Best Route for Towing 5th Wheel???

[adisneylife4me]

We will be leaving CT, heading down to FW in August. I have heard mixed opinions about which route is best for towing a camper. My husband would definitely like to avoid the 95 south route through the major cities. I have heard that a good option is I-81 into PA - then into VA - cross back over to 95. Has anyone done this?

Our plan is to make it to Richmond area the first day - then onto Savannah the next day. Then onto FW!!!

One more question - - we would like to find a quick "stopover" campground for our nights while we travel. We don't need anything fancy, as we will be coming in late and leaving early. Any suggestions??

Thanks so much!!
Bonnie

 

[rkukl]

We traveled from Western MA to FW this past December. The weather was great and we took the following route:
I-91 South, I-84 West, I-81 South, I-77 South,I-95 South

The first day we left MA mid morning and stopped at the Flying J in Carlisle PA. arriving at 6:00PM. Second day left early in the AM 2:00 traveled to Statesville NC, Midway Campground arriving by noon (easy to get to, clean & nice staff). Third day again left very early 2:00 AM traveled to Jacksonville FL, Flamingo Lake Resort arriving by noon (easy off 95, very clean, nice place). Final day 6:30AM 3 hours to FW. I liked the night driving (although I missed some of the sights). The highways were wide open and I found the truckers we ran into to be courteous and professional. We drove through Charlotte NC around 5:00AM no traffic!

On the trip home we stopped at Flamingo Lake, winterized napped, left at 1:00AM and drove straight through stopping twice for two hour power naps. Again up 81 as the weather was fine.

We are planning to return for Christmas 2006 as long as the weather co-operates we will use the same routing.


Hope you find this helpful.

 

[wildernessfamily]

Just wanted to make you aware, there is road construction in NC, it starts around exit 99-79. When I was coming northbound(I had 2 back ups) but it looked like southbound had 3. I know that will matter with different time of day and traffic flow, also that was a few weeks ago and the mile markers may be different now. But they do have over head messages that tell you where the construction is. Just make sure you are aware, and have gas and food. Just wanted you give you a heads up.

 

[adisneylife4me]

Thanks for the info!! Obviously, we would like to avoid as much headache as possible!

 

[Mac and Us]

We live in NH and wanted to avoid going I95 through DC, etc.

We went in April and took the following routes

caught I84 in CT then I81 in PA through Harrisburg, PA
this took us through the rest of PA, Maryland (approx. 20 min) and W. Virginia (approx. 30 min) into Virigina

From there we caught I66 to Rt 17 which took us into Fredericksburg, VA where we caught I95.

We left on a Friday at noon, drove until 11:30 pm and stopped at a Walmart in Hagerstown, PA (along with at least 30 other RV's). We slept approx. 2-2.5 hours (excitement woke me up). We left at 1:30am and arrived at Ft. Wilderness at midnight Saturday night.

On a side note. We stopped at the same Walmart on the way home. It's quieter than the truck stops and both times the lot was full of RV's (MH, travel trailers, 5th wheels). It's next to the interstate so you'll hear the cars but it's not that bad. The bonus is that it's free.

It took us 36 hours total only because we hit heavy winds in S. Carolina. We stopped at a rest area to have an afternoon nap, take a shower, have lunch and wait for the winds to die down.

On the return trip we did hit some traffic in the area mentioned above but it only delayed us 30 minutes or so. It took us 32 hours to get home.

We drive 55-60 so it takes us longer but we feel safer doing so plus it saves gas (MH gets 8MPG). We stop every 300-350 miles to refuel. Not that we have to but DD3 needs to get out of the car seat to stretch her little legs.

I monitor the open roads forum (RV people) and asked several people what the best route would be. These are people who drive to Florida several times a year.

Most say the route above is the best although many say to stay on I81 then I77, I26 to I95 in S. Carolina. They say it's a beautiful route and there's less traffic. The problem I've read with taking this route is that it's got some mountains (steep grades) so winter travel can be tricky. It's also approx. 100 miles longer. When you drive from NH the least amount of traffic and straightest shot is the route I vote for!!!

I'd say either route is good but if your traveling in the winter (as we will be on our next trip) that I81, I66, RT17 to I95 is the way to go.

We found that night driving was better as there were less cars. There are lot's of truckers and some of them made me nervous but I figured they do it all the time and at least they don't cut you off like the cars do.

 

[adisneylife4me]

Mac - - Thank you for your very thorough trip info. Someone had suggested the cut over on I-66 back to I-95. I thinks that's what we're leaning to do. I'm glad to hear someone else has done it.

Thanks again!

Bonnie

 

[Mac and Us]

You're welcome. If you have any other questions just ask.

By the way......my name is Bonnie too!

 

[Mac and Us]

We may be altering the route a tad for Christmas.

We found I84 to be rough. A person on the RV Forum said he takes I84 to NY and catches I87 south (around the Newburgh, NY area) then he catches I287 and then I78 in NJ. I78 goes almost to Harrisburg, Pa where you will catch I81. He said the roads are better and it's a tad shorter.

We may take that route. We're still on the fence though.