Pulling through big cities

We try to give big cities a wide berth but sometimes they are unavoidable. To go anywhere we have to deal with either Baltimore or Washington. Try to pick mid day for passing through but sometimes you have to deal with what it is.

Watch the signs, know your exit # & stay out in at least lane #3 till you get a mile or so from your exit. Let the speed demons race by on the left & the on & off crowd do their thing in the two lanes to the right.

I've driven our Class C through San Francisco multiple lanes with no issue and in the late afternoon, across the Golden Gate to the park. Also across the GW in New York in the afternoon with the only problem of retracting mirrors to miss the booths. Been through Atlanta many times with never the first problem. Pick your spots carefully though.

Dso66 wrote:
Wondering what people do when they have to pull their rigs through the bigger cities. Also is there a book or app. That has preferred routes to destinations. Just thinking driving certain places with a 5r or a TT isn't a lot of fun

Most important: *KNOW* the exact height of whatever you are driving!
Get "up top" and measure from highest point to the ground.
Sometimes a couple of inches can make a BIG difference!

Put a "reminder" on your visor, or?

*Through* big cities, as in on an Interstate, freeway, expressway, major highway, etc.:
Avoid rush hour/s.
Look for highway bi-pass that go *around* rather than through.
Height - if you see tractor-trailer rigs as your fellow travelers - you're OK.
If *not* better figure out why not in a hurry!.:?

"In" big cities, but *NOT* on the above - more local highways, roads, blvds, etc.:
Plan your route in advance.
Back to the above - what is on the road with you - trucks or no trucks?..:@

Plan for a "180" -
*If* you need to turn around (or?), can you get it done?

Carry truckers atlas, use GPS with clearance info - but don't completely rely on either - there can be construction, etc.


~

2gypsies wrote:
One exception is the greater Phoenix area because our daughter lives there. We have never seen the major highways in Phoenix with trees. We do the I-10, I-17, 101 and 202. We stay on the outskirts at the Maricopa County parks and still don't encounter trees.

We live in Phoenix so have to drive the streets. Parts of Cactus, Thunderbird, 7th street, Greenway and many more have large over hanging trees.

colliehauler wrote:
I just avoid rush hour if possible. I hate stop and go traffic pulling a RV.

I hate it with or without RV!
I live just outside of a big city. Congested traffic is a way of life.

I just avoid rush hour if possible. I hate stop and go traffic pulling a RV.

If you're driving through big cities (Phoenix, Houston, etc) there's no reason to get off on streets with overhanging trees. Stay on the major routes like truckers do. Interstates don't have trees or curves or narrow streets.

Personally, we avoid those kinds of cities. We'd rather take a more scenic two-land state highway. Yes, it's slower but we've got plenty of time. We're rarely on interstates unless we really need to be.

One exception is the greater Phoenix area because our daughter lives there. We have never seen the major highways in Phoenix with trees. We do the I-10, I-17, 101 and 202. We stay on the outskirts at the Maricopa County parks and still don't encounter trees.

K Charles wrote:
In the city most roads are straighter and there are less trees hanging over the road. I think is the same as the country roads only different.

Roads are straight in Phoenix but trees line the sides everywhere. They allow them to hang out across the far right lane and trim them for clearance....sort of. They don't trim often enough and more often than not clearance is less than 12'. I have to drive down the inside lanes much of my way around Phoenix.

The Interstate highways are designed to carry interstate commercial truck traffic through large cities. If you must go through, I don't think you can find a better route than what the big trucks use.

However, I like to avoid big cities by 50 to 100 miles, if I can, not so much because of the cities but because of the universally bad driving behavior I encounter on suburban freeways or expressways. For example, I've worked out a number of routes between NE Oklahoma and southern Michigan where the largest city I must go through is Springfield, Illinois, though the fastest routes might take me through Saint Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis, or across the south edge of Chicago.

If I must go through, I figure out which lanes the big trucks are using, and blend in with them.

From a guy raised in a 'One Stop Light' town. I make sure to take a break, use the restroom, fuel-up if needed, and do a 'walk-around' before entering the larger urban ares.

Plan on delays from construction or accidents, Always grateful when passing thru a larger city is 'event-free'.

As a side note, construction zones and fear of a tire failure in urban area are one of the main reasons that I have bought my last single axle trailer.