Road trip from Phoenix to San Diego? (Tempe, Yuma: vacation, rental)

[vegaspilgrim]

Has anybody here driven from Phoenix to San Diego (and back ) during the middle of the summer? Is this drive worth it? I'd be doing the standard AZ-85 to I-8 route. The #1 concern I have is the heat-- considering that for most of the drive there, you'd be going through deserts even hotter and lower elevation than Phoenix. What's the best time of day to leave if you're going to do it? And on the trip back to PHX? Does driving in the heat for 6 hours take a toll on the car? Any suggestions and pointers welcome!

[twiggy]

We always leave from Phx at 5:00 am. We leave San Diego at 4:00 pm on Sunday/puts us back here around.10:00 pm. Make sure your tires are good!
Have fun.

[Boatdrinks]

We've done it with no problems. We usually leave here early morning and get to San Diego around 2-ish, but we have to stop a few times (kids, lunch, etc). Coming home, we usually leave San Diego in the late afternoon and get home around 11:00.

We just make sure to have a cooler of water with us, just in case of breakdown, and of course we have our cell phones too.

Have a good trip!

[nitram]

If possible leave @ midnight when it's cooler. If your car is a newer model it should be in good condition. Just take plenty of water and a battery charged cell phone.
If your car is older make sure the belts are good, radiator has proper anti-freeze fluids, tires are in good condition etal. Have a gas station or mechanic check it out for trip readiness.

[Lorann]

We've done that trip many times w/ no problems. I agree w/ the previous post, leaving around 5am. We usually only make bathroom stops, we pack a lunch and definately lots of water (you never know, better safe than sorry). It's an easy trip. Have a great time.

[twiggy]

Originally Posted by nitram

If possible leave @ midnight when it's cooler. If your car is a newer model it should be in good condition. Just take plenty of water and a battery charged cell phone.
If your car is older make sure the belts are good, radiator has proper anti-freeze fluids, tires are in good condition etal. Have a gas station or mechanic check it out for trip readiness.

If you leave at midnight you get to tired. It would depend on how long your staying, I guess you could recoup.

[vegaspilgrim]

Sounds like going to SD is very common experience here. I just had a major service interval done on my car, so I'm good there. I've actually done the PHX to SD route years ago on a family road trip (in the back seat), so I vaguely remember it. I remember all the towns between the two cities as being very dumpy. I agree, leaving PHX as early as possible would be ideal. Just how early me and my buddies can wake up is another issue... For the trip back, is it scary/ dangerous driving I-8 and AZ-85 at night? I've only personally driven on the (non-city) highways at night once, going from Flagstaff back to Phoenix. It was extremely dark, not too many cars, and I noticed a lot of deer crossing signs. Is there a deer or livestock hazard in the lower sonoran desert? How fast do you guys drive at night?

Oh yeah-- one more question. Would going through Maricopa on AZ-347, then AZ-84 for a few miles and meeting up with I-8 that way save any time instead of driving all the way through Phoenix on I-10? I live in Tempe, and I would be leaving on a weekday morning. Thanks for the help!

[CodyW]

Driving at night shouldn't be an issue. Though, it reaches an eerie level of sub-darkness.

The drive itself is fairly simple.. But if I remember right, there is some mountain driving after you get past Yuma - So if you have a small econo-box of a car, be ready to test your nerves on the way there. On the way back, just be careful, and you should be fine.

Other than that, the drive is mostly just straight, non-curving highway in the middle of nothing.

[Livewire]

I personally havent done it but do know of people who have. One person I know does it every year for vacation and seems to like the drive. What I cant figure out is how its only about a 4 hr drive (give or take) all the way to the coast, yet it takes me no less than 7 hrs to get to the Inland Empire (Riverside area) from Phx....and its inland, not all the way on the coast.
That drive on the I-8 has some areas that are so desolate and you dont dare get stranded but if you have a cd player or something to listen to, it would sure beat the static on your radio.

[vfrpilot]

When we lived in San Marcos(North San Diego County), I used to drive to PHX a lot for work. I used to go north on 15, exit at Temecula and cut through Hemet, hit I-10 at Beaumont, and go east on I-10 to PHX. I tried I-8 a few times but it took longer and had longer stretches of 'nothing'. But I was originating about 35 miles north of downtown SD. I did not concern myself at all about the time of day. I usually used rental cars. Once driving out of PHX in the afternoon, I had a convertible Camaro, top down, with the A/C going. Drove 200 miles with the top down. That was nice
Have fun in San Diego.