Hi all! We are new to the RV world, and basically have no clue what we're doing, so I'm hoping someone could give us some insight on our proposed route. We have a 2015 Heartland Cyclone toy hauler pulled by a 2005 Dodge Ram 3500. We have been full-timing for a couple of months now and will be moving to Colorado next week. We haven't been able to haul our rig yet because we've been having issue after issue with our truck. The last of the repairs will be completed in a couple of days (fingers crossed!) so we will finally be able to do a "trial haul" this weekend. We plan to just hook it up and drive around for an hour or so, making sure we tackle several elevation changes and various traffic conditions- just enough to make sure the truck is reasonably up to par. Since we have been having so many issues with the truck, we thought it would be best to avoid the mountains as much as possible and opt for a flatter (and longer) route. This would add about a day to our drive, but we feel it's better to be safe than sorry. So we were thinking to take the 8 from San Diego over to the 25 and go straight up to Denver. I'm assuming it would be best to take the eastern pass around Denver? Our final destination is Fort Collins. Does anyone have any input for us? Are we being unnecesarily cautious? Would there be a more direct route which would still be appropriate for novices? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!

San Diego to Denver?If I were not 99% sure that issues with the truck had been repaired, I would be inclined to postpone the trip unil all issues have been resolved:) Depending on what time of the year you plan this trip, you could hit some desert heat and will have to hills to climb getting to Colorado. Suggest you also buy an Emergency Road Side service plan to minimize your anxiety of break downs:)

X2 on the truckI have gone that route several times except we took the Hatch cutoff at Deming.At Hatch you will hit I25.Really wont hit a grades until Raton pass.When you get to Denver take the WESTERN loop towards Golden.Its longer but not a toll road.Go to I70east to I76 North.If you hit Denver at rush hour there is no good route.We went from Casa Grande and stayed in Santa Fe.That way we got thru Albuquerquebefore traffic and and had no morning traffic to speak of

Not much to add except if you take I-70, enjoy Glenwood Canyon. It's beautiful. And welcome to Fort Collins; that's where I work!

As others have noted, I would get the truck running well before heading off on this long of trip. Across parts of NM and AZ it's a long ways between towns.BurkePartyof3 wrote:I'm assuming it would be best to take the eastern pass around Denver? Our final destination is Fort Collins. If you're talking about E-470, only take this route if you have really deep pockets. I think you'd be looking at something like $70 in tolls for your rig. Just head through Denver mid-day on I-25.

RWDIII wrote:X2 on the truckI have gone that route several times except we took the Hatch cutoff at Deming.At Hatch you will hit I25.Really wont hit a grades until Raton pass.When you get to Denver take the WESTERN loop towards Golden.Its longer but not a toll road.Go to I70east to I76 North.If you hit Denver at rush hour there is no good route.We went from Casa Grande and stayed in Santa Fe.That way we got thru Albuquerquebefore traffic and and had no morning traffic to speak ofThis. Since you're doing this relatively soon, hopefully heat will not be as much of a factor as later in the year. And hopefully, as you said, your truck issues will be resolved with the repairs. I think you're wise to take it out on a shake down drive before leaving on this trip. As for Denver -- There's E-470 which intersects with I-25 in the south suburbs area, and is a toll road and very expensive. As noted above you want to go WEST, where the road is actually CO 470 and is not a toll road. It will take you around the west side of the Denver suburbs as noted above, and you will join up with I-70 near Golden.You'll be taking I-70 EB and where the road widens out to 5-6 lanes, you want to move to the left 2 lanes, since I-76 splits off to the LEFT and you'll see signs for it about 2 miles out. You'll be on I-76 only about 6 miles or so, until it intersects with I-25. That intersection is a mess! It's nearly always busy, unless you can time it so you go through there on a Saturday or Sunday morning; last time I was through a few weeks ago was on a Sunday morning and there were no traffic tie ups or slow downs. When I-76 finally completes it's merge with I-25, you may have heavy traffic from 84th Ave all the way up to 120th Ave, particularly on weekdays regardless of the time of day. You'll also have 3 lanes NB on I-25 until you get north of Longmont, where it goes back down to 2 lanes. Traffic will be heavy. Always. From that point north to Fort Collins. Depending on where in Fort Collins you're going, there are 4 exits. E. Harmony Rd/Exit 265 is for the southern part of the city, E. Prospect Rd/Exit 268 is for the central part, and E. Mulberry/Exit 269 and Mountain Vista Rd/Exit 271 are for the north part of the city.You can, of course, take I-25 straight through Denver. Going that route, timing is important. Again, if you can do it on a weekend, that would be less traffic to deal with.

San Diego to Denver maiden voyage for the newbies

kknowlton
Explorer II
Jun 11, 2015
No way I-80 is more mountainous that I-70. As someone posted, "hypnotizing" is a pretty good description -pretty desolate in spots on I-80. There are a few grades near Elk Mountain and between Laramie and Cheyenne, but on the whole, rather flat to rolling. It can also be very windy. Be careful; some (including at least one on this forum) have been blown over in Wyoming's wind.
pconroy328
Explorer
Jun 10, 2015
BurkePartyof3 wrote:
The Good Sam Trip planner initially took that route, but it looks like it might be more mountainous?

I've done both I-70 and I-80 but in a car. I don't recall I-80 being more mountainous. My recollection is that it's easier that I-70.

But a heck of a lot more boring. ;)
jefe_4x4
Explorer
Jun 10, 2015
Burke,
The I-80 route should be a little cooler, even this time of year. Wave as you go by. (We live off I-80 near Emigrant Gap) I'm a bit worried that you don't trust your 2015 Cummins/Dodge.
Because cell phone coverage is inconsistent, I would recommend The Gazettier paper map series. Just get one for each state you will visit. I have a collection for all the western states and do use them even though we switch back and forth to e-maps, namely Pocket Earth.
You can also get overall maps from the Auto Club. It's the only reason I still have an auto club card is for the maps. It's good to have Western States, plus each state you will visit for differing perspectives.
Good luck on your upcoming voyage.
jefe
NMDriver
Explorer
Jun 10, 2015
Getting over the coast range and down to the Colorado River will test the truck on I-8. By the time you get to the AZ border on 8 you will know if your truck can pull up and down hill with no worries. You will not have any steeper or longer pulls than those enroute to Fort Collins, unless you get off of the interstate.

I would stay on 8 to Gila Bend and go north to I-10 there, follow I-10 to I-17 up to I-40 to I-25. There are a couple of by-passes around Phoenix between I-10 and I-17 (303 and 101) Maybe a Phoenix forum member will disagree but I would try the 303.

I-17 has a couple of long pulls and a 7 mile 6% down grade but that should not tax the truck if all is mechanically sound with the motor, brakes, and tranny.

Going north to I-40 and then over to I-25 will be a lot cooler and has more mountain scenery with some high desert too.
BurkePartyof3
Explorer
Jun 10, 2015
The Good Sam Trip planner initially took that route, but it looks like it might be more mountainous? It looks like the 15 goes along the base of some major mountain ranges, but it also looks like we'd have to go trough a few mountain passes, too. It's hard to tell how tough those passes might be.

We're trying to find a good topographical road map. We can see the mountains on the Good Sam map, we just can't tell how severe they are...
Thom02099
Explorer II
Jun 10, 2015
BurkePartyof3 wrote:
Just throwing the idea out there...what if we took a Northern route? San Diego to Sacramento, through Nevada, Utah and Wyoming to Fort Collins? Too mountainous? We've done the southern route going east to visit family. Boring b/c it's a whole bunch o' nothing. Safe b/c it's a whole bunch o' nothing - but it's pure desert. Might it be better to take a northern (presumably less desert-y) route?

Also a good way to go. Maybe instead of going up to Sacramento, taking I-15 to Vegas and on to SLC, they get on I-80. AND you get the added bonus of a tail wind through much of Wyoming! I've not been beyond Wyoming on I-80, but the drive can be...hypnotizing. Disadvantage is there's not as many services on the I-80 route, they're rather spread out in Wyoming. But you also bypass some major cities, with the exception of SLC. Also, when you get to Laramie, you can get off I-80 and take US 287 down to Fort Collins. That's not a bad drive. 2 lane in portions, but some 4 lane and lots of climbing/passing lanes.
BurkePartyof3
Explorer
Jun 10, 2015
Just throwing the idea out there...what if we took a Northern route? San Diego to Sacramento, through Nevada, Utah and Wyoming to Fort Collins? Too mountainous? We've done the southern route going east to visit family. Boring b/c it's a whole bunch o' nothing. Safe b/c it's a whole bunch o' nothing - but it's pure desert. Might it be better to take a northern (presumably less desert-y) route?
BurkePartyof3
Explorer
Jun 10, 2015
We bought it used from a private party and didn't get a professional look-see. Turns out the: water pump, fan belt tentioner, tie rod, transmission were all bad -along with a few smaller issues with the upgrades the previous owner did (all very poorly installed). We think the fan was always bad, we just didn't notice when we bought it. The transmission might have gotten over-heated on our first try towing (we didn't make it a mile)- either that or it was always bad but we coudln't tell until we got a load on it. Lucky for us, my husbad is a shade tree auto mechanic and an aviation mech. in the Marine Corps. He's been able to fix everything we need so far, but we're going to get a certified diesel mech to give it a good bumper-to-bumper after he fixes the last of the repairs tomorrow!
MarkTwain
Explorer
Jun 10, 2015
BurkePartyof3 wrote:
Wow! Thanks for the many great responses! Unfortunately, postponing isn't an option- we really wish it were. We're just trying to make the best out of a rough situation with this truck (so many lessons learned!) We bought the Good Sam roadside assistance----when we were pulled-over on the side of the road within the first mile of our first maiden voyage.

Just out of curiosity, what problems were going on with your truck??
BurkePartyof3
Explorer
Jun 09, 2015
Wow! Thanks for the many great responses! Unfortunately, postponing isn't an option- we really wish it were. We're just trying to make the best out of a rough situation with this truck (so many lessons learned!) We bought the Good Sam roadside assistance----when we were pulled-over on the side of the road within the first mile of our first maiden voyage.

I had no clue the Eastern loop was a toll road! Thanks for the tip there!

I used the Good Sam trip planner to route everything. I worked it all out to stop every 3 hours, assuming 3 hours in the planner would mean something closer to 4-5 hours with the rig. Does that sound about right? I can only assume we would be traveling at least 10 MPH below the speed limit (if not more). (already read aobut the slow poke law!)

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