March 2022 Northern WA State to Northern VA: Direct Route or Southern I10 Route Recommendations

[Lee Smith]

I will be leaving Bellingham Washington after the 1st week in March. I will be driving a 45" Monaco Signature.
I would appreciate all opinions on which route to choose. The general northern route which ducks down to go past the north entrance of Yellowstone and then goes further south to head west to Virginia versus the I10 route from LA straight across. The northern route is 2,900 miles and the I10 route is 3,900 miles. Of course, the northern route choice will depend on the current week's weather forecast for freezing temperatures, ice and snow. I will only travel in the daytime.

Thank you very much for your thoughts.

[Bjohnsonmn]

I-90 is pretty good once you get past the Cascades passes. It is a long, lonely road, but beautiful out there. You would be between the heart of winter travel and the beginning of spring storm season. If you aren't ready for 15F weather some nights, then this is not the route for you. The highway departments are good at keeping things open if it is practical and closing it down when it isn't. This is a big overland haul route, so there is plenty of traffic if you have an issue as well. You can always duck down to I-80 or I-70 too.

[Jdw12345]

I’m assuming that you purchased a new to you coach, if it hasn’t been exposed to the chemicals that the northern states use on the roadways in the winter, I would avoid that at all costs! Just my opinion, I live in Minnesota and know what this crap does to your vehicle’s! March can be a tricky month, it can be 50* and a few days later it can be blizzard conditions and heavy wet snow. If you’re not in a big hurry to get home I would take the southern route.

I’m in northern Mn at my mothers right now, it’s -23 this morning 

[Chuck B 2004 Windsor]

I would not attempt a winter trip across the northern US.    I would drop down to the southern route across the United States.  I live in Mississippi.  Each day our news is full of vehicles stuck in snow not able to move.  Unless you are a seasoned traveler in your new to you coach, you are begging for winter problems.  Good luck

[Mark Holt]

If I had to do it this time of year I would go down through CA to Bakersfield and across 58 to Barstow and then I 40 East. You can always bail South to I 20 or I 10 if a storm gets in your way. If weather holds you can take I 81 north out of Nashville to VA. Good luck with your trip.

[Old Dog]

That time of year you will almost certainly run into some snow and most certainly ice, you've got 3 big passes to get over and once you are it will be cold thought out the central US. I also agree with an early comment about salt/de-icer.

I would do I-5 to I-10 or 20 but it will add a few days/dollars to your trip. Good luck

[Chuck B 2004 Windsor]

I would also add that the road deicer will contain salt related products that will corrode the under side of the chassis.  In years to come you will regret that.

The bitterness of a route that has a lot of snow will remain long after the time lost going a better route that has no snow..

[Dr4Film]

We are flying on Monday to Salt Lake City Utah to pick up our newly purchased 2006 Dynasty.

I will NOT attempt any mountain driving or passes this time of year. The route I have chosen is to head south on I-15 as quickly as possible to hook up with the I-10 Freeway at Quartzsite. We will stay on I-10 all the way to Florida.

I have driven my Windsor in 5-6 inches of snow at elevation while towing a 30-foot cargo trailer and it wasn't FUN at all. Luckily, we drove out of the snow once we got to Destruction Bay in the Yukon on our way to Alaska one year.

I do NOT recommend choosing any northern route this time of year. The weather is TOO unpredictable. Even the southern route can have some freezing weather. Back in January 2011 while crossing the country on the I-10 Freeway we stopped for the night one day's drive west of San Antonia TX. We woke up to frozen ice on all of our toppers due to having rain overnight followed by a severe cold front passing through which froze all of the rain. What a mess to deal with the next morning.

[Lee Smith]

Great response from everyone.

I will definitely take the southern I10 route.

Thank you,

Lee Smith

[Woody O]

1 hour ago, Dr4Film said:

We are flying on Monday to Salt Lake City Utah to pick up our newly purchased 2006 Dynasty.

I will NOT attempt any mountain driving or passes this time of year. The route I have chosen is to head south on I-15 as quickly as possible to hook up with the I-10 Freeway at Quartzsite. We will stay on I-10 all the way to Florida.

I have driven my Windsor in 5-6 inches of snow at elevation while towing a 30-foot cargo trailer and it wasn't FUN at all. Luckily, we drove out of the snow once we got to Destruction Bay in the Yukon on our way to Alaska one year.

I do NOT recommend choosing any northern route this time of year. The weather is TOO unpredictable. Even the southern route can have some freezing weather. Back in January 2011 while crossing the country on the I-10 Freeway we stopped for the night one day's drive west of San Antonia TX. We woke up to frozen ice on all of our toppers due to having rain overnight followed by a severe cold front passing through which froze all of the rain. What a mess to deal with the next morning.

Dr4Film, just curious. I see you are getting the 06 Dynasty. Will it fit in your garage or did you modify your garage opening?

[Dr4Film]

Woody, unfortunately the area under our house will not allow the Dynasty to fit as the Dynasty is about 3 inches too high even when I dump all of the air in the bags.

The Windsor fits under there with the air bags dumped with about 2 inches to spare. I had more clearance with the old Penguin AC's on the roof however when I installed the new Penguin II AC's I lost about one inch of clearance.

 

[Larry Laursen]

4 hours ago, Dr4Film said:

We are flying on Monday to Salt Lake City Utah to pick up our newly purchased 2006 Dynasty.

I will NOT attempt any mountain driving or passes this time of year. The route I have chosen is to head south on I-15 as quickly as possible to hook up with the I-10 Freeway at Quartzsite. We will stay on I-10 all the way to Florida.

I have driven my Windsor in 5-6 inches of snow at elevation while towing a 30-foot cargo trailer and it wasn't FUN at all. Luckily, we drove out of the snow once we got to Destruction Bay in the Yukon on our way to Alaska one year.

I do NOT recommend choosing any northern route this time of year. The weather is TOO unpredictable. Even the southern route can have some freezing weather. Back in January 2011 while crossing the country on the I-10 Freeway we stopped for the night one day's drive west of San Antonia TX. We woke up to frozen ice on all of our toppers due to having rain overnight followed by a severe cold front passing through which froze all of the rain. What a mess to deal with the next morning.

Richard,

We just drove for Salt Lake City to Phoenix Area this past weekend in a car.  I would recommend you go to Kingman and then through Wickenburg on US 93.  Then pickup US 60 to Loop 303 on the west side of Phoenix to I 10 east and Loop 202 around the south side of Phoenix.  US 93 is a better route than US 95 south of Henderson, NV.   You will have 4 lane Hwy's most of the way vs. two lane on US 95 and save about 100 miles.  Be aware there is very limited fuel between Kingman and Phoenix. This of course assumes you don't need anything in Quartzsite.  Quartzsite is essentially wound down by March 1.  When at the US 60/Loop 303 junction you will be about 1/2 mile from our house.

[Dr4Film]

7 minutes ago, Larry Laursen said:

Richard,

We just drove for Salt Lake City to Phoenix Area this past weekend in a car.  I would recommend you go to Kingman and then through Wickenburg on US 93.  Then pickup US 60 to Loop 303 on the west side of Phoenix to I 10 east and Loop 202 around the south side of Phoenix.  US 93 is a better route than US 95 south of Henderson, NV.   You will have 4 lane Hwy's most of the way vs. two lane on US 95 and save about 100 miles.  Be aware there is very limited fuel between Kingman and Phoenix. This of course assumes you don't need anything in Quartzsite.  Quartzsite is essentially wound down by March 1.  When at the US 60/Loop 303 junction you will be about 1/2 mile from our house.

Larry, that was the original route I had chosen until I learned that my younger sister who is Full-Time RVing is staying in the Quartzsite area for the winter, so I don't want to be that close and not stop to visit.

Thanks for the heads up though!

[woodylmiller]

Going south is a good choice.  I-90 has several passes and this time of year, no way.  I live north of Spokane.  We are in Palm Springs now but we will not even try getting home until April 1st, if then.  Too much snow.  One other thing, when the snow falls so does the IQ of a lot of drivers and it's a mess.  We have seen traffic snarls that go on for miles during snow falling on the passes.

Woody Miller

09 Dynasty

[Trinidaddave]

Richard, We left yesterday, March 1st. north of Sacramento to Gulfport Mississippi.  We chose the southern route ( I-10,I-20 to I-49 to Gulfport) for all of the reasons listed in this post.  We will be taking our time, so you will probably be passing us at some point.  
 

Always enjoy your knowledge of Monaco motorhomes.  Thanks for all you share.

[Lee Smith]

I just returned from Victoria, British Columbia.
Based on the experienced hand advice from all, I waited until April 6 to pick up our new (new to us) 2004 Monaco Signature Conquest from my now fine Canadian friend. 
First was on to the ferry to get from Victoria to the mainland. I lined up with the semi-trucks on the lower enclosed deck. Quite an experience for a brand-new Class A driver. Then to US Customs to import the RV. Thanks to a very capable American Customs Broker, no import fees as the Monaco was originally made in Coburg, Oregon and initially imported into Canada, and smooth sailing in under 1 hour. 
Then on to Oregon where a late spring snowstorm closed the passes (for me) on I-5 South on my way to Sacramento, California.
Ironically, I waited in seven days in Coburg, Oregon at an RV park just 2 miles from the location of the plant where the RV was made. Of course, that plant was long gone.

Then on to I-80 East through Reno, Salt Lake City, Cheyene, Omaha and to Davenport where a slight south turn picked up I-74 east. I-74 East through Indianapolis, Dayton, Columbus and then I-79 south to Morgantown where I picked up I-68 east to a small segment of I-70 east to I-81 south and on to a temporary storage home in Winchester, Virginia. I reckon about 3,700 miles. Only mechanical event was a windshield wiper problem which is extensively discussed in a separate post. 

The 2004 Signature was in excellent shape, inside and out, as promised by the seller. It was an amazing experience to learn to drive such a highly engineered and capable vehicle on the fly at the age of 70. I celebrated my birthday 2 days after arriving back in Virginia.

My wife and I are looking so forward to our "bucket list" of adventures and years of enjoyment. The great people on this forum in no small way contributed greatly to our success. Thank you very much.

Here are some pictures:
 

[StephenW]

Well congratulations on your purchase of the Monaco Signature coach and the completion of your 3,700 mile driving test.  Thanks for the pics! I hope you enjoy the adventures ahead.