Driving from SoCal to Georgia... any tips?

[Greg_L]

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

Not at all. Take advantage of cheap Texas gas but otherwise you are in no danger of running out.

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[Mark JT]

Use WAZE! If it reroutes you, do it! BTDT…

 

[Artsifrtsi]

El Paso, eat at West Texas Chop House

 

[DailyMoparGuy]

I spent A LOT of time on I-10 between Fort Stockton, TX and New Orleans. When you cross the Mississippi River bridge in my hometown of Baton Rouge, try to take a look to the right at about 2 o’clock and you’ll see the beautiful Tiger Stadium. Glorious structure. Just don’t crash lol.

I spent a little bit of time in Ozona, TX for work which is right off I-10. Please do yourself a wonderful favor and stop there for food at Destiny’s Grill (closed on Mondays and closed between 2pm-5pm for some reason). I’m not sure if they’re still cash only but they have the best fajitas I had in my 6 years in Texas. I recommend that you order one of each of the fajita burritos (beef fajita burrito, chicken fajita burrito, and brisket fajita burrito). Ozona is a very little town but it’s in the middle of nothing so you won’t miss it. That area is my favorite part of Texas and I miss it all the time.

Second, I recommend you stop in Houston for a Torta al Pastor at Tío Trompo. Great little business and super nice owner. Best Torta I’ve ever had. I used to live two blocks from there and would get lunch there pretty frequently. They’re closed on Mondays though, just fyi.

Lastly, make sure you stop at Buc-ee’s multiple times. That gas station should be in every state. Exceptionally clean bathrooms, great service, WELL paid employees, the list goes on. Get a chopped brisket sandwich there too. Don’t be intimidated by the crowd. There will be a thousand people in there and somehow you’ll spend 2 minutes in the checkout line.

Destiny’s Grill - 107 Swaps St, Ozona, TX 76943

Tío Trompo - 316 Shepherd Dr, Houston, TX 77007

The mentioned Buc-ee’s that is my favorite location - 10070 I-10, Luling, TX 78648

Edit: I want to emphasize, do not stare at Tiger Stadium as you’re driving over the bridge. You will crash if you stare lol. There’s just a lot of lane changes and erratic braking since it’s the biggest decline/incline road in the city lol. Glance at the stadium the same way you do a woman with huge tits at the grocery store…couple of quick looks and go about your day. Safe travels!

 

[Greg_L]

When you cross the Mississippi River bridge in my hometown of Baton Rouge, try to take a look to the right at about 2 o’clock and you’ll see the beautiful Tiger Stadium. Glorious structure. Just don’t crash lol.

Geaux Tigers!

 

[Zachanadandy]

4 days? Site seeing trip? It's ~29 hours of driving from LA to Atlanta. Are you a commercial driver limited to 8hours on the road? Are you planning to spend 16 hours per day in a hotel or eating? NorCal to Alabama took us 2 days going there and 3 coming back... because we spent 6 hours wheeling at hot springs ORV.

 

[CyberHero]

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.

Ta Carbon in Glendale, AZ in kinda rougher area but some of best burritos I’ve ever had
Family lives in Tucson let me know if need anything

 

[CyberHero]

What’s in GA? I actually gotta head there for work (PTC) in few weeks

 

[Andy29847]

What’s in GA? I actually gotta head there for work (PTC) in few weeks

North GA is full of forest roads and wheeling opportunities. There are a three adventure routes across the area, the Chattahoochee BDR, the GA Traverse, and the Smokey Mountains 500. The routes overlap a little but between the 3 they cover most of non-paved places to explore with your Jeep.

Chattahoochee Georgia BDR-X

The Georgia Traverse Map - GEORGIA OVERLAND

Smokey Mountain 500 | Adventure Rider

 

[RHRT]

Pray for a turn or bend on the I-10 through Texas…………

 

[Rusty PW]

4 days? Site seeing trip? It's ~29 hours of driving from LA to Atlanta. Are you a commercial driver limited to 8hours on the road? Are you planning to spend 16 hours per day in a hotel or eating? NorCal to Alabama took us 2 days going there and 3 coming back... because we spent 6 hours wheeling at hot springs ORV.

He's driving his JT. Not a semi. The rule for commercial is you must take a 30 minute break after 8 hrs. Total drive hours is 10 hrs in a 14 hr day. After 14 hrs, must be off road for 8hrs. But you can extend your drive time by 2 hrs if you run into poor road condition like accident or bad weather. Then you have the rolling 60/70 hr drive time in a 7/8 day period. Fueling, washing the truck, maintenance counts as drive time when on the road.

 

[Camaroboi13]

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

You have a diesel on small tires, should be able to get at least 350-400 miles of highway driving between fill ups. I can’t imagine running into fuel situations anywhere. Don’t sweat the small stuff, keep your eyes open and enjoy the ride.

 

[Zachanadandy]

He's driving his JT. Not a semi. The rule for commercial is you must take a 30 minute break after 8 hrs. Total drive hours is 10 hrs in a 14 hr day. After 14 hrs, must be off road for 8hrs. But you can extend your drive time by 2 hrs if you run into poor road condition like accident or bad weather. Then you have the rolling 60/70 hr drive time in a 7/8 day period. Fueling, washing the truck, maintenance counts as drive time when on the road.

That was my point. As a non-commercial driver we dont have those limitations. If you're siteseeing or exploring then I see it taking 4 days. If you're just on a road trip with the end destination as the goal stretching out 29 hours of driving over 4 days means a whole bunch of time sitting around somewhere along the way every day. Even 3 days means just 10 hours of drive time... and 14 hours staring at a hotel room wall or restaurant booth? I'm not saying get tweaked out and drive straight through, but 2 fifteen hour days on the road still leaves 9 hours for sleeping in between.

 

[Freems]

Have your tires rebalance before the trip, unless this trip is about wearing out those stock doughnuts to upgrade to proper JT size tires.

 

[Andy29847]

That was my point. As a non-commercial driver we dont have those limitations. If you're siteseeing or exploring then I see it taking 4 days. If you're just on a road trip with the end destination as the goal stretching out 29 hours of driving over 4 days means a whole bunch of time sitting around somewhere along the way every day. Even 3 days means just 10 hours of drive time... and 14 hours staring at a hotel room wall or restaurant booth? I'm not saying get tweaked out and drive straight through, but 2 fifteen hour days on the road still leaves 9 hours for sleeping in between.

This discussion is morphing a little to driving practices (instead of route advice). Most of my long-distance driving has been on a motorcycle and was done to meet time targets. Besides that, I have crossed the country several times pulling a camper or driving a camper pulling a Jeep. The best way to measure progress and potential for meeting time on target is by average driving speed, including stops. On my motorcycle, I could average 65 mph with effort. In my truck or camper, average speeds are more in the 50-55mph range. The big difference isn't so much driving speed as it is limiting time at stops. Most GPSs show stopped time on a trip. Watch the numbers and you can see how stopped time effects average speed. Also, the odds are that on multi-day trip, you will face some adversity (weather, mechanical, lodging, traffic, physical reasons). Working past the adversity is part of the fun.

One more thing that trips up some people driving from west to east. You are going to lose time when you cross the time zone lines.

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