Driving from Phoenix, Arizona to Dallas, Texas I-10 or I-40? (Santa Rosa: real estate, hotel)

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Prickly Pear

You couldn’t pay me to do a 6k elevation climb on a windy, narrow, and high traffic corridor like the I-17 with a full rental truck and then hauling a trailer. And going through Payson or something is no different. Flat land all the way when possible.

The Op would be going down I-17, not up.

[adventuregurl]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

The Op would be going down I-17, not up.

Not if he lives in Phoenix and wants to take the 140 east to TX.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by adventuregurl

Not if he lives in Phoenix and wants to take the 140 east to TX.

I stand corrected. I read that he was coming to PHX (but he is leaving PHX). Yea... Plus, he is pulling a CAR. I agree with Prickly Pear: there is no way would I signup for that venture. The wind and winding would not bother me because he couldn't go over 40 MPH most of the way up. It would be so slow that an illegal could jump on his car while driving up the I17. JUST kidding (I'm playing into his fear)! Getting flipped off in the slow lane will be his biggest problem.

[hikernut]

Going up is less risky than the down part, but flat is better.

[Ponderosa]

My first reaction was "oh, for heaven's sake". Anyway I-10 is perfectly safe from the things you fear. I've driven that route twice since April. Nary an immigrant in sight. I've traveled I40 more times than I can count. The traffic on I40 is nothing but bumper to bumper semis that are gonna blow you around on the road. It never lets up. And the road is full of potholes along the shoulders and rough - even in Arizona. The climb out of ABQ is a white knuckler if you are not used to a long rig with cars zooming by at 80 mph. As a previous poster mentioned you have three climbs over 7000 feet on I40 versus two of about 4000 on I-10. I-10 is better all around not to mention the most direct route.

The worst part of I10 is probably the stretch southeast of Tucson where it is two lanes and really needs to be more.

[grmi66]

I've driven a rental truck while towing a car up and down I-17 in the past (I'm a sucker for Arizona, have moved to Phoenix & Tucson from out of state 4 times). Never again, the most nervous I've ever been when driving was going down the grades of I-17 and you can feel the car you're towing pushing you along, combined with a less than stellar rental with bad shocks and I was the very definition of white knuckle driving.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by grmi66

I've driven a rental truck while towing a car up and down I-17 in the past (I'm a sucker for Arizona, have moved to Phoenix & Tucson from out of state 4 times). Never again, the most nervous I've ever been when driving was going down the grades of I-17 and you can feel the car you're towing pushing you along, combined with a less than stellar rental with bad shocks and I was the very definition of white knuckle driving.

You let out some bad memories. I remember feeling that "push" driving a 27 footer (no car) down the I-17. I was downshifting and "enjoyed" the humming sound of those high RPM's. I will say, I actually watched for those runaway ramps. The old UHaul that I was driving didn't give me a lot of breaking confidence. It doesn't take long for breaks to heat up.

To the Op. Take the 10!

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Looking at the Op's profile page that (shows his status, he didn't bother coming back and look at people's suggestions. Typical.

[RMESMH]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

A quick google says the distance is a whopping 10 miles between all three routes. There is a 40 minute time savings by taking the I-10. You might want to ask about this on the Tucson forum versus PHX. If I was worried whatsoever, I'd pick one of the other paths and call it a day. If it was a 5-hour difference, then I would study it more.

Because of possible break-ins, would be more concerned about doing your research in picking a hotel in a safer area. So avoid staying in Las Vegas, NM. And my choice would be focused on a more interesting drive (natural beauty).

With all that said, I'd be more nervous about putting my name on a forum. Because according to google, a guy by the name of John Rabenius is now living in Chandler, AZ.

Why would you bring up Las Vegas, NM at all ?

Doing so doesn't make any sense.

If the OP took the northern route, the OP would be on I-40 the whole time through New Mexico.

Las Vegas, NM is on I-25 (NE of Albuquerque), not I-40.

Las Vegas, NM is 48 miles away from I-40 via U.S. Hwy 84.

If the OP hit the intersection of Hwy 84 and I-40 and was tired and wanted to find a hotel, it would make sense to continue another 17 miles on I-40 to Santa Rosa, NM, not to drive 48 miles on Hwy 84 to Las Vegas, NM.

ETA: Going the other direction, one would stop in Santa Rosa, not go 17 more miles in order to then go 48 additional miles off route.

[Ex New Yorker]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

Interest. I never thought of heading out there by rail. We have a 32-pound pooch. Delta and others have a moratorium for dogs flying in the cargo area. I suppose we should blame COVID. Therefore, I have to drive back and forth which is a PITA (I do it in two punishing days while my wife flies).


The average house value is $125K with an average income of $27K. I mean, what could go wrong? http:////www.city-data.com/city/Las-...ew-Mexico.html I'd highly recommend the local Arby's. It is so run down, it needs a bulldozer. I think this is the largest employer in town. https://www.orkin.com/locations/new-mexico-nm/las-vegas

I absolutely refuse to fly, and the train sure beats driving. We took the Lake Shore Limited from New York to Chicago then the Southwest Chief from Chicago to Flagstaff.

The train pulls into the station, an attendant comes out to greet you, you hop on board and off you go. All within about 10 minutes depending on how many are embarking and disembarking. We'd leave New York on a Friday afternoon arrive in Chicago at around 9:00 Saturday morning. Leave Chicago at 3:00 in the afternoon, arrive in Dodge City KS at around 6:00 Sunday morning and arrive in Flagstaff around 9:00 Sunday night. If you need a vehicle at your final destination you have to reserve one. If you don't have a reservation you won't be able to rent a car at the station. An agent from the rental car agency will be there when the train arrives only for those that have a reservation. Even if the train is running late. I believe that option's available at all of the Amtrak stations along the entire route. For obvious reasons pets are not allowed on the train for long distance travel. Pets on Amtrak***

The route is scheduled so that you're sleeping when there's not that much to see. At least for our trip the 6 hour layover in Chicago wasn't bad. Union Station and that section of Chicago was pretty nice for a city. We got to go out and wander around W Adams, Canal and Van Buren St. There's some pretty nice places to eat.

Yeah, we saw a lot of impoverished places throughout New Mexico. Las Vegas was probably the worst. Huge swaths of Albuquerque weren't much better. But then again what we saw was from the train and driving through the state when we moved out here. We didn't have the opportunity to go exploring around. Landscape wise the state was absolutely beautiful. Not as nice as Arizona though.

Pets on Amtrak***
https://www.amtrak.com/pets
Dogs and cats up to 20 pounds (combined weight of pet and carrier) are welcome on trips up to seven hours on most routes (some restrictions apply*). Our check-in process is simple, making traveling with your four-legged friend easy and enjoyable. *Travel with pets in Canada not available on Adirondack, Maple Leaf and Amtrak Cascades; not available on Auto Train, Keystone Service, Pennsylvanian, San Joaquins, Capitol Corridor Pacific Surfliner or Thruway Connecting Services.

All Aboard! Amtrak Now Accepting Pets on Some Trains
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/tra...-trains-n91641