Central California to Elkhart, Indiana

What makes for a 'white-knuckle' drive?

Long mountain grades? - only if your RV is under powered and you have to crawl up a 35mph while the trucks are breathing down your neck.

Or the brakes and gearing do give good down hill control.

The north route has the Sierra crossing, and a climb from SLC into Wyoming. The rest is a piece of cake.

The south has Tehachapi. I40 has a climb out of the Colorado river, and another out the Rio Grande. I70 has a climb into the Rockies, and big drop to Denver.

Weather? Yes, driving in a snow storm can be tense. But so can a tulare fog, or a Wyoming cross wind, or a midwest thunderstorm and tornado. Tehachapi has been closed by snow and mud flows.

Traffic? I imagine CA99 is as heavy as it gets, both directions. I80 across the south side of Chicago can also be heavy and fast. I hear that traffic into a Denver on I70 can be heavy at the end of weekend. I15 into Vegas supposedly is heavy at times.

Bob, I40 around Flagstaff not a major climb and you can call or check weather day of drive. Have been that way several times and never have been stopped due to snow.

For about 35 years I owned semi trucks and hauled produce from all over California to Chicago and the east coast i. Not much bad weather to worry about now. 80 has a lot of big grades you have to pull so go I 40 to I 44 to I 55 then look at the map to Elkhart. You are correct the only big pull you will have going I 40 is just west of Flagstaff, AZ and that is up hill only then it levels out

DaveG39 wrote:
If you are concerned about Colorado elevations, consider I-40 to I-44 to elkhart. Only about a hundred or so miles longer and easier on the truck.

Thanks Dave. That might be the best route for us. We could add in a visit to family in MO going that way. We've traveled parts of that route but we could alter it enough to see some different things. DW is not wild about mountains (driving or passenger). Biggest (long, gradual) grade on that route seems to be to Flagstaff.

If you are concerned about Colorado elevations, consider I-40 to I-44 to elkhart. Only about a hundred or so miles longer and easier on the truck.

Seeing that both the southern and the northern routes are close to being the same distance, I would conceder the weather to be a factor. Hot go north, cold go south.

“Is there a better route or is this doable without a white knuckle experience?“

Yes but less scenic. The more you drive hills and dales generally the more you will see. Learn to enjoy this minor challenge in your properly sized TV and TT.

I-70 between Denver and Grand Junction does contain several 11,000 foot elevations and quite a few 6% to 7% grades. I've taken a 21 foot TT via that route, pulled by two different diesel SUVs. A GMC 2500 should be able to handle it, assuming you are within weights.

But remember, Denver itself is at 5,000 feet, so you are really talking a 6,000 foot change in elevation. So it's not as bad as it sounds initially. Use your gears both up and down, don't just stick it in "D" and go. That's why you have gears in the first place. Also, don't rush it. It's OK to but the slowest rig on the road.

I just tried this on Google Maps.

The shortest route is around the south side of the Sierras, I15 through Vegas. That explains I70 through Colorado, connecting to I80 in Nebraska.

But it shows an alternative that's less than a 100 miles longer (an hour) - crossing the Sierras on I80, and staying on that the whole way. If you start a few miles further north, eg. Merced, this would be the shortest.

You could also continue on I15 to SLC and take I80 from there. That's a bit longer than the Denver route, but shorter than the Reno one.

With a long drive like this, the time you spend at the overnight stops affects your overall time more than minor route variations like this.

I40 across Arizona and New Mexico isn't that much longer.

Most route planners use a simple criteria like shortest distance, or fastest time (assuming certain speeds). They aren't choosing the 'best' route - what ever that means.