Avoiding Atlanta

[NCTeddyBearLady]

My husband and I are avid RV's and are planning to visit my father in Texas this Christmas. We live in Western North Carolina and make that trip usually by plane but this time we plan to take our new-to-us Newmar, Mountain Aire (38.5' long). Needless to say we wish to avoid the twisty mountain roads that are the shortest route to I20, our preferred route to Daddy. Further, we wish to avoid the insane traffic around Atlanta.

I do most of the driving and am completely comfortable driving our big rig even on narrow roads. I am, however, not happy holding up traffic the way I must to take on the tight turns on the very narrow, windy roads between here and Atlanta. When we look at a map, we can find work-arounds for the worst windy roads but are having no success finding a work-around for Atlanta. Even at 3:00 a.m. driving inside the ring road around Atlanta is confusing and a traffic nightmare. We don't live in Atlanta so don't know ways to stay outside that ring road and off windy roads with our big rig.

If we drive to Atlanta in our car, we come down 276 to route 11 connecting with I85 at the NC/SC state line. That road is passable for our RV but slowing to safely make those tight turns will back traffic up for miles. To avoid doing that, I will opt to take 64 west through Cashiers and use that route to intersect with route 11. It is windy but not as bad as the other route.

Any one who can make some suggestions about that, let me know. We plan to leave on the 20th if we can find a work around. If not, we will try to hit Atlanta at 3:00 a.m. that same morning. That is not the best choice for us as neither of us do well driving at night. We can drive to a campground near Atlanta the day before, wait for the wee hours of the morning to arrive before we enter the traffic pattern around Atlanta and then catch up on our sleep once we get past it. We would rather not do this as it loses us a full day with my Dad as we'll have to do it going and coming and must be back here by the Monday following Christmas.

Suggestions? Advice?

[Skylark]

NCTBL, your best bet is to get to I 26 or I 85 with consideration of your conditions of terrain to either one. If conditions merit I 26 then to I 85. Then I would take I 85 to I 285 North to I 20 West. Travel through Atlanta between 9 am and 3 pm or 7 pm to about 6:30 am and you should hav no problems.
In my opinion, this way will be shortest, and quickest without a lot of lost time and skipping most of the windy and narrow roads.
I drive the inter states through Atlanta a lot, and it is a lot easier than trying to bypas. Good luck and happy holidays to all.

[tropical36]

As said, Texas is a big place and it depends on where you're going there, as some areas wouldn't require you to go anywhere near Atlanta, but if you must, you can always go around it, like on 285 on the north end of the city.
Example...and if you were going to San Angelo, say, you certainly wouldn't be going by way of Atlanta, but you might have Dallas/Fort Worth to contend with.

[jerseyjim]

I donno.....we've taken the interstates thru the Atlanta area at least 4 times in 4 different years...never a traffic problem (unless you think INCREASED traffic is a problem) we just ran the thing. Just like any other interstate roads.

I-40, I-20, I-10...just remember that during the winter, 1-10 (furthest southern route) has more cg open for overnighters...I-20 comes in second...and I-40, with the exception of, say Nashville, has the least open during the winter months.

Make sure you have some water (we carry 4 gallons of water (in 1 gallon milk containers) with us most of the time) and your propane tank(s) are full....for heat.

Enjoy the trip!

[William_B]

I lived in the Atlanta area for more than 10 years and still have family there so we come back often. Atlanta on the weekend is no problem unless there is a game, otherwise straight through would be my recommendation. If you are there on a weekday, you have to be extremely early, before 6am, between 10am and 3pm, or late, after 9-10pm, and go around on 285. If you follow those general rules you will have no problem unless there is an accident and that could happen anywhere. We do it all the time with our 45' rig towing a pickup truck, 65' all together. JMO, but you are worrying too much about it, especially on a weekend.

[addisons]

sunny jeep wrote:
Between 10 am and 2 pm going threw Atlanta is not to bad.usely just stay in one and take it easy.

I agree. Atlanta is not bad if you avoid rush hour traffic.

[down_home]

I40 west to 840, in Tn. Take 840 west avoiding Nashville. Take exit that says Natchez Trace or hit I40 again and then hit the Trace. First exit takes you a bit on local roads.
Speed limit is low but you get there faster. Get on I20 near Jackson Miss.
I understand ,one, of the National Park camp grounds, on the Trace, will now handle big rigs. Make by there before you want, to stop, go to Poverty Point ten miles off I20 in La. Great Place to stay before you hit Texas about 4-5 hours later maybe. May not be the fastest but I haven't timed it.

[HEASON]

Since I have a daughter living in Atlanta and I live in Raleigh,NC, I will offer the following to you based on Experiences. I suggest the following, but I will not say you will not experience some traffic.

1. Plan to arrive in Cummings, Ga on Dec.19 between noon and 3:00 PM.You mentioned you knew how to get to I-85 from Brevard,NC. Stay on I-85 to exit 115 ( Ga.20 ) Turn Right and go approx. 15 miles and cross GA 400. Make a left at the first intersection and go approx. two miles to Twin Lakes Campground on the right. I would make reservations Immediately as this campground is usually full and especially during Holidays. I would leave at 5:00 AM on Sat. morning .Go back to Ga-400 and turn right on I-285 and this will Intersect I-20. You should be in Alabama in less than two hours. I have traveled this route before with a MH and have never had a problem, but you need to pick your time. I usually get in the middle lane on heavily traveled roads to avoid incoming traffic. If you have further questions,let me know.The phone # for Twin Lakes is 770-887-4400. I have stayed here several times.

[WILDEBILL308]

I don't see any problem with going around the loop 285 just don't do it during rush hour.
What rout do you plan for the rest of your trip? If you are worried about weather related problems you can go south on 85 to Montgomery then 65 south to Mobile then 10 to Houston then 290 to the Austin Round Rock area. Just use the loops and try not to hit any big city at rush hour.
Bill

[CA_Traveler]

By the time you get to 85 you'll be seasoned RV travelers and Atlanta will soon be behind you. 🙂 :C

[Mr_Mark1]

NC TBL, I think you are worrying more than you should. Just take your time and try to hit Atlanta during the off hours.

You may run into other problems in other cities but you just don't know it yet. Be calm, one of you watch the right side, the other watch the left and you'll be OK.

Safe Travels,
MM.

[Ivylog]

Unfortunately there is not a good way to avoid Atl and going I-40 is 100 miles further and not all that good. I go through downtown often (yes with the MH & toad), but on I-75 and just not at rush hour. After Ga Tech (I-75 & 85 are together) you loose the two right lanes (exits) and then the two right lanes are the ones for I-20. I use the HOV lane but you have to be willing to put the pedal to the metal and I'm not sure if there is a I-20W exit from the HOV lane south bound. I would just not be in the right lane and when it disappears move left one lane when possible. Yes you are bigger and the blinker plus hugging the left line usually works. Also once inside of I-285 there are very few 18 wheeler's as they are required to use I-285 unless delivering in downtown Atl.

[racerchaser]

Realistically, Atlanta is no worse than most metropolitan areas. Try LA at any time, or St Louis, etc. If you want to avoid winding two lanes and major metropolitan areas and stay warm you have very few options. My advise is to pick a route and go. Hundreds, if not thousands, of snowbird RVs transit Atlanta each fall and spring with no, or little, problems. Having been through Atlanta twice a year for 11 years the only problems that we have seen are caused by accident-caused backups and those are a possibility everywhere. Every years there is more traffic and very few additional roads.

[NCTeddyBearLady]

Sorry Guys. I should have been clearer. We live in Brevard, NC and are headed to see my dad in Georgetown, Texas, just north of Austin. I40 would be my choice if we were going in the summer but it won't be summer; it will be winter. The long term forecast is for super cold temperatures. The section of I40 from Asheville to Knoxville is especially difficult. Most of the way it is two lanes only on each side of the interstate; it is a major truck route with lots of semi's on it. If you get stuck behind one of those on a steep grade, of which there are many through the gorge, you end up in low gear going 20 t 30 miles/hour for miles. . .and that's if, and it's a big if, there is no ice or snow. On top of weather issues on steep grades, there is the constant threat of rock slides that frequently close down I40 on one side or both. That late in the year I am just not willing to take the chance with the northern route, however much more direct and easy it definitely would be in the summer.

So. . .that brings us back to Atlanta. There are two routes out of Brevard that will get us the the SC/Ga state line. One is 276 to 11 and the other is 64 to 11. With those two pieces of information as givens, I still want to avoid Atlanta if I can. I know that traffic is not as bad week days from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. As we are leaving on a Saturday the week-end before Christmas, I am sure the roads in and around Atlanta will be a snarl of impossible traffic. Changing lanes in a car on a Saturday was a challenge when my husband were there in August. The thought of doing so with 38.5 feet of RV makes me queezy. My husband says if I can drive in downtown Paris at rush hour, and believe me I have, I can handle Atlanta. He says we are bigger than everyone else except a semi so at least we won't be easy to miss. . .and when I start to get over, whoever is looking to block me will likely give way owing to my size. All that said, I would happily detour if I could figure out how.

So I say again, suggestions?

[PenMan]

We just came home from NC last month. We took I-85 to Atlanta and then I-20 to Dallas just to avoid I-40 from Memphis to Little Rock. It was about 200 miles longer but far less travel time. They seem to work on that section of I-40 all the time. I think they dig pot holes and then fill them just to make work. The trip thru Atlanta on a Saturday afternoon was simple.

[sdianel_-acct_c]

From I-85 west, I would take exit 149 (US441) south to right before you get to Eatonton and take the James Martin bypass to GA State Road 16 west. Continue on GA 16 west through Monticello, Jackson, Griffin. After you go under I-85, bear rightto continue on Rt 16 which merges with US Alt 27 and 29. After you get through Newnan turn left to stay on 16, alt 27 and 29. This will bring you back to I-20. GA 16 is a 12 lane road. You will need to plan your stops at Walmarts or fuel stops. This adds about 100 miles to your trip and because it goes through small towns it adds more time. We like it because it's scenic farm country and less stress.