Drive to Seattle (hotel, price, law)

[ValenL]

Hello all!

My partner and I will be relocating from Southern California to Seattle on January 26th.
We will be driving the Uhaul and towing a car. We plan on stoping and staying in a hotel half way then continue driving the next day.
We have never driven that route and would love any info anyone can give, such as how long the drive will be, the easiest route, weather conditions, will it be a tough drive, will we need tire chains etc.

Thank you all so much in advance

[wythors]

Well, the route is pretty basic. Hit Interstate 5, drive north and stop when you see the Space Needle. You definitely will want to be packing a set of chains for the drive. Siskyou Pass in southern Oregon can be very treacherous in the winter. LA to Seattle is a little over 1100 miles. In a U-Haul, I'd plan on about 20 hours of drive time. Fun, fun.

[madicarus2000]

Wythors is right about the driving. The easiest and fastest is the 5 all the way up. I've done it dozens of times before I moved up here and through each season. Make sure you check the weather before you leave for Northern CA and Southern OR. Pretty much from Lake Shasta, CA, to Medford OR. That's where you'll find the ice and/or snow if it is there. By January you'll probably get the snow and ice, travel by day. At times snow chains are required once you enter the OR border and they have a chain checkpoint right at the border.

Driving the Uhaul will be a little slower and once you pass Shasta you're already halfway there. There are plenty of places to stay along the road so it's up to you on when you get tired.

Tip. Get gas at the T&A or Pilot truck stops. They have bigger areas for pumping gas if you have a long uhaul truck and plenty of big parking for taking a nap or getting some food. Your average gas stations are too small to accomodate a uhaul and tow vehicle. Plus regular gas stations will stop the pump at $75, as that is what is pre-approved, so you end up having to run your card twice. At the truck stations it doesn’t do that, at least when I went through.

Also, in OR, if you havent been aware of it, you do not pump your own gas. You have to let an attendent do it for you. Some will be nice and advise you and some will get pretty ticked if they see you doing it.

PS, don’t tell people you came from CA, just say you were working down there. Congrats.

[ValenL]

thank you for the great information! I was not aware of the gas pumping rule in Oregon im sooo glad you tole me :-)

Haha! "don’t tell people you came from CA, just say you were working down there." is this because they dislike us so much???

[madicarus2000]

Originally Posted by ValenL

thank you for the great information! I was not aware of the gas pumping rule in Oregon im sooo glad you tole me :-)

I've been coming up here for well over a decade before I made the move. At times I forgot about the gas pumping rule in OR and was surprised at the attitude you could get. For the most part the people are nice about it and tell you not to pump, but there are the ones who get a little miffed.

It’s pretty nice that they do it though. That way you get out and get a stretch while someone else pumps your gas. It is the law and there isnt any “full service” charge on the price of gas when they do it. I’ve never bothered to research the law.

Originally Posted by ValenL

Haha! "don’t tell people you came from CA, just say you were working down there." is this because they dislike us so much???

Face it, Californians for the most part were in a rush, we had to be somewhere fast or had to get what we want quickly. We had to have the line moving. Up here the pace isnt so hectic. Things get done, but there isnt so much of a rush. People seem to take the time to smell the roses and taste the coffee. That was a lifestyle change that was a pleasure to make. I think that’s what the Washingtonians didn’t like about the Californians, to much in a rush only to be rushing the next thing.

As a friend once told me, up here is like being in vacation mode, you’re relaxing and in no rush to get something done.

[VeronikaW]

My mom and I made this drive at the end of May all the way from San Diego to Seattle. We left late the first night and stopped just over the grapevine, and then the second night we stopped in Medford, OR for the night.

Not only are you not supposed to pump your own gas in OR, if a cop sees you, it's a hefty fine, so just make sure you don't touch the pumps.

There's some really mountainous areas to drive through with places to stop and put chains on and such, so make sure you have chains in case you need them.

My husband and I got our WA plates as soon as we could after moving here, so people wouldn't discriminate against us for being from CA.

The drive here was really gorgeous.

V. =)

[ness]

My in-laws just made the drive last week with an SUV on the UHaul trailer they rented. It was BAD. The trailer started to sway at any speeds above 50 mph so they had to go 50 the whole way and it took them 25 hours driving straight through. I guess the reason they had trouble with the trailer is that the vehicle was too heavy for the trailer and the type of ball hitch they have. This is something you want to check out in advance and make sure you are getting the right trailer for the vehicle you are towing.