Camper friendly Trip route from Northern NJ

[sirenia88]

Hi,

Several people on the transportation forum said to post up in the Camping section as it would probably receive more knowledgeable responses. Hence why the question is similar in nature.

My family and I are coming out of North Western New Jersey for a road trip to Disney. The last few times my wife and I flew down but now we have our daughter and a travel trailer.

I was looking The I95 option. Google maps is showing an 18 hour drive time. Other options offered were I78 to Harrisburg to Rte 15 to I270 to I495 outside of Washington DC then on to I 95. The other and what seems popular is the I78 to 81 to 77 then to 26 to 95 then to I4. Each route seems to have its obstacles like I 95 in Baltimore tunnels so I695 is put into play. DC well it is DC The I81 is pretty hilly in VA and work the tow vehicle. Since I have been down I81 several times over the years, it is pretty long. This other option The rte 15/I270 combo I do not know too much about. However what I do know playing with the routes, I am within 50 miles and 1 hour worth of drive time.

I am looking for advice from the traveling camper community for advice on the better route for the tow vehicle and the 30 foot trailer is has behind it. As what my wife would say, "whatever gets up there quicker and doesn't kill the truck "

Thanks!

 

[heartsy77]

I also would like to know this , just coming from a little farther north ( Binghamton NY area). Also I need a cheap campground in route most likely 14 hrs into trip down. Since we are a small caravan we need to drive in two days, the later being the shortest.

 

[jonimce]

We drive this trip often coming from the New Haven area. Never do 95, always 287 to 80 or 78. I would do 78 to 81. It may be more miles but no tolls and a lot less traffic. You will save time. Stay on 81 into VA. and bypass Baltimore and DC.

For a campground on the way we always do the state parks. Virginia's are the best but you most likley want to go on to GA. We will be stopping at Myrtle Beach St park this trip. But they want two nights to book ahead.

Joni

 

[cruising spud]

We live in southeastern Pennsylvania and have driven south many, many times-to Disney and to visit our daughter in North Carolina.

First, let me say, that in my opinion, no route is faster than 95. I know that people say other routes might be longer but allow you to save time because of the lack of traffic. We have NEVER found this to be true. There is less traffic on routes other than on 95, but there is traffic. Sometimes quite a bit. Again, nothing like 95, but I wouldn't call it smooth sailing. And, once you get past Richmond, 95 is great.

So, you have to figure out what is the most important to you-quickness down to Disney or less traffic but a longer time to drive.

If getting to Disney as quickly as possible is the most important, than take
95. Just travel through Philadelphia, Wilmington, the Beltway, etc in the middle of the night. Several times we have done this-slept a few hours, gotten up, gotten ready, and left at 1:00 am. This makes 95 a fairly easy trip.

On the other hand, if you'd rather travel during the day 78/15/and picking up 95 somewhere after Washington is nice, except realize that some spots on 15 are slow traveling. A nice trip, just keep in mind 15 is not a fast road. We tend to add about 3 to 4 hours onto our trip using this route.

We have also taken 76 to 81 to 64 to 95 (at Richmond). Again, a nice drive, but slower than 95. I'd say we add about 4 to 5 hours onto our trip.

Hope this helps.

 

[91oldkeywest]

Live at the shore in NJ and drive MH to Orlando often.We have found the best way to drive as (95/295)to Delaware Bridge,at exit 1 take 301 south (this avoids all tolls on 95 and bridges.(M.H,and traveltrailers can not use tunnels because of bottle gas).Take 301 all the way to 495 south around Wash. about 20 miles to 95south again.depending on when you arrive at this point (early is better)traffic can back up all the way to Fredrickberg).after that it is clear sailing all the way to Orlando and points south.If you return this route the only toll is at the Annapolis bridge north bound.And yes driving this route from Orlando it takes 18hours at 63mph.

 

[jonimce]

From where we are it only adds 1 hour. We stay away from 15 and stay on 81 until 70/270 or down to 64. And the price of towing a trailer on the NJT is huge. When we leave from Philly we do 95 all the way down.

Joni

 

[LHARPSTER]

We are looking at routes from Wisconsin and want to stay overnight one night on the way down. I found that some campingworld stores allow overnight parking for free. Some even have power and water to hook up to. If your looking for free check them out. Not every store allows it. Just a thought.

 

[PoohNRoo2]

We are in Harrisburg, PA and we usually take Rt 15 to Rt 17 outside of Leesburg. You can follow that all the way down to I-95 north of Richmond. We then put on our boredom blinders for the trip south to I-4.

This year, we plan to leave around 4am and drive straight to the KOA in Point South, SC. Right around 12 hours. That will leave us about 4 to 5 hours the second day to travel to WDW!

You can still cut thru NJ and PA on I-78 and I-81. Just get on I-581 from 81S and get off at the Gettysburg exit.

Easy, and no tolls and tunnels. The Rt 15/17 ride is pretty direct, keeps moving and very scenic (in a good "scenic route" way).

Good luck!

 

[parrothead64]

We left at 11PM and took RT 896 in Delaware to RT 301 across the Bay Bridge to I495 which turns into I95, also before you get to Jacksonville, FL, take RT 9A around and it is smooth sailing back to I95.

 

[IslandHtsCampers]

we tow our fifth wheel to the fort about every other year. 95 is the fastest and you'll find amenities easier than traving down 81. I take the delaware memorial bridge to DE 1 then 299 west to us 301. Take US 301 all the way to ruther glen and it is usually smooth sailing. I usually leave around 6pm so the rush hour traffic in DC and Annapolis vicinities is light. If you catch 95 around DC and baltimore just right( when the moon is aligned with whatever and the spring tide floods in the fall) the trip could be 90 minutes shorter but you always run the chance of congestion, construction or some moron who decides to use a guard rail as his urinal and traffic will be screwed up for hours/miles.

301 is a change pace too and a much more relaxing ride instead of the multilane 95.

 

[Disney Bunny]

Live at the shore in NJ and drive MH to Orlando often.We have found the best way to drive as (95/295)to Delaware Bridge,at exit 1 take 301 south (this avoids all tolls on 95 and bridges.(M.H,and traveltrailers can not use tunnels because of bottle gas).Take 301 all the way to 495 south around Wash. about 20 miles to 95south again.depending on when you arrive at this point (early is better)traffic can back up all the way to Fredrickberg).after that it is clear sailing all the way to Orlando and points south.If you return this route the only toll is at the Annapolis bridge north bound.And yes driving this route from Orlando it takes 18hours at 63mph.

Currently live in Virginia Beach, VA but used to live just out of DC in Maryland and used to make frequent trips back to Virginia Beach. I actually recommend this as being the best route. But you don't have to jump back on 495 south around DC. Actually stay on 301 down to Bowling Green, VA (near Fort A. P. Hill). Pleasant drive with 4 lane highway except for one very small stretch. Normally not heavily traveled. Back on 95 at Bowling Green and then take 295 around Richmond. Word of warning concerning tunnels on interstate highways in Baltimore. You can't take your travel trailer thru them due to the gas tanks.

 

[gillenkl]

We left at 11PM and took RT 896 in Delaware to RT 301 across the Bay Bridge to I495 which turns into I95, also before you get to Jacksonville, FL, take RT 9A around and it is smooth sailing back to I95.

We live in Delaware and take this same route.:

 

[sirenia88]

Thank you for all the replies so far. I see alot of people are CYA when it comes to the Baltimore tunnels. I remember them fondly as my parts have a motorhome and they use to drive to Myrtle Beach on a regular basis. IIRC, we were able to use the tunnel once after my father had to prove the tank was empty and this was 20 years ago. After that is was 695 option. I was figuring the x95 options only because we are driving down on the weekend. So traffic should not be as heavy.

As for the route. I'm checking out the Rte 301 option. Looks like it may be a viable solution. Either way, we are going in October so there is time to plan the route down to Fort Wilderness.

 

[alice99]

We left at 11PM and took RT 896 in Delaware to RT 301 across the Bay Bridge to I495 which turns into I95, also before you get to Jacksonville, FL, take RT 9A around and it is smooth sailing back to I95.

 

[dblr]

I would also use RT 301 and stay on it to Bowling Green, DC traffic can be bad on weekends also, plus there is a Flying J at the exit (104) before you get on that is a good fuel stop.
Unless you are leaving very early in the morning would be the only way I would stay on 95, tune into 103.5 fm they do traffic on the 8's

 

[sssteele]

From Harrisburg, PA area. We have a heavy trailer with a truck not up to pulling steep grades very well. Here's what I do when heading to Florida -
I-81 S. to Winchester VA, cross over to Fredericksburg VA, and continue south from there on I-95. You avoid DC metro craziness, and add only a few miles. We just returned Saturday from WDW in our car, so we took the D.C. 495 to 270 to US 15 route. No problems in a car, but construction and traffic volume would have freaked me out if I had been towing 4 tons.

 

[North of Mouse]

When traveling from Maine back to NC (from Harrisburg,Pa) we take hwy.15 S. to I-270 and then I-495 (western portion of DC) then to I-95 S. We have a MH and tow car and even though I-95 is less than perfect, is still best way S. to FL. Just make sure to go around DC VERY early in the morning or VERY late at night or it will be a nightmare We tried to avoid most of the big cities in the N.E. We also lived in Gaithersburg, MD (just N. of DC) so to go home to S. LA we learned to leave no later than 4am to beat the traffic It was definitely the best route for us and not really out of the way from Harrisburg area. Good trip

 

[4Hammers]

We live in NW Jersey, not far from the Water Gap. We have driven to Disney 4 times but only once with the trailer. 81 all the way is great with the car. But towing on those hills would get old fast. We chose the 15/270/495/95 option. It worked out well.

 

[Patsy1969]

we live in Delware and come down Rte 301 also. I do not know if it is any quicker bu it is alot less stressful. We just have taken I-95 from Balt. to Wash. Good luck whichever way you take.

 

[amylevan]

Just back from driving the 15/270/495/95 route this past week. We left on the Thursday, 2/2, at 7:30 pm. Hit DC around 11:30 pm, and 495 was down to 1 lane - slowed us down a bit (especially merging with a fifth wheel...yikes). But other than that, the route was great.