Florida to Southern New Mexico

How long are you planning to stay in southern New Mexico and when? It gets cold there in winter. Southern Arizona is warmer.

What part of southern NM?
Drove parts of I-20 in Louisiana and Texas 2 weeks ago. Most of I-20 from Monroe to TX border was OK except for the few miles from east side of Bossier City thru Shreveport. That stretch was really bad. Reduced speed advised. Reaching Texas it gets infinitely better.
Mid day or weekends the stretch of I-20 bypassing the DFW area to the south generally runs at or above the posted limit and you will be past the whole area fairly quickly, unless you are unfortunate enough to encounter an accident or construction.

One thing that impressed me on this trip from Florida to Texas was the night time security at most rest stops in Florida and Louisiana. Spent the night in Madison rest area on I-10 in Florida and Atchafalaya (MM 121) in Louisiana. Both had security and RV parking. As others have said, I-10 in Florida was great (newly paved). Alabama was great. There were some rougher roads in Louisiana and Texas but nothing that would cause me to change my route in the future. Gas is dropping like a rock all throughout the south. Shoot for $2.13 when filling up.

The very rough section in West Louisiana is a long bridge over the bayou.
I don't remember how many miles long it is.
I slowed down to about 50-55 mph and turned on the flashers.
65 mph was too violent of a ride for us. Hard on rv as well.
For me, I avoid downtown Houston on I-10 by taking the toll road around to the north.
Pat

Wonderful information!

Going up to I-20 only adds an hour to the trip vs I-10. Going up to I-40 adds about 5 hours to the trip and that is only if you go all the way to Albuquerque before turning south. If you turn south at Amarillo it adds 4 hrs. Remember at RV speeds secondary roads are just as fast or faster if they are shorter/more direct.

I left south Florida on 11/15 and got to Las Cruces, N.M. last Sunday. I went west on I 10 and headed north to I 20 around Mobile Alabama. I 20 was not that bad a road but issues I had were I 220 around Shreveport LA (horrible road - probably should have stayed on I 20) and I 20 in the Dallas, Fort Worth area. That Dallas/Ft Worth stretch was 2 hours of stop and go heavy traffic, for way too many miles. There was also one stretch, that was only about 7 miles, but it was probably the worst road I've ever been on in a MH. That was 49 ( I believe) in Missippi right before you get on to I 20, around Jackson Mississippi.

I'm leaving here Monday, heading east ( I think) and will probably go back to FL by I 10.

It was advised that I detour around El Paso Texas (just east of N.M.), but I went right through, on a Sunday morning without any issues. Heading back Monday, I'll most likely go around El Paso.

I-10 is bad in Louisiana but otherwise it's OK. But Louisiana roads in general are awful so I'm not sure what you'll gain by avoiding I-10(or the I-12 bypass). In Florida I-10 is generally quite good but you could take US90 or US98 if you are in no rush.In Alabama/Mississippi I-10 is OK except for the Mobile area and I don't know of a good way around that town. In East Texas I-10 is fairly good, not up to FL standards. Houston is a PITA but I do not know of a way to avoid it. Once west of Houston the road gets better. You could divert north to I-20 but I don't know that it's better than I-10 except for LA.

We've been down I-10 to NM and points west many times over the years. Taking a guess, maybe 20 times round trip over the years.

Parts of I-10 are not great, but it is likely the route with more RVs crossing the country now.

Going north adds two or three days to the trip.

This time of year, I would not want to travel on I-40 into New Mexico. Might be nice one week and ice covered the next.

The last time we went west from the Dallas/Fort Worth area we took US-380 to US-70 to I-25. Not a bad drive with not many small towns.

Most of I-10 through Florida, Alabama and Mississippi are fine.

I-10 thru Louisiana and East Texas is the worst part.

No one takes I-10 thru New Orleans. I-12 across the north side of Lake Pontchartrain is the route to take. You can head north to I-20 from Mobile or I-59 if you don’t want to drive US highways.

Or take US-190 from Baton Rouge to Beaumont, TX.

Try to make the drive thru Houston at mid-day. Just go straight thru on I-10. The ‘outer’ freeways are toll roads and might be slower.

San Antonio is easier than Orlando.

El Paso bothers some folks, but there is an easy route to avoid I-10 downtown. Search for El Paso bypass.

Do not yield to temptation and take US-285 from I-20/ Pecos, TX to Carlsbad, NM. Horrible road with heavy oil field truck traffic.

Personally I prefer US-90 from San Antonio to Van Horn,!but it is a bit farther and slower than I-10.