Best Route From Al To Az??

[xxx_CHiers]

I am looking for advice on the best route to take from Birmingham to Phoenix. I took I40 back in 2000, and hated the ride through Arkansas- road was aweful!!! How is I20 through Texas besides long? Any steep grades I should be aware of anywhere? My 5ver weighs about #16500



Any help appreciated

CHAN



1998. 5 24V, SLT, 5 SPEED,EZ EDGE, 4"EXHAUST, FIRESTONE AIR BAGS, WESTAUCH FP, AUTO-METER EGT AND BOOST,UPGRADED STANDARD transmission,STAGE 2 CLUTCH

2001 ALFA GOLD TRIPLE AXLE "ANIMAL HOUSE"

 

[AfterBurner]

LONG. I-20 is an easy drive. you won't hit any grades until you merge onto I-10 in west tx. then you have one long grade, and a few smaller ones. but they aren't anything to worry about.

Oh Yeah, did I say it was LONG

 

[visage]

"After Burner" is right, I-20 to I-10 is an easy route. You'll find a little bit of construction around Tyler Tx. and then after you pass Monahans, between Pyote and Toyah you'll find some ruts in the road from the heavy truck traffic that will make you crazy for about thirty miles. But the rest is smooth sailing.



After you leave Sierra Blanca watch your down hill speed, it seems to be a training ground for bears.



Have a good trip.

 

[Bill Stockard]

You may have to shift down a couple of gears when climbing "Ranger Hill" about 75 miles west of Fort Worth, but that'll give you a chance to wake up your left leg.



Bill

 

[HBarlow]

CHiers:



The single worst stretch of highway that I have found in North America is I-40 through Oklahoma City. It will challenge the integrity of your truck and trailer at any speed over 20 mph and the traffic is so heavy you'll get run over by an 18 wheeler if you try to drive slow.



I just traveled I-40 from Las Vegas to Santa Rosa, NM a few days ago returning from the West Coast. There was deep snow in Flagstaff and alongside the interstate for a few miles east and maybe 30 miles west of Flagstaff. I-40 was clear but there are lots of serious winter storms occuring in the west right now.



I recommend I-20 and I-10.



Harvey

 

[jnelson]

Mr Barlow you are so correct about I40 and Ok city. It is truly pathetic. Makes I10 west of Laccasine Lousiana look like a race track.

 

[tractorseller]

When you're running down I-20 don't forget your nose plugs. Pretty good stench through parts of it every time I've been down it. George Bush is from Midland there on I-20. About the most interesting thing on the whole stretch. Big billboards out on the freeway let you know you're in his hometown. Very boring drive overall but you can make good time.



I-10 is a breeze until you hit Tucson, not too bad through there unless you hit it during rush hour (4 to 6 p. m. ). Put your nose plugs back on when you get past downtown Tucson going west. The brain surgeons in the govt there decided to put a sewer plant by I-10 and Ruthrauff Rd. When the wind is blowing east you'll get a big whiff of Tucson's finest "aroma" (rolling the window down just makes it worse :-laf ). Tucson is a very liberal anti-growth town and I guess they put the sewer plant out there to run people off :-laf .



There are a couple of pretty good grades around Benson on the east side of the state on I-10. Nothing much after that though.

 

[RedRam401]

CHiers,

I hate to tell you to take 20/10, being from Oklahoma, but it is nine miles shorter to run thru Texas and you avoid the bad roads in Arkansas.

As far as the bad traffic in Oklahoma City, I guess that after driving gasoline tank trucks in Los Angeles for twenty-five years, OKC is a walk in the park

We live @ exit 98 on I35, about 30 miles South of OKC and love it here.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[Kennywould]

Mr Barlow you are so correct about I40 and Ok city. It is truly pathetic. Makes I10 west of Laccasine Lousiana look like a race track.

I'll 3rd that!!! :-laf :-laf

 

[AfterBurner]

The Stench!? that's the smell of money! Well, i guess if those wells aren't pumping your oil it would just be a stench.

If you stop and fuel up at the J in Abeleine, you might get to see a few B1b's out of Dyess AFB take off or land, I always enjoy that.

And to the comment on the ruts: ruts is an understatement, they're pretty bad, i think all the sand in the ground causes that. Used to be that way just east of El PAso, but they fixed it by building some major concrete road bases.



And ditto on the bears. you might want to let your foot off as far East as Pecos. The state of Texas is paying a bonus to the young troopers to take west Texas. It is just crawling with them. And don't count on recognizing headlights to save your butt, they also run in Dodge and Ford 1/2 tons; these are the weights and measure guys, but they're just as happy to write a ticket as the other guys. They're picky too, they'll stop you for no liscense plate light, too much mud on liscense plate, doing 47 in a 45 10yds from the 55 sign (didn't even come to a stop until past the 55 sign), etc.

And don't forget that dumb 65 at night rule, they'll eat that up too.



From what I have heard, the reason for the increased troopers is b/c its considered a terrorist infiltration risk area due to the close proximity to Mexico.

really sucks.

Good driving!

Forrest



I-40 through OKC- 4th here!

 

[BKenny]

Hey, my dad drives out here once a year from Daphne AL . He takes I-10 all the way to Ca . In Loisiana I-10 drops down to New Orleans and then goes back up so he takes another interstate and B-Lines backwith I-10 . He made the mistake of driveing through New Orleans once and it added alot of time . He does not tow a trailer though im not sure if that will help.

 

[xxx_CHiers]

Thanks for the info guys, also I've heard Dallas/fort worth can be crowded, is this true. What about the weights and measure guys, do they check 5vers out. I,m slightly overweight by about #3200 !!! I dont plan on speeding, just a nice easy trip, but should I be concerned about my weight???



1998. 5 SLT, 24v,4:10RE, 5 SPEED, UPGRADED STANDARD transmission, STAGE 2 CLUTCH, WESTAUCH FP, AUTO-METER EGT BOOST, 4"EXHAUST, EZ EDGE

 

[tractorseller]

DFW crowded ??? Absolutely. It is pretty country through there though so driving slow isn't so painful. I left there about a month ago at 6 p. m. and headed for AZ - wasn't so bad. I was pulling a big stack of trailers and didn't have any problems at all. DFW isn't nearly as bad as driving through San Antonio IMHO.



I wouldn't worry about any weights and measures guys messing with you in a fifth-wheel. Not much likelihood of that happening. They're too busy messing with the big rigs and producing income for the State of Texas. No need to stop at the state inspection stations in NM or AZ either.



Have a great trip .

 

[visage]

I don't think you have to worry about weights and measures, I've pulled stacks of trailers out of Tyler with my F/L conversion and my over length is about 76 feet and no one bothers me.



You been given a lot of good information, all that's left is with that much weight make sure you've got good rubber and your cold inflation pressure is correct.



Gary

 

[Rockcrawler]

AR is pretty much smooth now, OKC still is terrible