Best Route from NY to Colorado

[Sabina]

We have not gone out of state with an RV before but are planning on going to Colorado, from New York. We were mainly going to take route 80. We have a small Jayco 17C. I heard we cannot go through tunnels with propane. I'm trying to route our trip but I don't know how to find out where tunnels are. Can anyone tell me if we are going to run into tunnels not allowing propane if we take I-84 in New York into I-81 in Pennsylvania and than to I-80 most of the way to our destination in Colorado? We are very nervous about having to take an alternative route at the last minute. This is our first RV and we have never gone cross country before except once in our SUV and we took route 70.

[Denise]

We've experienced that "No propane in Tunnels" rule when we traveled near New York City many years ago, but never anywhere else that I can remember. We've driven I80 and I-70 several times over the years and didn't experience a no propane warning. I think you are good to go

[Leroy2u]

If you are continuing to western Colorado and on I-70 past Denver you will be passing through Eisenhower tunnel, not sure if there are any restrictions on propane though.

[Zombied]

Having made the trip from eastern nebraska to colorado numerous times, I can say there are no restrictions on I80. Or tunnels for that matter. Just boring corn.

[Sabina]

Thank you to everyone for your replies. Now all we have to worry about is tornadoes. Is there some sort of radio we can buy that will tell us the weather wherever we are?

My husband just said I should ask if anyone knows which wire on our Jayco 17C battery is the negative and which is the positive. He took the battery off and put it in our garage for the winter. When he took it out he realized that the wires are not marked. One is white, the other black and a green wire attached to the black -the green has a fuse on it.

By the way our battery died during the winter and we need to get it charged. I suppose we need to buy a charger to keep it alive during the winter it sits in the garage?

Thank you again. I love this site and the people on it. It is especially helpful for us new owners of Jayco RV's, people like my hubby and me who never owned an RV before.

[Seann45]

You can buy a weather radio from places like Radio Shack.. most will auto tune to the local weather alerts..
On factory wiring any time you see a fuse on it.. thats the pos wire..

[29BHS ECO]

You probably don't need a charger, you only need a" Battery minder" or" battery tender" 20-30 bucks.Once you get your batt fully charged either one will keep it charged. Best to keep it in as warm a place as you can.

[cekkk]

Sounds like this is going to be an adventure for you both. Fear not. If something goes a little haywire, you'll survive and be the wiser for it. If you don't mind a bit of a travelogue, here goes. In April we took 80 from Colorado (via I-76 to Neb.) to Maryland. Never again. Tolls, construction and that trapped/captive feeling on toll roads, all the way across Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. We returned on I-70 until we had to head up to 80 to get to Davenport, Iowa, to pick up our new rig. 80 is fine from Illinois west, but you will find I-70 takes you to Denver and west across the state, so you'll be on it eventually anyway. Before moving to Colorado we summered here from Maryland, and we took 70 a dozen times minimum. Once you break into Ohio it's a breeze. Columbus is a small enough town, try to miss rush hour in St. Louis and KC, but your rig won't be a problem by the time you've driven that far. You'll go right past the arch in St. L and KC posed no problem for us. There's a brief period on the Kansas Turnpike where you'll pay a few bucks but from there on it's free. Don't know your Colorado plans, but we avoid the city crowds of the I-70 area near Denver, favoring Rt. 50 out of Pueblo for sightseeing. But that's just us. We live in between the two and would recommend US 24 out of Colorado Springs over Wilkerson Pass, totally non-challenging drive, but a world class view of the Collegiates across South Park. Buena Vista has beautiful scenery. Take 24 up to Leadville with a stop at the Baby Doe Tabor house. You'll end up on 70. And don't worry about tornados. I grew up in their neighborhood and only saw one myself. Be safe and have fun.

[FoCoNoCo]

We moved to Colorado from Michigan (probably one of the smartest things we've ever done), and I can tell you there are no tunnels at least through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, or Colorado until you get to Loveland Pass where the Eisenhower Tunnel is located. If you are planning your stay along the Front Range, there won't be any tunnels from Ohio onward (couldn't tell you about PA, etc, for the first part of your trip). Where in Colorado are you planning on camping, if you don't mind me asking?

[Denise]

Originally Posted by Leroy2u

If you are continuing to western Colorado and on I-70 past Denver you will be passing through Eisenhower tunnel, not sure if there are any restrictions on propane though.

I meant to comment on the Eisenhower tunnel before now, sorry 'bout that. We've traveled quite a few times on I-70 with a tt. Most recently was this past September. No restrictions

[FoCoNoCo]

Originally Posted by healthi

I meant to comment on the Eisenhower tunnel before now, sorry 'bout that. We've traveled quite a few times on I-70 with a tt. Most recently was this past September. No restrictions

Actually, that's good to know, as I had never paid attention either. Don't know when we're planning on going that direction, but you never know....

[Zombied]

I would say be at least prepared for tornadoes. Our weather radio does not auto update with locations, so I keep the codes with us when we travel across nebraska. I realize some peoplewill never see one in their lifetime, but I've lived through enough of them to be prepared.