Boston to Vegas in an RV

[BostonHeather]

We are driving a rented RV from Boston to Las Vegas at the end of September. We are moving there and are taking 7 days to get there with the cats. I am a total rookie to RV driving and am looking for some suggestions for planning the route. I believe I can do 8-9 hours of driving a day before hitting the wall. Is there an easy way to map the route while taking into consideration of where propane can and can't be driven, size of RV (not larger than 25 feet), etc.
Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions and tips.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

To drive for 8 to 9 hours a day you should be looking at travelling between 400 and 450 miles per day which would amount to 6 or 7 days driving. You shouldn't have any issues in regards to travelling with propane on board the RV. Are you sure an RV is what you want for a move? It will likely cost more than a car and let friendly motels by the time you account for high fuel consumption, mileage charges, campground fees and possibly a larger one way drop off fee than a car would be.

[BostonHeather]

Thank you for the response. We considered driving our car and also flying but with our animals that have difficulty being caged we thought the RV would be a better match where they can be out and on the bed and only caged a limited amount of time. Thanks for the heads up on the propane. I thought I saw somewhere that propane wasn't allowed in certain tunnels but perhaps I was thinking of something else. Lots of details lol. The plus side is being able to stop along the way if the mood strikes us.

[AZBuck]

Propane and other flammable liquids and gasses are prohibited in/on only a few tunnels and bridges, mostly near large east coast cities. The only ones you will even come near are the ones under Boston Harbor and the ones under/over the Hudson River out of New York City. Neither is on your direct route. Speaking of which, most software will send you to Chicago via I-90. That is an expensive way to go. Not only are there tolls in every state until you are west of Chicago, but you are also pretty much a captive audience for the high cost fuel at the service plazas along them. A better route would be to only use I-90 as far as Sturbridge and then take I-84 west from there to Scranton PA. There drop down to I-80 and take that into Ohio. Continue straight on to I-76 when I-80 joins the Ohio Turnpike and then take I-71 down to Columbus and I-70 the rest of the way to Utah and finish up on I-15 into Las Vegas.

There are a few things to note about this route. First, the I-84 bridge across the Hudson is currently having work done on it, so expect some delay there. Second, I-81 between Scranton and I-80 is also under construction but I-380 southeast out of Scranton to I-80 offers a good alternative. Make sure that you use beltways around, rather than the main Interstates through, large cities. Examples include I-91/I-691 around Hartford (although personally, I'd just stay on I-84 for this one), I-270 around the northwest side of Columbus, I-465 around the south side of Indianapolis, I-270 around the north side of St. Louis. I-435 around the south side of Kansas City, and CO-470 (partially toll) around the south side of Denver. Each of these bypasses adds a few miles but they are much easier to negotiate in a large lumbering vehicle. In and around any large city where you have three or more lanes and lots of traffic, stay one lane to the left of the far right lane. Leave that right lane for traffic entering/leaving the freeway, and leave at least one lane to your left for people to get around you. Know well in advance where you'll need be as your own exits/entrances are coming up.

Also, overall, this alternate route adds about 50 miles and one hour to your driving. That is a small price to pay for saving around $100 (depending on the size of your RV) in tolls and extra fuel costs and for avoiding the nightmare that would be entailed in getting around Chicago, even on I-80 which ostensibly stays south of the city.

AZBuck

[glc]

I would not recommend the C-470. It's cashless with license plate tolling and the rental company will surcharge the heck out of you. As long as it's not rush hour, I-70 through Denver is not too bad.

I'd also recommend you save the miles and take I-70 and I-670 through KC. I-435 around KC is just as bad. Note that I-70 is toll between KC and Topeka, they take cash.

[BostonHeather]

thank you so much for the information and the time you put into it ;)