What is the general consensus?

Why drive thru downtown if you don't need to, I tale the beltways with my car!

If you can do it during a time of day when traffic is at a minimum go for it.

I pretty much can't get off Long Island without going some part of through NYC. I plan my departure time so I'll miss the major traffic during the morning rush hour.

I usually take the loop

However, you may want to drive through to get some experience under your belt. Practice makes perfect and you never know when you may have to drive through downtown.

Here in Southern California we are often in bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic, it's nice to know how the RV and I handle the traffic. It's also a good way to determine if your cooling system is operating properly.

You will still be on major arteries, so what is the difference? The only time I would deviate from the "straight line" path would be if it was advantageous to do so because of traffic, however all too often, the beltways around the city are also congested.

I do everything I can to avoid rush hour. If I can't, I at least try to look at the route through the city with Google Earth so I can anticipate lanes that end, sharp curves and congestion points. Being prepared will make you feel much more confident.

I would go up I-59 to I-69 at Lufkin, then at Greenville TX take US380 West back to I-35 N. We go that way from FL to Oklahoma to see our kids. You miss Dallas altogether unless you just want to see something in Dallas. I hate Dallas traffic!

Hi.
I drive in Dallas all the time. Looking at the map, you could take 287 at Ennis and angle to Ft Worth and take 820 around or 35W thru Ft Worth. I have never taken that route, but it does not look too bad. Avoid 635 north of Dallas, constant congestion and construction. Even 35E and 635 is a major construction zone. Have a good trip.

I don't like cities so I usually take the loop around them. Of course that's not always the best plan. Last time we went thru a big city was Denver and the construction was horrendous.

Karl,

It looks like your Class C is not too long at 26 feet.

However it's probably a full width Class C at 101-102 inches - just like our 24 foot Class C.

It's this width that can make it a white knuckle experience driving in cities. I recommend that you drive around cities as much as possible. We have driven through downtown San Francisco with our 101.5 wide RV and it was a nerve-racking experience that we'll try to never do again. Of course some delivery trucks are this wide and have to drive in cities all the time - but there drivers do it full time and get used to it.

Just time passage through Dallas at non-peak times. From Huntsville should not be difficult to hit late morning or early afternoon.

Not aware of a good alternate route around Dallas.