My wife and I will be taking our 44’ 5th wheel from Salt Lake City to Elkhart, IA in late October for a suspension upgrade at the Morryde facility. We are going to allow ourselves 4 days to get there traveling I-80. Our plan is to boondock along the way with Cheyenne, Omaha, Davenport as our tentative stopping points before reaching Elkhart. Having never driven east on 80 past Lincoln, NE, I am seeking advice on do’s & don’ts along the route into Elkhart. The part that worries me most is around the Chicago area. Any helpful tips or safe places to stay along the route are appreciated!

I hope that you mean Indiana. Many rest areas and truck stops across Iowa. East of Joliet until Indiana, not as many. Joliet east to Indiana is a slow go during rush hour.

Yes, I meant Elkhart Indiana not Iowa. Sorry about putting wrong state abbreviation in ioriginal post.

You can never be sure about traffic around Chicago. If you hit it right you can, without towing, keep up with traffic and buzz through at 70 mph plus. If possible I like to go through late at night or early in the morning. I go through there towing 2-6 times a year and have seldom had stop and go traffic

I just did that trip from Seattle for the same reason. Timing through the city was most important as long as there are no accidents. You can pickup HY30 near Joliet as an alternate Rt, I have done both. Say hello to Brian, he will have you up at 6am to get started, there is a lounge with snacks but the chairs are not the most comfy, they need some couches.

The problem I have with U.S. 30 is all the traffic lights, low speed limits in many areas, plus the many business drives and cross streets. Not at all conducive for a half way relaxing drive any more than stuck in a traffic jam is. I did it with a car years ago and when I got back on in Joliet there was a very distinctive semi that I'd been seeing when I was in a traffic jam up on 80 and here he was at the same time I was tooling right along. So I can't see using U.S. 30 as any better

Salt Lake to Elkhart, IA Travel Advice | Good Sam Community

mackyb
Explorer
Sep 07, 2019
We will be looking at Harvest Host locations and Wally docking if necessary as our prime stay locations since most campgrounds will be closed in early November. We have plenty of solar and 6 lithium batteries for extended boondocking if we can just find places along the route to pull into for the night.
kknowlton
Explorer II
Sep 07, 2019
The trouble with late October is that state park campgrounds may not all be open, or will have limited facilities. We are not boondockers, so can't help with suggestions - but such areas are much more limited east of the Mississippi. You might look into county and city parks in the Midwest - some of them have electric hookups and restrooms, and they tend to be inexpensive. Many states have prohibitions on overnight stays in rest areas (and some of them I wouldn't feel safe doing it), so you'll need to check on that too. Good luck with the trip.
ken56
Explorer
Sep 07, 2019
That is an AWESOME upgrade. My neighbor just had his done and this is what every trailer should have for suspension and disk brakes too. It is so beefed up I could not believe it. I can't help you with the route, sorry, but I can say you won't regret this upgrade.
yr2017
Explorer
Sep 06, 2019
mackyb wrote:
My wife and I will be taking our 44’ 5th wheel from Salt Lake City to Elkhart, IND in late October for a suspension upgrade at the Morryde facility. We are going to allow ourselves 4 days to get there traveling I-80. Our plan is to boondock along the way with Cheyenne, Omaha, Davenport as our tentative stopping points before reaching Elkhart. Having never driven east on 80 past Lincoln, NE, I am seeking advice on do’s & don’ts along the route into Elkhart. The part that worries me most is around the Chicago area. Any helpful tips or safe places to stay along the route are appreciated!

I just did this yesterday (part of it) to deliver my truck/trailer to new owners in Davenport, IA. I continued on I80 with a rental car straight thru and overnighted in Ottawa at Starved Rock SP. Since you won't be going thru or anywhere near Chicago - that's not an issue. Tomorrow we'll be in Middlebury and next week in Atlanta for the flight to Panama.
Edd505
Explorer
Sep 06, 2019
I'm retired and only do 200-250 a day, we left home in NM in June to visit family in Seattle. I look for where I'll be at the end of the drive and look at https://www.rvparky.com/ in the area and check reviews here http://www.campgroundreviews.com/ . I have a son in IL and left for Elkhart from his place near Rockford. I was at the Blakhawk CG for a week and a half before heading out http://www.blackhawkvalleycampground.com/
mackyb
Explorer
Sep 05, 2019
Edd505 what places did you find on the route across 80 to stay at? Curious as to how many miles a day you drove and the places you stayed.
hornet28
Explorer
Sep 05, 2019
The problem I have with U.S. 30 is all the traffic lights, low speed limits in many areas, plus the many business drives and cross streets. Not at all conducive for a half way relaxing drive any more than stuck in a traffic jam is. I did it with a car years ago and when I got back on in Joliet there was a very distinctive semi that I'd been seeing when I was in a traffic jam up on 80 and here he was at the same time I was tooling right along. So I can't see using U.S. 30 as any better
Edd505
Explorer
Sep 05, 2019
I just did that trip from Seattle for the same reason. Timing through the city was most important as long as there are no accidents. You can pickup HY30 near Joliet as an alternate Rt, I have done both. Say hello to Brian, he will have you up at 6am to get started, there is a lounge with snacks but the chairs are not the most comfy, they need some couches.
hornet28
Explorer
Sep 04, 2019
You can never be sure about traffic around Chicago. If you hit it right you can, without towing, keep up with traffic and buzz through at 70 mph plus. If possible I like to go through late at night or early in the morning. I go through there towing 2-6 times a year and have seldom had stop and go traffic
mackyb
Explorer
Sep 04, 2019
Yes, I meant Elkhart Indiana not Iowa. Sorry about putting wrong state abbreviation in ioriginal post.