BIG road trip...

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Alright, I'm about to embark on moving all of my stuff left in North Carolina out to Amboy, WA. (Moved to Portland two years ago for a job and now that everything has worked out, I just bought a house a bit North of Portland to get out of city and have a piece of property & privacy).

Anyway, for those who want the short hand, I need help with one thing... a website that will help a person design or create a road-trip. I've googled and searched enough already and I haven't came across one that doesn't rely on google or yahoo maps. I need info like... distance between two cities, average time of travel based on a certain speed, etc... I'm sure some trucking software would be excellent but I don't have access to that... so a good road trip planning website recommendation would be great.

Now, for those who are in for the essay form of the post.
My father, his cousin, my dog, and I are driving a 15' Penske and hauling my Chevelle and also driving a 2011 Silverado 2500 pulling a 17' trailer with my tractor and implements on it. So, as you can see, it's an INVOLVED deal.

I've made the trip 3 times already, but it's different this time because fuel expense is going to be significant and maneuverability in and out of locations will be somewhat tricky and less convenient, so planning is pretty much necessary.

My rough route is (from Charlotte, NC)I-40W to Nashville, TN, then North up I-24 hitting I-70w in St. Louis, take that all the way to Kansas City, MO, taking I-29 North as a connector to I-80W in Lincoln, NE. I-80 will take me across NE and WY down into Ogden, UT where I transfer over to I-84W which delivers me into Portland, OR.

I need to do this in 5 days leaving on Weds.

This route is the shortest, thus why I'm taking it. Pros/ cons could be laid out for another route but shortest miles= less gas money. If I get 10mpg out of either vehicle, I'll be happy.

I try to keep out of cities at the bad times 7-9am, 12-2pm, 4-6pm. If I'm near one at those times, I usually pull over, take a break, eat, wrest, and then get back on.

We are going to try to log 12hrs. a day... we'll see how it goes. 60+ year old men tend not to be able to drive as long and hard as they once did. The further you go West, the fewer towns and cities to stop and stay the night in, so I need to defenitely make good time before we get to NE.

Questions-
St. Louis- I-70 or I-64?
Is there a pet friendly hotel chain?
Good truck stops that are 'easy on, easy off' when approaching from the freeway. (Anywhere on my route, please specify location)
Any and all other tips welcome.

Bottom line I would like to have an itinerary I could print off of a website (if one does exist out there) where we could use as a travel guide. If not I may just have to type one up in Excel/ Word.

(I do have a GPS, so that does help when on the road and a AAA big atlas book).

Thanks for any all help.
 
Good luck on that trip! I don't have any comprehensive pointers for you, but I have a couple thoughts.

A few years ago I moved out here from Wisconsin in the winter, towing a car behind my van, and with two cats. I did it with almost no itinerary planning, but I found that it was not a challenge to find gas, food, and hotels with easy-off/easy-on access. I didn't have to back up on the entire trip!

Microtels accept pets. I always look for them when traveling with the cats (and used a couple on that last move).

St. Louis can be trouble. The Poplar Street Bridge (I-55/64/70) can be challenging at busy times. Coming in from I-64, I'd be inclined to take I-255 up to I-270 and bypass the city altogether.

Driving west can be really tiring on the eyes as the sun sets, and that effect gets worse for older drivers. Try to get going early each morning to get as many miles in before the setting sun does in your eyes.
 
Since you have one more adult than driver make him navigator. Get some walkie talkies and a data plan modem for laptop computer... not a dinky phone. (I hate the "Mobile" versions of websites.) Have navigator book the hotel room 30 mins out. The walkie talkies will also help you coordinate food/fuel/restroom breaks so you don't lose stride. If you can go without hurrying that will save you more fuel. I'd just cozy in the right lanes with the 18 wheelers; they're governed to 65 usually.
 
Home for me is charlotte, I usually prefer 75 as its faster and has better spread resources. You can also catch 64 from 75 to st. Louis. I highly recommend bidding on priceline with your requirements, we were able to get 4 star rooms for bout 40 on there. There is a lot of construction going on in the city so if you can loop aroundthat should help. Enjoy your trip and safe travels
 
I can help you with the pet friendly motel....Red Roof inns and they are all over pretty much till you get far west. Utah is one state that might not have any Red Roofs but most do. Depending on where the avg rate is around $50 with a deposit sometimes for the dog/damge etc. Good luck as you know you sure are in neat country. The NW is a great part of the USA.
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12hr+ days in moving truck is quite exhausting. Rest well and stop enough a lot and eat well as you can.
 
Many thanks everyone...

@ Stu- many thanks on the Microtel tip, I'll be looking for them. And I appreciate the St. Louis route info.

@ el jefino- yep, got a pair of walkie-talkie's. As far as the navigator go... my dad and his cousin are a bit technologically challenged, as they say. I'll be navigating w/ the dog at my side. Otherwise the mobil hotspot internet deal would be good... and I don't have a smart phone just yet. I am gonna hang with the truckers as much as possible... I'm not sure just 'how fast' this Penske truck is going to go...60mph might be tops with the load.

@bourne- priceline is an excellent idea I didn't quite think of. I'll use my wife in Portland to try your idea out. I'll call her at work, let her know how far we are out of the next town/city or where we are most likely to end up for the night and see if she can't do some bidding/ logistical stuff for us while we are on the road.

@ Billbert- thanks, I'll take a peak at the site later tonight.

@01ranger- many thanks.

@rjundi- no doubt, I've done 15hr. days and the trip in 4 days before but that was in my half-ton truck with a 14' enclosed trailer with just bare necessities. Driving large trucks and pulling a load seems to double the mental energy drain.

Keep 'em coming if you got 'em.
 
My son and I make 2 roadtrips a yr. First to Winston Salem and in July to Toronto. We have pre-planned stops. One is exit 222 on VA I 81. There is a % guys, a gas station and a market About 2 miles west of the exit. Average food, gas and stuff stop is 45 minutes. We do the same in Syracuse when going to TO. Better food than rest areas without searching .
 
For the Kansas City area, get your fuel at Grain Valley or Oak Grove exits. Several truck stops and generally cheapest fuel in the area. If you miss, then Platte City exit on I-29 has a Quik Trip truck stop and quite a few restaurants nearby. I would take I-435 north and then west to get to I-29.
 
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I don't really have anything to add to this, but when I university I remeber helping move a bud out to the country, 4 hours from the city we were in.

He had SO much stuff, he had it packed into a 26-foot moving van, and 3 other vehicles, all piled to the roof so bad it would have been illegal - in my 1991 Corolla 2-door, the was JUST enough room for me, and that was it, no visibility except the w/s in front!

After spending like 16 hours packing it all up, we headed out at like midnight, drove until 4AM to get there....yeah, DON'T move like this, and you'll be fine!
 
I would suggest timing fuel and food so you can stop either well before or well after the Nashville area. As somebody who has had the moving truck/tow dolly adventure three times now, I would hate trying to get on and off in that congestion. And on car trips, it seems like we're always hungry at Nashville but end up at places with flies and greasy windows connected to truckstops.

The Burger King at Kearney, NE, is exceptionally grimy.

Ogallala, in western NE, has easy on-off access. North Platte (more to the east) should as well. Really, there should be no problems with access and turnaround room anywhere in Nebraska or Wyoming at places that cater to trucks. The Nebraska panhandle on to Cheyenne will be one of the windier sections of the trip.

There is a really steep downhill just inside Utah--Echo Canyon, I think. I don't remember whether it is on 80 before it hits 84, or the bit of 84 that goes south to Salt Lake.

Be safe, and enjoy the trip as much as you can.
 
@ andy- appreciate the thought, however I won't be venturing into the state of VA.

@Jawhawk- great info, I'll defenitely be looking for those exits

@addyguy- yeah, that's funny you mention it. My dad got a little optimistic on packing the trailer... I had to go and take off a john deere lawn mower just about 2 hrs. ago because the trailer had something like 10K (or near there) on it and it's rated for 7.5K. I didn't want to be in WY and blow a tire somewhere between Rawlins and Evanston. (IE- NO ONE AROUND and seeing a heard of antelope is exciting because you see nothing else that's alive and stiring, lol)

@Rhyming- that's great info on NE... probably the least familiar state for me, so much appreciated. I usually go I-70 all the way to Denver then North to Cheyene but google said going further North is shorter. Defenitely correct on the wind... it's freakin' rediculous... I'm not sure which is worse WY or the Columbia River Gorge down I-84W in OR.

Yep, Echo canyon is a pretty darn steep and LONG downhill... beautiful place though. Cabage Hill in E. OR is pretty darn knarly as well for a downhill too but I think Echo has is nailed.

Welp, I'll report in tomorrow night... we hit the road at 8am tomorrow morning (hopefully, if there's no goof ups).

I would like to be 2hrs. outside of St. Louis... or should I say S.E. of there.

THanks for all the tips!
 
Sounds simple but pack home cooked decent healthy food you really like in a cooler. My wife & I likely spend just as much but eat way better and feel better.
 
St Louis, I70. I64 has construction just as you cross the Poplar Street Bridge.

If you take the Martin Luther King bridge as you approach, it empties out downtown at an on-ramp to 70 westbound.

I64 westbound may have one or even two of it's three lanes closed depending on when you come through.

You are probably better off with the MLK if you don't just take the 270 loop to the north.
 
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Cracker Barrel restaurants are known for having decent access and places to park a larger vehicle. When I drove a 24' box truck with my former BIL's worldly goods from Vegas to STL, I would stop there. In fact, I found hotels next to them so I could park the truck there have dinner and sleep in the hotel, leaving at 4am or whenever so I could get the jump on traffic.

Don't know if that helps with the pet friendly, but it does help with the decent food and typically a place where you can park a truck, or in my case, a bigger truck with a full car trailer.
 
The other thing, they are doing bridge construction in Nashville (was just there yesterday) so take the 115 loop around the city as I24 is torn up downtown.

You'll also run into some construction on I57 and at the I57/I64 convergence. Not bad, but it may slow you down a bit.

(Getting my post count up because I can't get all my ideas at one time.)
 
@Java- EXCELLENT info... I'll be heading through Nashville tomorrow and St. Louis the day after.


So, for those who are staying tuned to the saga... let's just say it was a horrible start.

I was checking the air pressure on everything this morning and I happened to notice two rocks (maybe an 1" thick) wedge between the rim and the tire. (Somehow I missed this when looking at the truck originally but maybe the rock was at the 6 o'clock position and now I saw it at the 12 o'clock where the rock was visible.) Anywho, Penske sent out a service guy. I call at 8:15am... guy is done changing the two tires on the passenger rear. (You should have seen the rocks between the rim and tire come out when he finally got the tire off the wheel. Probably 20-30 gravel road size rocks. Have no idea how they got there but the service guy couldn't believe we even got it from Penske to our packing location without a blow out.

Then, so we are finally on the road at 10:35am. Dad and his cousing take off in the '11 Silverado HD and the tractor in tow... they are out of sight in no time because the Penske (w/ a Ford 5.4) is just a DOG. They stop on up the road because we ran out of walkie-talkie range (.5 mile I think?). Finally they ask me what the deal is and I'm like, this thing has NO power. Dad naturally ask if the truck is throwing codes... and I promptly reply, No, not yet anyway. So we sketck a quick plan to drop the Chevelle back off at home (only 8 miles into the trip at this point) because I knew the truck wouldn't make it over the Appalachains much less the Rockies if it was struggling on flat ground.

So as we turn around and head back to our originating point, sure enough a CEL pops up on the dash. Guess what it was? A FREAKIN' 02 Sensor (says the service guy 1.5 hrs. later)... GOD THOSE THINGS HAUNT ME AND HATE ME (sorry, emissions [censored] has cost me a good $2k in the past 4 years and I do all the work myself... so that should tell you something-- all the work includes cutting and rewelding the replacement cat and extending 02's if needed).

So, the dude calls Penske to see if they want him to tow it to his repair shop or repair it there, or repair it where it was parked on the road by my parent's house (which could happen as the truck sits high and one person could easily crawl under and access the 02 without need of a jack) or just send a new truck altogether.

Didn't want to repack for sure and luckily Penske told him to locate a new 02 and fix it there on the spot. So repair man starts calling around to all the NAPA, Advance, Autozone (I was helping him call too, lol). No one has it in stock. So we call the local Ford dealer, they have one in stock for $160. Done deal, he goes and gets it, puts in on, and I test drive the truck. Lots better, pulls ok... still marginal overall. (I drove a 2002 15' Penske in 2002 when I moved to college with a car in tow and it had a Chevy 350 vortec and it flat moved... don't know what the deal with the lack luster Ford 5.4... maybe the rear end gear is taller in the Ford?)

So a very frustrating day but the bright side is... I wasn't stuck on the side of the road somewhere with no A/C in 95 degree weather. I was stuck just in the front yard of my folk's place. Well, not stuck there... I caugh the Atlanta Braves win over the Yankees while in A/C in the house.

So, we'll give it another go tomorrow.

Let's hope things improve and that these events are not warning me of something larger. (And I'm not superstitious or anything like that but if I don't get off on the right foot with something, it just gives me a bad feeling... you know?)

Laters,
-Dellinger
 
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