NJ-CA in January!!!

[BabiDollEvo8]

I know how everyone hates a re-post, but I have read a lot of the NJ-Cali threads and most of them are for Summer driving. Here is a little info on my condition, and hopefully someone can help me!

My boyfriend and I are relocating to Folsom, CA form Jackson, NJ the end of this week. We are driving a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel 4-dr and towing a 28-ft enclosed race trailer with my car and other moving stuff inside. He has it tuned to run about 20 miles/gallon and we want to go from central NJ directly to Huntington Beach, CA (to see a friend) taking a southern route to avoid storms and bad weather, and then drive up through Cali to Folsom. I estimated this to take us about 5 days, driving about 13-15 hours/day (including pit stops for food and gas).
I looked on RandMcNally.com and I see that I-70 goes through Utah and the weather report says snow. My main concern is to avoid the Rockies this time of year. I see I-40 goes that way and it looks like I could probably take I-15 right into Huntington Beach. Problem is that I can't seem to find a website where I can put in the roads I want to travel on so it can tell me how to get to them.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this novel I worte, lol.

[BabiDollEvo8]

Quick update....

I searched another route on Mapquest and found I can take this route... please let me know if its any good.

I-195 to Rte-29 to US-1 to I-276 to I-76 to I-70 to I-44 to I-40 to I-15

[AZBuck]

Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

At least you didn't ask for places to see along the route! I sincerely hope that you have an extra day or two in reserve just in case your very optimistic estimate of the time necessary for this trip doesn't work out. Remember that driving time estimates you get from on-line software assume that you are going flat out at the speed limit for every minute you're on the road, something that is really not feasible with your rig. Keep in mind also that the 'southern route' is more prone to ice storms and freezing rain than the colder, snowier, northern routes. Still, if you get up before the crack of dawn and drive into the night each and every day, and you only major stop is to sleep, you might still manage the 600+ miles a day you're envisioning. As for (free) mapping software that will let you alter your route, try Google Maps. Choose 'Get Directions' and enter your starting and ending points. Google is one of the few free routines around that will then let you click and drag on the route to make it go where you want. Now if only the weather could be so under your control.

AZBuck

[BabiDollEvo8]

Thanks a bunch!

[Foy]

Babidoll,

I think it's going to be very difficult to do this trip in 5 days, especially towing. I just completed a Raleigh, NC to Ventura, CA trip in late October, and we ran long and hard each day in a lightly loaded fullsize Chevy pickup. Yes, we took side trips to the Grand Canyon and to Hoover Dam, but it would have been 3 very long days and part of a 4th even without those diversions. We ran in the high 70s to low 80s (MPH) all day, with only short fuel and bathroom stops, from before dawn to after sunset. I don't see how it's possible to make it to the south side of the LA Basin from Jersey then over 400 miles north through California in 5 days, towing a 28' trailer.

This brief aside: I've got a diesel truck and it does great on fuel mileage, even towing, provided that I don't run over 55-60 mph. If you want to or need to run faster, the mileage is going to suffer terribly, and that doesn't even touch upon the hazards of running hard while towing heavy. I'd figure on a much slower pace if I were you.

And that California 5th day is much more than just the +400 miles. You've got to go clear across the LA Basin, perhaps on a weekday, then up a very long mountain pass (the Grapevine), then all the way up to San Francisco, and through it, to the Folsom I looked up, right outside of Sacremento. That's a long, slow day in and of itself. LA Basin traffic is a meatgrinder.

I'd be fairly unconcerned about differences in the weather along I-40 vs that on I-80. Sure, you don't want to drive into a blizzard, but don't think the weather can't be terrible along I-40. This is the time of year for ice storms along I-40, and that's a much more difficult situation than routine snows along I-80.

If I had 5 days to get from central New Jersey to the Sacremento area, and had time to visit in Southern Cal later on, I'd run straight across to Sacremento, through WY, UT, NV, and CA. Yes, you've got some high elevation territory, but the roads get cleared amazingly quickly and only in the worst of conditions will you likely be delayed for long.

Have a safe trip.

Foy