What is the most reliable and quick route across the US

[Jon in AZ]

Arizona allows you to tow at the posted 75 mph, while neighboring California limits towing to 55 mph.

The irony is I find little discernible difference in the actual towing speeds on either side of the Colorado River. Most towed RV's are going a sensible 65 mph on either side of the border, and the highway patrol seems fine with that.

[John in Santa Cruz]

when I towed my escape with my tacoma westbound out of dallas, initially I was going 75 with the flow of traffic in the rightmost lane... two tanks in a row, I got 9.6 MPG.

by the time I got to Nevada, I'd slowed to 55-60, my usual towing speed, and low and behold, I got closer to 13 MPG. using 18 gallons out of a 21 gallon tank, thats the difference between 175 miles/tank and 235 miles/tank...

[LyleB]

Originally Posted by Tom 72

Sergey is correct about the engineering.

I see no reason not to take 70 to 44 to 40, others may. 80 out of Denver is more of an option than suggestion. More active travelers may know which routes have roads in good or bad shape.

East of the Mississippi, tolls can be a consideration. Pennsylvania comes to mind.

I am sure really astute drivers (truckers) know where to fuel up based on gas taxes. Wyoming is one. Or maybe you are taking the Tesla. Not sure, you may want 2 or 3 Honda generators, running in your trunk, to lessen stops.

I'm kidding.

Agree about tolls. PA has horrendously high tolls on I 76 (Turnpike). Use I 80 here.

[Borrego Dave]

A lot of folks have given you different routes for you to choose from. Have to say though, from the title of your post...my first thought was an airplane. Sorry, I couldn't help it .

[stevebaz]

I prefer to start early in the morning then stopping to eat lunch around 11am then drive on again and stop earler in the day for a good meal and r&r for the next morning blast off. On the road at 5am gives you a good 4 hour jump on traffic and for the most part early drivers are more polite. I find getting a little jump on lunch and dinner while before normal hours gives you a much better trip. A jump in the pool late in the afternoon is better than driving till dark too tired to eat then rushing to go to bed.

If towing and trying to make time I would not go through Colorado. Too much mental stress climbing and decending moutains. Wasting beautiful country rushing through. Save that route for when you have the time to enjoy it. Fill up your gas tank before entering California they don't deserve the exra fuel taxes.

[Wayne Collins]

Originally Posted by stevebaz

I prefer to start early in the morning then stopping to eat lunch around 11am then drive on again and stop earler in the day for a good meal and r&r for the next morning blast off. On the road at 5am gives you a good 4 hour jump on traffic and for the most part early drivers are more polite. I find getting a little jump on lunch and dinner while before normal hours gives you a much better trip. A jump in the pool late in the afternoon is better than driving till dark too tired to eat then rushing to go to bed.

That is best when going West, the Sun is at your back, early in the morning.
Stop early to avoid the Sun in your eyes in late afternoon.
Going East? Start late, or make your breakfast stop at sunrise.

[XPod]

Its legal to overnight in Kansas rest areas on I70. Many of them have free water and dump stations. Just don't park near the semi trucks or you'll be sniffing diesel fumes all night.

I70 through Colorado west of Denver is so beautiful. It's what a vacation is all about. Stop at Blackhawk and pull a few slots or Copper Mountain for the alpine slide or a high altitude round of golf. Take an extra day, drop down a gear and enjoy the mountains before returning to the asphalt jungle.

[Wooddog1]

Be aware of St.Louis construction. Check your map, take I-255 around St.Louis to connect to I-44. That connects to I-40 in Oklahoma and you are on your way. Be safe!

[cpaharley2008]

Unfortunately, most rest areas group rv's with the trucks, thus leaving the automobile area relatively quiet. Also Pennsylvania raised their tolls this year, something like $80 to go end to end via car and double that if towing. I80 is free or I70/I68 thru Maryland will get you to Ohio via West Virginia without tolls.

[Raz]

In our trips west we've learned it's good to keep informed about the current wild fire conditions.

https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/

[Ed Morris]

We go from Richmond, VA to San Diego every year. If we are in a hurry, we pick up I-70 in St. Louis and then I-15 the rest of the way. From New York, you have several options to jump on I-70 from I-80, but we find I-70 the fastest way west, and we love the drive through Colorado and Utah.

When we are not in a hurry, we take I-40 most often, but have also taken I-10 and I-80.

[Travelrme]

FYI, in our travels, we always use the Waze app owned by Google. This is what they advertise: “Waze collects map data, travel times and traffic information from users and transmits it to the Waze server. Waze users ("Wazers") report accidents, traffic jams, speed and police traps, and, from the online map editor, updates roads, landmarks, house numbers, etc. Waze routes real-time traffic updates and can also identify the cheapest fuel station near a user or along their route, provided Waze has enabled fuel prices for that country.”

[gordon2]

Wow I just read the three pages of this thread. You were warned about high tolls, tornadoes, wild fires, sharp grades, diesel fumes, road construction, accidents, speed limits, gas taxes, driver fatigue, hot nights, and even the sun in your eyes.. so why would you go at all?

[hrewer]

Thanks everyone

[Gourdamental]

I travel cross-country every year. I've done I40 many times as well as I20/I10. This year I jumped onto I70 and was impressed with the good condition of the road. Driving thru the large cities presented no problems however the interstate has a toll section near Topeka. Ellis, KS has a city park for $20 per night. I40 offers lots of camping along the way.

[Uplander]

I have been using this method since about 1965. The formula is simple and is based on interstate highway driving with a minimum of secondary routes whenever possible. It factors in gas stops, food stops, restroom breaks and some time to walk about at stops to keep you alert. It also factors normal traffic and construction delays (whatever normal is ?). This simple formula is for long haul trips such as yours.
Most readers might disagree with the formula but it seems to work out very close to reality about 98% of the time.

DIVIDE ACTUAL MILEAGE By 50 ...... that will give you the total drive time.

How many miles or hours you drive per day is up to your personal endurance.

When you begin to get fatigued or feel sleepy get off the road for that day.

This formula (as tested by me over the last 50 years and a million plus miles is very realistic).....don’t be fooled into thinking that a 65 or even 75 MPH speed limit will change the results. Last trip showed 8 hours for a 600 mile trip on my
GPS....it took 11 hours and 45 minutes....within 15 minutes of the formula....trip was on a Sunday through mostly rural areas....almost no traffic to speak of....a few short thunder storm cloud bursts to make it interesting....one construction delay.

My routing suggestion for your trip would favor I70.

Have a safe trip and consider adding one day for unexpected problems.
Pulling a travel trailer across country always offers a surprise or two!

Happy Camping!

[Wonder wing]

Here is a big idea! I just traveled from MA to Ohio we drove 12 hours one way all in one day with very little stops. So true the less you stop the more you travel. No matter what speed you are going you cant make up a half hour once it's gone it's gone. So here is my idea fly to where you want to camp rent your trailer and truck do your business when there. Then return the truck and camper. Get back on a plane and you don't have to waste tons of cash on travel and places to stay. Yup it's less of an adventure but dam I can't imagine driving across the whole country whats that like 4/12-16 hour days driving sorry it's not for me. Just an odd idea that will allow you to spend a whole lot more time camping and less driving.

[Tom 72]

Wonder wing is right. Stop by your Dr's office and get fitted with catheters, so you won't have to make pesky rest stops, same for the kids. But that takes time, time you'll never get back.

So to save time, just pick up some of those adult diapers. Once you announce "We're not stopping" the family will fall into line. Forget stopping at that huge ball of string in Kansas.

Get an auxiliary gas tank, and you will make it non-stop. Have fun!

Last time I bought diapers, the box said, "Up to 15 lbs". ...They didn't hold near that much.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Wonder wing

Here is a big idea! I just traveled from MA to Ohio we drove 12 hours one way all in one day with very little stops. So true the less you stop the more you travel. No matter what speed you are going you cant make up a half hour once it's gone it's gone. So here is my idea fly to where you want to camp rent your trailer and truck do your business when there. Then return the truck and camper. Get back on a plane and you don't have to waste tons of cash on travel and places to stay. Yup it's less of an adventure but dam I can't imagine driving across the whole country whats that like 4/12-16 hour days driving sorry it's not for me. Just an odd idea that will allow you to spend a whole lot more time camping and less driving.

First off I love to drive, have always enjoyed the excitement of new sights, sounds, people, places and food. I will turn into a hermit if I can not drive. That said, I make it an adventure, take sandwiches along, stop for fuel and dog breaks every 3-4 hours and enjoy the scenery. Besides, flying takes more to check in/out than it does to drive, but as Donna says, YMMV.

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

First off I love to drive, have always enjoyed the excitement of new sights, sounds, people, places and food. I will turn into a hermit if I can not drive. That said, I make it an adventure,

Very similar here. I love driving. I stop around half way through the gas tank to stretch my legs, bathroom, walk the dog.

If you drive 60 to 65mph, you probably can average a close to 50mph on your overall time including stops. So if I leave at 7am and stop at my destination at 7pm, I’ve covered about 550 to 600 miles. Cut your stops to a bare minimum and you can get the miles traveled higher.

If you can’t maintain that pace then lower your estimated miles per day. And doing long days back to back, I like to plan a light day in the mix or a stay put day. Once you get to the Rockies and west of there, plenty of choices for stay put days.

Now such an approach is not for everyone! But there are many reasons people cover a lot of miles a day: work constraints, family, whatever. In my career I could only take one week of vacation at once. So if I wanted to go out west I had to bang out the miles, then hang out for a few days and then bang out the miles home. Now that I am retired, trips that I used to do in nine days (one work week plus the two weekends) now take three weeks or more. I still maintain my efficient travel skills but thankfully I don’t have to bang out the miles every day.