Driving from Minnesota

[Plan Man]

Does anyone know the speed limit on the interstates in Illinois when driving with a car pulling a pop up camper

 

[serenitygr]

Hi plan man! We are driving from mn in December! When are you going? What part of mn are you in?

 

[bjschil]

We drive from Sw Wisconsin every year, this year lucky to be going down twice. Oct, and jan 1. Illinois is mostly 65, and closely watched. We go through Rockford, Bloomington/Normal, Champaign, down to Effingham, to Paducah. Lots of radar between Bloomington, to champaign. Heading south of there is a quieter Long, LONG drive. We pull a 5th wheel, and go 65 as we don't want to contribute to the land of "Bears" fans! The one irritant is how fast and early rest areas fill up for a stop and shut eye. We purchased the app All Stays that gives you free rest areas, etc, along the way, as well as wal marts, ask to park, cracker barrels that will let you stay. Have a safe trip, and enjoy.

 

[Plan Man]

Hi plan man! We are driving from mn in December! When are you going? What part of mn are you in?

We are leaving at the end of june for a July 3rd to 11th visit at fort wilderness

We live in the twin cities

 

[Plan Man]

We drive from Sw Wisconsin every year, this year lucky to be going down twice. Oct, and jan 1. Illinois is mostly 65, and closely watched. We go through Rockford, Bloomington/Normal, Champaign, down to Effingham, to Paducah. Lots of radar between Bloomington, to champaign. Heading south of there is a quieter Long, LONG drive. We pull a 5th wheel, and go 65 as we don't want to contribute to the land of "Bears" fans! The one irritant is how fast and early rest areas fill up for a stop and shut eye. We purchased the app All Stays that gives you free rest areas, etc, along the way, as well as wal marts, ask to park, cracker barrels that will let you stay. Have a safe trip, and enjoy.[/QUOTE

The reason I ask the question is I recall seeing signs that say truck spped limit 55 - I also recall something about cars with trailers at 55 too. We will take the same route you suggest - we are going to try to make it past Nashville on the first day and stop for a short nights rest and then head to st Augustine for a couple of days. We have made the trip a couple of times. My other option is to go down through Iowa and then through St Louis on to Paducah. The mileage is about the same but there is about three hundrd miles that are not interstate but two lane highway.

 

[disneylisa2]

We've always understood it to be 55 through IL, so annoying! We're making this trip in about 3 1/2 weeks. I'd like to know too if it's actually 65!

 

[bjschil]

When looking on speed limits in Illinois, most times it is 65, except for urban areas, where it is 55. I remember the speed limit for trucks/trailers pertains to tractor/trailers, and not pickups/campers. There was, in Nov. 2012, lots of road construction going south through Effingham. Just confirmed with DH that we went 65, except around the cities, when posted down to 55. This area from Rockford to Bloomington/Normal, then over to Champaign/Urbana, is a speed trap.. We have never been picked up. For those who want to rest, if the rest areas are full, the Casino in Paducah, offers free overnight parking for Rv's, Campers. Also the Welcome Center in Paducah, sometimes has a fee space. We tend to drive straight through, stopping for a six hour rest, but always time it "right" driving through Atlanta. When leaving last Nov., we left FW at 1:30, stopped for supper, and drove through Atlanta on a Monday evening at 9:00. We sailed through. Have a great trip. Your drive will be longer, be safe.

 

[dalspot]

Besides the posted speed limit, please be sure you are not driving at a speed greater than which your trailer tires are rated for!!

For example, our fifth wheel tires are not to be driven more than 65 mph.

 

[2DIZNY]

(g) Unless some other speed restriction is established under this Chapter, the maximum speed limit outside an urban district for a house car, camper, private living coach, vehicles licensed as recreational vehicles, and any vehicle towing any other vehicle is 55 miles per hour or the posted speed limit, whichever is less.

This is from the Illinois vehicle code. I live in Illinois and see many motorhomes and vehicles pulling all kinds of RVs that are traveling 65 to 70. I think the speed limit is 55. As always, travel at your own risk.

 

[snocrossmechanic]

Hey Plan Man! I live in the twin cities as well. We have been driving down to the fort for seven years now in everything from a 5th wheel to a diesel pusher. I can give you one bit of advice. Stay out of IL.

The state itself is great but we always take the Iowa route down through St. Louis unless its winter time and the roads could be bad. You wont have that problem this summer. There are a few reasons to stay out of IL with the major one being gas prices. Unless you can go top to bottom without filling up you will find the gas prices are higher in that state. The speed laws are a pain in the neck as well. Speaking of top to bottom that is one LONG state. It seems to take a day to get through it.

Enjoy your drive and be safe. Getting to Nashville is an aggressive first day drive. We like to stop at Flying J's for some rest if needed.

Have fun,

Mark

 

[Teamubr]

Illinois used to have different interstate speed limits for autos vs vehicles over a GVW and anything towing, as noted in 2DIZNY's quote above. 2 years ago the differential limits were revoked and it is the same speed (whatever is posted- rural is 65) for everyone.

j

 

[Plan Man]

Hey Plan Man! I live in the twin cities as well. We have been driving down to the fort for seven years now in everything from a 5th wheel to a diesel pusher. I can give you one bit of advice. Stay out of IL.

The state itself is great but we always take the Iowa route down through St. Louis unless its winter time and the roads could be bad. You wont have that problem this summer. There are a few reasons to stay out of IL with the major one being gas prices. Unless you can go top to bottom without filling up you will find the gas prices are higher in that state. The speed laws are a pain in the neck as well. Speaking of top to bottom that is one LONG state. It seems to take a day to get through it.

Enjoy your drive and be safe. Getting to Nashville is an aggressive first day drive. We like to stop at Flying J's for some rest if needed.

Have fun,

Mark

THanks Mark! - I have the Iowa route planned. What exact route do you take to get to st Louis? And then once in St Louis what route do you take to get across the river?

 

[KPSmithSr]

What Teamubr said. Travel across IL a lot to Indiana.

 

[Teamubr]

What exact route do you take to get to st Louis? And then once in St Louis what route do you take to get across the river?

I live in Illinois outside St Louis and race in Brainerd, MN. The best route is the "Avenue of the Saints". I-35 south to Mason City. Rt 27 through Waterloo and Iowa City into Missouri, where it changes names to Rt 61. Follow that down to I-70 west of St Louis. This route is mostly a 4 lane divided highway.

To get through St Louis, it's a bit of a crap shoot. I-270 to the north has a major bridge construction project at the canal bridge (MM 3 in Illinois) It generally has both lanes open, but is narrowed quite a bit with concrete barriers and can have back ups. Taking I-64 through down town isn't bad, but you don't want to hit it during evening rush hour (3-6pm) There is major construction in E St Louis where I-64/55 and 70 split. This can be a mess even during the day. Taking I-270/255 around the south is the best to avoid most traffic, but is a bit out of the way.

Not sure which way I would recommend. If you want the easiest and don't care about a few extra miles, take the southern I-270/255 route.


j

 

[djbogue]

I don't understand what the big deal is about going thru Illinois. I have always drove 60-65 on I39, I74, I57. We always take I57 when we go to Florida down to I24. Never have had a problem and haven't see any campers being pulled over for speeding.