Summer Trip West

wat42 wrote:
Leaving Cleve. Ohio area to go to Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, etc, then will drop down to Grand Canyon, visit Arizona, Dallas, TX area, up to Branson, Mo and back to Ohio. Has anyone done a trip like this traveling roads other than Interstates? Towing small RV travel trailer (21'). Thanks

Lots do it, but IMHO once you get West of the Mississippi River the back roads will still allow you to make good time and not wear out your brakes, the biggest issue is just taking the time and making the effort to DO IT.

Stop in the Towns - Talk to the People - Eat in the Local Restaurants - Walk through the town Parks - just Get Out and enjoy the Experience, you will be rewarded.

Couple Links that might just help,

Stan Parker's Photo Journal

An RV'ing couple's pictures of a similar journey, might just provide some insight.

Sometimes it just hard to slow down and smell the Roses - but the Rewards are well worth the effort!

BOL,

When I headed back east to grad school many decades ago in a pickup with a small TC (but not towing), I decided to take the scenic route. Probably added 1000 miles to my trip, but less than 50 miles out of 2500 were on interstate, the rest on US and state highways. No doubt it added much time to my trip, but one has a better chance to see the local "color", eat at out-of-the-way restaurants, and interact with locals one wouldn't meet cruising down an interstate.

Today, while we may use interstates to get the first 500 or 1000 miles under our belts on longer trips, we get on the smaller roads once we're past that point. In many ways, that's when our vacation really begins.

If you have the time to do it, by all means stick to the US and state highways for the most interesting experiences.

The roads west of the Mississippi River are much nicer than our eastern roads. I've traveled twice out west, first with a 30' TT and second with a 35' FW. Except for initial dash westward to Grand Canyon with the FW, over 80% of the trips were non-interstate with no real plan except a general direction in mind.

As agesilaus said, as long as you have a decent tow vehicle, should not be a problem.

On the down hills, make sure to down shift to let the engine help do some of the braking.

Mountain Directory West. When you get to the Branson area you will wish you were still on the Interstates!

yup. First time I went from Virginia to UP Michigan, caught US Rt 2 to Redmond, WA, down the Pacific Coast Hwy and US 101 to LA, then back via I-40 and Route 66. Towing a 21 foot TT with a diesel Jeep Libby.

Second time, took I-64 to St. Louis, then I-70 through Denver and Grand Junction, CO and south on I-15 to Las Vegas. From there, circled the Grand Canyon, hit Bryce and Zion, and back through Vegas then home, again via I-40.

You didn't mention how long you plan to take, but if it is less than 3 months, you are crazy.

It sounds like an interesting trip. While in the Rushmore area, you might like to check out the Mammoth Center in Hot Springs SD. From there I would head toward Greybull WY and on to Cody. Plan to do spend a day or two exploring the Buffalo Bill Center. That one is a "must do" if you are in that area.

From the south entrance of Yelliwstone, you can head south through the Tetons and Jackson Hole. Heading south from Jackson Hole will get you to Flaming Gorge. If you are interested in dinosaurs, Vernal UT is a good stop.

These are all decent roads that are not in any way close to being an interstate...or even something more than a two lane highway. I will leave it to our members who travel further south to make recommendations on roads and stops on down from there.

Have a great trip!

You don't mention what Tow Vehicle you are using, but it should be no problem if you have a capable TV. Any 1/2 ton big three brand pickup with the tow package for example.

We have towed RV ranging from pop ups, small and medium sized Trailers and now a fifth wheel all over the west and mostly on non-interstate roads. We actually had one big problem, we blew the rear differential on a Suburban we were using at the time, coming down Pike Peak. That was mostly my fault for not knowing how to downshift correctly. Or when to pull off and let the vehicle cool down when it needed to.

That was 20 years ago and we've learned a lot in the intervening years.

Just take it easy in the mountains.