One possibility, which you may have already considered and rejected, is to head on down through or around Cincinnati to Lexington, KY then across the Kentucky Parkways (Bluegrass, then Western Kentucky).These are really nice drives. We usually cross over into the bootheel of Missouri then down the river to pick up I-40 at West Memphis and I-30 through Little Rock and on to Dallas. We have made the Texarkana to Lexington to Cincinnati portion of this route several times. The Missouri/Arkansas portion of I-55 have been pretty rough, but are being improved. Of course, if you want to go to Nashville, you would come on down to Memphis. I've never had any difficulty towing through Memphis.