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When you park your SUV at the motel for the night, take everything vital to "surviving" with you into your room and don't leave it unattended. When I traveled by car and back to Puerto Vallarta, I always took my computer, purse, cell phone, keys, driver's license, file of vital papers, passport, (and your dog in your case) etc, out of the car and kept them with me at all times. This also includes things of no intrinsic value but are precious to you for any reason (photos, art, memorabilia, etc.). If a motel safe is available, use it.
Other than that, you'll be fine and the trip will be a breeze. Safety fears for the most part are way overblown.
I would buy a Rand McNally US Atlas before taking this type of trip. It might save you hours and hours in case a road is closed and you need a logical detour. A GPS won't help you in that situation.
THANK YOU for your very informative post All your suggestions are helpful
Since you have experience with cross-country driving, is there any route (from Oregon to Florida) you would recommend that is easier for a first-time traveler ? I know AAA can advise me, but advice from someone who has personal experience seems more practical.
Last year, I drove Tucson-Houston-Chicago. I do NOT see that trip as being any more dangerous except that some of the speeds in the deserts can be ridiculously high.
I generally do NOT stay in El Paso as the traffic is bad and some of the hotels are not the best. I prefer to drive an additional 40 miles and stay in Las Cruces, NM.
As for advice, I do NOT book hotels in advance as in the beginning of the trip. What if you are 500 miles away from "Tonight's stop" in the AM but you are exhausted after 300 miles. I would recommend booking the night before.
Your worst ENEMY is fatigue, not criminals. I "know" that most City Data people can drive 1800 miles a day and fee wide awake. However, for many of us mere mortals, we start getting tired after 600 miles, and even less on our third and fourth day on the road. I like to take "off days" on a long trip to allow me to get some deep sleep and exercise.
I would buy a Rand McNally US Atlas before taking this type of trip. It might save you hours and hours in case a road is closed and you need a logical detour. A GPS won't help you in that situation.
Actually if you use a gps app like Scout, not sure if it is Sprint specific, it will alert you to traffic problems like that And allow you to avoid any problems. Often times it will show you two or three possible routes along with the estimated time to reach your destination. While having a map would be handy to use a reference if you want to go off the gps suggested route, I would suggest using free apps like waze, mapquest, google maps, or scout to make sure you are alerted about potential delays in relative real time, something a paper map can't do.
Last year, I drove Tucson-Houston-Chicago. I do NOT see that trip as being any more dangerous except that some of the speeds in the deserts can be ridiculously high.
I generally do NOT stay in El Paso as the traffic is bad and some of the hotels are not the best. I prefer to drive an additional 40 miles and stay in Las Cruces, NM.
As for advice, I do NOT book hotels in advance as in the beginning of the trip. What if you are 500 miles away from "Tonight's stop" in the AM but you are exhausted after 300 miles. I would recommend booking the night before.
Your worst ENEMY is fatigue, not criminals. I "know" that most City Data people can drive 1800 miles a day and fee wide awake. However, for many of us mere mortals, we start getting tired after 600 miles, and even less on our third and fourth day on the road. I like to take "off days" on a long trip to allow me to get some deep sleep and exercise.
Las Cruces has a Hilton Garden Inn that is reasonably priced and very safe. I would feel comfortable leaving things in the car, as long as it wasn't something obviously valuable like a wide screen TV or diamond ring on the dashboard.
Actually if you use a gps app like Scout, not sure if it is Sprint specific, it will alert you to traffic problems like that And allow you to avoid any problems. Often times it will show you two or three possible routes along with the estimated time to reach your destination. While having a map would be handy to use a reference if you want to go off the gps suggested route, I would suggest using free apps like waze, mapquest, google maps, or scout to make sure you are alerted about potential delays in relative real time, something a paper map can't do.
I use Google maps as well, but it doesn't give the whole picture. You simply can't go out far enough and still get good details with those apps.
Las Cruces has a Hilton Garden Inn that is reasonably priced and very safe. I would feel comfortable leaving things in the car, as long as it wasn't something obviously valuable like a wide screen TV or diamond ring on the dashboard.
I usually do the LaQuinta Organ Mountain or the Comfort Suites University. Both are very accessible and in safe areas. I put a sheet over anything in the backseat and no one has bothered anything. Of course, on the last couple of trips, the car was so full that I would not have wanted to open the two back doors.
Your worst ENEMY is fatigue, not criminals. I "know" that most City Data people can drive 1800 miles a day and fee wide awake. However, for many of us mere mortals, we start getting tired after 600 miles, and even less on our third and fourth day on the road. I like to take "off days" on a long trip to allow me to get some deep sleep and exercise.
This. Check the rest stop rules along your route in case you need to pull off and take a break. In Florida, most rest stops have armed security and allow for up to a three hour nap at the rest stop. Not sure how it is in other states, but it might be similar.
Fatigue and falling asleep at the wheel kills.
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All your suggestions are helpful 
