Travel from Fla. to Calif. on I 10

[chuckie0204]

Any one travel I 10 in the recent years? I have heard it is one of the worst roads to travel. If this is true, I will need to find a different route. Any suggestions?

[Ranger Smith]

We just traveled it from Florida to Texas on it. There was a lot of construction in Eastern Texas but other than that it was fair. A lot of new pavement down.Texas was a horrible area.

[MikeO58]

We just went from Ca to Florida a month or so ago. There are some nasty stretches but I don’t believe I 40 is any better

[twogypsies]

I-10 is nasty because it's an interstate. Drive the secondary roads and you'll see more of this beautiful country.

[Wrktfsh]

Nothing is rougher or noisier than a California interstate.......and that includes the ones recently built. Driving in Baja is a better experience

[Isaac-1]

Consider taking US 98 and US 49 up to I-20 from Mobile then I-20 to where it meets up with I-10 in west Texas. This adds only about 15 miles to the total trip yet lets you miss the worst parts of I-10 in south Louisiana and in East Texas. I-20 also skirts the southside of the DFW metroplex, vs I-10 which goes through the center of both Houston, and San Antonio with no good ways to bypass.

[Ducksquasher]

Jumping in on this thread...we are heading from CA to FL (Orlando).

The route I was thinking about going:

*I10 to I20 to SR6 to Waco (we want to see the Silo's). From Waco take SR 164 to I45 to I10 (figured it would be nice to drive the Gulf Coast) to I75 to SR91 into Orlando.

The route I was thinking about coming home:

*I75 to Atlanta. From Atlanta take I20 to SR 78 to I22 to Memphis. From Memphis take I40 all the way home.

We will have little side trips to spots we want to see but that was my "initial" plan? Any thoughts, advice, guidance or pearls of wisdom would be much appeciated. We are in a 34' Class A with toad. I am a little skeptical about the tunnel in Mobile. Any other hazards or things I need to know about with this cross-country haul?

Thanks in advance!

[Isaac-1]

It has been about 15 years since I drove TX 6 from Waco to I-20, about the only thing I recall about that strip of highway is that it is taking forever to get through all these small towns. (note I normally like getting off the major highways and traveling the back roads).


As to the rest of your route, why would you want to take I-45 south to I-10? This would put you driving through Houston, then on some of the most hated section of I-10 in east Texas and south Louisiana. Keep in mind that until you get to Mississippi that I-10 runs 40-50 miles inland from the coast, so there is no "coastal view" and unless you want to put your RV through a vibration test to see what will fall off, don't even think of taking any of the east/west highways south of I-10 in Louisiana. I live in western Louisiana, and every time I go on one of those roads south of I-10 something shakes loose in my coach, one time it was a headlight bezel. Now if you want to come to Louisiana and experience cajun culture, sure take I-10, go south of Lafayette, try the Abbeville / New Iberia area, but otherwise get back on I-20 until Mississippi.


p.s. if you do opt to come down I45 towards Houston, consider bypassing much of that mess and take TX 105 from Conroe to Beaumont, it is a mostly good road, much of it 4 laned, except for the last 10 or so miles getting into Beaumont where the pavement get a little rough, but not awful.

[Ducksquasher]

Thank you...am I good with the tunnel in Mobile? Any other spots to avoid?

My daughter has her National event for gymnastics in Florida and this will our first cross-country trip in our motorhome.

Thanks in advance!

[2Yung2 Quit]

We just drove the I-10 between El Paso, TX and the I-8. There is a lot of construction in the Tucson and El Paso area, but the road is fine.

[Mark99]

We are in Deming NM tonight. Have taken 10 pretty much from New Orleans to here. IMHO Louisiana was the roughest riding part. Heard horror stories about going thru El Paso so we took the loop around which had one steep part but wasn’t too bad. Have read multiple comments about the effects of the vibration on our campers. I had a major electrical short and meltdown where the shore power cord connects to the transfer switch. This happened in San Antonio after traveling on 10. I suspect the connection loosened up due to the vibration.

[V3600]

Anymore, most of the interstates in the US suck. Just pick the shortest route and brace yourself.

[Mark99]

I just tried to add a photo of my electric issue. Don’t know if I was successful.

[jaearhart]

on All electrical connections # 8 wire and larger, I use a Electrical compound from the hardware stores called NoLox (any name brand inhibitor will do) Especially every DC battery Post and connection. Its conductivity improves connections as well as lubricates to get that extra 1/4 turn nice snug fit without stripping the lugs or damage to strands of wire.