Advice for a last-second drive from SF to DC

February 11, 2019 4:51 PM

In about a week I need to rent a car and drive all my things across the country. What do I need to know ahead of time regarding the route and places to stay along the way? I'm especially worried about bad weather and/or someone stealing all my stuff.

I drove across the country once, more than 10 years ago, but that was a northern route from DC to Seattle. It was also the summer, I wasn't alone, and I didn't have all my stuff with me. The longest I've driven alone was about 1200 miles up the coast.

I'm planning on avoiding I-80 and taking a southern route instead, along I-40. Will that help with the weather, or do I need to worry about horrible weather in the high deserts? I'll be able to check weather regularly, but I've never driven this route before, and I don't know what to expect in the winter.

(I have family in Colorado I could stay with, but I'm assuming that the hassle of getting through the Sierras and the Rockies in February just won't be worth it.)

Any recommendations for cities and places to stay? I'll have all my stuff with me, and I'm worried about someone breaking into the car. I'm planning on taking in valuables at night, but I can't completely unload the car every night. Ideally I'd like to know ahead of time where I can stay, because I don't want to be nodding off on the highway with no options for 100 miles (which is how I've previously ended up staying at the world's sketchiest motels).

Some people say to aim for about 10 hours a day, others say less. Again, I've done long drives before, but it's been a long time, and I don't want to lock myself into a schedule that I can't safely handle. On top of that, I have to start the trip by picking up the rental car and loading it with my stuff, so that will only add to how long the first day is. My best option for renting a car is to get it for a week, so I have to do the whole drive in under 7 days.

Have you done this drive before? Where did you stay? How did you decide where to stay? What kind of a schedule did you give yourself?

Are there any places I should plan on stopping and seeing along the way, even with a car full of stuff? Even if it's just a scenic overlook here or there.

Is there ANYTHING else I need to know before setting out? Anything I might not be taking into account while I'm planning this?

posted by shapes that haunt the dusk to Travel & Transportation (21 answers total)

We did more or less the reverse of this drive (from Pittsburgh to San Jose) at exactly this time last year. We also took the southern route and of course we hit an ice storm that nearly got us stuck in Oklahoma City, OK. So yes, it is winter and there can be bad weather everywhere. If you have any flexibility at all to just take a day off, bad weather doesn't tend to last.

We had a rough mileage plan but then confirmed our next stopping city the night before and booked the hotel one day in advance - due to travelling with a dog we were loyal to La Quinta hotels. The southern route for you will be about 3000 miles so if you target 2 days for packing/unpacking/weather safety on a 7 day rental, that means you have 5 driving days. So target 600 miles per day - Day 1 puts you in Kingman AZ, and then go from there. In the west it'll be harder to find cities that are the perfect distance apart so some days will be longer and some shorter.
posted by muddgirl at 5:05 PM on February 11, 2019

As for safety if we were at a motel, we parked right next to our room, and if we were at a hotel we parked right under a light as close to the hotel building as possible. We had our stuff covered with blankets so it wasn't easily visible from outside the car. We've done 3 cross country car moves and have not had a problem so far.
posted by muddgirl at 5:09 PM on February 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

IIRC there can occasionally be crazy wind and snow from Flagstaff to Albuquerque. For a warmer route, you could take I-10 to Las Cruces, I-20 to Dallas, I-30 to Little Rock, and I-40 to I-81 to DC, although you could still have some bad weather along I-81. This only adds a couple of hours to your trip.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:32 PM on February 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Also be sure you are allowed that range and mileage for your rental.
posted by calgirl at 6:04 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

Don't forget (like we did) that you'll lose an hour 3 of your days going east.
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 6:20 PM on February 11, 2019 [3 favorites]

I did this drive last year! (SF to OH, not DC.) 10 hours is manageable BUT it BECOMES a lot multiple days in a row. The percentage of folks happy to do ten hours of driving four days in a row is a lot smaller than those who can summon up the energy to knock out a single ten hour stretch. 8 is more reasonable. Take a gander at google maps before you go to get a sense of the empty areas. There are areas of AZ and NM that are EMPTY, and you need to be more mindful than on the east coast, where you can basically pull off any exit to find a mid-price hotel and an Applebees.

I didn't plan nights in advance, which afforded me the flexibility of going as far as I felt comfortable. When I had the inkling I was getting antsy/hungry/tired, I would pull over and use my smartphone to gauge where I could comfortably stop for the night. The trick is to do this when you still have an hour's drive left in you, so if you are in the middle of nowhere you have the reserves (both in the car and in you) to get out.

It's early in your trip, but I found crossing the Tehachapi mountains and riding alongside the Mojave extremely moving. By quirk of plans (and it sounds like your plans, too) I didn't drive too far out of the Bay on my first day. So I had all that scenery fresh on my first real day on the road and it was glorious.

The other fun thing I did was to stay at budget places the whole way, but splurge on a unique, historic hotel my last night on the road.

I drove at New Years, and I had above freezing temps until I hit Oklahoma.
posted by missmary6 at 6:46 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

If you take I-40, it looks like there'll be some snow a week out in Flagstaff, AZ, Gallup, NM and Albuquerque. If you go down to I-10, you might still get some snow in Dallas (all links to Wunderground forecasts). None of it looks terrible, but Flagstaff might not be fun.

And if you're looking for a rental vehicle with that weather in mind, look for something that can hold everything inside, or get a hard case that locks, so you can keep everything out of the rain and/or snow.
posted by filthy light thief at 6:55 PM on February 11, 2019

Is it possible you could rent a van or something that locks everything in the back more securely? I did move once with things in my car covered with a blanket, but that was a trip with only one overnight. I drove on I-40 in a few different winters with an ex, once with a U-Haul en route to LA; I can't remember exactly where we stayed, but we didn't encounter any bad weather on those trips. It's not a bad drive. Depending on the time of day and day of the week, SF-LA can take a long time, so you might want to plan to stay in the LA area the first night. If you don't have someone who can travel with you, I would consider posting on Craigslist's rideshare section. You'll have to carefully screen people, but it's definitely possible to find someone sane who can share driving and help pay for gas.
posted by pinochiette at 8:35 PM on February 11, 2019

I've found driving in the dark in the AM is much safer, but does take discipline to knock off late afternoon and really get to sleep. Do seriously respect the weather.
posted by sammyo at 8:49 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

Side note: check your renter's/homeowner's insurance to confirm that your stuff is covered while in transit. It generally should be, but it would be good to be certain.
posted by praemunire at 10:17 PM on February 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

I've driven 1-40 between SF and Arkansas in the winter several times.

About Flagstaff snow: Arizona's state government may be bad at many things, but one thing they're good at is getting highways clear after snow. YMMV on hotel parking lots, though.

I don't do more than 7 hour days whenever possible, and I stop every ~2-3 hours. (Someone riding with me once got a blood clot on a long day when we pushed it, and now I take stopping much more seriously. Their doctor said to get out every ~2-3 hours and aim to walk/move for 20 minutes--as opposed to stopping, trudging a few steps into a restaurant, and trudging back. That's hard to do, but I try.)

My absolute favorite stop on this trip is in Tucumcari, NM. There's a no-frills dinosaur/fossil museum there that we stopped at on a whim once, expecting typical I-40 roadside hilarity. Instead, we found a serious museum run by the only 2-year-college paleontology program in the US (IIRC). They have their own bronze foundry so they can just crank out amazing pieces that other museums can only dream of, and they also have plenty of real fossils. I think it's probably the best stop on the western half of your route, given that places like Santa Fe or the Grand Canyon require a lot more time.

When you go through Arkansas, a couple of delicious places to eat are Wunderhaus in Conway and Cathead's or Flying Fish in Little Rock. (Check hours before making plans.) Thanks to AskMe for those last two recs, actually.

If you want specific hotel/motel recs for the western route, Memail me and I'll go through my records.

Have a safe drive!
posted by wintersweet at 10:20 PM on February 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

I did this , except new england to bay area, so I 80, and in summer. I was alone and I did do 10 hrs a day but it was greuling and awful and i can't recommend it. I took naps at many well lit rest areas and stayed overnight twice in hotels. I did worry about the stuff, but I didn't move a majority of it into my hotel room. Some of it was in an xcargo pod atop my civics roof rack, with a padlock on it. I think i brought laptop, wallet, etc in with me. I didn't have any problems, but .. I guess that was lucky. One thing you can do is pick hotels w/ spots right in front of the fromt desk - if desk clerk has clear view of your car, that might deter a thief. I also looked for security cameras and parked near them. I never felt too nervous at rest areas/ truck stops because they were busy 24 hrs. I even took one truck stop shower. Not as bad as you might think, desperate times..

At the time of this misadventure i was female and 34. One thing to do is get better snacks than can be gotten at truck stops , like if you see you're passing a good grocery store on a map stop bc it might be forever until you encounter anything decent. Also ask rental co when last oil change was. Also bring big jugs of water and a wool blanket or sleeping bag and a flashlight just in case. And maybe a backup phone charger that's juiced up. Do you have triple A ? Also podcasts or audible but .. I'm sure you know that. Maybe a friend you can call for those times you get drowsy but can't pull over, or, in case you just feel lonely. . Altho , really, if you're really drowsy, pull over even if its not ideal looking - its a better option than asleep at the wheel for sure.

Best of luck ! You can do it !

apologies for typos ..composed on a tiny screen..
posted by elgee at 10:39 PM on February 11, 2019

many gas stations will close at 9/10 pm and 24 hour ones may close their bathrooms then too (a cashier did relent when I told her that I was about to wet my pants)
posted by brujita at 10:51 PM on February 11, 2019

When people talk about 10 hour driving days, I think they are thinking about when you can swap out drivers. I'd budget for less driving time, personally.
posted by freethefeet at 2:46 AM on February 12, 2019 [2 favorites]

muddgirl said basically what I came to say. Definitely don't do more than eight hours a day *actual driving* by yourself, but if you're taking real breaks to get out and walk around etc. as you should, you may end up spending 10 hours car-adjacent.

Roadside motels are often pretty run-down, but you'll often be able to park in front of your room. Check for bedbugs, especially from Dallas on. I'd second La Quinta as a budget chain that is a little more reliable than a lot of the mom-and-pops. If you can get a head start out of cities before the morning commuters you will make much better time - I found sacking out by nine and getting moving by five helped miss a lot of the annoyance. Evening commutes are much less reliable.

I did a lot of driving between CA and the SW throughout my twenties and never had or even heard of a problem with theft - I'd say your shit's more likely to get stolen after you load up the car in SF. If you're really worried about your stuff, check if the car rental or an existing insurance agreement will give you moving insurance.
posted by aspersioncast at 5:49 AM on February 12, 2019

Also there are a ton of active MeFites in DC, some of whom (like me!) are Oakland transplants. Feel free to PM if you need advice or throw together a meetup.
posted by aspersioncast at 5:51 AM on February 12, 2019

I didn't plan nights in advance, which afforded me the flexibility of going as far as I felt comfortable. When I had the inkling I was getting antsy/hungry/tired, I would pull over and use my smartphone to gauge where I could comfortably stop for the night. The trick is to do this when you still have an hour's drive left in you, so if you are in the middle of nowhere you have the reserves (both in the car and in you) to get out.

This is what I was going to suggest. Even better is if you have a friend back home who is willing to be the hotel-finder; you call them when you are an hour or two away from wanting to stop and they use their computer to find you a decent hotel.

Ten hours/day is not fun but also not undoable, and as noted once you factor in eating lunch and getting gas you are looking at more like 8 hours of actual driving. Personally I prefer to start driving super early in the morning so I can be off the road by evening; there always seems to be worse driving starting around dinner time (maybe from people hitting the bar on the way home?) so I shift towards the early hours whenever I can.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:33 AM on February 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

For places to stay, put the HotelTonight and Hotels.com apps on your phone. While I'd be sure to have rooms booked on Friday/Saturday nights, I expect you'll generally be fine making reservations a few hours out.

McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, and most fast food chains have free wifi these days, so you should be fine even if you lose cell service.
posted by veery at 8:49 AM on February 12, 2019

Another option would be to ship most of your stuff by Amtrak and fly out with the valuable items. With gas, hotels, the rental (and insurance!) you might save money. Amtrak would get your stuff to you when it can, so you would have to be without some of the items before you move or after.

I have done both the moves where you stuff everything you can fit into a car as well as Amtrak (and once I put everything I own on three pallets and shipped those) and using Amtrak or a trucking company (not a moving service!) move your stuff often is cheaper as well as less stress overall.
posted by Monday at 10:52 AM on February 12, 2019

Winter on I-80 in Wyoming is notoriously bad, I would definitely recommend a different route. I've driven the western half of the I-40 route about a half-dozen times. I second the praise for the beauty of the Mojave, particularly around Tehachapi. There are big wind farms out there too, right along the highway. Pretty neat.

Maybe I'm a weirdo, but I've never had trouble driving for 12 to 14 hours two days in a row. If I was limiting the drive time to 8 or 10 hours a day, I'd make sure to stop and see some cool stuff, like the Grand Canyon, or do a short hike or two, particularly in AZ, NM, and the Ozarks.

I'd make sure to stop for some really good BBQ in Memphis.

Eating right and staying hydrated will really help you out. If you bring a small cooler, it makes that easier. Grapes are great road-trip snack food. Drink a bit more water than you normally do.
posted by hootenatty at 10:52 AM on February 12, 2019

I took the I-80 route but it was also summer and I had family/friends to stay with every other night. Other than that I always stayed in Motel 6s. They're cheap and clean.

8 hours a day is probably the limit of what you can do alone, more than that and you'll be exhausted especially if it means you have to drive in the dark.

I didn't have many valuables but I'd bring in my CDs and my laptop at night. I agree with the suggestion to park under lights.

I also insisted on eating ice cream every day.
posted by bendy at 3:46 PM on February 12, 2019