rbpru wrote:
We are returning from Redlands CA and are currently camped it Cortez CO to visit Mesa Verde, then the ride home to Indiana.
Going out a month ago we took I-40 to Flagstaff then dropped down to Phoenix and Tucson to visit sights and relatives.
Having driven the mountains in NM, AZ, UT and CO I have decided to drop back down to I-40 through Amarillo and OK rather than more mountains and cooler weather on I-70.
We did hit our share of high winds (15 to 20 mph plus gusts), steep grades and hot weather. We had to lay over and extra day in Las Vegas because of 60 mph cross winds and dust storms. We also made sure to fill-up before each days trip. You can hit sections of travel with limited gasoline stations and I sure did not want to have to dig out the extra 5 gallons packed in the bed of the truck.
So my advice is watch the weather, fill-up often, and drive the mountians at the speed you like.
The Interstate highways are okay but you will be passed by everyone; unless you like to tow at 70 mph. My sweet spots are 57 and 62 mph. Secondary roads are fine but many are only two lane.
Take care and enjoy the ride.
You are not kidding about the fill-up advice...we did a CA-VA trip in 2011 towing a TT with our Nissan Armada that was getting about 7.5mpg. We left El Paso destined for Carlsbad, NM, got about a third of the way there, then realized it was going to be a good 'nother 100 miles to the next gas station. We ended up turning around and heading back to El Paso for a fill up and a couple of Jerry Cans :-)
This time, we'll be more in the 11mpg range with the turbo diesel, and have a 37.5 gallon tank, so we're in much better shape.
We decided to cut back north specifically to cross the Rockies, since I have never done it...really looking forward to checking out the snowscape, and hoping we don't hit too much wind; it's very tiring fighting a head- or crosswind all day. Had that experience coming across the plains of eastern South Dakota back in 2014...miserable! At least this time we've got the fancy ProPride hitch and the super long wheelbase truck!
