Cross-Country Move (FL to WA) & Advice Needed

[parapraxis24]

I'll be relocating across the country, and have decided to drive since it's a bit expensive to ship a car 3k miles and it'll probably take a POD container 5-6 days to make the journey anyway so I might as well time it that we arrive hopefully around the same time.

So this isn't necessarily a "what should I do along the way" type of inquiry.

If I take the regular Google Map recommended way, it takes me there the quickest way possible. About 44 hours and 3k miles. I would break it up into 3.5-4 days, about 10-12 hours each day with ideally only stopping for food, fuel, and shelter. I'm not big on attractions but rather nice scenery for the drive and nice roads (I'm a car enthusiast, so the curvier the better). This route goes through Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, Southern Wyoming, Southern Idaho and then WA. I'll be living near the Oregon Border.

My alternative route would be to stay slightly more southern and go Missouri to Kansas then cut through the Rockies in Colorado then through Nevada towards Reno, Northern California and finally up the 101 and the Oregon Coast. This route is about 55 hours and 3500 miles, so a full day extra on the road.

Now I would think that driving through the Rockies instead of around them, and then Northern CA and the Oregon Coast would be far more enjoyable than the suggested route. I'll likely never make this drive again or have the opportunity to drive through the Rocky Mountains so that has me leaning that way.

I'm not entirely certain it's really worth the extra full day of driving just for that. Having lived in FL my entire life, I'm easily impressed by mountains and that type of terrain. Every year I make a trip up to the NC/TN border and am always in awe with the scenery and views, so that's kinda what I'm looking for with this trip.

I'd love some feed back from anyone that's driven not necessarily the full journey, but at least made a trip across the center of the country in some form or another.

Thanks!

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

Before we get into the enjoyment of the trip it's important to deal with the safety issues. Trying to cover 3 thousand miles in 3.5/4 days is just not possible to do safely, fatigue is a killer. Google maps is good when it comes to distance but awful with timing to compensate for real world hurdles. A computer thinks it can drive at the speed limit for every minute of every day without any need for food, rest, sleep or any other human inconveniences such as congestion and construction delays. This trip can not be measured in hours as Google suggests and 12 hours a day will not get you there in 4 days. You are going to need a minimum of 5 overnight stops and the best part of 6 days just to cover the 3 thousand miles. Add another day for each 500 miles you add on to the quickest route. To get a better idea of timing, you will do well to average between 55 and 60mph per day with the basic stops and no major disruption. Thats 10-11 hours per day, day after day after day, and that gets tiring. Any more and fatigue creeps up on you bit by bit and by the time you realise it you are already at risk. This is a marathon and not a sprint so pace yourself across the journey and if you still have time for scenic routes/diversions then thats a good thing. My advice would be to give yourself a week and have a little time to turn it from a work like slog into a road trip adventure.

[parapraxis24]

Thanks for the advice, you're definitely right that I should probably slow it down a bit and just assume it'll take a full day longer than I expect. That would get it down to 8-10 hours per day, and you're right that will be tiring. I may have a friend with me to split the time but that isn't guaranteed to happen.

Any thoughts on my route options? Like I said, I'm less into stopping for attractions and more about enjoying the scenery along the way.

[noFanofCB]

Figure to make 50 mph overall average and that will tell you how long it will take. Even when running on 75 mph interstates. This is for gas, food, bathroom breaks, road construction, etc.

What time of year? I've been doing motorcycle rides thru S Wyoming and S Idaho up to Missoula area in June for several year now and might make some suggestions but... depends on time of year.

I've driven in whiteout snowstorms on the interstate in Wyoming in April....(in my Jeep)

[Southwest Dave]

Thanks for the advice, you're definitely right that I should probably slow it down a bit and just assume it'll take a full day longer than I expect. That would get it down to 8-10 hours per day, and you're right that will be tiring

Just to be clear, doing this trip in 4.5/5 days won't bring the travel time down to 8-10 hours a day. It's not slowing anything down as the starting point was unrealistic.

Any thoughts on my route options?

There are just so many options available and it will come back to time and what's most important to you. If the weather was good and the need for some scenery was strong, one route I would look to would be I-10/I-20 to Forth worth and up through Wichita Falls to I-40 between Amarillo and Albu then head towards Durango CO on US550 (spectacular mountain scenery) before headin towards Moab UT (191) then towards SLC and Twin Falls via I-15/I-84. It doesn't add many miles (as little as 50) and gives you some time from Interstate, but beware of the time needed and check travel conditions.

[Midwest Michael]

should probably slow it down a bit and just assume it'll take a full day longer than I expect. That would get it down to 8-10 hours per day, and you're right that will be tiring.

As both Dave and NoFanofCB have indicated, I think you missed the point of Dave's original advice.

The suggestion wasn't that you needed to slow it down a bit, it was a reality check that covering 10-12 hours a day simply won't allow you to cover 3,000 miles in 3.5 to 4 days. You need a minimum of 5 days, driving 10-12 hours a day, to cover that distance - and that's presuming you are just sticking to the interstates. To do it in 4 days, you'd need to be on the road for around 14 hours a day, every day, which is not safe over a multi-day trip.

If you do want to slow it down a bit - or even more accurately, still drive 10-12 hours a day but have time to get off the interstates, you'll need a 6th day. Based on what it sounds like you are hoping to get out of this trip, I think that would be very wise.

FL and WA are both big states, so without knowing any more specifics of where you're starting and ending, it's hard to offer more specific route ideas. But no matter what route you decide for the backbone of your trip, there's nearly always a parallel 2-lane US or State Highway that can offer a fun break from the consistency, limited grades, and wide sweeping curves of the Interstate system. Particularly as you get to the Rocky Mountain states, I imagine you'd want to take advantage of some of those.

[DonnaR57]

I totally concur with the advice to stretch the trip over 6 days, and to keep your route fluid and not set in stone. You can't predict everything! Does that mean you shouldn't get reservations ahead of time? No, not really - that would be personal preference. My husband and I like reservations so that we don't try to drive too far "just because we're feeling good". It also helps when you get into some traffic situations and you realize that you're not going to pull into a motel as early as you'd like. It's a peace-of-mind, knowing that you can pull in and a room should be waiting for you!


Donna