in the back window and seemed to get more respect- i will stencil the "slow vehicle" message across the back-- if i make this trip-- i will only drive 300-400 miles a day

ultimately the plan is to get rid of the motor home back in FL-- the truck itself is in great shape-

The Saab sounds like a nice car- i hope you still have it

FWIW, one of our auto mechanics suggested we sell a vehicle out of California. Said we'd probably get more for it and the buyer wouldn't have so much hassle outside of the state. I'm not sure you'd get much more in Florida for a 55 year old vehicle, and you'd need to figure out if the extra cost of driving it or shipping it would even make it worthwhile. For us, we are towing one of our vehicles (on a 4-up car trailer), but obviously, that's not really a solution for a motorhome.



Donna

"I do think someone passing on the right at 80MPH is a nut job-- if they want to go 80 at least pass on the left."

NO! First of all you have no idea how fast they are going. Even if you did, you do NOT get to take up two lanes and force everybody else into whatever lane is left. If you are not in the far right lane you are DEMANDING two lanes for your personal use. You are not passing anybody at 55 and you won't let anybody pass you on the right so you are effectively creating a rolling road block. That is not only unsafe it is illegal. 'Keep right except to pass' is not just a good idea, it's the law.

"Also posted speed limits for vehicles with trailers is 55-- i can do 55."

NO! You are NOT a 'vehicle with a trailer' so your speed limit is NOT 55 and every other motorist on the road does NOT have to adjust their driving to make up for your obstinacy. Besides you have also claimed here that your vehicle is capable of 70 mph, you simply refuse to do so because it is inconvenient for you - nobody else seems to matter to you.

Look, you asked for serious advice and you got it. You clearly have no intention of following it. There is no point in carrying on this discussion any further.

AZBuck