Camper friendly Trip route from Northern NJ

[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.

[KristinU]

Originally Posted by 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!

We do this too, but add on 84 out of Hartford to 81 to your neck of the woods, then pick up 15. 15 has that lovely southbound rest stop!

[sirenia88]

Thank you for all the replies so far. They are really helpful in trip planning. Looking forward to the ride in October!

[heartsy77]

Originally Posted by sirenia88

Thank you for all the replies so far. They are really helpful in trip planning. Looking forward to the ride in October!

When are your dates? We are heading down Oct 12 for 8 nights! It will be our 1st trip to FW and my little stepson's 1st time! He is 5 and so excited!

[sirenia88]

Originally Posted by heartsy77

When are your dates? We are heading down Oct 12 for 8 nights! It will be our 1st trip to FW and my little stepson's 1st time! He is 5 and so excited!

It looks like we'll be at the Fort at the same time. We'll be heading down on the 7th and staying for 10 nights. It will be our DDs first time at Disney and now that she knows we're going she can't wait. She's 4 so we're planning to max out on Princess activities while we're down there. The hard part now is the wait. But I'm not sure who the wait is harder on - her or us.

[sirenia88]

Howdy!

Well The route planning is still going on. We are seriously thinking about going 78, 81, 77, 26, 95, 4. We are now planning on leaving Friday. Take a 3 day 2 night ride to not to over do the drive plus we have extra time built into our vacation. We are figuring a stop in VA on Friday night and a stop somewhere in SC/GA on Saturday night.

The other option to go I81, R15, I270, to 95 is also being highly considered as well. Friends from Charlotte thinks the first route would be the way since they come up this way on a regular basis with their camper. They also went to Disney from their home in Charlotte and felt it was a descent ride. Plus we are building in an extra night so we have some flexibility in the travel planning.

Counting down the days to Disney...

[jbrostek]

One thing I will note, fromt he I270 spur through VA right now they are busy building HOT lanes (HOV/TOLL) and regularly shut down lanes mid-day and night outside of rush hour die to the construction. So be aware once connect to the outer loop of the beltway from just a few miles south of the American Legion Briday through VA to reconnect with I95 that your going to follow the entire HOT lane construction which includes lots of lane shifts.

If your not big on pulling grades, stay off I64 from 81, while its gorgious, its a long uphill pull just before Rt29.

81 to Rt17 in Winchester, and popping out on I95 in fredrickburg just north of richmond is not a bad deal either and no major grades to cross and it stays just outside of most of the DC suburbia.

I am in Prince William Count, VA, and we go down every year and even being online miles from 66, we actually take 236 with all of its lights to get to I95 south of most of the traffic headaches of DC. Like other stop at KOA Point South about 33 miles north of the GA boarder for the first night, and then its about 6-7 hours with a lunch break to get to Disney.

[KristinU]

Originally Posted by jbrostek

One thing I will note, fromt he I270 spur through VA right now they are busy building HOT lanes (HOV/TOLL) and regularly shut down lanes mid-day and night outside of rush hour die to the construction. So be aware once connect to the outer loop of the beltway from just a few miles south of the American Legion Briday through VA to reconnect with I95 that your going to follow the entire HOT lane construction which includes lots of lane shifts.

If your not big on pulling grades, stay off I64 from 81, while its gorgious, its a long uphill pull just before Rt29.

81 to Rt17 in Winchester, and popping out on I95 in fredrickburg just north of richmond is not a bad deal either and no major grades to cross and it stays just outside of most of the DC suburbia.

Thanks for the HOT info!

We did the 81 to Rt 17 pick up 95 in Fredricksburg route in April and will definitely repeat it again. Not only do you avoid the DC suburbs, but not having to go around south of Harrisburg is really nice too...for some reason we always miss a turn there! Staying on 81 is much easier.

[jbrostek]

The interchange in Harrisburg has gotten me in the past as well.

Glad to pass that along, I live in the area and am used to the patterns and still do everything possible to stay off the beltways with the RV or towing a trailer. They say it will be done late 2012, I think new years eve 2012 at best. The next headache is they are talking about extending this project on I95S with a 9 mile extension of the HOV lanes and then turning them into HOT lanes....so youll still want to use the 17 bypass if that gets funded and started.

http://www.vahotlanes.com/i95/project-info/

[KristinU]

Originally Posted by jbrostek

The interchange in Harrisburg has gotten me in the past as well.

I'm so happy to hear that we aren't the only ones!

[sirenia88]

I love necro threading It's October and we can be zombies for Mickey's Not so scary halloween party. I think I will roll the dice and take the 81 to 77 to 26 to 95 to 4 route. My friends in Charlotte will be happy to hear about that. The longer grades should not be too hard on the F150. There are some hilly sections of 81. If I had more consistent employment, there would have probably been a vehicle upgrade. Plus it gets a regular maintenance package so I am not worried. However, my DW will get her first taste behind the wheel with the trailer in tow.

jbrostek, I am cool with grades then again I might not be playing with the full deck :D. I know where you are coming from. Normally, I use my scangauge to monitor vitals on the trans temp, water temp, RPM, etc to keep an eye on things. I make sure I the keep vitals in check. Thank you for the information in the VA area especially in DC.