Class A travel without interstates

wa8yxm wrote:
I will say only this. Some of those "Country Roads" are mighty narrow when your ride is 8'6" wide. But That does not mean they are not passable .

(I've been down two of 'em that... Well.. I'd rather not travel with a class A ever again)

Stay out of Penn, and the area north and east of there, and out of cities, this is more of a perception issue than anything else.
Once walking my dog in COE CG a couple of class A drivers wanted my advise. Pete on hat, and the state plates might of been a indication I would have answers. Just before they had turned off the highway they had seen sign about bridge repairs ahead, narrow lanes. "How can we get to without..." First, I told them 2 routes that would take them around, but then I pointed out the same sign said "Wide loads over 10 feet prohibited" If the state thought a load 10 ft wide, 53 ft long on a trailer would fit a 8.5X45 max vehicle should have no issues

I will say only this. Some of those "Country Roads" are mighty narrow when your ride is 8'6" wide. But That does not mean they are not passable .

(I've been down two of 'em that... Well.. I'd rather not travel with a class A ever again)

I have no issue with interstate highways but when I have the time to avoid a large city, I certainly do. I have driven some great US highways around cities like Kansas city and Atlanta and have also driven through those same cities.

I can tell you going around them was much more pleasurable of a drive.

Mondooker wrote:
Hi guys,

Class A motorhomes are the largest RV’s and generally need a bit more space to navigate than others. I’m curious how many of you avoid interstates for smaller towns and middle America?

I’m reading more and more about folks, especially with Class A’s, wanting to stay clear of cities like Atlanta, St Lewis, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver etc. Are you included in this group? I think some of the worse cities I’ve ever driven through is Atlanta and St Louis and I’ll go through great lengths to avoid them.

Are you one of them? And have you found a good GPS that makes the routing around these big cities easier to deal with? Or have you found a map or atlas works better?

Thanks to all

I currently drive a 30' Class A MH, I live in it, and, I have for the last 10 years. Driving it around, . . . . I think of myself as a long haul trucker, (I know I'm not) but I have to act like one for the purpose of logistics. I'm not your typical SUV. I GET that.

That said, I (you) as a US citizen, have value, as a tourist, throughout the USA. I'm also a private pilot. I would NEVER think of landing my aircraft (or parking my RV) in any place that wasn't accepting/prepared for me.

Chum lee

I SURELY do get it! We lived in VA and traveled to PA in a 36' RV. The route up was OK (no GPS back then) but the route back seemed that taking I-95S all the way back to the DC area was the best choice. We are still pretty happy that we survived that trip (seriously, I thought that death was a real possibility). It was SO scary seeing what we saw along the drive.
We have been up and down that area many times since then but have never repeated that same route! Longer is good!

Driving through on the Interstate system is generally not a problem although when we're talking very large cities, I try to time my venture through at a less than rush hour event.

I've driven through New York City by MH once and driven into and around Long Island on another occasion and I can tell you the later will never happen again. If you must, be sure to know the difference between an Expressway and a Parkway! I'm sure the east coast drivers know exactly what I'm referring too. I Love NY but not for driving a large RV!

Hi JRscooby, You are correct. I’m talking about how to get where you are going without interstates or going through major cities. How quickly I get there has little to do with it.

bukhrn wrote:

JRscooby wrote:
I don't think Interstates go anyplace today that trucks didn't go before interstates. So anybody should be able to get there without interstate

They just get there twice as fast, which even being retired is important to me, as i'm a Get There type, it let's me spend more quality time at my destinations, i could care less about seeing the biggest ball of yarn, or the worlds largest pile of mud, or any of the tourist traps, like Wall, SD, or South of The Boarder, SC, and avoid big cities religiously, even with a car, would much rather go out of the way.

I'm sorry, I thought the OP was wanting to know if somebody could get where they were going, not would it take longer. IMHO, often the extra time is well spent, because the drive is more enjoyable. Think about 5 hours in a boat to get down the lake for a Dr appointment. Now think of same hours, same boat, but you are catching a fish every few minutes.
As for finding a way to navigate around cities; From the time I got my GPS I started saving points off the interstate to navigate thru. Program where I would go past them on my way to destination. Get a few miles from the exit, check my mail. Scale closed, step up the pace until I get past. Would the same programing work to avoid a city?

Mondooker wrote:
Hi guys,

Class A motorhomes are the largest RV’s and generally need a bit more space to navigate than others. I’m curious how many of you avoid interstates for smaller towns and middle America?

I’m reading more and more about folks, especially with Class A’s, wanting to stay clear of cities like Atlanta, St Lewis, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver etc. Are you included in this group? I think some of the worse cities I’ve ever driven through is Atlanta and St Louis and I’ll go through great lengths to avoid them.

Are you one of them? And have you found a good GPS that makes the routing around these big cities easier to deal with? Or have you found a map or atlas works better?

Thanks to all

For me, it's not the journey but rather the destination so I am an "Interstate as much as possible" guy. The Interstate highway system saves time and money and I am OK with both of those. Most awful big cities have beltways that help avoid the worst of the worst but Atlanta is one of those few exceptions. The beltway is usually worse than simply taking 75 straight through the heart of the city. I HATE Atlanta and I hate every road in the LA area (no, not Louisiana). However, it's still better than any other alternative for us. Maybe you can swing by Stone Mountain as you travel around Atlanta or, while in the LA area you could......sorry, got nothing for LA!

Mondooker wrote:
I’m reading more and more about folks, especially with Class A’s, wanting to stay clear of cities like Atlanta, St Lewis, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver etc.

Not in the RV but, I've driven through St. Louis, Denver, Baltimore, DC, NYC, Atlanta and Philadelphia.
It was bad but not too bad.
Chicago is a whole different story. I'll give that place a wide berth.
It was miserable.