Driving to Quartzsite - any driving tips?

[jdux999]

Hello All. I'll be driving to Quartzsite (RTR) from Philadelphia in early January. I'm driving a Redhawk and pulling a toad. This will be my first long trip (we've been to a number of mid-Atlantic state parks this summer), and I'll be traveling alone to AZ. I'm giving myself 7-8 days to get there, driving between 300 -400 miles per day. Do most folks stay at parks or Walmart-type places on trips like this? I plan on heading South towards Mobile AL then West rather than southwest in order to get out of the cold weather as quickly as possible (adding an extra day to the trip). Good idea / bad idea? Any tips for a 2600 mile trip would be greatly appreciated!

[PlayersZ28]

We do a similar trip end of Dec. We drive Southern Ontario to AZ. If the roads are dry and no snow is expected then we run I40 going thru Indy & StLouis to get to it. If I40 won't be viable then we drop down to Nashville and run thru Memphis/Dallas & I10. We use FlyingJ/Pilots for overnights. I drive a 3500 Chev and pull a 41' fiver. I drive 12-14hr days and get into AZ (Benson or Flagstaff) in 3 days where we stop for a few days to clean up the rig before moving further on.

[WinnieView]

We agree that I-10 would be the best and most logical route this time of year--no worries.
Since it sounds like the primary objective is to get to where you are going.

We have picked up motorhomes and driven back from as far away as Pennsylvania and earlier in the year would use I-80 or I-40.

[Sola123]

Last year we traveled south to Birmingham AL from central VA...took I20 all the way to I10 to quartzite....had no weather problems except some cool temps...always stayed at campgrounds....had only 2 reservations on the whole trip....we came back I10 all the way to Mobile then headed back north....no problems....warmer and a couple rainy days....it was our first trip so we made it a round trip so to speak and tried not to repeat much of the roadway views....we took 19 days to get there....couple side trips, etc....Quartzsite is a wonderful place if you boondocks in the desert....we did for 8 days.....we plane to repeat that trip again in the future....

[tjbroussard]

I-10 in south Louisiana is horrible for the RV. Trust me, I live here. I’d probably take I20 across the top of the state.

[jdux999]

Thanks Terry. I've heard about stretches of I10 thru LA. How's the weather in north LA in January?

[tjbroussard]

Originally Posted by jdux999

Thanks Terry. I've heard about stretches of I10 thru LA. How's the weather in north LA in January?

I’ve not spent much time up there in Jan. I do now they get snow and ice across over to Dallas. You could cut south from Monroe to Lafayette, then head west on 10. It’s really I10 from Lafayette to Mississippi that’s a mess. All construction with unsteady lanes, Jersey walls etc.

LA DOTD site has much info.

[PlayersZ28]

Originally Posted by jdux999

Thanks Terry. I've heard about stretches of I10 thru LA. How's the weather in north LA in January?

I would think you'd be able to go the route you mentioned by going I81 and cutting thru Memphis. Last year we had a dusting of snow in Odessa TX at the end of Dec when were were stopped there overnight but otherwise it was good. You can't really tell until a few days before the trip though. The Appalachians might be an issue, don't know what they get for snow but otherwise the getting thru to Dallas and taking 20 to 10 works best for us no matter the weather. We did NOLA to AZ a few yrs ago but only because the weather in the midwest was really bad so we figured New Years in NOLA was a good idea.

[Camper_bob]

+1 on I-10 being a mess. But it's more like the entire road between Houston and about Slidell, LA. We just made that route earlier this year and about got beat to death.

If you want to come back South out of Dallas (I-20), there are plenty of roads that can do that, but none of them are Interstates. A lot of them are 4-lane divided though, and most of them aren't too bad. If you're going to do it, don't get too far West before you cut South, as you get closer to Odessa (and the Permian Basin oil fields), the roads can get pretty bad. The tankers and gravel trucks that come with increased oil production have completely destroyed thousands of miles of roads in TX.

ETA: 20 eventually goes into 10 naturally, sorry forgot to mention that. And since it turns South relatively sharply after Dallas, getting you away from the panhandle, weather should be okay. But it has been known to ice through there that time of year.

[SloPoke]

We took I-10 from El Paso to Miami last year (and I-75 on the southern leg) and we found snow on the highway in December in the New Orleans area. The choice was made entirely due to weather,

If you are considering I-20 at all, be prepared to hunker down for a day or two for the roads to clear up. These southern states have no means of dealing with snow and ice as you are used to in PA.

[Ohiofinlander]

Originally Posted by jdux999

Hello All. I'll be driving to Quartzsite (RTR) from Philadelphia in early January. I'm driving a Redhawk and pulling a toad. This will be my first long trip (we've been to a number of mid-Atlantic state parks this summer), and I'll be traveling alone to AZ. I'm giving myself 7-8 days to get there, driving between 300 -400 miles per day. Do most folks stay at parks or Walmart-type places on trips like this? I plan on heading South towards Mobile AL then West rather than southwest in order to get out of the cold weather as quickly as possible (adding an extra day to the trip). Good idea / bad idea? Any tips for a 2600 mile trip would be greatly appreciated!

If you need a good map reader, stop by and pick me up on your way through! The DW won't miss me for a month or so, right?

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by SloPoke

We took I-10 from El Paso to Miami last year (and I-75 on the southern leg) and we found snow on the highway in December in the New Orleans area. The choice was made entirely due to weather,

If you are considering I-20 at all, be prepared to hunker down for a day or two for the roads to clear up. These southern states have no means of dealing with snow and ice as you are used to in PA.

Snow is a pretty extreme anomaly down here. I can't remember if it was last year or year before, but we got like 2-4 inches on the ground one night. Real, legitimate snow. Next day it was all completely gone before lunch.

You're right though, we don't have the infrastructure to deal with snow and ice, and the drivers don't know how to handle it either. But it does happen maybe once or twice per winter; most of the time it's ice.

[CampNow]

Lot of good suggestions here. I'd suggest checking all the 5/10-day weather forecasts (for all your route options) the closer you get to your departure date. Years ago, I remember driving through one of the worst snow/ice storms ever, near Ft. Stockton, TX, on I10, in early December. At that time of the year, it was the last place we expected weather like that.

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

Snow is a pretty extreme anomaly down here. I can't remember if it was last year or year before, but we got like 2-4 inches on the ground one night. Real, legitimate snow. Next day it was all completely gone before lunch.

It was around December 8th... We left DFW a couple days before and were in New Orleans. Father in Law lives in Weatherford TX and we visit most winters.

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

You're right though, we don't have the infrastructure to deal with snow and ice, and the drivers don't know how to handle it either. But it does happen maybe once or twice per winter; most of the time it's ice.

Yes... and you get some nasty Ice Storms, and the stuff does not melt off for a couple of days sometimes.

The point of my earlier post is that I-20 has fewer weather related impacts than you are going to find on I-40, but they do happen(as we encountered last year) Also consider that it will be more difficult to deal with the freezing temperatures along I-40 as well during these months. Most of I-40 has night time lows that average well below freezing along that route in January.