Traveling to Reno, Nv.

[Goneagain1]

In May we will be traveling to Reno, Nv. We have a 35 ft
Itasca Sunova V10 Gasoline driven motorhome. We are coming
from Kansas City. I wanted to know about either traveling through the mountains over either I-70 or I-80. I am a little nervous and wanted to know which is the best way to go and any tips on coming down from high grades.

[G7ARYM]

Have gone from SoCal to Kansas City and Reno many times. From KC find your way to I-80, set the cruise and watch the world go by. I-70 west of Denver takes you from 6-12,000 ft quickly and then it is a long downhill to Utah. Prettier than I-80 in Wyoming but you bump into I-15. I am told Hwy 50 west from I-15 to Reno is an easy and lonely drive but have never tried it. Enjoy whichever way you go.

[DaveG39]

Have taken both on more than one occasion. Except for snow, no big deal on either. One trip end May got over one foot of snow in Cheyenne. Stayed there an extra two days and snow melted with clear roads into Utah.

[Smitty77]

We enjoy the 80 to 50 route. And if your not in a rush, dropping a bit down I15 from Salt Lake City, allows you to drop over to Great Basin National Park for a visit. Then onwards to Ely and 50.
Smitty

[jamesu]

Might get even better response if this was posted in “Roads & Routes”.

[Ivylog]

I doubt his V10 gas engine has an exhaust brake so he needs to manually gear down his tranny when going down a long hill to let the V10 hold him back. I would go north on I-35 and cut the corner and get on I-80 at Lincoln. I-80 is flatter than 70, but I would still come back a different way.

[bikendan]

JohnG3 wrote:
We took I 70 from the Sacramento area to Colorado.

there is NO I70 in the Sacramento area. you must be thinking of I80.
I70 ends in Utah.

[The_Owl]

I80 is going to be flatter but less scenic going over/through the Rockies. I70 stops in Utah and then it’s either a two-lane cutoff to Salt Lake and on to 80 or two-lane on US 50 to Reno. As others have said, gas is sparser on the 70 route and 50 is known as the loneliest highway. I think it’s really your choice and you could take one route west and the other east.

[MarkTwain]

Goneagain1 wrote:
In May we will be traveling to Reno, Nv. We have a 35 ft
Itasca Sunova V10 Gasoline driven motorhome. We are coming
from Kansas City. I wanted to know about either traveling through the mountains over either I-70 or I-80. I am a little nervous and wanted to know which is the best way to go and any tips on coming down from high grades.

Going down 1-80 from Reno is a long mountain grade hwy. but the roads are good. Once you start going down keep your speeds down and make sure your exhaust brake is working. Use lower gears on your tranny. I try to keep my speeds around 45mph most of the way down. You don't want to get your brakes hot by constantly using them all the way down. I have a 6 spd. tranny and I use 4th and 5th gears to save my brakes. You don't need to be nervous BUT you need to stay alert and KEEP YOUR SPEEDS DOWN!

[JohnG3]

We took I 70 from the Sacramento area to Colorado. Beautiful drive, good roads, not much traffic when we travelled it in May 2017. Fuel stops were far apart and AT&T cell service was mostly non existent until we neared a fairly large town. A suggestion to get the All Stays Camp and RVs for smartphones. You can check for campgrounds, fuel, food, repair services and points of interest. Make the list before you leave as cell service is spotty at best.

[Lwiddis]

Nothing to fear from any Interstate Highway. I 70 is better IMO for scenery and sites but you’ll need to head north to pickup I 80 into Reno. Consider taking US 395 south on your way home. Lots of dry camping and boondocking in California’s Mono and Inyo counties with good views of our higher peaks.