Driving from SoCal to Georgia... any tips?

[kilroy173]

Hey everyone! Ill be driving my Gladiator Eco to Georgia from SoCal next week. I plan on taking four days to make the trip. Any tips on routes or what I should take with me? Im doing a fresh oil change, fuel filter change, and air filter before I leave. Topping off on DEF and bringing Winter EDT additive, tire plug kit, and my Viar compressor along with some tools for basic repairs. Any tips or advice on the route would be appreciated. Thanks!

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[Free2roam]

Taking 40? If so fuel stops are abundant. Download Gas Buddy app. Tells ya where all the cheapest fuel stops are. I usually fill up in Flagstaff, Albuquerque (some of the cheapest fuel around) Amarillo Oklahoma City Little Rock and Memphis. Don't stay in South Memphis it's a crap hole! If you find yourself in Nashville around dinnertime Rose Peppers Cantina for Mexican food. Safe travels!

 

[kilroy173]

Was planning on taking the 10 most of the way. So far Im thinking Tucson or Las Cruces if I can manage it, then San Antonio, then we'll see how I feel from there.

 

[Greg_L]

Was planning on taking the 10 most of the way. So far Im thinking Tucson or Las Cruces if I can manage it, then San Antonio, then we'll see how I feel from there.

Stop at the Bucees on I-10 eastbound in Luling, Tx.

Treat yoself to some goodies.

 

[kilroy173]

Will do, thanks!

 

[Volt0]

Seems like a long drive, just to escape the egg shortage. Maybe purchase a few goods from other states with lower tax rates?

 

[ross neill]

Just hope you like Texas you will see a lot of it

 

[Andy29847]

I've done the drive on 1-10 except for the part west of Phoenix. I took I-8 to San Deigo. I've been on all of I-20 (SC to Van Horn, TX) and I-40 from Kingman to the eastern end. The only difference between the 3 is scenery. In the winter, I-10 would be my preferred route. Traffic will be thick between Phoenix and Tuscon. Take your rest break and fill up with gas before El Paso. El Paso always seems to be busy. Some of the stops on the interstate there feel dangerous. My camper friends use the 375 bypass, but it is long. Hwy 1604 around the north side of San Antiono used to be the preferred route. It's getting crowded there too. Some friends with minor concern about driving time use Hwy 46 from Borne to Seguin to avoid San Antiono altogether. Timing your run through Houston will be a major consideration. Avoid the rush hours. There is a 10-mile bridge through the Atchafalaya Swamp just before Baton Rouge, LA. This is one of the most interesting parts of the trip for me. Traffic often backs up when you cross the Mississippi in Baton Rouge. Use I-12 to avoid New Orleans. The rest of the trip is easy.

Motels along the interstate fill up fast in the evening. I plan ahead and make my reservation for the next stop in mid-day. I like staying in the smaller cities and towns. Demming, AZ, Borne, TX, and Gulfport, MS would be good places to stop on a 4-day trip.

If you want adventure, in Van Horn, TX, turn south on Hwy 90 and follow this route to I-10 east of San Antonio. it's 20 miles and 1 hour longer, but it's not interstate. Castroville, TX is a nice town just west of San Antoino and would be a good stop.

 

[Pliny]

Was planning on taking the 10 most of the way.

Recommend taking the Loop 202 to bypass downtown Phoenix.

I haven't updated the maps in my 22 JTR and that section of the freeway doesn't exist as far as my Gladiator is concerned.

 

[Pismo61]

For me,wife and two kids Temecula to Houston.5am leave,first stop Yuma,stop to see the Thing(lol),Tucson,Demming,stay the night in El Paso(sketchy).Next day leave at 6am,stop in Fort Stockton,Sonora for lunch and it starts to get greener there.Then San Antonio for a stop,then Houston.Some of the lunch and pee stops varied between those cities.Also look out for the 55 mph speed limit through Tuscon.They have the flashing cameras waiting to pick you off.

 

[rharr]

Don't drive thru El Paso at night, bad construction, with poor lanes and busy. This was the case in October.

I just did a similar drive to the east, took 40 out and 10 back.

Advise, don't treat it like a adventure if you are putting time constraints on the trip. The highway is boring with nothing but chain restaurants to feed you. If you give your self more time you can stop along the way, take side roads and find local places to eat and meet people in the area while eattin and exploring.

Take advantage of state camp grounds once past Texas, less than 40 bucks a night and most have showers and some history.

 

[Greg_L]

Oh yeah...the scenery. So as someone that lives off the central I-10 corridor and has never lived anywhere else, lemme tell ya....after that Bucees I mentioned earlier in Luling, Tx, you're in for extreme boredom. There is NOTHING visually pleasing about I-10 eastbound between , say, San Antonio and your final destination. Houston is interesting for it's sheer size and clusterfuckery. The aforementioned swamp land of Louisiana is okay....but if there's an accident on that bridge, and there often is, you are so fucked. Expect massive delays. Check your preferred online maps for traffic on the Atchafalaya bridge before you get to it. Bypass New Orleans on I-12 if you choose, but the drive down to and through New Orleans could be nice if you don't mind the extra hour or so. I mean, it's New Orleans. The coolest city in the south. Stop and look around if you want. Grab a beignet and chicory coffee. After that, Mississippi and Alabama, going into Georgia, I hope you like trees because that's all there is. Trees and inbreeding. Lots of confederate flags and college football. Bama got left out of the college playoffs and Georgia just got thumped by Notre Dame so they're probably pretty cranky down there in the deep south right now. Be careful.

 

[kilroy173]

Seems like a long drive, just to escape the egg shortage. Maybe purchase a few goods from other states with lower tax rates?

Don’t know anything about an egg shortage, I have my own chickens.

 

[kilroy173]

Thanks everyone, you’ve given me a lot to consider. At any point will distance between gas stations be an issue?

 

[Pismo61]

Nope just price.

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