Towing from Ny to WDW

[parmtoo]

This will be our first time going from the Watertown area of upstate NY. We want to try to avoid metro areas, b/c of traffic. Any tips? Have any of you traveled from this area to FW. It's a 1320 mile trip, so we know we will be stopping..............TIA

I did post this on the transportation board, but wanted to get an idea from people who tow campers. Towing puts a new light on travel, huh?

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Timing is everything. DC is probably the worst mess. We generally leave early on a Saturday so that we hit the DC traffic by 6am. If you are going on a weekday and won't be able to hit it early, than it is better to shoot for sometime after rush hour. In fact, on our last return trip we hit DC sometime around 11 am on a weekday and it wasn't too bad.

Not sure how you are headed South, but from Allentown we go west to Harrisburg, pick up 15 south to 270 in Frederick, MD which will take you to the west side of 495. I feel that the western loop of the beltway is better than the eastern loop. We usually take the bypass around Richmond, although going through Richmond isn't too bad depending again on the time of day. I would HIGHLY recommend the bypass around Jacksonville. Also I-4 through Orlando is a trailer towers nightmare. The last couple of trips I have continued on 95 south and taken the bee line over, which brings you in South of Orlando close to Disney. It is a toll road, and depending on the number of axles you have, may be pricey (I think it costs me about $8.50 in tolls one way and I pull a tandem) but I think it is worth it. Any of the bypasses I mentioned will add time and miles, but eliminates much of the white knuckle hassles. Overall, 95 is a nice ride and we enjoy the trip every year.

 

[aldebnj]

When we lived up that way, we would go down I-81 to US 17 in VA. US 17 cuts over to I-95 at Fredricksburg. This would avoid all of the major metro areas except for Richmond. At Richmond, take the bypass and you should be fine.

Happy Camping,
Al

 

[parmtoo]

Thanks for the replies. We live right off 81.
Would love to avoid all the metro areas, so getting to 95 in Va. sounds good to me!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

81 is a pretty good road, but a lot of hills and trucks. It is especially dangerous around Harrisburg. We thought about this route a couple of years ago, but opted out because of the hills. If you have a big enough tow vehicle, it should not be a problem.

 

[parmtoo]

We have a F350 deisel pulling a 30ft keystone cougar. Our truck pulled the 5th wheel cross country twice, over the rockies, through Colorado, ect.................With that being said, I hate going over mountains with the camper! It's scarey!

 

[my3princes]

My only recommendation is to stay off the NJ Turnpike unless you want to shell out alot of $$.

 

[parmtoo]

Thanks again for all the advice! We are hoping to have a safe and easy trip. Can't wait to get there!

 

[mixsap]

Richmond and Jacksonville are OK to go through instead of around depending on the time of day. I saved 9 miles by going through Jacksonville on a Sunday morning and about another 9 through Richmond.

 

[christinou]

We leave a little bit south of you and have done the trip many time, we take 81 to Harrisburgh then 15, to I believe 270 which brings to the Washington loop, but we leave around 4:00 p.m. so we get there late in the night and the traffic is generally fine, then it is all the way south on 95.......
It is a long trip but really worth it, we love staying at Fort Wilderness.

 

[parmtoo]

christinou,

Do you take that route pulling a camper? We will be leaving here around noon on a thurs., or early fri. morning.
Do you do the trip strait through, or stop? I'd love to hear more about traveling from area.....................

 

[Cousin Ed C]

I like to take 81 all the way to I/77 to Columbia, SC then I/26 to I/95 about 60 miles north of GA. The less time I spent on 95 the better I like it. The trip is just 1200 miles for us and we do a long day into southern VA the a regular day to Walterboro, SC (Green Acres a nice $22 CG). Then a nice short day to the Fort.

I drive around 62MPH towing a jeep, and enjoy the trip. Between Scranton and Harrisburg the traffic can be a pain and it is prone to fog, and ice in the winter. Still better than 95 anyday.

PS no tolls at all

 

[WDWCamper]

I vote for Cousin Ed C's route. I also come from NY and went that way on our last journey and plan to do so again in August.

The only part of the trip that isn't a pleasure is the Harrisburg PA area. So that would be a very small part or your 20hr+ journey. Yes, many trucks are on the road, but when you are towing you tend to fit right in. In fact many truckers are much more aware of the special needs of camper towers when driving and my driving husband prefers to ride with them over city traffic any day.

We have never driven through the Wash DC area as we have taken the advice of family members to avoid it at any price. The first part of that trip for us would be through NJ and PA and quite honestly in the past we found it very stressful to be towing a camper while cars are constantly getting on and off, crossing lanes, and so on. Not to mention the tolls and finally the worst fog we ever encountered anywhere.

If you need more info or have questions about the route let me know. It sounds like we would travel mostly the same exact roads for the most part.

 

[parmtoo]

Thanks so much WDWCamper!
It does sound like we are going the same way........When in Aug. are you going? We will be there from 8-22 til 9-1. We are all very excited. I will contact you if we need more info on that route, so far it seems the best for us........

 

[WDWCamper]

Hey parmtoo...it looks like out trips will be overlapping a little. We arrive there on Aug 28 and leave Sept 4.

We can't wait! Its coming quick. The only bad side is counting down the days also counts down the days until the end of summer. What I thought was funny 2 years ago when I went that week was that I was surrounded by more New Yorkers and folks from the Northeast than if I vacationed here. I LOVED the lack of crowds compared to my previous trips in the Spring!

Don't worry, the drive won't be bad at all for the most part and of course well worth it in the end.

 

[parmtoo]

DWDcampers,

Your right about counting down the days, it will mean the end of the summer. My 9yo son doesn't like that as soon as we get back, he has to go back to school.
Thanks for the advice on the routes, we may leave a day earlier to give us more time too. We don't like feeling rushed, and my Mom will be with us, so we have a full car, lots of stops.................Maybe we'll see you there!

 

[John VN]

Robin

Have followed the replies on routes down from H2O Town.

Our son will be driving down from Drum with his 2 boys and with motorcycle and things in trailer in a couple of weeks. We will be a short stop on his way to Bliss, his new assignment.

Have seen the 81 to 17 to 95 or the 81 to 64 to 95 or the 81 to 77 to 26 to 95. Decisions, decisions. He could also just opt out for the western route and not go past WDW since our daughter will be here shortly after he gets down so there is no need to visit her(she lives just outside of Orlando).

Will run the routes by him and if he takes one of the suggested ones, I'll report back to you on how he liked it.

We'll be at FW in early Sept. but will just miss everybody.

John

 

[JCJRSmith]

I live just west of Harrisburg, and I cannot reiterate enough just how bad 81 is around here. From the east side to Carlisle on the west side, there is a LOT of construction, and lots and LOTS of trucks. 81, 83, 15 and 76 all come together here so there are lots of truck depots.

We just got back from WDW and took the 15-270-495-95-4 route. We did DC on a Saturday, both ways. On the day we left the DC to Richmond traffic was not bad, but it was hell on the way home.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[parmtoo]

Thank you all for the replies, I'm really confused on the right way to go

John,

I would love to know what route your son takes, and how it works out for him. Thanks....................

 

[mixsap]

I live 25 miles south of Harrisburg and COULD take I-81 but don't.

It is longer.

If you properly time your trip around Balto/DC, you will be fine. We have left either at 3 am or 7 pm and got through the beltways with no problem. We were at the bottom of DC by 5 am or hit the bottom coming north after 7 pm. Either way the traffic isn't bad.

GOing through the day is NOT good though.

Can do 985 miles in 16 1/2 hrs straight through with a 26 ft trailer.