 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / July 2006Seeking route advice
Hello, all. I have been browsing your group for a while. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and thoughts. Now I need some info. I am seeking route advice for a big road trip in September. I will be traveling from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Mid-Ohio Raceway in Lexington, OH to participate in the National Auto Sports Association's first-ever National Championship. I will be towing my race car, a Honda Civic (appx wt less than 2k lb) on an 18' flatbed trailer (appx wt 1400 lb). My tow vehicle is a 1988 Fleetwood Jamboree 26S (43000 miles on the clock) on the Ford Econline 350 chassis. I had been towing the car & trailer behind my fullsize pickup for about a year and a half before finding the motorhome, so I have a little bit of towing experience. I acquired the motorhome about two months ago and have already had the combination on the road to Reno (actually, Fernley) NV and Buttonwillow, CA (twice), so this trip will not be the first time I have traveled with it. I am seeking advice on a route and stop-over places (for meals and/or rest stops), as I have not budgeted time or $$$ for overnighting it in motels. Specifically, I need to arrive at the Mid-Ohio Raceway (in Lexington, OH) during the day of Sunday, Sept 10 in satisfactory shape to take a day of practice on the track on Monday the 11th. I expect to need about four days in order to not kill myself on the way to the event, so I'm looking at leaving the Bay Area Weds 9/6 or Thurs 9/7. Sound reasonable? Possible routes would be I80 from SF all the way to Chicago, then south I65 to Louisville, then east I64 to Lexington. I could also go I5 south to Bakersfield, then east I40 to Nashville, then north I65 to east I155, or maybe stay on I40 to north I75 in Knoxville. I hope to not have to solo it, but as yet my would-be crew/co-driver's status is up in the air. I would also be interested in joining a caravan going that direction for all or some of the way, or meeting along the way, if the schedules meshed. I'm also posing these same questions to my fellow drivers leaving from Calif. I will have more time on the backside (week of Sept 18), so I'll be able to take a more relaxed pace home. Anyone know if I should expect rain in Lexington in mid-Sept? Thanks in advance, Dave R > Hello, all. > [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > Dave R DR, for what it is worth I would lean toward your Northern Rt., that is still a very warm time of the year, but that would be the shortest route. Depending on your speeds, running 10 (or so) hrs days would get you there in 4 days. I use MS Streets 7 Trips for a lot of our route planning. Not a lot of scenery, but Wendover NV / UT may be a spot to consider for first lay over. Down near the Red Garter there is dirt lot space for boondocking if that is your wish, and just across the border in UT is a park affiliated with that Casino on the S. side of the main drag at the border. The rates are not bad and have full hookups so you can run the AC. Also gives you a morning start across the Salt Flats. I would consider altering the route and bypassing Chicago and it's associated Toll Roads as you will be paying for 4 axles and it will be more than running a car. We always bypass that area, dropping S. on I-74 near the Davenport, IA and Moline, IL area through Indianappolis out to Columbus, OH and then N. on I-71 Another possible layover if you like Sporting Goods and coming from CA where hunting is a dirty word there is a nice Cabella's in Sidney, NE and they have either full hook-ups or you can get a discount rate for little or no hook-ups, very good folks. Again those stops would come in near 10 hrs. running 65 MPH avg. Another layover near Davenport, IA or a bit further down the road will set you up for a last day of travel getting you into your destination either route you choose, via Chicago or avoiding their madness and tolls and running S. of it. Keep in mind I am not a travel agent, but hope this will help. We are working our way E. now, being FT ers, we have a leisurely pace going and run a lot of back roads when we can. We aim to be in NC this Sept., currently being in E. Utah and working our way across S. CO on US 50 soon. Eitehr way you go, have a great safe trip and good luck at the race. Dave Woodruff >DR, for what it is worth I would lean toward your Northern Rt., that is >still a very warm time of the year, but that would be the shortest route. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >the Davenport, IA and Moline, IL area through Indianappolis out to Columbus, >OH and then N. on I-71 >snip FWIW, in coming directly east on I-80 through illinois you would encounter only 1 toll plaza ) junction of I-80 and I-294. now if you veered east on I-88 where it meets I-80 then you'd be on a toll road. 73, rich, n9dko >>DR, for what it is worth I would lean toward your Northern Rt., that is >>still a very warm time of the year, but that would be the shortest route. [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > 73, > rich, n9dko Rich, I usually avoid toll roads, but out of curiosity, what do the toll rates run for 4 axles approx per mile or section. It impressed me as expensive in the past is why I stay off as a rule. I guess it torques me to pay road taxes on my fuel that I am burning to run on a toll road. Thanks in advance. Dave >>>DR, for what it is worth I would lean toward your Northern Rt., that is >>>still a very warm time of the year, but that would be the shortest route. [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > >Dave the truck rates (motorhomes, motorhomes pulling vehicles and vehicles pulling trailers are considered trucks for the purposes of tolls) at the toll booths in illinois will depend on the time of day (peak vs. non-peak hours), dave, so there is no easy answer to your question. in addition, tollway users using the I-Pass transponder to pay tolls receive a roughly 50% discount. tolls can be expensive, that's for sure. can't speak to any other state but here in illinois the toll highway system does not receive any federal motor fuel taxes. the operation and maintenance of the toll highways is supported entirely by tolls and lease fees from the oasis (restuarants, gas stations, etc) operators. the tolls in illinois are user fees. if you choose to come straight thru on I-80 you're gonna hit only one toll booth in illinois and that is where I-80 intersects with I-294. I-294 is the tri-state tollway. according to the chart the illinois tollway publishes the truck tolls at that plaza will vary from $0.75 to $3.00, depending on the rig and time of day. btw, the main E-W tollway coming thru illinois is I-88, not I-80. you've received some advice suggesting that you by-pass I-80 in the metro chicago area (this is where i live) due to on-going construction. the stretch under construction is a v-e-r-y heavily traveled stretch (basically where I-294 intersects I-80 to the indiana state line) and traffic backs up frequently. the stretch of EB I-80 between the indiana state line and I-65 frequently slows down to a crawl (literally) regardless of the time of day. the advice to by-pass metro chicago is good advice. 73, rich, n9dko > the truck rates (motorhomes, motorhomes pulling vehicles and vehicles > pulling trailers are considered trucks for the purposes of tolls) at [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] > 73, > rich, n9dko Rich, I have an Uncle lives in Grayslake, N. of there and we visited him a few years ago. He towed a 5th wheel and once ran the toll way but avoids it like the plague due to feed also. When visiting we stayed at Illinois State Beach, nice enough park for a while and left going SB right along the lake and out to Indiana. It definitely reminded me why I enjoy staying as far away from big cities as possible in our travels. No tolls but traffic was a PITA. The part about the fuel tax I was talking about is as you noted the toll way is supported by my tolls and it's vendors, yet I still have to burn fuel to run on them that I did pay fuel tax on, kind of like doublt taxation. Thanks for the info. Happy Trails Dave W. >> the truck rates (motorhomes, motorhomes pulling vehicles and vehicles >> pulling trailers are considered trucks for the purposes of tolls) at [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > >Dave W. well, i look at it this way, dave...we don't have kids but i pay school taxes. we all pay taxes for lots of things we don't use. at least going E-W across illinois you have a choice...freeway (I-80) or tollway (I-88). it's all about choice. never been to illinois beach SP..gotta do that one of these days. have a safe trip. 73, rich, n9dko >Hello, all. > [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > >Dave R dave, my trip software says that taking I-80 from the bay area to US250 north of Norwalk, OH and then south to Lexington will be a run of about 2500 miles (depending on the exact starting location). i figured a 10-hour driving day for you and came up with 4 overnight stops...(1) east of wells, nv, (2) cheyenne, wy, (3) stuart, nb, (4) toledo, oh. this assumes an average speed of 60-mph. you're gonna be hitting some large cities which will slow you down some and really drop that average. a 12-hour day changed it to 3 overnights...(1) just west of salt lake, city, (2) east of north platte, nb, (3) and just east of joliet, il. i-80 to i-65 to i-70/i-270 in columbus, etc. is about the same elapsed time, again depending on where you're actually starting from. your route to b'field/i-40/i-44 in ok city/i-70 in st. louis is about 100 miles farther. any way you cut it you're looking ar 3-4 overnights solo. how far can you drive in a day solo? gotta eat sometime. if you gotta be in OH on the 11th you want to wake up in lexington that morning, right? assuming 4-nights on the road that means you gotta leave the bay area on the orning of the 6th or 7th. i'd leave on the 6th and have a short day on the 10th. that would give me time to rest up. leave on the 7th and you might find yourself pulling in to lexington late on the 10th. me? if i was solo i'd be comfy doing about an 8-10 hour day including stops. factor in some extra time for weather, really heavy traffic, murphy, etc. if you get a crew to go with you of course you can cut that time. for overnights i'd be looking at flying j's or other truck stops, wally world lots, cracker barrel lots, etc. how much fresh water can you carry? got a working generator for electricity? propane? we like truck stop food (especially flying j!). good luck 73, rich, n9dko There are apparently two "Lexington, OH 's" so its best you check here" http://www.mapquest.com/ for the correct route. Both take 80 (and briefly 280, back to 80 around Chicago construction) The site will give detailed route distances and waypoints. (route changes and interchange numbers) Route looks like this: http://home.comcast.net/~thuxton/routeplan.jpg Pepperoni > Hello, all. > [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > Dave R Thanks everyone to date, esp Pepperoni, Rich, and Dave W. I tend to be very task-oriented and figured I would be doing days of at least 10 hrs driving. My goal is to be in Lexington on the 10th in order to unload the car and set up so as to be ready to hit the track on the AM of the 11th. Then I will have a couple of days to recover before my event actually gets underway... My thought was to set out on the morning of Sept 6. I've got propane and will have the generator working by the time I depart. I have a (functioning) propane/electric fridge and have 40 gal fresh water capacity. Thanks again! Dave R Dave, welcome to our neighborhood. I live about 20 miles due east of Mid-Ohio. Yes it can rain in Sept; especially if influenced by a hurricane that might come inland on the gulf shore region a few days previously and headed north. Having traveled east from Riverside, CA (thru AZ, NM, TX and OK) to Kansas then homeward thru KS, MO, IL and IN as recently as this last May my recommendation would be to take I-80 to I-25 drop south down to I-70 at Denver then head east on I-70; due to ongoing construction taking place on I-80 in the greater Chicago area. The nice town Russell, KS has a couple of great campgrounds just north of I-70. This will take you into Columbus, OH where you can take the beltway I-270 northward to I-71 north toward Cleveland and Mid-Ohio. If you get off at the Mt. Gilead exit at mm 151 (SR 95) go east into the village of Chesterville and take SR 314 north to the track; just follow the signs. Or if you like you can go to the next exit on I-71 at mm 165 (Bellville) and SR 97 turning left which will take you into Lexington and turn left at the first light which is US 42/SR 97 and this will take you through Lexington to the track; just follow the signs. Hope this helps, we were sight seeing and it took us 7 days to drive home and I realize you will be on a "mission". Somebuddy Else........aka Fran >Dave, welcome to our neighborhood. I live about 20 miles due east of >Mid-Ohio. Yes it can rain in Sept; especially if influenced by a hurricane [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > >Somebuddy Else........aka Fran dave, if you take that route and are looking for a really expensive place to overnight...i mean REALLY expensive then be sure to stop at the Dayton Tall Timbers KOA (exit 24). it's a bee-yoo-tee-full park that will set you back $50 for one night. if you find yourself in the dayton area when it's time to stop there is a meijer at exit 29 where you can overnight for free. 73, rich, n9dko > >Dave, welcome to our neighborhood. I live about 20 miles due east of > >Mid-Ohio. Yes it can rain in Sept; especially if influenced by a hurricane [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > 73, > rich, n9dko I'm hoping to arrive at the raceway before nightfall Sunday 10th and at least get into a spot there. Looks like I will plan on leaving SF Bay Area early (early!) morning of the 6th. Keep the suggestions coming! TIA, Dave R >> >Dave, welcome to our neighborhood. I live about 20 miles due east of >> >Mid-Ohio. Yes it can rain in Sept; especially if influenced by a hurricane [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] >TIA, >Dave R I would take I-80 basically all the way. You have to cross the mountains on any of them unless you go far south and 80 is not as heatfull as I-70 is in colorado in places. Once you get to cheyenne Wyo area, you have some get towing coditions with a road that is basically flat to iowa (this is why it was a popular route in the wagon train days) This is your shortest quickest route and I-80 is one of the better interstates for going cross country (I-70 is a bit like a roller coaster going through Kansas) ----------------- The SnoMan www.thesnoman.com |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.