Florida - I-75 going South to I-95 Melbourne

[MartyW]

Hi All,

We will be pulling our 34' TT from Nashville TN to Melbourne FL in late June or early July. Most of the trip seems very straight forward using I-65S to I-10E to I-75S, but then we will need to cross the state of FL, northwest to southeast, from I-75S to I-95 at Melbourne.

I've run routes thru mapquest, google & yahoo, but these routes leave me still wondering what the correct / best / easiest route would be for us pulling our 34' TT. Whatever route has the widest and easiest roads is preferred. I've heard of one or more toll roads in that area and they are ok with us if they will allow the burb+TT and if they are a better route.

My apologies if this has been asked many times in the past, but I didn't hit on it with a few searches.

Many thanks in advance,
Marty

[agesilaus]

MartyW wrote:
Thanks much for the added route info. Rt 40 in Fl sounds good and will check that out, maybe bypassing the tolls roads?

I've been looking at the 231 route from Montgomery to I-10 but fuel seems tight going from B'ham to Dothan. Looks good except for fuel. Still looking. Any favorite fuel stops?

40 is the way we usually go to the beach. Take the exit off I-75 at Zuber( exit 358) not the one in Ocala. The one in Ocala will run you right thru the middle of town and you will hit 15 miles of stop and go heavy traffic. The one at Zuber bypasses Ocala and connects to Hwy 40 east of Ocala.

You'll pass Juniper Springs which is a great stop on 40 and Alexander Springs too further on. 40 crosses I-95 before you hit the heavy east coast traffic, don't be tempted to try Hwy US-1.

[MartyW]

Thanks Laman, I do have the AllStays BigTruck stop and Truck/Travel apps and that is how I've been planning the stops. When finding a potential fuel stop I then look at an arial overhead to see if the layout looks like I can safely get to the pumps and out. Some stops yes and some no. Our TV is gas so a little limiting in some ways. Using the apps plus online info I try to find RV fuel lanes and the Dothan stop appears to have those. I had the plan set to fuel in B'ham, and if using the 231 route I would probably top off again north of Montgomery to get enough reserves to be sure.

[Laman]

Marty I won't name specific stations but there are truck stops on 65 just north of Mont. around Clanton I believe plus numerous others selling diesel. Down 231 the same way, numerous stations for both gas and diesel. If you have a smart phone I would suggest getting one of the apps. like Allstays camping which is great for finding campgrounds, fuel etc.. I never worried about fuel on this route, this is a major route for north south traffic both cars and trucks.

[MartyW]

Thanks much for the added route info. Rt 40 in Fl sounds good and will check that out, maybe bypassing the tolls roads?

I've been looking at the 231 route from Montgomery to I-10 but fuel seems tight going from B'ham to Dothan. Looks good except for fuel. Still looking. Any favorite fuel stops?

[Glenalt]

Once you get on I-75 take it to Ocala and get off on Rt 40 East to Daytona. It takes you through the National Forest and connects up with I-95 in Daytona then head south to your destination. Rt 40 is 2 lane but it's wide and no problem for your rig. Enjoy your trip.

[Laman]

MartyW wrote:
Thanks Laman for the route info. I remember years ago taking a short-cut from I-65 to go southeast to avoid that I-65 westward turn, and its probably the one you mentioned, but I haven't done that in years and I wasn't pulling anything then. It seems like I remember that route went thru one or more small towns. Do you think it would be ok pulling a long TT? I'll look at it on the online maps.

Many thanks!

I take that route with my 40' coach pulling a toad without any issues. Other than that short stretch of Hwy 80 in Montgomery, which will have usually heavy traffic, 231 is 4 lane with much of it being divided like interstate. This route is the main route down through Al. towards Florida's "redneck riveria" (Panama City) so the highway has been greatly improved over the years.

[agesilaus]

We've done it south to north several times over the years, generally to get north to I-40 from I-10. There are small towns but the road is in good condition and mainly, IIRC, bypasses the town centers.

[MartyW]

Thanks Laman for the route info. I remember years ago taking a short-cut from I-65 to go southeast to avoid that I-65 westward turn, and its probably the one you mentioned, but I haven't done that in years and I wasn't pulling anything then. It seems like I remember that route went thru one or more small towns. Do you think it would be ok pulling a long TT? I'll look at it on the online maps.

Many thanks!

[Laman]

You've gotten good directions on the Florida portion of your trip but I have to ask are you planning on taking I-65 all the way to I-10 as your original post stated? If you are you can cut miles off of that route by departing I-65 at Montgomery Al. at Hwy 80 than catching Hwy 231 south in a couple of miles and than head south. 231 is a good 4 lane highway all the way to I-10, you will pass through a few small town and than Dothan but the little amount of traffic would certainly be offset by the miles saved. I have traveled that route several times for years and believe me it is quicker.

[MartyW]

Thanks agesilaus, steve and jim!

For a few years we went I-24 & I-75 thru Atlanta, but for us to do that we needed to cross Monteagle Pass on I-24 and last time we tried that towing a TT we blew an engine, so no more. The southern route down I-65 is so much more relaxing for us.

[Jim_Shoe]

Halmfamily has it right. Its longer in miles, but shorter in time because you don't have to go thru Atlanta. I've tried thru, around and Sunday, and I won't drive at night. Either construction or a fender bender adds two hours to your trip. Folks driving cars don't like to drive behind anything that they can't see over or around. Even Sunday mornings are bad. I don't think they're all going to church, but they'd like for their neighbors to think they are. 🙂

[stevewise]

I take I24 to I75 then the Florida Turnpike to FL528 (Beachline Express) to I95 south just before Cocoa Beach.

[agesilaus]

No problem at the toll booths, semi's use them after all.

[MartyW]

Many thanks for the replies and help.

I zoomed in and out of the online maps this evening and I believe I have pretty solid directions now to get thru from I-75S to Florida's Turnpike and then the Martin Andersen Beechline Expy to I-95.

I had heard the I-75 to I-95 cross-state route was quicker than I-10 straight to I-95. Not sure but I had heard that somewhere. Hopefully lots of RVs use those two toll roads so plenty of height at the toll booths?

This year we've replaced our Nuvi 1400 series gps with a Garmin 760RV, so hopefully that 760 can re-calculate when needed to get us through to I-95... 🙂

Many thanks for the help,
Marty

Edit: We'll be in the Melbourne area for a month or two so we do plan to see some "real" Florida but in our little Corolla that the wife will be following in...