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Old 08-02-2014, 06:52 PM
 
7 posts, read 7,288 times
Reputation: 10

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Hey guys,
So my wife and I are moving to Chicago from Raleigh. We've rented a 16ft Penske to hold all of our worldy possessions. I'll be driving the beast, she'll be following in the car. Based on my research, best route is this:

I-77N -> I-64W (Charleston, WV)
I-64W -> I-65N (Louisville, KY)
I-65N -> I-80

We'll be heading into Naperville from there.

Just wondering about a couple of things:

1. Is this the best route, still?
2. Any ideas on the best way to get to 77 from Raleigh? I-40 -> Pilot Mountain Parkway maybe?
3. Google says it's 13.25 hours door to door given this route. What's a reasonable expectation here? Would estimating 16 be about right, or am I too conservative?
4. We're trying to decide whether we're going to split the drive, or bang it out in a day. Any thoughts on this? The thought would be to leave mid-day on a Friday, head to Lexington to spend the night, then continue the next morning. The other option is to leave EARLY on Saturday

The plan is to get to Naperville by Saturday night to stay with friends, then move into a downtown apt on Sunday morning.

Thanks!
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Old 08-03-2014, 10:45 AM
 
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Hmm. I've never made the drive so I'll leave the route advice up to someone who has, but I have driven from Durham to Cleveland about a half dozen times.

Taking 85/40 through Winston to Pilot Mountain Parkway is pretty painless. I always did that then 77W -> 77N.

If you've never done it then be aware that those mountains are no joke. My beater was never fond of them and always laughed (by going 50mph) at the 80mph speed limits in WV.

And have you and your wife ever done long drives before? If you haven't, I would probably recommend doing it in two days just so y'all aren't stressed out when you arrive.

Good luck!
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Old 08-03-2014, 11:20 AM
 
28,455 posts, read 84,928,817 times
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Default Safety!

I agree that driving separately / in a rental truck is very different even if OP and spouse have done long trips before. Google routes are generally pretty good, I have found the options that you get from the Waze app (and web site) to be even better. It is worth running through the options.

I would recommend stopping overnight, and I would try to schedule your second day's journey so that you do not end up driving around the Naperville too late at night. Ideally try to arrive while the sun has. It yet set -- much less disorienting if you don't have to deal with headlight and glare of overhead lights.


On a practical level if you don't each a cell phone with Blue toothe get a pair NOW, make sure you have good quality blue tooth speakerphones so you can comply with "hands free only" laws while in the rental. Plan to talk to your driving partner frequently so you can coordinate gas fill-up & "comfort stops". Get the apps that let you track gas prices so you understand ahead of time where the best value for fill-ups will be. Get an insulated water bottle so you can stay hydrated and not rely on pricey / rapidly warming commercial bottled water.

A tremendous number of vehicular collisions take place with just a few miles of your destination. Triple check the location of your friend's home. I suspect you may end up not on I-80 but I-55 or I-355 and I-88. This likely will mean you need to plan on the manual toll plaza probably on 294 as well, it is worth understanding how they work ahead of time. Check the road construction. Get the input from you friend as to any specific local changes that may make the last few miles the most challenging.
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Old 08-03-2014, 06:22 PM
 
Location: Wake County, NC
2,983 posts, read 4,592,686 times
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I'm originally from Raleigh, but I've never made the drive from Chicago. I have driven to Asheville a couple times from Chicago taking this route:

65-64
64-75
75-40

This took about 10 hours with fairly light traffic through Indy and Louisville. I think the route you've chosen is probably the best. I would also leave on Friday to give yourself extra time since you'll be driving a moving truck through the mountains. Welcome to Chicago.
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Old 08-03-2014, 06:44 PM
 
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I am pretty sure the routing through Dayton OH (which makes a good midpoint for an overnight stay) will be faster and leave the second day's journey closer to 5 hours...
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Old 08-03-2014, 08:55 PM
 
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Thanks for all the replies guys. We actually bought some walkie talkies for the ride .
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Old 08-04-2014, 02:40 PM
 
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This is funny / scary / insightful -- How To Drive A Moving Truck Across Eight States Without Killing Yourself Or Other People| jalopnik.com
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Old 08-12-2014, 08:28 AM
 
7 posts, read 7,288 times
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Hey guys,
Just wanted to say thanks for the advice. We made it safe and sound, despite the torrential downpours we had throughout the drive. Here are a couple of observations:


1. The route listed above is actually pretty great. Mostly good roads. West Virginia got a little hairy at times, as did Indiana (because of road construction), but otherwise, pretty good

2. When driving a moving truck with all of your crap, it's best to allow for lots of braking distance

3. I'm SO GLAD we broke it up into two days instead of one. Having a stop over in KY was exactly what we needed.

4. Since my wife was driving the car behind us, we invested in some walkie talkies. This was the best $26 we spent during the move. Not only was it logistically easier, helping us change lanes, coordinate stops, etc., but it made the time go by much quicker to be able to talk with each other. If you're going caravan style, this is a must.

All in all, driving the truck was much less difficult than I thought it would be. Penkse has good, well maintained trucks and it didn't give us any problems at all.
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Old 08-12-2014, 10:37 AM
 
28,455 posts, read 84,928,817 times
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Default Glad it worked out!

Quote:
Originally Posted by SammyJ View Post
Hey guys,
Just wanted to say thanks for the advice. We made it safe and sound, despite the torrential downpours we had throughout the drive. Here are a couple of observations:


1. The route listed above is actually pretty great. Mostly good roads. West Virginia got a little hairy at times, as did Indiana (because of road construction), but otherwise, pretty good

2. When driving a moving truck with all of your crap, it's best to allow for lots of braking distance

3. I'm SO GLAD we broke it up into two days instead of one. Having a stop over in KY was exactly what we needed.

4. Since my wife was driving the car behind us, we invested in some walkie talkies. This was the best $26 we spent during the move. Not only was it logistically easier, helping us change lanes, coordinate stops, etc., but it made the time go by much quicker to be able to talk with each other. If you're going caravan style, this is a must.

All in all, driving the truck was much less difficult than I thought it would be. Penkse has good, well maintained trucks and it didn't give us any problems at all.
With all the nutty stories you here about "Americas crumbling infrastructure" I too agree that any modern, well maintained vehicles can be driven across any of interstates safely.

Sometimes "doing it yourself" really is a great option!
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