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michguy · 11-23-2013, 03:39 PM

What can anybody tell me about driving I-8 from Casa Grande to San Diego, on 11-26-2013? Driving a 37' DP with Toad.

lthrnk · 11-23-2013, 03:44 PM

As for the highway, there are no problems at all. Pretty flat all the way, until you hit the mountains West of San Diego. Still not a real problem. However, no idea what the traffic will be like around the Thanksgiving holiday.

SeeTheUSA · 11-23-2013, 04:24 PM

When you first drive I-8 westbound from AZ to San Diego, you might have the same reaction I had when I first did it in 1971 (headed to my new duty station with the USN) . . . kinda like going from the moon to the Promised Land!

wayfarer2021 · 11-23-2013, 05:28 PM

If you hit mountains West of San Diego your RV had better be a boat as well. :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by lthrnk

As for the highway, there are no problems at all. Pretty flat all the way, until you hit the mountains West of San Diego. Still not a real problem. However, no idea what the traffic will be like around the Thanksgiving holiday.

njs42 · 11-23-2013, 06:21 PM

It is an excellent road if you like Interstates.

Wind can be an occasional problem. I-8 has been the location of many pile ups due to sand storms. Never been in one and I have been traveling that route for many years. I have seen the aftermath from my easy chair on the news and it is not pretty. Consulting local weather before traveling as usual is a good idea. I did buck a crossing wind the full length of the Highway from Casa Grande to just outside Alpine where to my surprise I looked down and was just about empty on fuel. I expected to make it to Chula Vista with plenty fuel to spare. Must have gotten about 4 mpg across there.

skigramp · 11-24-2013, 07:01 AM

Casa Grande to Yuma:
mostly open country ... there is well known stop called Dateland ... that many people stop for date shakes ... between Welton and Yuma there is one significant climb ... Yuma has a plethora of RV parks

Yuma to El Centro:
there is an agricultural check point as you enter CA ... make sure that you leave the "store sticker" on any citrus that you have, otherwise it will be confiscated ... you cross the sand dunes soon after entering CA ... you will see lots of RVs parked in the dunes and folks riding their sand vehicles ... there is a rest area (in the middle of I-8) if you want to stop and look but no access to the dunes ... El Centro is below sea level ... you can see the line painted on a water tank south of I-8

El Centro to El Cajon:
there are two very nice rest areas on I-8 in this stretch ... the first is just west of El Centro ... sometimes you can see the Blue Angels practicing at the nearby airbase ... the second is in middle of I-8 ... we sometimes see hang gliders launching from the hills north of the rest area ... you pass through hills with really large boulders between Ocotilla and Jacumba ... there are four crests when you are above 4000 feet between Jacumba and El Cajon. There are two casinos along I-8 in this stretch. This stretch can be treacherous to drive whenever there is a strong wind from either the North or South because there are lots of cuts and fills that lead to extreme sudden blasts (CalTran will close the road to high profile vehicles when this happens)

1ciderdog · 11-25-2013, 06:46 PM

I-8 between El Centro & San Diego does sometimes get snow but I'd think you are OK this week according to weather reports. The highway between Casa Grande and San Diego is very good in my opinion.