February Move - Seattle, WA to Richmond, VA

[carlypauline]

Hello helpers! I am relocating from Seattle, WA to Richmond, VA the second week of February and am hoping to get some advice / thoughts on this trip:

1. The route i'm thinking of is: I-90 to I-29 to I-80 to I-74 to I-70 to I-35 to I-64 - yay/nay?
2. I'm debating whether I should book reservations/stopping points in the 10ish hour range each day, or I should book along the way. Thoughts? And if it's book along the way, then what apps/websites are the best to use for good deals?
3. I am thinking of getting a soft roof rack to put on my car, so safe areas are important to me as everything I own will be in this car and visibly on top of it. Tips on that (is it even a smart idea to have a roof rack like this cross country in winter, thinking of filling it with mostly clothes/linens) and whether there are certain areas / types of lodging to avoid?

And other tips are welcome too! Thank you in advance.

Carly

[glc]

Welcome to RTA!

The route you chose is as good as any, note that it's US-35, not I-35.

I would break up the drive into 6 close to equal days. Look for overnights near:

Missoula MT
Gillette WY
Sioux Falls SD
Davenport IA
Dayton OH

You shouldn't need to book in advance, all 5 of those cities/towns have plenty of hotel options. I'd lean toward staying at hotels at Interstate exits, there should be one or more clusters by the highway, and generally safer and less hassles than downtown hotels.

If you want to book in advance, we have that facility on this website.

https://secure.rezserver.com/home/?refid=4051

[NowthatIamretired]

Just to clarify one small part, as I’ve driven this area a lot, it’s actually I-70 to I-75 S for a brief time in Dayton to get to US 35. And US 35 is all four lane across Ohio, some places to interstate standards with a 70 mph speed limit. There’s a brief section in W. VA that is two lane but that’s not too bad. I-64 in W. Va is a toll road too. Also, if you stay in Dayton, there are a lot of hotels just south of the I-70 and I-75 interchange. We’ve stayed in that area several times.

[Midwest Michael]

The route you've laid out is an excellent starting point, and exactly what I would do. I-90 is often a better choice than I-80, especially across the Rockies. This route also does give you the maximum flexibility. For example, if once you get through Montana, it looks like there will be bad weather in South Dakota, you could drop down on I-25 and head across Nebraska or Kansas. Or if there is bad weather in Iowa, you could stay on I-90 across Minnesota instead.

The ability to stay flexible is why I wouldn't be making advance reservations for hotels.

As far as a rooftop carrier, the only thing I would note is that such carriers do change the center of gravity of your car, which can change how it handles in windy and or slippery conditions. The biggest thing is making sure you remember it's there and adapt your driving accordingly.