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Old 04-30-2018, 10:37 PM
 
Location: San Antonio
4,468 posts, read 10,627,829 times
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I haven't driven 20 but I have driven 40 from ABQ to just west of Atlanta several times. LA and MS aren't scary, I don't know where you go that from. HOWEVER...the road conditions in AL/MS/LA are horrible and on my last trip (Aug 2017) there was a lot of road construction and delays.
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Old 05-01-2018, 10:55 AM
 
Location: Rural Michigan
6,341 posts, read 14,710,858 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlanavarrete1 View Post
Thank you everyone... Very helpful! Do you know if the hotels off of the 40W are generally pretty safe? I guess if you stay in the nicer one's we should be fine.. Marriott and Holiday Inn Express etc..
When my daughter drove 20W she said MS and LA were totally scary.. She was even scared to get gas. LOL That is what I don't want to come across is the scary parts. But I think going 40 you don't really have all that, because you are not in going through MS and LA .. LOL
I don’t think you really need to be in a “branded” hotel to be safe - I often went for red-roof-inns & motel 6’s just because they always take pets & even the motel 6’s weren’t too terrible. Many of the little towns along the 40 are infused with meth, so I wouldn’t hang out after dark, but you’re fine in a room. The 40 is kinda boring to drive, which is exactly what you want if you’re just clicking off miles.
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Old 05-01-2018, 08:31 PM
 
Location: San Antonio
4,468 posts, read 10,627,829 times
Reputation: 4245
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlanavarrete1 View Post
Thank you everyone... Very helpful! Do you know if the hotels off of the 40W are generally pretty safe? I guess if you stay in the nicer one's we should be fine.. Marriott and Holiday Inn Express etc..
When my daughter drove 20W she said MS and LA were totally scary.. She was even scared to get gas. LOL That is what I don't want to come across is the scary parts. But I think going 40 you don't really have all that, because you are not in going through MS and LA .. LOL

Plan your days' driving and a radius of where you'd like to stay overnight. Then check reviews on Tripadvisor. Sort by newest review because reviews more than a year old are useless.

And I was incorrect, it's I-20 where all the bad road construction is, not I-40. But I've driven sections of I40 and lots of I20 and I20 isn't any "scarier" than I-40. You just go thru older parts of town on I20.
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Old 05-04-2018, 06:12 AM
 
Location: North Scottsdale/San Diego
811 posts, read 624,058 times
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Just drove I-20 from Atl to Phx this week. The last 600 miles of the trip are actually I-10. I was reminded that dust storms and high winds are prevalent in southern NM and AZ and often times the freeway gets shut down. For that possibility alone I would recommend I-40. Also traveling in early June the temperatures along I-40 are much more comfortable and less strain on your vehicle.

Tip: Northern route in summer, southern route in the winter. I would not want to be in west TX with a broken vehicle in June. PLEASE have your car thoroughly inspected and make sure it's ready for the trip!

Have a great time and make sure you point out to your son just how majestic and beautiful this great country is.
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Old 05-16-2018, 03:47 PM
 
Location: In the hot spot!
3,941 posts, read 6,737,552 times
Reputation: 4091
Quote:
Originally Posted by Elna Rae View Post
Just drove I-20 from Atl to Phx this week. The last 600 miles of the trip are actually I-10. I was reminded that dust storms and high winds are prevalent in southern NM and AZ and often times the freeway gets shut down. For that possibility alone I would recommend I-40. Also traveling in early June the temperatures along I-40 are much more comfortable and less strain on your vehicle.

Tip: Northern route in summer, southern route in the winter. I would not want to be in west TX with a broken vehicle in June. PLEASE have your car thoroughly inspected and make sure it's ready for the trip!

Have a great time and make sure you point out to your son just how majestic and beautiful this great country is.
Did you move here or were you just returning from a trip? I have driven across this country more than I care to count.
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Old 05-16-2018, 07:02 PM
 
Location: The Wild Wild West
44,659 posts, read 61,722,489 times
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OP I would drive I-40 west to I-17 Flagstaff then south to Rte 303 Fwy(North Phoenix) West over to I-10 then west to Rte 85 then south on 85 and presto you're in the middle of Buckeye. This is all freeway, and taking the 303 bypasses the crowded Phoenix area.
We travel this route twice a year. Nice motels and hotels are plentiful all along the way. About every hour or so you'll hit a decent town where there are many choices of motel and eateries.
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Old 05-18-2018, 06:19 PM
 
80 posts, read 98,850 times
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goolsbyjazz - I am moving there 6/9, I'll be driving from Charlotte NC to Buckeye Az. Trying to figure out the safest route for myself and y 7 yr old son. I'm starting to get nervous LOL... I was checking I-20 and it looks like there is a ton of construction going on. I'm thinking 40 is better this time of year. Also, I have a dog. So I'll need to stay in hotels for my doggy..
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Old 05-19-2018, 08:38 AM
 
Location: In the hot spot!
3,941 posts, read 6,737,552 times
Reputation: 4091
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlanavarrete1 View Post
goolsbyjazz - I am moving there 6/9, I'll be driving from Charlotte NC to Buckeye Az. Trying to figure out the safest route for myself and y 7 yr old son. I'm starting to get nervous LOL... I was checking I-20 and it looks like there is a ton of construction going on. I'm thinking 40 is better this time of year. Also, I have a dog. So I'll need to stay in hotels for my doggy..
I would definitely drive I-40 if I were you. That's the route we took when we drove from Charlotte to Phoenix. Plenty of places to stay along the route. I think you will be fine.
only incident we encountered was on the highway near Asheville but it wasn't the route. Our luggage bag flew off the roof of our car and got run over by a tractor trailer that came out of nowhere!
Are you moving for work?
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Old 05-19-2018, 10:32 AM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC
38 posts, read 27,278 times
Reputation: 127
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlanavarrete1 View Post
goolsbyjazz - I am moving there 6/9, I'll be driving from Charlotte NC to Buckeye Az. Trying to figure out the safest route for myself and y 7 yr old son. I'm starting to get nervous LOL... I was checking I-20 and it looks like there is a ton of construction going on. I'm thinking 40 is better this time of year. Also, I have a dog. So I'll need to stay in hotels for my doggy..
Funny, I’m going to be leaving Charlotte on 6/3 to make the drive to Phoenix. I was originally planning to take I-10 but am now leaning towards 40 as well. I’d be more than happy to give you a heads up on any construction, roads issues, etc. that I run into.

Last edited by ncaz2018; 05-19-2018 at 11:10 AM..
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Old 05-20-2018, 07:51 PM
 
90 posts, read 69,703 times
Reputation: 186
We took I-40. It was a pretty safe and easy. Got into a very odd situation in New Mexico, behind a large storm, tons of wind in the middle state and the car felt like it'd blow off the road. There are "High Wind" signs in NM. After another hour, and going up a mountain there was snow on the ground. Following the strange weather, I went to a bathroom and saw an wheelchair-bound Indian man I thought was a woman and just looked at him for 5 seconds, and he looked back. I'll never forget how awkward it was.

Afterwards, I got food and had the hottest hamburger of my life.


NM has left me with a lot of strange memories.
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