Epic Road trip in November!

[skyking1]

A friend needs a hand moving from Portland OR to Long Island, NY.
At first I was just going to stuff my pickup canopy and her Subaru, toss it on a one-way Uhaul car trailer, and do the drive.
Now it has changed to a two person team with the dogs in the Subaru, and I will tow the smallest 4x8 enclosed Uhaul trailer and solo drive. I don't want unqualified help towing a trailer.
My wife will probably stay home while we head over, and then fly out and meet me after I ditch the trailer. Then she and I can stop and see some sights on the way home. There are a couple of places in Missouri that she wants to see, Branson and Hamilton, for the Missouri Star Quilt Company.
We are looking at airbnb rather than hotels, and will do it in 5 or 6 nights. I want to stay well under 600 miles a day for planning, as weather can be a factor. That is heading out. Coming back we will have 9 days.
The dates are in early November.
I have a fiberglass canopy for the tow vehicle, a Ram 3500 SRW Diesel 6 speed.
I towed this Uhaul trailer two weeks ago across the pass in some snotty weather, clearly a nothingburger and about the same width as the truck.
The drivetrain was completely overhauled in 2017, and the overhead MPG computer became remarkably accurate. I was getting ~17 MPG across the pass @65.
If I get 15 it is a 200 gallon one way trip. The bare truck blocks 20~21 MPG.

[Ronstar]

Sounds like fun!

[W2R]

Sounds like an effing nightmare to me!!!

Honestly I hope I'm wrong and that you have a wonderful time. It's very kind of you to help your friend like that.

[Bamaman]

You are being so giving of your time, and my hat's off to you for your kindness.

Load the Subaru on a UHaul car hauler. Tow it to NY with a UHaul Econoline 1 ton van truck. And then fly home.

Instead of taking your time, adrenalin often kicks in on long road trips. My last such road trip was to SW Arizona, and we did it with a one night stop in Albuquerque. Then after I'm there and unload, I'm too tired to do the trip in reverse.

After you cross the Continental Divide going east, the rest of the trip across the plains is about 100% boring.

[ivinsfan]

skyking even in early November you won't have a lot of daylight. Do take your time as driving and towing a Uhaul in the dark in a strange area can be stressful.

[RobbieB]

Everything sounds great except the north of the country in November.

Early better than late of course.

On the way back maybe drive south along the coast, eat at a lot of east coast fish houses and head back on the southern route -

[skyking1]

I appreciate your kind words and concern. I tow most weeks and sometimes daily for work, so the trailer aspect is really a nothingburger for what I am used to. My truck outweighs this trailer by a factor of ~4 to 1.
My 5th wheel outweighs my truck by a factor of 1.3 to 1.
My work setups:

That one is not much. I usually have the little machine on the little trailer on the left.
The bigger combo is ~67,000 pounds with all the extra buckets in the bed of the truck.

I'm really looking forward to the return trip with no trailer, no dogs, and the armrest folded up and my DW at my side.

[ivinsfan]

skyking never mind!!! sweet pics.. When you get tired of that mini Deere digger send it my way, I'm drooling on my keyboard.

[skyking1]

yea it is nice. I requested it last year as the old one was pretty beat, so that is a 2020 with about 600 hours on it all by me.

[RobbieB]

Ooups, I guess I wrote too soon. Yeah the southern route back already planned eh?

Directly south is NOLA with the best Cajun you ever tasted. The best oysters too! Get a few pounds of crawfish while you are there.

Ah, don't mind me, I'm just a big fish head -

[skyking1]

This will be our first venture into airbnb. It looks promising.

[old medic]

We would bring tents and spend 2 weeks getting back... Enjoy the trip

[pacergal]

So nice of you to help with that long move.
Oregon to NY, what a change!
Drive safe, enjoy the time and scenery.

[skyking1]

Thanks all. This 6 day blitz with the trailer gets me across the country in our truck with my DW. It is so much win as far as I am concerned.

[walkinwood]

Will you be taking Rt 80? It gets windy in Utah, Wyoming and Nebraska. We've drive from Denver to NJ & to NH in November and it wasn't a big deal. But WY can get snow in November. If there's snow in the forecast, I'd stay put rather than risking a road closure or worse.



Plan your timings while around Chicago to miss traffic. Same with LI - oh how I hated having to drive from NJ to LI.


A great trip. I think everyone should drive across this country at least once. It is eye opening in so many ways.

[cathy63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyking1 This will be our first venture into airbnb. It looks promising.

One thing to know about AirBnB is that the fees aren't shown in the rates you see online and they can add up fast. We have found that they're often more expensive than hotels for a one or two night stay.

[skyking1]

The plan is to hit the Chicago area ~11 AM, same with the GW bridge heading into NYC. It is the best we can do in daylight. it is tricky to Airbnb west of NY and get close. I found a good spot for it with several to choose from.
In and around Stroudsburg PA has multiple choices and is 3 hours west of the destination in Long Island.
If it were up to me I would roll through those places at ~3 AM. I would like to see those places though, so there is that factor.

Quote:

One thing to know about AirBnB is that the fees aren't shown in the rates you see online and they can add up fast. We have found that they're often more expensive than hotels for a one or two night stay.

when I am looking on a map, or click on the actual airbnb it shows a breakdown of the fees right there?

[Ronstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyking1 The plan is to hit the Chicago area ~11 AM, same with the GW bridge heading into NYC. It is the best we can do in daylight. it is tricky to Airbnb west of NY and get close. I found a good spot for it with several to choose from. In and around Stroudsburg PA has multiple choices and is 3 hours west of the destination in Long Island. If it were up to me I would roll through those places at ~3 AM. I would like to see those places though, so there is that factor. when I am looking on a map, or click on the actual airbnb it shows a breakdown of the fees right there?

If you’re taking route 80 through the Chicago area, note that there is a lot of road construction east of I-55 and west of I-355.

[walkinwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyking1 when I am looking on a map, or click on the actual airbnb it shows a breakdown of the fees right there?

Correct - check the total after you pick the property and dates. I think the other poster was referring to the prices you see on the map/list of properties.

[skyking1]

thanks Ronstar. I am sure that the googles will offer alternatives on a live traffic basis.