Pacific to Atlantic

[ThorsHammer]

Hello fellow RV enthusiasts, owners and others. We are taking a cross country trip from Concord CA to Concord NC. Pacific Ocean to Atlantic Ocean.
We will be driving our 30” Thor m28 and rowing our Ford Escape.
I was curious in the best route to take for this journey as I’m a novice RV owner.
I’m looking for a route that would avoid narrow bridges and roads but also keeping an efficiency.
So far we have ya leaving the Bay Area and heading towards Barstow.
Then going into flagstaff and then Albuquerque, Amarillo Texas, OKC, Nashville TN and finally Concord/Charlotte NC.

Is this the best route for my rig and tow?
I will be stopping at a few RV parks along the way.

[Shutterbug57]

What time of year? You have mapped the lowest mileage route, but there are 2 other routes that are within literally a few miles of that. More scenic on I80, less chance of winter weather if you go I20. If you don’t have a RV/Trucker GPS, you might want to get one as you can set your height, width, length and weight when you plan the trip and it will route you around places you should not be going.

You seem to be looking for the most direct route, I went with that intent. If you have the time and resources, the best route might take in a few sights along the way. This will add miles and time, which you may not have, but if you do, you can have a blast.

[Triangle Drifter]

We have been across the country a few times. For efficiency the answer is simple. Interstates. To actually see something avoid the interstates.

[Dutch Star Don]

We've done that trip three times. We always look at what time of year we're going. If it's warm, we'll take I-15 to I-70, if it's cool or cold, I-40. Typically we leave form the west coast in August and take the northern route I-70 and then return on I-40.

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by ThorsHammer

Hello fellow RV enthusiasts, owners and others. We are taking a cross country trip from Concord CA to Concord NC. Pacific Ocean to Atlantic Ocean.
We will be driving our 30” Thor m28 and rowing our Ford Escape.
I was curious in the best route to take for this journey as I’m a novice RV owner.
I’m looking for a route that would avoid narrow bridges and roads but also keeping an efficiency.
So far we have ya leaving the Bay Area and heading towards Barstow.
Then going into flagstaff and then Albuquerque, Amarillo Texas, OKC, Nashville TN and finally Concord/Charlotte NC.

Is this the best route for my rig and tow?
I will be stopping at a few RV parks along the way.

We will need substantially more info to be of any real help.

Time of year?
What do you enjoy - like to see do?
How much time do you have?
Do you Boondock?
Experiences?
Any places that you need to visit?
...........

On and on.

Help us out and then the help might just be Helpful!

[traveler of california]

We’ve done that route several times and it is an easy drive. Biggest caution is watch the weather. Plenty to do along the way. We love Albuquerque, Memphis and Nashville.

[ThorsHammer]

We will be leaving this Sunday. 4 day trip.

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by ThorsHammer

We will be leaving this Sunday. 4 day trip.

Good luck - 2,700+ miles in 4 days = almost 700 miles a day - not any time to stop or see anything but the Windshield as you go .......

Might try to use Waze to avoid tickets as you go.

As a good weather link I use Ventrusky.com

IMHO this will be a drive only trip

Alstays.com Walmart map will help

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Triangle Drifter

We have been across the country a few times. For efficiency the answer is simple. Interstates. To actually see something avoid the interstates.

I completely agree! About all one sees driving interstates is many vehicles, concrete and blacktop. It is the fastest way between two major points though.

[Sherpa Vern]

Originally Posted by ThorsHammer

We will be leaving this Sunday. 4 day trip.

It seems very ambitious to take this 2,800 mile trip, in a motorhome, in four days. To drive 700 miles per day in a car would be tough enough. Real time average speed, including stops for fuel, food and other necessities in a motorhome will be around 50 mph, considering total travel hours in a day. That would require 14 hours of travel time each day, for four days.

The route across I-40/I-20/I85 or I-10/I-20/I-85 are within a few miles of being the same distance, however, the risk of weather issues would be much less by choosing to go to Phoenix and take I-10/I-20/I-85 to North Carolina. For example, it is in the forecast to be snowing in Flagstaff on Sunday and winds between 20mph and 30mph along I-40 during your planned days.

I am only offering this information to help you with your route decision and to help establish achievable expectations for the time and distance of your trip.

Whatever you decide, have a safe journey.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Sherpa Vern

It seems very ambitious to take this 2,800 mile trip, in a motorhome, in four days. To drive 700 miles per day in a car would be tough enough. Real time average speed, including stops for fuel, food and other necessities in a motorhome will be around 50 mph, considering total travel hours in a day. That would require 14 hours of travel time each day, for four days.

The route across I-40/I-20/I85 or I-10/I-20/I-85 are within a few miles of being the same distance, however, the risk of weather issues would be much less by choosing to go to Phoenix and take I-10/I-20/I-85 to North Carolina. For example, it is in the forecast to be snowing in Flagstaff on Sunday and winds between 20mph and 30mph along I-40 during your planned days.

I am only offering this information to help you with your route decision and to help establish achievable expectations for the time and distance of your trip.

Whatever you decide, have a safe journey.

I must have skipped over that sentence. You are right. There will be NO sightseeing or side-trips, no 2-lane roads, only the most direct route interstate driving.
The type of RV is immaterial, this will be a grueling event for the driver (s) and passengers.
Every evening will be spent refueling, checking tires, going over the RV to ensure nothing is coming loose, broken or damaged, in preparation for the next days drive.


Thorshammer, I would not plan on driving interstate speed limits in your MH the entire day were I in your place. Beginning at daylight and driving into the sun until 10AM is not pleasant. OTR truckers try to arrange their driving hours schedule so they begin around 10-12AM and drive into/through the night, IF the delivery schedule permits.

[Arch Hoagland]

Originally Posted by ThorsHammer

We will be leaving this Sunday. 4 day trip.

I understand your name now.....Hammer down for sure...lol


I went from Clovis, California to Miami in six days (long story why) and will never do that again.

Can't imagine four days. I suggest you think it over.

[twogypsies]

You won't have any issues with a 30' RV. I agree, the trip is too fast. What's the rush? Hope you have some extra time to play with in case of snow, ice, storms at this time of year. If so, don't try to drive in it.