Thinking of taking Route 66 from Chicago to California.

Most of Missouri is ok. Some areas like devils elbow are old bridges. Oklahoma is mostly good. I drove it from mo to Tulsa and it was fun and road was good. From Tulsa on across I think is doable in a MH or fifth. We have a 34 class a. This does require some research.

Executive wrote:
.... The locals tout Route 66 etc. etc. However, when they built I-40 they left portions of Route 66 as frontage roads. Pretty cool until you're 15 miles down the road and it ENDS!. Nothing irritates more than having to turn around and go back. ....

Sounds like the fault is with the locals or guidebooks that tout those deadend stretches. If they point you to those frontage roads, they should also warn you that they aren't through stretches.

I watched a video with lots of drone footage of the route. In a number of places you can see where they parked the truck at some dead end - a missing bridge, a bridge missing the deck, a bluff, or washed out stretch - and flew the drone over the missing piece.

It's also evident that the route was never static. Even before freeways it changed. La Bajada in New Mexico was used by 66 between 1926 and 1932

https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/el_camino_real_de_tierra_adentro/la_bajada_mesa.html

We have only had the opportunity to do Joliet (that part of Chi is scary) to Albuquerque and we want to run what of the rest that we can some day.

As others have said above, BUY THE Book and start reading now.

Matt

The biggest 'issue' I have with the trip is the idiots that designed I-40. The locals tout Route 66 etc. etc. However, when they built I-40 they left portions of Route 66 as frontage roads. Pretty cool until you're 15 miles down the road and it ENDS!. Nothing irritates more than having to turn around and go back. The least they could have done is made an entrance ramp back onto the Interstate where the road ended. It is a cool trip though. I remember, as a kid, traveling that road from Pasadena to Detroit every summer. Getting the trains to blow their horns as we feasted at one of the roadside tables. In Oatman Az, you can feed the donkeys on main street, in Seligman, you can eat at the Road Kill Cafe, in Oklahoma there's the wigwam village and the Blue Whale, enjoy the trip....Dennis

Do your research first before you head out.

"Many" parts of 66 are no longer. PBS did an in depth documentary of driving Route 66 and all the places to stop and see AND what parts were missing.

You can google it and watch the whole ordeal. That might help you decide. Me, after watching the Drive Route 66 series, I decided it was not worth my time. :W

rv2go wrote:
Route 66 in 3 minutes.

WOW

That was quite a fast trip. Some not so good.

Safe travels. KEN

We did some portions of it on a limited schedule. As others suggested,get some guide books and check out all the sites on the internet. Lot's of stuff out there.

I lived by it with the highway a street away from the back of my house. Still can't understand the charm, allure or significance. I'm sure there will be some along the way.

If it's in your bucket list and you have a lot of time in your hand. Why not?

Go for it!

We did the 1929-1932 Route 66 from Springfield, Il to needles, CA.
Some of the true Route 66 is not for todays RVs. Some bridges are low, very narrow road sections and curvy.
We got a couple of books. "EZ66 guide for Travelers" by Jerry McClanahan (ISBN 978-0-9709951-9-3) and "Route 66" by Tom Snyder(ISBN 978-0-312-64425-3). The EZ Guide is much better.
There is many stops shown in EX66 Guide like turkey tracks in concrete roadway, actual stops that were there during the period.
Route 66 follows much of I-40 so there is campgrounds.
I would suggest getting the EX66 Guide, go through it with a highlighter.