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Soon we have to drive from central NC to western WA but don't have experience with driving all the way cross country. The vehicle is also not specially equipped with snow tires or anything and we don't really have experience with driving in bad snow anyway, so avoiding as much serious winter weather as possible would be much preferred. I'd like suggestions for a safe yet pretty efficient route to get there.
While you didn't mention what your vehicle may be ...
the "safest" yet "efficient" route to do this and avoid the liklihood of inclement weather and snowy road conditions is to not do this trip in the Winter months.
Especially if you have no bad snow driving experience, slick/icy roads are a given through much of the USA that you'd travel this time of the year. Learning how to drive in these conditions with a car ill-equipped to do so is more than asking for trouble ....
Your only prospect to minimize adverse road conditions would be to stay entirely south for your westward journey and then up the coastal routes to Western Washington. That's not an especially efficient route, but it would be the safest option given your parameters.
Soon we have to drive from central NC to western WA but don't have experience with driving all the way cross country. The vehicle is also not specially equipped with snow tires or anything and we don't really have experience with driving in bad snow anyway, so avoiding as much serious winter weather as possible would be much preferred. I'd like suggestions for a safe yet pretty efficient route to get there.
Driving X-country in the middle of winter without snow tires doesnt strike me as a sensible thing to do as running into snow isnt merely a maybe,its going to happen.Check some of these videos on what happens with summer tires on snow..summer tires vs winter tires - YouTube
This one kinda says it all= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elP_34ltdWI
I'd shop around for some snow tires before heading west,$400 should get you a nice set of snows..http://www.firestonecompleteautocare...es/Raleigh/NC/
If you just have to make the trip on summer tires I-10 west to I-5 north would be the route i'd take and budget a few extra days in motels for those days its too snowy to proceed.
I agree with above posters; it could be a tough trip, and wholly unpredictable, weather-wise.
The OP didn't mention kind of car, condition of car, etc.
And, when in 'winter'? Winter in central NC has a much shorter time frame than winter in some of the areas one would pass through on that trip.
Using Google maps, from say Winston-Salem to Spokane, and having done that traverse several times in summer months, I really can't come up with a route that isn't way round about/lower elevation and that is also 'winter weather' avoidance.
GL, mD
I would think if you MUST drive to WA, going the LONG way would be safest. I would head south on 77 and cut across Alabama, MIssissippi and on westward to Cali. Then north along the coast to Washington.
Best idea has been mentioned--WAIT until spring or FLY. Driving across Tennessee into Kansas up towards Colorado / Wyoming or Idaho is just shy of insanity in the winter months. IMHO.
I have done it with a huge 4 X 4 and it was crazy. Then again, if there is little snow and you love gambling...
I've driven cross- country several times in the winter with a small, 2WD station wagon without snow tires. I never even got close to being in any danger.
You can have the best car and the best tires in the world for snow, but nothing beats plain ol' common sense. Check out the weather forecast days in advance. Give yourself up to twice the amount of time to get there as it should take. Most hotels have wi-fi, so check the weather for the next leg of the journey as you go. If it's calling for snow on the day you cross the Rockies, find a different route or wait it out. If the weather gets bad mid-trip and you're not comfortable driving, find a place to stop and wait it out. Just use your brain and you'll get there fine
I've driven cross- country several times in the winter with a small, 2WD station wagon without snow tires. I never even got close to being in any danger.
Living up here in Canada we get to deal with a lot of winter driving,sure you can drive in winter with summer tires so long as the road is clear of any snow and ice,once the roads arent clear and dry driving on summer tires can be terrifying as you have no control as some of those video's point out,
If you have to spend a few days in a motel because your car cant drive in the snow or you need to get pulled out of a ditch because your summer tires made you slide off the road you havent really saved yourself any money by not buying some winter tires.
Perhaps a visit to Craigslist might get you some lightly used winter tires..
Living up here in Canada we get to deal with a lot of winter driving,sure you can drive in winter with summer tires so long as the road is clear of any snow and ice,once the roads arent clear and dry driving on summer tires can be terrifying as you have no control as some of those video's point out,
If you have to spend a few days in a motel because your car cant drive in the snow or you need to get pulled out of a ditch because your summer tires made you slide off the road you havent really saved yourself any money by not buying some winter tires.
Perhaps a visit to Craigslist might get you some lightly used winter tires..
Good link because you can't buy snow tires just anywhere in the South. They're generally unavailable. They MIGHT be found in the Smoky Mountains region of western NC, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Take the 40 west all the way to California, then take the 5 north to Washington. Do NOT take the 70, you will have to go through Colorado and that will not be pleasant, even if their drought-stricken current conditions. You'll be going through the Interstate at 9,000 feet. The 40 is the safest route in the winter but you must buy chains for your tires. Black ice in Texas can be nasty.
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