Community Forums

Pogo · 12-22-2014, 11:41 AM

Next Spring, my wife and I are thinking of traveling west in our MH, from the Orlando, Fl area, to Albuquerque to visit family, and then to see other areas in the west, for a few months.
Do you have a recommended route to NM from central Florida?
We might want to workcamp in the western states too, but are not sure where we would go, yet.
I really don't want to be driving the MH through the Rockie Mountains, but we will have our Toyota Highlander as a toad for day trips.
Or, my wife is wondering about just renting a car in the various places we go, so we don't have to haul the car on our tow dolly everywhere. She thinks it might be easier and maybe not more expensive. Hmmm...
Do you MH veterans of the western areas have some ideas?

JFNM · 12-22-2014, 01:28 PM

I've driven that route a few too many times in the car but never the MH. In my opinion, the quickest/easiest route is to stay on the Interstates and go thru Jackson, MS and Dallas. The section from Mobile to Jackson is not Interstate but not bad. The negative is that this route is not all the scenic (Interstates rarely are). Depending on what you want to see and how much time you have, the route thru New Orleans (terrible roads), Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso offers more sightseeing opportunities - particularly around San Antonio/Austin - but is much longer. That said, I love the west, mountains, and as few people as possible (west Texas), not everyone feels the same way.

twogypsies · 12-22-2014, 03:56 PM

You don't have to drive through mountains to get to Albuquerque. Work your way to I-40 and head west.

I would highly advise you to bring the car. Renting for what you want to do (possibly workamping) will get very expensive.

Mountain driving really isn't difficult once you begin doing it. If you really want to see the West you will have to do some of it. I'd highly recommend purchasing online the book "Mountain Directory for Truckers". It gives you a mile by mile description of some of the more difficult mountain areas but still, many are very doable with an RV. You'll see many RVers on those road. The drives are so scenic and camping along the way is a must for exploring more.

If all you do is stay on interstates you really won't be seeing the West. Have fun planning. Regarding where to go - what are your interests? What states do you want to go? To begin, I'd highly recommend doing as many national parks as you have time. We have stayed in most of the western ones with our 40' motorhome - some with hookups and some without. We feel the best experience is had by staying in the parks themselves.

skigramp · 12-22-2014, 09:03 PM

Pogo ...

The west is different from the east coast where the populations are large and cities are not that far apart ... rental cars are easy to come by ...

For instance when you cross Texas on I-10 it is 881 miles from Orange to El Paso ... and once you get past San Antonio there just aren't any large cities. There are only a handful of large towns as you travel across New Mexico ... I just searched Hertz for rental cars along I-10 in New Mexico ... I only found cars available in Las Cruces on I-10 ... and I would expect that you can find cars in Santa Fe and Albuquerque ...

definitely plan on bringing your own tow vehicle.

KIX · 12-22-2014, 09:10 PM

Orlando to Albuquerque I 75 to I 10 to Mobile, AL then US 98 through Hattiesburg, MS then US 49 to Jackson, MS, then I 20 through Dallas then US 287 to Amarillo then I 40 to Albuquerque. Done it many times in 40 MH with toad.

JMonroe · 12-23-2014, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KIX

Orlando to Albuquerque I 75 to I 10 to Mobile, AL then US 98 through Hattiesburg, MS then US 49 to Jackson, MS, then I 20 through Dallas then US 287 to Amarillo then I 40 to Albuquerque. Done it many times in 40 MH with toad.

Agree. Just did this route in reverse, on our way back from the balloon fest.

If you have a toad you can take - take it. Renting at each destination will be a PITA, not to mention expensive if gone for any length of time. It's also a good back up in case of trouble on the road. Some of those stretches you'll be on are many miles of nothin'.

Pogo · 12-23-2014, 10:33 AM

Wow, Thanks to all of you for your helpful comments. We will take a toad. This will be a new and exciting experience for us. We have been in a couple of National Parks, (Yellowstone and Zion), in a car, but never traveled west of the Mississippi by motorhome before.

Scottybdivin · 12-23-2014, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pogo

Wow, Thanks to all of you for your helpful comments. We will take a toad. This will be a new and exciting experience for us. We have been in a couple of National Parks, (Yellowstone and Zion), in a car, but never traveled west of the Mississippi by motorhome before.

Pogo, if you find yourself on the I-20, let me offer one other recommendation. We passed through ALB on the way to UT in Oct. If you do not care to pass through Lubbock or Amarillo, I recently found what I believe is the easiest and smoothest drive we have every towed our 5th wheel. We live west of Austin but you could easily intersect our route at I-20 and US87 in Big Spring, TX. Here's the route. We only go as far north as Amarillo if we are going to eastern CO. or points beyond.

Big Spring, TX US 87 to Lamesa, TX 45 mi
Lamesa, TX Texas 197 to Brownfield, TX 38 mi
Brownfield, TX US 380 to Roswell, NM 134 mi
Roswell, NM US 285 to Clines Corners, NM 140 mi
Clines Corners, NM I-40 to ALB 58 mi.

bsirby · 12-23-2014, 08:05 PM

We will be leaving the Orlando area around the same time going west to Barstow, CA. We plan on going I 10 with stops planned in San Antonio and Phoenix. We have no plans made and are in no hurry, so we can stop whenever we want. I am sure we will find things of interest along the way. A few years ago we went west from NC and followed I 40 out. We discovered many great places. After we leave Barstow, we hope to travel north through CA and at some point find a northern route back to NC. Enjoy your trip.

pkschaf · 12-23-2014, 08:29 PM

We just took I-10 across about 3 months ago from Florida to San Antonio then 10 to I-8 to Yuma. I-10 wasn't too bad, a lot of accidents. Found out a lot of people don't think I-10 is very safe. Probably would take 40 next time. Good Luck

JMonroe · 12-24-2014, 07:16 AM

Wanted to add...

Don't drive through Dallas, take one of the bypasses. Two reasons, one, traffic, two, worst roughest highway on the planet.

Air Baron · 12-26-2014, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMonroe

Wanted to add...

Don't drive through Dallas, take one of the bypasses. Two reasons, one, traffic, two, worst roughest highway on the planet.

Even I-20 to the I-635 northeast bypass to I-35E was a nightmare this past April. Construction, narrow lanes, no shoulders...the entire area is booming. Could not wait to get thru it, definitely a white knuckler.

Also, if you plan on taking I-20...I would not leave I-10 and take Hwy 231 thru Dothan to Montgomery. Seems like it took forever to get thru there. Must be a better way.