peak traffic times in cities

[leftybj]

Does anyone have a good resource to determine the best time to pull your camper through a major city?

[packnrat]

forget about the sf bay area during the am and pm commutes. as it is almost grid lock everywhere now.
if you need to get into the bay area. get there before 3:am. stay till after 8:pm.
if not then enjoy being with millions of others just sitting in stopped, or crawling traffic.
and you need to buy a bridge card before you get there. unknown if they accept toll cards/transponders from back east. after all this is california.

[colliehauler]

I always try to go through the twin cities Sunday morning or Sunday evening.

[4youngs1]

Not any different from when you don't have the trailer.

[topjimmy]

DITTO for Seattle:M

Lwiddis wrote:
There is NO good time in Los Angeles County.

[mogleygull]

When I was on tour heading to https://petersburg.expert/tour/peterhof-palace/ (famous sightseeing place in central St. Petersburg), I noticed that the most part of the general road was just loaded with vehicles. It often happens in the beginning of the day and does not decline until the evening. Heavy russian traffic. But the place is like Vienna, stunning.

[Dtank]

leftybj wrote:
Does anyone have a good resource to determine the best time to pull your camper through a major city?

Obviously **NOT** during rush hour/s..:(

The duration of rush hours depends on where you are - and where you are going.

Let's say you're traveling between San Diego and Santa Barbara (California) through Los Angeles. (Using I-5 or the 405 freeway).

Week days: Travel between 10AM and 3PM (at the latest!) - then AFTER about 7PM - or in the "wee hours" of the morning - beginning around 2AM - 4AM ....(6AM is about 2 hours too late to be going thru L.A. on a weekday).

"Traffic radio" (etc.) is not going to help.
Think about it - (Yikes!) - 10 million people in L.A.

Week ends - somewhat more flexible - but consider the season. Beach? - airport traffic for holidays?

So GREAT resources ARE a clock - and common sense!..:W
.

[scbwr]

My simplistic approach. Don't drive through a city until after 9 a.m. or before 4 p.m. (or earlier if possible). I've been planning my trips to FL through Atlanta so I drive through on Sunday morning which is so much better than any other day I've driven through.

[Campfire_Time]

dapperdan wrote:

IB853347201 wrote:
Goggle maps. Turn the traffic setting on and you can see which roads are jammed during rush hour instantly. If you review over a few days you will be able to determine best time to cross,,,

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Good advice IMHO, major cities will vary slightly. In general I would say stay away from them between 6:00 am tp 9:00 am and from 3:30 to 6:30 in the afternoon commute times. Again this will be different for each major area. Google traffic is your friend!

Dan

I agree. I have not towed everywhere, but have driven for work and personal travel in quite a number of major cities. The larger the city, the longer the rush hour periods. But what Dan said is a good rule of thumb. There are some areas that are just bad all the time, like the insane stretch of 94/294 between Hammond, IN and Markham, IL. I've never had a good experience through there during any daylight hours.

[time2roll]

4a to 6a Sunday morning unless major construction. Otherwise check google maps and put in your expected travel time.

[laknox]

One of the things that I found out after my first few years towing, was that when you only drive 60-62 mph, you have a =lot= fewer issues, except in the worst traffic. I just sit in the far right lane and let everyone else fly by me. Would it be nice to sit in the HOV lane and run 75-85 like all the rest? Yeah...until I had to stop 50 miles sooner for fuel. :B

Lyle

[cummins2014]

leftybj wrote:
Does anyone have a good resource to determine the best time to pull your camper through a major city?

I have tried to avoid traffic in major cities, IMO is pretty much impossible, but the obvious rush hour times are to be avoided. I towed recently from Arizona thru Las vegas after the morning rush hour, again IMO is still was terrible.

I live in the Salt Lake area , its to the point , although no real traffic jams after the peak rush hours ,its still just a lot of traffic these days, and no way to avoid, I guess unless late at night.

[leftybj]

Thanks for the replies. I will study the patterns with google. I wont be going until July. Thanks again and safe travels.

[laknox]

My Garmin has the Traffic option and, with a voice command, I can ask it for a detour around traffic.

Lyle

[justme]

I use Google Maps on my Smart Phone; or maps that comes with Windows10. They show traffic congestion for the USA. I check various times and days before my trip. One can determine the best time to travel as well as construction. Also Accidents and traffic cams are shown. If you don't use modern technology, you are at the mercy of the stars :-))