Rookies taking a moving van / dolly-towed car around Appalachia - best option?

[MoPac]

Where in NJ are you going? The tolls on I-76 when towing are considerable, I'd look at taking I-78 then dropping south if necessary when you get to NJ. Also, the last thing you want to do is take I-76 through Philly, I won't even do that in a car. The Schuylkill Expressway is a miserable old road with awful traffic. Let us know exactly where you are going and we can recommend the easiest way.

So the final target will be between Trenton and Princeton, although -- depending on other factors -- we might only tow as far as some convenient place on the PA side of the Delaware with easy access to 95 or US1. Since our destination is that far south, I've figured to this point that swinging up and around on I78 probably couldn't do much for us, especially since we'll be looking to stay on controlled access roads as much as possible.

Google's algorithms don't have a particularly strong view of the route to take in any case (I can actually move the destination 10 feet and get sent through DC and Baltimore rather than PA at all). At the moment, around Philadelphia we're looking at 76 to 276 to either 95 (the western route around Trenton) or US1.

[DonnaR57]

If you use paper maps, you wouldn't need to play wit Google's algorithms at all. No paper maps? Go to a big box store and buy a Rand McNally atlas for about $10. Or go to AAA (if you're a member) and ask for the maps you need. You NEED paper maps.


Donna

[Foy]

A hearty X2 on the paper maps. Software will all too often have you do some mighty silly things. On occasion, some downright dangerous things, too. "Death by GPS" is more often a winter travel phenomenon and is almost solely a Western US tragedy story, but the point is there no complete substitute for maps and the ability to use them.

Foy

[glc]

This advice is from a former resident of the area - take I-78 into NJ, then I-287 to US-206 south to Princeton. Trust me - it's only 20 miles longer and no tolls (your tolls on the PA Turnpike would probably be over $30 for both rigs from Carlisle to Bensalem).

[MoPac]

This advice is from a former resident of the area - take I-78 into NJ, then I-287 to US-206 south to Princeton. Trust me - it's only 20 miles longer and no tolls (your tolls on the PA Turnpike would probably be over $30 for both rigs from Carlisle to Bensalem).

Thanks for that tip; I did see that that for just the van/car rig would be ~$22-23, so I'll definitely check out how 206 looks.

If you use paper maps, you wouldn't need to play wit Google's algorithms at all. No paper maps? Go to a big box store and buy a Rand McNally atlas for about $10. Or go to AAA (if you're a member) and ask for the maps you need. You NEED paper maps.
Donna

A hearty X2 on the paper maps. Software will all too often have you do some mighty silly things. On occasion, some downright dangerous things, too. "Death by GPS" is more often a winter travel phenomenon and is almost solely a Western US tragedy story, but the point is there no complete substitute for maps and the ability to use them.
Foy

I think there are really two separate issues here, though. There's the question of how much faith to put in auto-generated route calculations. I think they are a great general tool for offering suggestions and providing statistics and other information for different possibilities. But of course we ultimately do our own route planning and wouldn't blindly follow them -- or else I wouldn't be here asking questions and poking around different options!

But I'm not sure that really says anything about whether to have a go-to preference for static maps inked on dead tree matter. I enjoy flipping and scanning through them for fun, and they're important emergency-backups to your emergency-backups, but in most cases in North America, I don't think they hold a candle to the accuracy, completeness, and feature-set offered by major digital mapping projects like OSM, Google Maps, Bing, and MapQuest. And that's even when using cached data without live internet connectivity and without using any automated route guidance. Like two other loves of mine -- cursive handwriting and classic manual-transmission driving -- static mapmaking is a beautiful and storied craft that still has niches of practical utility, still plays some significant role in shaping new development, and still has a long-term future in art and in specialty projects. But also as with those other two, we are now entering a time when replacements are overcoming initial limitations/reputations and becoming truly mature.

[Midwest Michael]

The ability to play with online maps has certainly gotten better over the past decade, although there are still advantages to paper maps that I've yet to see duplicated on electronic maps. That's especially true when you don't have access to a data connection - which severely limits the capabilities of most electronic maps - and while on the road, the places you most need help from a map are the places you're least likely to have a reliable signal.

But the most important thing is that you have access to real maps, that you can work with yourself, and make decision about where to go yourself. Even if most people on the forum probably wouldn't argee with you, it's ok If you think you can get enough information from maps in an electronic form. It's the blindly following the directions of a GPS or an Online Mapping program that can and does lead people into very dangerous situations.

[DonnaR57]

Thanks for that tip; I did see that that for just the van/car rig would be ~$22-23, so I'll definitely check out how 206 looks.

While I definitely see the usefulness of US-206, as described by glc above, it is completely because it is toll-free. My husband detested that highway in that area, because it was like driving on street surfaces (including stop signs and traffic lights) for lots of miles. Perhaps we would have found it better if we were avoiding huge tolls. We just used it because it went where we needed to go (Princeton to Stanhope).


Donna

[Subman]

Hi MoPac,

While I agree with you on the online maps and/or GPS being accurate and very helpful, the paper maps can be (and often are) crucial. I can see that your trip will be Interstate mainly, but it is still worth considering, if you happen to venture outside of the Interstates.

Just a couple of examples:


1) On a recent big trip (our first) our GPS did not work at all (until we bought a new one a few days into the trip), which means we put our paper maps to very good use and could not have done without them. We REALLY depended on the paper maps.

2) the brand new TomTom that we bought, on very many occasions, would have sent us through some ridiculous roads (e.g. Private, small road, dirt road, farmland, etc...) - so it was only through maps that we learned this.

[DonnaR57]

Another couple of examples about GPS (Google Maps on an iPhone, to be exact):

1) When my oldest daughter was arriving here a little over a week ago, Google Maps took my daughter home via a circuitous route. She hadn't driven around here in about 7 years, so when it took her down a certain road, she was puzzled about where she was.

2) Even after that experience, they lost the caravan-of-three (which happens when 2 vehicles try to follow the leader in a city) and decided to program in our address, trying to get home from Sea World. Again, it took her another way than she would have recognized. She termed it "the longer, scenic route". I rolled my eyes when she got home -- it took her 4 miles out of her way. And this is technology "at its best"???

My own experience with a GPS: I was testing out our newer Garmin. I programmed in my work address, it was set to avoid certain things and use others. If I had listened to it, I would have added 2.75 miles to my commute.

Finally, a colleague was hosting the staff end-of-year party. She put directions to her home in the staff room, with a big warning: DO NOT FOLLOW YOUR GPS!!!! She said later that most GPS units and Google Maps, along with the iPhone map program, would send people over a cowpath with a locked gate across it, to get to her home.

These are reasons why I would rely on someone else's directions, or my paper maps, rather than electronics. Electronics cannot be beat for finding exact mileages, that is true. But when I'm sitting here at my computer, my atlas sits next to me, so I can help someone with their routing.


Donna

[glc]

While I definitely see the usefulness of US-206, as described by glc above, it is completely because it is toll-free. My husband detested that highway in that area, because it was like driving on street surfaces (including stop signs and traffic lights) for lots of miles. Perhaps we would have found it better if we were avoiding huge tolls. We just used it because it went where we needed to go (Princeton to Stanhope). Donna

It's only 20 miles from 287 to Princeton on 206. Princeton to Stanhope is 45 miles. Big difference. NJ-31 from Clinton south is also an option, it multiplexes with US-202 for a while which is multi-lane divided. That would take you to I-95 north of Trenton with an easy connect to US-1.

Money saving note: PA just raised their gas taxes considerably, gas is considerably cheaper in NJ. However, note that you are not allowed to pump your own in NJ, it's attendant service only.