Driving from AZ to NC (Uhaul, Budget, truck, towing)

[jasper12]

Never gonna happen. Not to be a "naysayer"....but...dogs and kids can't last that long. Also, check your tires...I hauled a U-Haul trailer on my car...had to stop 2x unexpected times, once for a new car tire, another time to have the chain adjusted on the trailer. Add two days to that trip....just my experience.

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

In fact I don't think you'll want 10 hours of driving any day as you're going to have to stop multiple times for gas, bathrooms, walk the dog, to eat, etc....So I gave you 8 hours drive time which gets you to Santa Rosa, NM. The Best Western is nice and accepts pets.

I think this is probably a more comfortable plan to spread out the driving more. BTW, it doesn't seem hard to find places that accept pets.

The cat will probably hate traveling. Some recommend getting a tranquilizer for cats from your vet. I moved mine only 7 hours, and she howled for the first 2 hours. Then she settled down and seemed resigned to being in the cage. After she got to the new house, she hid under the bed for about 2 weeks, and only snuck out at night to eat.

[azteacher721]

Well you all have given me a lot to think about and I am glad that I started this now rather than later.

I am not worried about my son, as long as he has his Nintendo DS and his portable DVD player, he is content. We drove from PHX to San Diego and PHX to Los Angeles with just stops for gas and he was fine.

When we go camping, the dog is fine for the three and half hour drive. The cat is the wrench. He howls about the first ten to fifteen minutes and then he resigns himself. Since we travel a lot with the dog, I was already planning on eating in the car. I was going to bring the cooler we use for camping and have it in the car with us.

I was originally giving us a week but now my husband is flying into PHX and then driving with us.(He's already in NC) I am not sure if he can take an entire week off from work. A week would also add the added expense of hotels. I had considered camping some of the way, since we do that often but not sure how the cat would like that.

I think my plan is to already have hotels/motels picked out and reserved prior to leaving. Even if it takes us a bit longer to get there, at least we have a final destination per se per night.

Keep the suggestions coming and I will share and discuss them with my husband as we plan this. I certainly know that I am not traveling as he did, when he came. He drove twelve plus hours a day and did it in three.

[PacificFlights]

You didn;t mention what you were using to pull that trailer and what you think it will weigh. The first part of your trip can be a car killer with that uphill. is there any rason your avoiding the I-10 to TX?

[Nanny Goat]

I moved cross country w/ 3 cats and a dog. We always stopped around 4 ish to get them settled in, fed, their litter boxes out, the dog walked and all the rest. We took 7-8 days to do it, 2400 miles.

The one thing to keep in mind, make sure your pets are secure in their kennels at all times. I've heard of animals getting scared when you stop and leaping out, getting lost.

[stillkit]

You could save yourself a lot of ups and downs by going I-10, 20, 95, 40. It might be a little farther, but you'll mostly avoid the mountains, which you will NOT do on I-40. The downside is that you'd have to navigate Atlanta, but just going right through the middle isn't too bad.

[azteacher721]

Originally Posted by PacificFlights

You didn;t mention what you were using to pull that trailer and what you think it will weigh. The first part of your trip can be a car killer with that uphill. is there any rason your avoiding the I-10 to TX?

Originally Posted by stillkit

You could save yourself a lot of ups and downs by going I-10, 20, 95, 40. It might be a little farther, but you'll mostly avoid the mountains, which you will NOT do on I-40. The downside is that you'd have to navigate Atlanta, but just going right through the middle isn't too bad.

The I-40 route was just what was recommended to my husband when he moved, and I have heard similar. This will be his third time doing this, once coming from Raleigh to AZ.

You make good points concerning the mountains though. Keep the information coming. Thanks.

I am using a 2007 Kia Rondo V-6 engine to pull the trailer. I don't really know what it is going to weigh although the weight limit on the hitch is 1100 lbs.

[CheyDee]

Originally Posted by stillkit

You could save yourself a lot of ups and downs by going I-10, 20, 95, 40. It might be a little farther, but you'll mostly avoid the mountains, which you will NOT do on I-40. The downside is that you'd have to navigate Atlanta, but just going right through the middle isn't too bad.

I would definitely take this route, too.

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by azteacher721

The I-40 route was just what was recommended to my husband when he moved, and I have heard similar. This will be his third time doing this, once coming from Raleigh to AZ.

You make good points concerning the mountains though. Keep the information coming. Thanks.

I am using a 2007 Kia Rondo V-6 engine to pull the trailer. I don't really know what it is going to weigh although the weight limit on the hitch is 1100 lbs.

I assume you want to stay on the interstates, right?

First off, you've got to climb about 6000 feet in the 150 miles from Phoenix to Flagstaff. There are a couple of pretty darn good upgrades which will tax your V-6 pulling a trailer.

Once you get up to Flag, it's pretty level for a long ways, except for going down into Albuquerque and up again. You don't reach hilly terrain until about Nashville, TN and it's up and down from there on to Asheville, NC, with a pretty good downgrade east of Cookeville, TN, but it's nothing to really worry about.

Along that route, you've got some pretty good-sized cities to go through, but nothing which should cause you an great problems if you'll just follow the I-40 signs. Traffic will most likely be bad in Nashville and Knoxville, though. It always is.

But, just as you cross over into North Carolina, you enter about 30 miles of winding canyon highway which can be treacherous if you get around some fool who thinks he can take the curves real fast. And, I think trailers are banned from the left lane for the whole distance. After Asheville, you have to go down Black Mountain, which is about 6 miles of 6% grade and it could very easily get your brakes hot. After that, it's just traffic you'll have to deal with.

Motels, and services are pretty good along this route except between Flagstaff and Amarillo, TX. It can be 30 or 40 miles between towns and there's not much in between.

On I-10, the only significant upgrade you'll have is just east of Benson, AZ but it's not that steep or really that long. There's a little bump in the road before Sierra Blanca, TX and a steep but short downgrade near Ranger, TX. The rest of the way is fairly flat all the way to your destination.

On this route, you have to deal with city traffic in El Paso, but it's a straight shot through; Dallas/Ft. Worth, but I-20 bypasses most of it; Birmingham, AL, but I-459 bypasses it too and Atlanta. DON'T get on I-285 and try to go around it. That's the worst traffic in America! Just stay on I-20 right through the middle and you should be fine, except that it'll probably make you nervous. LOL

Motels and services are plentiful and found at just about every exit once you get to Odessa, TX. Before that, it can get pretty sparse outside the towns, but any town of any size will have what you're looking for. The longest stretch of few services is between El Paso and Pecos, TX, with the exception of Van Horn.

You'll be fine either way, but I just prefer I-10 if I'm pulling a trailer.

[jasper12]

Wow.excellent information. Me...I would stay in hotels rather than camp. Camping is for leisure trips. You don't want to mess with camping gear every night after driving and mess with it in the morning. Stay in a cheap motel. Start early each day, end early.