Vancouver, Canada to Boston in Dec/12

[TaliaMO]

Two of us are looking to drive from Vancouver Canada to Boston (hopefully) in under 10 days. We'll be driving in a Toyota RAV, small SUV with all-wheel drive. We are very excited, relatively unseasoned road-trippers, and need advice about safe winter driving and route planning.

First, is time a problem? Both distance and chance of storms slowing us down.
If we do this trip in 10 days, will we have time to stop at anything much?
Is it unwise to take the Northern route, I90 in the winter? We're also looking at driving down to Sacramento then across on I80 -- would that help? Would driving all the way south help (say through AZ, NM, etc.), or would that just take too long?
Advice on routes involving high elevation and mountain passes would be great.

We have all season radials. Will those work? Should we have chains with us? We'd rather not get snow tires because then we'll be stuck with them in Boston (and possibly driving back) in June.

Thanks for all the tips!

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

As long as you take the right approach, there is no reason you can't be one of the thousands of people who travel from coast to coast, every day, even in winter.

With the details of your plans, I-90 (and/or I-94) is certainly the best choice when factoring in the weather. Its the shortest and most direct, keeping you on the road for the shortest amount of time, and leaving you the most extra time in case there is a storm that slows you down. Its a trip that should take you 5-6 full days of driving in good conditions, so getting there in under 10 shouldn't be a problem.

Going down to I-80 certainly doesn't help you, nor does going even farther south. All of the other options still have a chance of seeing winter weather (plus you'd be dealing with the coastal mountains in addition to the Rockies). The only thing you'd be doing by looking at those other options is significantly increasing the amount of time you need for the trip, and reducing the extra time available if you need to wait for conditions to improve.

All-Season tires should be fine, and if conditions are so bad that you need chains on the interstates, then you shouldn't be out on the roads anyway. Interstates are the top priority to be cleared, and it takes a pretty major weather event for them to be to be in poor condition for more than a day or two.